“Anthropogenic” Pollen Assemblages from a Bronze Age Cemetery at Linga Fiold, West Mainland, Orkney

Bunting, M. Jane; Tipping, Richard; Downes, Jane

doi:10.1006/jasc.2000.0607

Cited by 30 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Sometimes, distinctive pollen assemblages witness floral depositions and rituals, and mixed pollen spectra could reveal subsequent input of terrigenous material in burials e.g., [79]. According to [80], these contexts are particularly hard to interpret since samples can include pollen and plant remains from different sources (floor context, objects lain on the floor, stomachs, hairs, etc.). As contamination may have occurred in several times, biases can be faced by a multidisciplinary approach.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside the “African Cattle Complex”: Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara

et al. 2013

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Cattle pastoralism is an important trait of African cultures. Ethnographic studies describe the central role played by domestic cattle within many societies, highlighting its social and ideological value well beyond its mere function as ‘walking larder’. Historical depth of this African legacy has been repeatedly assessed in an archaeological perspective, mostly emphasizing a continental vision. Nevertheless, in-depth site-specific studies, with a few exceptions, are lacking. Despite the long tradition of a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of pastoral systems in Africa, rarely do early and middle Holocene archaeological contexts feature in the same area the combination of settlement, ceremonial and rock art features so as to be multi-dimensionally explored: the Messak plateau in the Libyan central Sahara represents an outstanding exception. Known for its rich Pleistocene occupation and abundant Holocene rock art, the region, through our research, has also shown to preserve the material evidence of a complex ritual dated to the Middle Pastoral (6080–5120 BP or 5200–3800 BC). This was centred on the frequent deposition in stone monuments of disarticulated animal remains, mostly cattle. Animal burials are known also from other African contexts, but regional extent of the phenomenon, state of preservation of monuments, and associated rock art make the Messak case unique. GIS analysis, excavation data, radiocarbon dating, zooarchaeological and isotopic (Sr, C, O) analyses of animal remains, and botanical information are used to explore this highly formalized ritual and the lifeways of a pastoral community in the Holocene Sahara.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside the “African Cattle Complex”: Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara

et al. 2013

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“…middens, house floors, etc. ; Golding et al 2011) through to palaeosols (Whittington & Edwards 1999;Bunting et al 2001) -soils that have become buried either through human or geomorphological processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taphonomy or signal sensitivity in palaeoecological investigations ofNorselandnáminVatnahverfi, southernGreenland?

Ledger

Edwards

Schofield

2014

Boreas

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Anthrosols (cf. plaggen soils) are commonly found across the homefields of Norse farms, yet the extent to which these taphonomically complex and heterogeneous deposits provide reliable archives of environmental change and vegetation history has rarely been investigated. This paper compares the palynological signature contained within an anthrosol located beside Norse farm ruins in the Eastern Settlement of Greenland, with that from a mire situated ∼400 m from the nearest archaeological remains. The investigation covers a period of ∼1000 years leading into, through, and beyond the Greenlandic landnám of AD 985. The results demonstrate that, as anticipated, the anthrosol contains a strong signal for human impact associated with settlement and occupation, although changes in both pollen percentages and accumulation rates (influx) through the profile appear smooth, not erratic, and radiocarbon dates are conformable. Thus the palynological signature contained in the anthrosol is broadly comparable to the patterns characteristic of stratified natural contexts (e.g. mires) with small pollen source areas that are located in close proximity to former Norse structures. Nevertheless, it is also demonstrated that secondary microfossils are a major component of the pollen assemblages within the anthrosol, and pollen influx is notably an order of magnitude higher when compared against the peat core taken from the mire. It is suggested that this may result from the addition of pollen contained in animal dung, augmenting that accumulating through the natural accretion of pollen derived from the surrounding vegetation and landing on the surface of the anthrosol. Although this complicates any palynological interpretation, by adopting a cautious approach we argue that anthrosols can be used to extract useful information about vegetation history at a local scale, as well as providing indirect evidence of landscape impacts and resource use around farmsteads.

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“…The second is rejected, again because the dominant walling material (Quercus (oak)) is not common in the pollen assemblages, and because there are no anomalous or unusual pollen 'signatures' of distinctive uses (cf. Bunting and Tipping, 2001). The assemblages are regarded as reflecting the pollen of plants growing around the 'hall' when it was used and immediately after its destruction by fire.…”

Section: Ecological and Economic Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling land use around an early Neolithic timber ‘hall’ in north east Scotland from high spatial resolution pollen analyses

Tipping

Bunting

Davies

et al. 2009

Journal of Archaeological Science

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“Anthropogenic” Pollen Assemblages from a Bronze Age Cemetery at Linga Fiold, West Mainland, Orkney

Cited by 30 publications

References 23 publications

Inside the “African Cattle Complex”: Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara

Inside the “African Cattle Complex”: Animal Burials in the Holocene Central Sahara

Taphonomy or signal sensitivity in palaeoecological investigations ofNorselandnáminVatnahverfi, southernGreenland?

Modelling land use around an early Neolithic timber ‘hall’ in north east Scotland from high spatial resolution pollen analyses

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