Charcoal is the most common archaeobotanical remain recovered from the Iron Age archaeological contexts in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. This paper proposes a methodology that combines taxonomic identification together with the recording of dendrological and taphonomic attributes. The results obtained from six case studies– including on-site and off-site samples– dating...
Pollen analytical studies of three sediment cores from the mesotrophic lake of Egerbakta (47.935°N, 20.291°E, 280 m a.s.l.), located in the Bükk Mountains in NE Hungary revealed large amounts of Cannabis sativa pollen (> 90%), a clear sign of hemp retting. The increase in Cannabis pollen occurred around the formation and settlement of Egerbakta village (ca. 1260 ce) and continued...
Historical sources show that cultivated grapevines (Vitis vinifera L. ssp. vinifera) grew in mediaeval and early modern city gardens and the gardens of country houses in the northern Low Countries (today’s Netherlands). Archaeobotanical analysis of cesspit samples often report hundreds to thousands of grape seeds per sieved macrobotanical soil sample. These seeds are invariably...
This study aims to improve the understanding of climatic fluctuations in the southern Basin of Mexico (BM) during the Archaic (11,500–4,000 cal bp) and Formative (4,000–2,000 cal bp) archaeological periods, when early sedentary settlements at the Zohapilco and Atlapulco sites developed from ∼8,000–7,500 cal bp. This study is based on the analysis of diatoms, pollen, microalgae...
This study examines historical forest compositional changes in the Aggtelek Karst region, Hungary, focusing on the relationship between medieval and modern age charcoal burning sites (32 kilns) and the current vegetation. Our aim was to determine woodland composition during the intensive charcoal burning period using wood charcoal analysis and compare it with the present canopy...
The Ural Mountains represent a distinctive bioecological and climatic boundary between Europe and Asia, simultaneously uniting them through cultural, ethnic, and economic ties throughout history. To investigate these complex human-environment interactions during the last ~ 10,000, we obtained a peat core Shabunichi-1 and analyzed it using AMS radiocarbon dating, loss-on-ignition...
Charred masses of nearly 100,000 Linum usitatissimum (flax) seeds were found in house remains from Tjudnäs on the Åland Islands, Finland, and radiocarbon dated to ad 880–1020. The flax seeds were large and discovered in lumps, which indicates that they had been pressed for their oil. The flax was accompanied by seeds of Cuscuta epilinum, Lolium remotum, Galium spurium and...
The Lusatian Urnfield culture (LUc, Lausitzer Kultur, kultura łużycka) was one of the most important cultural developments during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age of central-eastern Europe, 1500–500 bc. In this article, we focus on the impact of the LUc and later cultures on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems at Bruszczewo on a microregional scale and within the broad...
Wood fuel was essential for urban development in the Mediterranean area during the Middle Ages. Therefore, wood gathering practices and supply can be investigated through the study of wood-charcoal fragments obtained from urban archaeological contexts. This paper considers anthracological remains from 14 archaeological rescue-interventions in Barcelona (NE Iberia), to reconstruct...
During the first millennium ad, Germany, like other European regions, witnessed dynamic interactions between human populations and the environment, resulting in effects on landscapes and vegetation. Despite their significance, the detailed changes and links between vegetation and population dynamics in Germany during this period are not yet fully understood. This study addresses...
Understanding the neolithisation process in northern Europe requires detailed knowledge of both the type of crop plants as well as gathered food plants from Neolithic Funnel Beaker sites (4000–2800 bce). However, although many sites from this culture are known, significant gaps remain in our knowledge on which taxa were used as well as on how plant food was prepared. Here, we...
Integrative phylogeographic studies supported by morphometric analysis and genetic data provide significant insights into the postglacial recolonization history and other factors shaping current distributions of plant species, including major forest-forming trees in Europe. However, genomic resources and phylogeographic knowledge of shrub species remain limited. Staphylea pinnata...
This paper presents the results of phytolith analysis from Middle Bronze Age II (1800–1600 bce) Zincirli Höyük, Türkiye. The study area was destroyed by a single fire event resulting in the preservation and recovery of several food processing installations (archaeological features) and restorable vessels (broken pots) in situ. The archaeological contexts were only slightly...
While Lucayan exploitation of their marine environment is relatively well understand, less is known about terrestrial resource utilization, particularly of the floristic environment. Lucayans are the earliest permanent Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahama archipelago, which has suffered significant terrestrial habitat changes through time due to natural and anthropogenic factors...
Pollen, spores, and microscopic charcoal from the sediments of Grosssee (1,619 m a.s.l.), a small lake in the lower subalpine vegetation zone of the Glarus Alps, Switzerland, were analysed to reconstruct vegetation patterns and land use over the past ca. 12,300 calibrated 14C years bp (cal bp). Pollen data revealed an open landscape covered with grasses and herbs such as...
A re-evaluation of late Neolithic cereal grains, combined with new archaeobotanical data, add to the evidence of late Neolithic and early Metal Period farming in southwest Finland. Earlier indications of late Neolithic cereals at the Niuskala Kotirinne site in Turku are confirmed by new radiocarbon dating results. An early occurrence of Hordeum has also found at a second site...
The R package CropPro is an open-access resource to classify archaeobotanical samples as products and by-products of different stages of the crop processing sequence for large-seeded cereal and pulse crops in south west Asia, Europe and other Mediterranean regions. It builds on ethnographic research and analysis conducted by Jones (Plants and ancient man: studies in...
Characterising the vegetation-pollen signal is a crucial task for enhancing the interpretation of fossil pollen records. This study analyses 28 surface soil samples collected in the surroundings of Iztaccíhuatl volcano, between 2,650 and 4,024 m asl. Pollen zones and ordination analysis were assessed to establish a qualitative connection between the pollen signal and the...
During the Dark Ages, which include the Late Roman period (ad 270–450) and the Early Middle Ages (ad 450–1050), large-scale vegetation development in northwest Europe was characterised by widespread regeneration of woodlands. This regeneration phase represents a break from the extensive reduction in woodland from human activities in late Holocene vegetation history. In the...
Sediments from a small lake, Loch Beag, in Barrees, Beara peninsula, south-western Ireland, provide a record of vegetation history that spans most of the Lateglacial and Holocene (14–0.43 ka). The detailed part of the record relates to the Holocene, which is the focus of this paper. The investigations carried out include pollen and macrofossil analyses, loss-on-ignition...
The study of the pollen rain from modern vegetation has greatly improved the interpretation of pollen diagrams and our understanding of ancient plant communities. In this study, 76 pollen samples were studied from various vegetation types in Cantabria, northern Iberian Peninsula. The pollen signals of the main taxa were compared to their estimated spatial coverage at various...