Search

Knowledge of historic changes in vegetation, relief, and soil is key in understanding how the uplands in central Europe have changed during the last millennium, being an essential requirement for measures on forest conversion and nature conservation in that area. Evidence of forest‐clearing horizons from the medieval period could be systematically documented at four low‐ to mid‐altitudinal sites (360–640 meters above mean sea level) in the Harz (Harz Mountains), Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), and Českomoravská vrchovina (Bohemian‐Moravian Highlands). Subfossil trees with traces of human cutmarks and burning were recovered from buried wet‐organic soils (paleosols) within a context of mining and settlement archaeology, applying a multiproxy‐approach by using data from archaeology, paleobotany, geochronology, dendrochronology, and pedology. Tree stumps and trunks, as well as small‐scale wood remains represent an in situ record of local conifer stands (spruce, fir, and pine). Some deciduous tree taxa also occur. Dating of the tree remains yielded ages from the 10th/11th to the 13th/14th centuries A.D. After deforestation, the tree remains were buried by technogenic and alluvial–colluvial deposits. The reconstructed conifer‐dominated woodlands on wet soils mirror the local vegetation structure immediately before the medieval deforestation. As such wet sites are common in the uplands, conifers were significantly present in the natural vegetation even at mid and lower altitudes.

Colluvial sediments originating from soil erosion on slopes have proven to constitute significant evidence for tracing past human impact on mountain landscapes. In the Central European Erzgebirge (Ore) Mountains, colluvial sediments are associated with specific landforms (footslopes, slope flattenings, dells) and cover a share of 11% (11,905 ha) of the regional soil landscape. Thirteen pedosedimentary sections with colluvial layers were investigated at five forested sites (520–730 m a.s.l.) within a context of mining archaeology, integrating data from pedology, archaeology, palaeobotany, and geochronology. The thickness of the gravel-bearing loamy, silty, and sandy colluvial layers is up to 70 cm, which are mostly located on top of the sections. The geochronological ages and archaeological data reveal a high to late medieval to post-medieval age of the colluvial sediments. Pollen data show a drastic decline of the mountain forests in the late twelfth to fifteenth centuries AD accompanied by an increase of pioneer trees and spruce at the expense of fir and beech. The primary cause of soil erosion and subsequent colluvial deposition at the sites investigated is medieval to post-medieval mining and other early industrial activities. A compilation of 395 radiocarbon and OSL ages, obtained from colluvial sediments at 197 upland sites in Central Europe, shows that anthropogenically initiated colluvial dynamics go as far back as the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age. Most ages derive from the medieval to post-medieval period, corresponding to the general intensification of settlement and land-use activities including deforestation and widespread ore mining.

Since the twelfth century, forest areas in the upper reaches of the low mountain ranges of central Europe provided an important source of wood and charcoal especially for mining and smelting as well as glass production. In this case study from a site in the upper Erzgebirge region (Ore Mountains), results from archeological, geophysical, pedo-sedimentological, geochemical, anthracological, and palynological analyses have been closely linked to allow for a diachronic reconstruction of changing land use and varying intensities of human impact with a special focus on the fourteenth to the twentieth century. While human presence during the thirteenth century can only be assumed from archeological material, the establishment of glass kilns together with quartz mining shafts during the fourteenth century has left behind more prominent traces in the landscape. However, although glass production is generally assumed to have caused intensive deforestation, the impact on this site appears rather weak compared to the sixteenth century onwards, when charcoal production, probably associated with emerging mining activities in the region, became important. Local deforestation and soil erosion has been associated mainly with this later phase of charcoal production and may indicate that the human impact of glass production is sometimes overestimated.

Publius Quinctilius Varus has become widely known as commander-in-chief of the three Roman legions that were annihilated in the battle of the Teutoburg forest in 9 CE by a federation of Germanic tribes. Coins bearing his countermark VAR are common on Roman sites in the Rhineland and are generally accepted to mark coins distributed as donations to the troops during his time as legatus Augusti pro praetore from 7 to 9 CE. In this study, 37 coins with these countermarks have been recorded from different archaeological sites using high-resolution 3D-scanning. Having substantiated prior ascriptions of these countermarks to individual countermark dies by procrustes analysis, a combination of metric statistics and use-wear analysis was applied to attribute ten countermarks to different wear-stages within the life-cycle of the same specific die. While coins with countermarks produced by the die during early phases of attrition are confined to the upper Rhineland and Mosel area, later phases have been found in the lower Rhineland at Asciburgium and on the battlefield of Kalkriese. Coins that bear countermarks of an already heavily worn and irreversibly damaged die are found in Nijmegen, Mainz and Wiesbaden. We discuss if these different groups of coins were emitted together at one site and may be related to a demobilisation after a joint operation.

Tin is an essential raw material both for the copper-tin alloys developed during the Early Bronze Age and for the casting of tableware in the Medieval period. Secondary geological deposits in the form of placers (cassiterite) provide easily accessible sources but have often been reworked several times during land-use history. In fact, evidence for the earliest phase of tin mining during the Bronze Age has not yet been confirmed for any area in Europe, stimulating an ongoing debate on this issue. For this study, a broad range of methods (sedimentology, pedology, palynology, anthracology, OSL/14C-dating, and micromorphology) was applied both within the extraction zone of placer mining and the downstream alluvial sediments at Schellerhau site in the upper eastern Erzgebirge (Germany). The results indicate that the earliest local removal of topsoil and processing of cassiterite-bearing weathered granite occurred already in the early second millennium BC, thus coinciding with the early and middle Bronze Age period. Placer mining resumed in this area during the Medieval period, probably as early as the 13th century AD. A peak of alluvial sedimentation during the mid-15th century AD is probably related to the acquisition of this region by the Elector of Saxony and the subsequent promotion of mining.

Bioturbation and intrusive ecofacts are major concerns for the analysis of archaeological sites in wetland environments. Post-sedimentary influence of beavers (Castor fiber) is described for a well...

Cette contribution est consacrée à une trentaine de galets peints du Mas d’Azil qui ont été dénichés récemment dans le Staatliches Museum für Archäologie à Chemnitz (Allemagne). L’étude retrace l’historique muséographique de ces pièces et rappelle qu’elles ont été directement offertes, en 1899, par le fouilleur Édouard Piette à la collection royale préhistorique du musée de Dresde. L’identification de la provenance rend peu probable le fait qu’il s’agisse de contrefaçons et offre un complément important à l’inventaire de ces pièces emblématiques de la préhistoire française. This contribution presents about 30 painted pebbles from Le Mas d’Azil which have been recently detected in the Staatliches Museum für Archäologie à Chemnitz (Germany). This study retraces the history of these pieces since their discovery at the site and demonstrates that they have been directly donated, in 1899, by the excavator Édouard Piette to the royal collection of prehistory at Dresden. The identification of their origin makes it unlikely that they represent forgeries and offer an important addendum to the existing inventory of these emblematic pieces of French prehistory.

Äolische Sedimente (sandiger Löss, Flugsand) wurden durch pedologische und geochronologische Methoden (OSL) mit dem Ziel untersucht, hieraus Aussagen zur stratigraphischen Abfolge und zum Ablagerungsalter zu gewinnen und diese Ergebnisse auf die Ergebnisse der archäologischen Ausgrabung zu beziehen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Ablagerung des Lösses im Spätglazial auf einer älteren Lage von Windkantern erfolgte und dieser am Ende des Pleistozäns von äolischem Sand überdeckt wurde. Untersuchungen der fundführenden Schichten ergaben eine mittelholozäne Datierung (6.9 ka), die mit einer lokalen Störung durch äolische Sedimentumlagerungen in Folge anthropogener Landschaftsveränderungen während des Neolithikums erklärt werden. Diese Untersuchungsergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund vergleichbarer äolischer Stratigraphien und Fundplätz im Rhein-Main-Gebiet diskutiert.

This contribution presents about 30 painted pebbles from Le Mas d’Azil which have been recently detected in the Staatliches Museum fur Archaologie a Chemnitz (Germany). This study retraces the history of these pieces since their discovery at the site and demonstrates that they have been directly donated, in 1899, by the excavator Edouard Piette to the royal collection of prehistory at Dresden. The identification of their origin makes it unlikely that they represent forgeries and offer an important addendum to the existing inventory of these emblematic pieces of French prehistory.

Historic mining activities are assumed to rank among the most significant human activities that reshaped the landscape of the European uplands, especially since the medieval period. Mining requires both the extraction of timber for mining construction as well as the production of charcoal for ore smelting. Analysing the occurrence of different wood taxa in construction or charcoal assemblages may help to shed light on the question of whether different taxa had been chosen for different purposes depending on their local availability, specific cost–benefit considerations or their physical properties. Here, we present the results of taxonomical and dendrochronological analyses performed on timber and macro-remains from an outstandingly well-preserved medieval underground mining complex in the Erzgebirge region (Ore Mountains, Eastern Germany). The complementary use of wood for charcoal production was reconstructed by anthracological and chronological analyses of medieval to modern charcoal kilns preserved in the same area. Dated colluvial layers served as additional indicators for phases of local soil erosion following forest clearances. The onset of mining activities in the late 12th century was contemporary with the start of charcoal production and soil erosion. While Abies alba was prevalent among the timbers from the main construction phase around AD 1270/1280, Fagus sylvatica was the most frequently occurring wood in the oldest charcoal kilns from the mid-13th century. The latter declined during the 13th century in favour of taxa like Betula , Corylus and Acer . Supported by the evidence of massive soil erosion, this may reflect changes in forest composition induced by highly intensive use or shifts of the areas used for wood exploitation. Whereas mining ceased in the area shortly after AD 1291, charcoal production continued during the 14th and 15th century and the rising proportion of Abies alba is discussed to be related to a lessened local demand of this species for timber. The rising share of Picea during the younger phases probably resulted from changes in selective forest exploitation rather than mirroring vegetation changes. After a hiatus, a last phase of charcoal production is identified to have occurred during the mid-16th century, again with a high share of Fagus sylvatica as fuel wood.

As recent studies have provided the first proof of the secondary use of fossil ivory in Northern Germany during the Late Palaeolithic (Gramsch et al. J Archaeol Sci 40:2458–2463, 2013), a number of compact biological fragments excavated from a Mesolithic site were studied to identify the material and the species from which they derived, with a special focus on possibly identifying ivory. Detailed analysis of the sample surfaces by optical microscopy and SEM showed alteration due to weathering and thereby made detailed morphological studies without further preparation difficult. Subsequent chemical analyses were based on the most common method, Raman spectroscopy, and the measurement of the δ13C value; they did not contradict the hypothesis of ivory as the raw material. However, the results were not able to provide a positive identification of the material; hence, histological studies were performed using thin sections and micro-X-ray tomography. The result clearly provided evidence that the fragments were derived from cortical bone and not from ivory. By presenting our experiences and difficulties in the interpretation of the results, we hope to provide help for archaeological researchers in choosing the most suitable methods in comparable future studies.

This paper presents the dynamics of sedimentation processes and soil development of a steeply sloping 0-order catchment in the sandy Lower Bunter of the south-western mid-range mountains in the Palatinate Forest (Germany) during the transition period from the Late Glacial to the Early Holocene. Field investigations, chemical, physical, micromorphological and anthracological analyses revealed a complex palaeosol-sediment sequence along the thalweg of a dry valley, where a significant amount of the sediment from the adjacent slopes had been captured. The deposition of aeolian sands in the lowermost sediment layer took place in the early Late Glacial. The subsequent sediments were deposited by slope-wash and aeolian processes. It contains a higher amount of silt and dates from the Allerod. The occurrence of Laacher See Tephra (LST) indicates that this sediment has been near the surface around 12,900 cal. BP. It also shows characteristics of palaeosols similar to the Usselo/Finow soils in north-eastern Germany. In the overlying material, the amount of root remnants, other organic matter and rounded bone fragments possibly indicates the presence of people in this area. On top, alternating reddish brown, coarse to fine sand and small, partly rounded stones with some small intercalated aggregations of humic material rich in charcoal dating to between 11,000 and 12,000 cal. BP were deposited. The layers are overlain by clearly visible and evenly distributed wavy clay-illuviation bands typical for a Luvisol. In the upper metre, a Cambisol has developed. The sediment structure shows typical features of a flash-flood event in the Preboreal. The stratigraphy suggests that phases of sedimentation caused by water and aeolian erosion took place in the Allerod, Younger Dryas, and Preboreal. Discussion considers climate driven natural processes as well as the possibility that the manipulation of forest vegetation by fire through sedentary Mesolithic hunter–gatherer groups created open areas and enabled intensive soil erosion at a local scale.

Traditionally Mesolithic hunter–gatherer cultures are supposed to have lived in a primeval forest environment with a closed vegetation cover during the Early and Mid-Holocene. It is not until the onset of subsequent Neolithic agricultural societies that the development of more expansive open areas is assumed. Therefore our perception of the Mesolithic economy in the European lowlands is highly affected by the idaea of adaptation to dense forest environments and a very stable system of resource exploitation. However, recent palaeoenvironmental studies provide evidence that areas of open landscapes must have existed at least temporarily during the Mesolithic and evoke the question whether human impact may be accountable for this. Re-activation of Late Glacial inland dunes may serve as an indicator for vegetation clearances. Using both optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and 14 C-dates from five inland dune sites with traces of Mesolithic activity in the Elbe–Jeetzel-area (N-Germany) we prove that asynchronous events of aeolian sedimentation persisted during the Mesolithic, especially during the older Mesolithic around 9000 a and the late Mesolithic from 7000 a and 6000 a. There is no evidence that Holocene climatic deteriorations like the 8.2 ka event had an effect on the intensity of aeolian sedimentation. We conclude that either natural factors or Mesolithic human impact or most likely a combination of both must have been a major driving force for the creation of open areas and thus ongoing aeolian activity while supra-regional climatic causes seem less probable. A prominent younger phase of human induced aeolian activity was identified during the Late Neolithic.

Mechanisms of climatic control on river system development are still only partially known. Palaeohydrological investigations from river valleys often lack a precise chronological control of climatic processes and fluvial dynamics, which is why their specific forces remain unclear. In this multidisciplinary case study from the middle Elbe river valley (northern Germany) multiple dating of sites (palynostratigraphy, radiocarbon- and OSL-dating) and high-resolution analyses of environmental and climatological proxies (pollen, plant macro-remains and ostracods) reveal a continuous record of the environmental and fluvial history from the Lateglacial to the early Holocene. Biostratigraphical correlation to northwest European key sites shows that river system development was partially out of phase with the main climatic shifts. The transition from a braided to an incised channel system predated the main phase of Lateglacial warming (∼14.6 ka BP), and the meandering river did not change its drainage pattern during the cooling of the Younger-Dryas period. Environmental reconstructions suggest that river dynamics were largely affected by vegetation cover, as a vegetation cover consisting of herbs, dwarf-shrubs and a few larger shrubs seems to have developed before the onset of the main Lateglacial warming, and pine forests appear to have persisted in the river valley during the Younger Dryas. In addition, two phases of high fluvial activity and new channel incision during the middle part of the Younger Dryas and during the Boreal were correlated with changes from dry towards wet climatic conditions, as indicated by evident lake level rises. Lateglacial human occupation in the river valley, which is shown by numerous Palaeolithic sites, forming one of the largest settlement areas of that period known in the European Plain, is assigned to the specific fluvial and environmental conditions of the early Allerod.

Changing river courses and fluctuations of the water table were some of the most fundamental environmental changes that humans faced during the Late Glacial, particularly as these changes affected areas intensively used for settlement and resource exploitation. Unfortunately, only a few stratigraphies have been documented in the North European plain that show the interaction between river development, vegetation history, and occupation by Late Palaeolithic humans. Here, we present the results of detailed stratigraphical studies (pedology, archaeology, chrono-, tephra-, and palynostratigraphy) at the Federmesser site Grabow 15 located in the broad Elbe River valley. The research aimed to produce a model of site formation based on a multiproxy approach, relating the local evidence to the palaeoenvironmental and settlement history of the wider region. After deposition of fluvial sands during the Late Pleniglacial in a braided setting, the river course developed locally toward a meandering system at the transition from the Older Dryas to the Allerod, while periodic flooding led to the deposition of floodplain sediments during the early Allerod. The floodplain was settled by people of the earliest “Federmessergruppen,” who are believed to have chosen this open floodplain area along the river for collecting and processing amber of local origin. Their artifacts became embedded in the aggrading floodplain sediments. In the late Allerod, floodplain sedimentation ceased and a Fluvisol-type soil developed, indicating a trend toward geomorphic stability. The Fluvisol was then covered by silty floodplain sediments due to a rising water level during the late Younger Dryas resulting in the cessation of human occupation in the area. Subsequent organic-rich Late Glacial/Holocene sediments preserved the settlement remains to the present.

Aeolian sands are widespread in the European sand-belt. While there is a consensus about the timing of increased aeolian activity and, in contrast, of surface stabilization during the Lateglacial, knowledge about Holocene aeolian dynamics is still very sparse. It is generally assumed that aeolian processes have been closely connected to human activities since at least the Neolithic period. A compilation of 189 luminescence dates from aeolian sands of Holocene age and 301 14C-dates from palaeo-surfaces, comprising palaeosols, buried peats and archaeological features from the whole sand-belt, is plotted as histograms and kernel density plots and divided into sub-phases by cluster analysis. This is also done separately for the dates from the areas west and east of the river Elbe. Our results show that aeolian activity did not cease with the end of the Younger Dryas but continued in the whole European sand-belt until the Mid-Atlantic (c. 6500 a BP), presenting evidence of vegetation-free areas at least at the local scale. During the subsequent time period evidence of aeolian sedimentation is sparse, and surface stabilization is indicated by a cluster of palaeo-surfaces ascribed to the early Subboreal (c. 5000 cal. a BP). The agglomeration of luminescence ages around 4000 years is probably connected with intensified land use during the Late Neolithic. Younger phases of aeolian sedimentation are indicated by clusters of luminescence ages around 1800 years, a group of luminescence ages from the Netherlands and NW Germany around 900 years, and a group of ages around 680 years in Germany. Among the dates from palaeo-surfaces, clusters were identified around 2700, 1300 and 900 cal. a BP as well as around 690 cal. a BP in the western part and 610 cal. a BP in the eastern part of the sand-belt. The clusters within the luminescence ages and the 14C-dates coincide with phases where increased human impact can be deduced from archaeological and historical sources as well as from environmental history.

While archaeological records indicate an intensive Mesolithic occupation of dune areas situated along river valleys, relatively little knowledge exists about environmental interactions in the form of land-use strategies and their possible local impacts. The combination of geoarchaeological, chronological, geochemical and palaeoecological research methods and their application both on a Mesoltihic site situated on top of a dune and the adjacent palaeochannel sediments allows for a detailed reconstruction of the local environmental development around the Soven site in the Jeetzel valley (Northern Germany) since ~10.5 ka cal BP. Based on the results, we identified four phases that may be related to local human impact twice during the Mesolithic, the Neolithic and the Iron Ages and are discussed on the backdrop of the regional settlement history. Although nearby Mesolithic occupation is evident on archaeological grounds, the identification of synchronous impacts on the vegetation in the local environmental records remains tentative even in respect of the broad methodical spectrum applied. Vice versa, human impact is strongly indicated by palaeoecological and geochemical proxies during the Neolithic period, but cannot be connected to archaeological records in the area so far. A younger phase of human impact – probably consisting of seasonal livestock farming in the wetlands – is ascribed to the Iron Age economy and comprises local soil erosion, raised concentrations of phosphates and urease, and the facilitation of grazing related taxa., research