How many, how far? Quantitative models of Neolithic land use for six wetland sites on the northern Alpine forelands between 4300 and 3700 bc

Baum, Tilman; Mainberger, Martin; Taylor, Timothy; Tinner, Willy; Hafner, Albert; Ebersbach, Renate

doi:10.1007/s00334-019-00768-9

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Each of the phases of human occupation were highly concentrated, represented by sequences of approximately 10 years separated by brief interruptions of activity, never more than a decade. Similar temporal dynamics have been observed at other wetland settlements (e.g., [ 75 , 76 ]), possibly linked to woodland over-exploitation ([ 77 ]) or other events such as short-term periods of flooding, and specialised or seasonal activities. These short lived settlements interspersed by periods of inactivity must be contextualised within the reality of the different occupations towards the end of the 4 th millennium cal BC of the northernmost shore of Lake Zug marked by abundant wetland settlements (see Fig 2 ), many presumably ‘synchronous’ ([ 37 ], 261).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Archaeobotanical and isotopic analyses of waterlogged remains from the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Switzerland): Resilience strategies of a plant economy in a changing local environment

Steiner

Martínez-Grau²,

Bernasconi³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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The excellent preservation of the waterlogged botanical remains of the multiphase Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Central Switzerland) yielded an ideal dataset to delve into the issue of plant economy of a community spanning several decades. The study identified a major change in crops where oil plants played a key role in the site’s initial phase before being supplanted over the course of a few decades by naked wheat, barley and pea. Wild plants continued to be gathered albeit in different proportions. In the latest settlement phase, the changes in the local vegetation and in the values of the analyses of carbon stable isotopes suggest a less humid environment. The hypothesis is that the changes perceived in the plant economy represent a resilience strategy adopted by the inhabitants in reaction to short term local climatic alterations. The two types of soil sampling techniques (monolith and bulk) allowed comparing these results. While the density of plant remains appears to be underestimated among the samples collected by the monolith technique, the proportions of economic taxa remain unaffected. The findings thus reveal that when the bulk samplings are distributed carefully throughout multiphase sites and avoid mixing stratigraphical units, and if the samplings are representative of all archaeological features from a whole area, then each of the two techniques offer analogous results.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Archaeobotanical and isotopic analyses of waterlogged remains from the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Switzerland): Resilience strategies of a plant economy in a changing local environment

Steiner

Martínez-Grau²,

Bernasconi³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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“…Specifically, on small-scales, signs of overcrowding may be identified from building and land-use patterns. Previous work has demonstrated that land use requirements of Neolithic farmers can vary greatly depending on the cultivation system in use (Baum et al 2020;Bogaard 2004;Cockburn et al 2013). Detecting rapid changes in land-use strategies, specifically the intensification of agriculture, could indicate potential resource stress as a consequence of conflict-related migration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape of Fear: Indirect effects of conflict can account for large-scale population declines in non-state societies

Kondor¹,

Bennett²,

Gronenborn³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The impact of inter-group conflict (warfare) on large-scale population declines has long been debated, especially for prehistoric or non-state societies. In this work, we consider that beyond direct battle casualties, which are typically limited, conflicts can also create a “landscape of fear” in which many non-combatants near theaters of conflict abandon their homes and migrate away. This migration has two impacts: It causes population decline in the abandoned regions and increased population density in better protected areas that are targeted by refugees. This higher density, in turn, can place additional stress on local supplies, potentially leading to reduced fertility and increased mortality due to malnutrition and disease. Using both an analytic and agent-based model we investigate the impact of these interactions on population dynamics of small-scale societies. We demonstrate that these indirect effects of conflict are sufficient, even in the absence of combatant casualties, to produce substantial, long-term population boom-and-bust patterns. In particular, our agent-based model is able to account for the large-scale spatial and temporal boom-and-bust patterns observed in radiocarbon data from mid-Holocene Europe. We also demonstrate that greater availability of defensible locations, by acting to protect and maintain the supply of combatants, increases the permanence of the landscape of fear and likelihood of endemic warfare.

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Vegetation dynamics and land-use change at the Neolithic lakeshore settlement site of Ploča Mičov Grad, Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia

Brechbühl,

van Vugt,

Gobet

et al. 2023

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Detailed knowledge about the interactions between vegetation, climate and land use during the Mesolithic and Neolithic, at the transition from foraging to farming, is still scarce in the Balkans. Here we present a palaeoecological study combining pollen, spores and charcoal found in sedimentary cores from Lake Ohrid, Ploča Mičov Grad, North Macedonia, with a particular focus on the vegetation dynamics during the Late Glacial-Holocene and the Mesolithic-Neolithic transitions. Our record begins at ca. 13,500 cal bp (11,550 cal bc) when partially open vegetation, consisting mainly of Pinus, Abies and deciduous Quercus tree stands grew on the hilly flanks of the bay of Ploča. From 12,650 cal bp (cal 10,700 bc), herbs dominated the record until the onset of the Holocene (ca. 11,700 cal bp; 9750 cal bc), when increasing temperatures led to the establishment of pine-deciduous oak forests including Alnus, Fraxinus ornus, Tilia, Ulmus and Abies. These forests persisted until 7,500 cal bp (cal 5550 bc), when deforestation started due to Neolithic land use. This first phase of Neolithic activities in the Ploča Mičov Grad area precedes the earliest archaeological structures so far recorded by almost 1,000 years. Our data suggest two phases of human land use between 7,500 and 6,300 cal bp (5550–4350 cal bc), when high values of Cerealia type pollen and other cultural indicators indicate intense arable and pastoral farming activities. Once human activities decreased, forests were able to re-establish quickly (within 100–250 years), although the composition changed with disturbance-adapted Ostrya type (mostly Ostrya carpinifolia) and Fagus becoming more important. We conclude that forests were resilient to early human disturbance, despite intensive land use and logging activities gradually leading to forest composition changes. Many of these composition changes can still be seen today, suggesting the legacy of Neolithic farmers is still present in today’s landscape.

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How many, how far? Quantitative models of Neolithic land use for six wetland sites on the northern Alpine forelands between 4300 and 3700 bc

Cited by 8 publications

References 60 publications

Archaeobotanical and isotopic analyses of waterlogged remains from the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Switzerland): Resilience strategies of a plant economy in a changing local environment

Archaeobotanical and isotopic analyses of waterlogged remains from the Neolithic pile-dwelling site of Zug-Riedmatt (Switzerland): Resilience strategies of a plant economy in a changing local environment

Landscape of Fear: Indirect effects of conflict can account for large-scale population declines in non-state societies

Vegetation dynamics and land-use change at the Neolithic lakeshore settlement site of Ploča Mičov Grad, Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia

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