The Körös Basin from the Neolithic to the Hapsburgs: Linking settlement distributions with pre‐regulation hydrology through multiple data set overlay

Gyucha, Attila; Duffy, Paul R.; Frolking, Tod A.

doi:10.1002/gea.20350

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 35 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…This has important ramifications for settlement systems, as people decide which possibilities they prefer and then alter the patterning of settlement and economy accordingly. However, palaeochannel reconstructions from elsewhere in the Körös area suggest that the Körös channels may not have responded to the relatively small Holocene events in a manner comparable to more dynamic rivers in Poland and elsewhere in Europe, and therefore may not contain an equally remarkable sedimentary record of hydrologic episodes [13]. Rather, changes in groundwater and surface water levels likely had a greater effect.…”

Section: Environmental and Hydrological Effects On Prehistoric Settlementioning

confidence: 96%

“…Like most Neolithic settlements in the region, the sites are located on fossil river banks along cut-off water channels [5,13]. In this case, analysis of historic maps and aerial imagery indicates that the sites were located near a prehistoric ox-bow lake that formed from a channel of the Ice Age Körös River that was cut-off when the river changed its course during the Pleistocene.…”

Section: Palaeohydrologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the Pleistocene the rivers meandered extensively, creating numerous oxbow lakes, meanders, backswamps and palaeochannels, as well as elevated riverbanks and lag surfaces of alluvially redeposited loess [13,22,25,26]. This process of natural levee formation enclosed small, undrained or slowly draining depressions that may have seasonally re-filled, and the mosaic of streams, backswamps, ponds, loess ridges and islands, and annually inundated fields remained largely the same throughout later prehistory [4,13].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This process of natural levee formation enclosed small, undrained or slowly draining depressions that may have seasonally re-filled, and the mosaic of streams, backswamps, ponds, loess ridges and islands, and annually inundated fields remained largely the same throughout later prehistory [4,13].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies in western Romania [11,12], although not conducted in conjunction with archaeological research, provide useful regional comparative data. In addition, the old Sebes-Körös channel was hand-cored to produce geomorphological profiles of the palaeochannel and floodplain near the Vésztő-Mágor settlement mound [13], and a fluvial section was analyzed at an open clay mine near Körösladány [14], approximately 27 and 16 km east of our study area, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preliminary environmental historical results to reconstruct prehistoric human-environmental interactions in Eastern Hungary

2013

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Palaeoenvironmental research is playing an important role in recent archaeological investigations. We present preliminary results of geoarchaeological analyses conducted at a palaeochannel located between two prehistoric archaeological sites in eastern Hungary. The study area lies within the Körös River Basin in Békés County, a region of intensive human occupation beginning in the Neolithic, ca. 7550 BP, and represents only the second palynological analysis done in conjunction with archaeological investigations and adjacent to an archaeological site in the Körös region. Pollen from an environmental monolith was used to reconstruct the local vegetation composition and the human impact on arboreal and non-arboreal vegetation near the archaeological sites. Sediment analyses helped to reconstruct hydrological activity and human impact on the local palaeochannel. Results indicate that activity from the Neolithic onwards played an important role in local environmental change, including increasing sedimentation and deposition of organic matter in the local waterway, some forest clearance and a shift from primarily arboreal vegetation to more grasses on elevated surfaces. The trophic status of the local channel changed several times during the Holocene. In addition, indications that groundwater levels may have been fluctuating during the period of human occupation, when combined with the other changes in the area, provide a possible partial explanation for changing settlement patterns.

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Section: Environmental and Hydrological Effects On Prehistoric Settlementioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Palaeohydrologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preliminary environmental historical results to reconstruct prehistoric human-environmental interactions in Eastern Hungary

2013

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Reconstructing a prehistoric topography using legacy point data in a depositional environment

Vermeer

Finke

Zwertvaegher

et al. 2013

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Reconstruction of past topography is an essential step towards the understanding of past landscapes in terms of biophysical patterns and processes and man–landscape interactions by archaeologists, geomorphologists, geologists and soil scientists. Landscape reconstructions can be based on process knowledge, on data, or on a combination of both. In this case study we focus on a data‐based approach, where knowledge on the geological history is used to interpret and exploit legacy data. As part of a landscape reconstruction of a large area of 584 km2 a map of the elevation near 10 000 BC was produced. Starting from a present‐day grid digital elevation model (GDEM) that was filtered for human influences, we identified the thickness of accumulated sediments over the Holocene, mapped these and corrected the GDEM. To map the thickness of Holocene sediments we used 72 (OSL and 14C) dated sediment samples, 731 recent profile descriptions and 3288 legacy profile descriptions. Protocols were formulated based on literature and local correlative studies to convert the legacy profile descriptions into estimates of the thickness of Holocene sediments, with an estimate of the precision. The method of Kriging with uncertain data was applied to obtain a map. Validation at 200 independent test locations with certain data showed a mean error of –6 cm and a standard deviation or error of 16 cm, which was in accordance with the estimated precision of 16 cm. The resulting map indicated zones with marked change that could be studied in more detail. Future reconstructions could employ both process knowledge and data by combining landscape genesis models with legacy data to map model errors and thus increase the quality of the reconstruction. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Evidence for Holocene Aeolian Activity at the Close of the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Carpathian Basin: Geoarchaeological Results from the Mureş River Valley, Romania

et al. 2013

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While extensive Pleistocene loess deposits have been identified across Eurasia, Holocene age loess (typically nonglaciogenic) is rarely recognized. We explore possible loess deposits in the Mureş River Valley of western Romania, providing a regional signal of increased aridity during the mid‐late Holocene. This proposed aridity may be responsible for the abandonment of Middle Bronze Age tell settlements along the major drainages of the eastern Carpathian Basin (Pannonian plain). This hypothesis centers on a proposed aeolian deposit (the “Pecica deposit”), a ca. 50–80 cm thick, relatively homogeneous, gray layer blanketing the top of the Bronze Age tell of Pecica—Şanţul Mare. Comparing the morphological, geochemical, and physical characteristics of this specific tell deposit with two representative profiles near the site containing glaciogenic calcareous loess and potential Holocene loess deposits developed in Chernozems, we find significant similarities to support this hypothesis. We then review various forms of proxy data published from elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe suggesting a warming trend during this period. The temporal placement of the Pecica deposit is bracketed using diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon dates, and the degree of soil development, suggesting a period of increased aridity likely occurring soon after the 17th century B.C.

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The Körös Basin from the Neolithic to the Hapsburgs: Linking settlement distributions with pre‐regulation hydrology through multiple data set overlay

Cited by 22 publications

References 35 publications

Preliminary environmental historical results to reconstruct prehistoric human-environmental interactions in Eastern Hungary

Preliminary environmental historical results to reconstruct prehistoric human-environmental interactions in Eastern Hungary

Reconstructing a prehistoric topography using legacy point data in a depositional environment

Evidence for Holocene Aeolian Activity at the Close of the Middle Bronze Age in the Eastern Carpathian Basin: Geoarchaeological Results from the Mureş River Valley, Romania

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