Pollen analysis of sediments from three lakes and analysis of plant macroremains including charcoal from archaeological sites in the Mazurian Lake District provide new data for the reconstruction of vegetation changes related to human activity between the 1st and 13th century AD. At that time settlements of the Bogaczewo culture (from the turn of the 1st century AD to the first part of the 5th century AD), the Olsztyn Group (second part of the 5th century AD to the 7th or beginning of the 8th century AD), and the Prussian Galinditae tribes (8th/9th-13th century AD) developed. The most intensive woodland clearing occurred between the 1st and 6th/7th century AD. Presence of Cerealia-type, Secale cereale and Cannabis-type pollen, as well as macroremains of Hordeum vulgare, S. cereale, Triticum spelta, T. cf. monococcum, T. cf. dicoccum, Avena sp. and Panicum miliaceum documented local agriculture. High Betula representation synchronous with microcharcoal occurrence suggests shifting agriculture. After forest regeneration between c. AD 650 and 1100, the area was strongly deforested due to the early medieval occupation by Prussian tribes. The archaeobotanical examination of samples taken in a cemetery and a large settlement of the Roman Iron Age revealed strong differences in the taxonomic composition of the fossil plant remains. An absolute dominance of birch charcoal in the samples from the cemetery indicates its selective use for funeral pyre construction. There is a difference between cereals found in both contexts: numerous grains of Triticum have been found in the cemetery, while in the settlement crops were represented mostly by Secale and Hordeum. Grass tubers, belonging probably to Phleum pratense, are among the particularly interesting plant remains found in the cemetery.
The Ner River valley (central Poland) underwent substantial transformation during the Weichselian–Holocene transition as a result of fluvial processes and climate changes, resulting in the establishment of its present shape in the Holocene. A multiproxy study based on organic deposits from a palaeochannel fill (Lutomiersk–Koziówki) shows that after the channel was cut off during the late glacial termination, it became a shallow oxbow, fed by local springs. In the Boreal period, the oxbow lake was also fed by precipitation and became a telmatic environment overgrown by rush and swamp vegetation. Finally, it was covered by overbank deposits. The first flooding phase (9900–9600 cal. BP) was followed by the accumulation of overbank sediments (after 9500 cal. BP) and flooding increased after ca. 9300–9000 cal. BP. Pollen data provide information on the regional vegetation context for local and regional changes. In the Atlantic period, an increase in both summer and winter temperatures is inferred from the pollen data, corresponding to an expansion of thermophilous deciduous forests. While in general, flooding phases of the Early Holocene are poorly recognised in Eastern Europe, the Lutomiersk–Koziówki site may be considered as one of the reference points for this phenomenon in the region.
The study examined plant remains from the Smólsk 2/10 site, situated on the border of two different landscapes and preserving traces of Neolithic occupation from several cultures: Early Linear Pottery culture (LBK, ca 5300-5200 cal. BC to ca 5000 cal. BC). Stroke Band Pottery culture (SBP, ca 4700-4400 cal. BC), the Brześć Kujawski group of Lengyel culture (BKG, ca 4500-4000/3900 cal. BC), Funnel Beaker culture (TRB, ca 3950-3380 BC), and also some features of the Lusatian culture (Hallstatt C, ca 970-790 cal. BC).Mostly hulled wheat remains (Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum) were found in the LBK, SBP, and BKG cultures; they were completely absent in younger cultures (TRB, Lusatian), where barley remains appeared. Among other plants the most numerous were remains of small-grain grasses (mostly cf. Hierochloë type), feather grass (Stipa sp.), wild buckwheat (Fallopia convolvulus), and goosefoot (Chenopodium album type), but the plant remains are relatively scarce.The archaeobotanical data obtained from the site supplement data from neighbouring Osłonki to the west and Wolica Nowa to the north-west. The differences between those microregions are reflected mostly in the earlier appearance of feather grass (Stipa sp.) in the Smólsk area as well as the higher quantity of crop chaff remains in the Osłonki area, but their random occurrence, along with the fragmentariness of the archaeological data, must be taken into account. However, intentional introduction of feather grass by the first Neolithic settlers in eastern Kuyavia cannot be excluded. The relatively high proportion of small-grain grasses, usually interpreted as traces of fodder, together with the scarcity of crop remains at the Wolica Nowa site, suggests that the site was connected more with animal husbandry than with agriculture. On the other hand, the small-grain grasses at Smólsk are represented mainly by a large number of non-weedy grass (cf. Hierochloë type) grains from the crop sample, which cannot be explained in a simple way.A comparison of the anthracological data from the Osłonki and Smólsk microregions reveals differences in woodland management and differences between the local environments. Pine wood was more accessible at Smólsk than at Osłonki, due to local landscape characteristics.
This article presents the results of the wood identification of 3,867 everyday objects dated from the 9th to the 15th century ad, which were excavated from 48 medieval strongholds and early urban centres in Poland. The analyses have shown that medieval craftsmen used the wood of 27 tree and shrub taxa. The timber used the most was Pinus sylvestris (pine), Quercus sp. (oak), Fraxinus excelsior (ash) and Alnus sp. (alder). Pine was used mainly to make vessels out of staves (curved pieces of wood) such as buckets and tubs, and for torches for lighting; oak was used for furniture, barrels, cart axles, spades and club hammers used by carpenters. Ash wood was the main material used for making turned bowls, and alder for making articles which were to be in long-lasting contact with water, such as beaters and scoops. Wood studies agree with historical records about the intensive use of yew wood, which finally caused the decrease of Taxus baccata in woodlands in the 14th and 15th centuries. Also, the wood of shrubs such as Euonymus sp. (spindle) and Sambucus sp. (elder) was quite often used. The choice of wood for the specific needs of a particular craft in medieval Poland was done selectively and it was determined by the particular function of the object being made, but at the same time it was limited by availability from the local woodlands. Regional differentiation in the selection of raw material is best indicated in the case of Abies alba (fir). Chronological analysis of the use of wood shows that the number of items made of timber from deciduous trees in all regions of Poland decreased in the late Middle Ages when compared to the Piast period of the early Middle Ages.
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