Palynological analysis to infer environmental dynamics of Muarajambi Temple compound

Abstract

Muarajambi Temple Compound situated in the side of a river in Jambi Province, Indonesia. Due to its vicinity to the river, the compound has experienced various geological event associated to the river sedimentation, such as river flood and alluvial sedimentation. We have collected two soil sample from beneath an excavated human-made structure in the sideway of a river. The first sample was collected right in bottom of the structure, while the second sample was collected around 20cm beneath the structure. Taking sample right beneath the structure is ideal for the analyses because this would avoid contamination after the temple construction. The pollen and spore content from these samples were analysed to understand its variation. From the analyses, we found that the first younger sample has larger AP (arboreal pollen) percentage but smaller NAP (non-arboreal pollen) compared to the second sample. This indicate that the vegetation is less dense in the first sample. This study might indicate the environmental changes due to human activities, particularly human activities around the temple compound which led to the construction of the temple compound itself.