Palynological Micro-Analysis in Neolithic Lake Dwellings

Abstract

The excellent preservation and the high concentrations of pollen and spores from lake dwellings have allowed the reduction of sampling intervals between counted levels to one analysis every 2 mm. An initial experiment was made on a human occupational level on the Clairvaux lake (Jura, France). It showed cycles in the herbaceous pollen curves which may reflect annual rhythms; such a hypothesis had to be confirmed beyond doubt. A second experiment, at the site of Chalain lake (Jura, France), showed that no cycle appears clearly though some parts of the diagram showed fluctuations which were difficult to explain. These rhythms, if they exist, are closely dependent on the sedimentation rate which varies from zero to several centimetres a year. Nevertheless, this approach allows an extremely precise reconstruction of vegetation change, which has never been achieved previously by pollen analysis of archaeological sites.