Reflections of Prehistoric and Medieval human activities in floodplain deposits of the Únanovka Stream, South Moravia, Czech Republic

Abstract

Floodplain sediments of the Unanovka Stream's catchment were investigated utilizing the methods of sedimentology and paleoecology. The development of human settlements in the stream catchment and dating from the Prehistoric through the Medieval, have been compared with floodplain evolution. Paleoecological data were obtained from the pollen record and plant macroremains. Bulk samples of the sediments were analyzed for phosphates, magnetic susceptibility, and grain size; macroremains were dated using the radiocarbon method. Floodplain structure were explored by combination of geophysical methods and drilling. The floodplain base was formed during the beginning of the Neolithic, where a sandy, organic silt layer was formed upon a sandy gravel basement, under a deciduous forest environment. From approximately the late neolithic, when a silty loam sediment started accumulation, direct paleoecological evidence of agriculture has been recorded. Since the beginning of the Middle Ages, the dominant vegetation was of a ruderal character, with Alder. From the High Middle Ages, the processes of accumulation and erosion in the neighboring region accelerated.