Archeologické výzkumy mapující neolitickou těžbu metabazitů na úpatí Jizerských hor probíhají od r. 2002. K obrovskému množství úštěpů kamenné suroviny a polotovarů vyráběných nástrojů nově přibyl z výplní těžebních jam soubor zuhelnatělého dřeva, který poskytl základní představu o složení stromového patra vegetace a zároveň umožnil konzistentní radiokarbonové datování. Také jsme testovali možnosti pylové analýzy, jejíž výsledky mají potenciál posloužit jako biostratigrafické datovací vodítko a mohly by umožnit rekonstrukci charakteru přírodního prostředí v průběhu těžby a v době těsně následující po jejím ukončení. Oba druhy analýz dovolují rekonstruovat dynamiku tvorby zánikových souvrství a ukazují, že neolitická těžba probíhala uprostřed převážně zalesněné krajiny. and Archaeological investigations mapping the Neolithic quarrying of metabasites at the foothills of the Jizerské Mts. has been conducted since 2002. The enormous amount of flakes of stone raw materials and semi-finished manufactured tools has been supplemented by an assemblage of wood charcoal from the fill of quarrying pits; this new assemblage has provided a basic impression of the composition of arboreal vegetation and has enabled consistent radiocarbon dating. In addition, we also tested the possibilities of pollen analysis, the results of which have the potential to serve as a biostratigraphic dating guideline, possibly enabling a reconstruction of the character of the natural environment at the time the quarrying was conducted and shortly thereafter. Both conducted analyses permit a reconstruction of the creation dynamic of defunct layers; in the case of the Neolithic period they also show that the quarrying was conducted in a primarily wooded landscape.
The Rejvíz bog is an extensive mire complex in Central Europe, with up to 7 m deep sediments and two natural lakes. Recent vegetation is one of the best preserved examples of Pinus uncinata subsp. uliginosa (syn. P. rotundata) bog woodland in Central Europe. The origin and development of the mire and changes in the surrounding landscape vegetation are reconstructed using sediment stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, pollen analysis and plant-macrofossils analysis, with particular emphasis on the processes that resulted in the origin of Rejvíz bog and on pine woodland dynamics. Based on identified species the water level changes were reconstructed. The sediment started to accumulate more than 9000 years ago at an open mixed-woodland spring with Dichodontium palustre. Later, poor fen vegetation with sedges and horsetails developed. Around 6170 cal. yr BC the fen became inundated for 2000 years and (semi)aquatic vegetation thrived. Next step in the succession followed a decline in water level which resulted in the development of drier oligothrophic vegetationwith a high representation of pine and dwarf shrubs. After ca 1020 cal. yr BC the mire became the bog it is now. Three wooded stages appeared in both the minerotrophic and ombrotrophic developmental phases: before 6720 cal. yr BC, during ca 1960–1020 cal. yr BC and recently. The vegetation in the surrounding landscape developed without marked human interventions up till ca the last six or five centuries, when deforestation and later settlement took place. Comparison with published data from the Góry Bystrzyckie/Orlické hory Mts suggests that not only regional, but also local vegetation changed in a similar way across the middle-altitude eastern Sudetes, following oscillations in climate rather than local changes in mire water regime.
Spatial variations in regional forest composition are analyzed for the period around 2 000 years before present in the territory of the Czech Republic. The results of pollen analyses at 16 different sites (original data and those published by other authors) form the basis of this study. The results are preliminary because of the small number of sites sampled. This article demonstrates the possibilities of the approach and is the first step to a wider application in the future. The conclusions indicate that pollen analysis is accurate enough in most cases for the reconstruction of past forest composition on a regional scale, and different deposits reflect spatial heterogeneity. Altitude, intensity of human impact, and soil type were the major factors affecting past distribution of forest trees. Oak and hornbeam woodlands, although widely affected by human activity, dominated the lowlands. Beech and silver fir were an important admixture in these communities. Although oak was present at higher altitudes, the occurrence of upland oak woodlands was limited more than indicated by recent geobotanical reconstructions. Instead, mixed forests existed at middle altitudes, often dominated by silver fir and beech. In less favourable habitats, spruce was common. Such upland forests extended high into the mountains, where because of the more severe climatic conditions beech and spruce started to dominate over silver fir.
Hradiště Vladař v západních Čechách dlouho unikalo soustředěné pozornosti archeologů. V posledních letech zde probíhá výzkum, jehož podstatným aspektem se stala účast přírodovědců různého zaměření. Důvodem jsou ideální podmínky pro podobnou mezioborovou spolupráci – kromě tradičních archeologických situací můžeme k paleoenvironmentálním analýzám využít výplň umělé vodní nádrže, která se nachází uprostřed hradištní akropole. Nádrž poskytla souvislý sedimentární záznam s množstvím dobře zachovaných biologických pozůstatků, přičemž nejstarší vrstvy vznikly na přelomu 5. a 4. stol. BC. V té době byl zkoumaný prostor téměř zcela odlesněn a intenzivně zemědělsky využíván. Na samém sklonku 3. stol. BC došlo k částečnému opuštění hradiště; doklady předchozího masivního osídlení mizí. Na přelomu letopočtu bylo hradiště opuštěno zcela a proběhla vegetační sukcese k zapojenému lesu. V 6. stol. n. l. nastoupila nová vlna kolonizace, která vyvrcholila později vznikem vrcholně středověké kulturní krajiny. Popsaný proces se podařilo podrobně zdokumentovat přírodovědnými metodami i s některými detailními vhledy do struktury a fungování pravěké krajiny. Datování se opírá výhradně o radiokarbonovou chronologii, doplněnou v některých obdobích o nálezy keramiky. and The large fortified hilltop site of Vladař (W Bohemia, Czech Republic, 50° 05’ N, 13° 13’ E) is being studied intensively during recent years by means of environmental archaeology. Palaeoecological methods play a crucial role in this effort; these include analyses of pollen, green algae, Cladocera and other microfossils, plant macroremains (including charcoal and wood) and chemical analyses. This investigation is enabled due to the existence of an artificial water reservoir situated in the middle of the large acropolis. A continuous sedimentary record in the form of well-preserved biological remains starts ca. 400 BC. Absolute dating is based on radiocarbon chronology and is complemented by archaeological finds in some instances. During the oldest documented period, the hillfort has been settled by a considerable number of permanent inhabitants. The site and the surrounding landscape has been almost completely deforested and used for diverse agricultural practices. The site has been partly abandoned by the end of the 3rd century BC. Total abandonment is dated around 0 BC/AD. Natural succesion started at that time, leading to the development of natural forest communities. During the 6th century AD, a new wave of colonization reached the region, culminating at the onset of the High Medieval period.
Pollen and macroscopic analyses of two Upper Holocene spring fen sites in the vicinity of the Turček village in the south-western foothills of the Kremnické vrchy Mts (central Slovakia) revealed new and unique information on the precultural and natural climazonal forests, and the origin and development of local meadow fen vegetation. Pollen-analytical data indicate the prevalence of natural spruce (Picea abies) and fir (Abies alba) forests in this region. The mixed beech forests depicted on the geobotanical map of Slovakia must have, therefore occupied much smaller areas than previously thought. After human colonization of the region during the 13th and 14th centuries natural forests were transformed mainly into grasslands and pastures, and to a lesser extent into arable fields. These changes were connected with gold and silver mining in the vicinity of the nearby town of Kremnica, with Turček one of the important areas producing timber for the mining industry. The development of these fen mires is also connected with deforestation and transformation of the landscape. They originated as forest springs but after human colonization of the area they were transformed into treeless fen meadows by the direct or indirect effect of man cutting of trees, grazing livestock and mowing.
Bílé Karpaty Mts harbour some of the most species-rich managed grasslands in Europe, which contain a number of rare and disjunctly distributed species. Besides specific local environmental factors, the long Holocene history may explain the uniqueness of these grasslands. However, historical interpretations of the palaeoecological evidence from the region are far from unequivocal. While palaeomalacological data indicate persistence of open habitats throughout the entire Holocene, fragmentary pollen data support the hypothesis of a medieval origin of the grasslands. This paper reviews the available phytogeographical, archaeological and palaeoecological knowledge that provides indirect evidence for a prehistoric origin of the grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts. High concentration of rare heliophilous species with a disjunct distribution in the south-western part of the Bílé Karpaty Mts suggest their long-term persistence. The archaeological findings provide evidence for the existence of prehistoric human settlement in this region since the Neolithic (Middle Holocene). Direct evidence for the existence of open human-influenced habitats before medieval times, based on the results of a multi-proxy analysis (macrofossils, molluscs and pollen) of an organic sediment dated back to Roman Age, is also provided. The results indicate the existence of an ancient cultural landscape with a mosaic of open grasslands, natural forests and fields. It is concluded that the evidence presented in this paper supports the hypothesis of prehistoric, rather than a medieval origin of the species-rich grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts.
Pylová analýza je jedním z nejpoužívanějších zdrojů dat ke sledování dlouhodobých změn terestrických ekosystémů, včetně vzniku a vývoje kulturní krajiny. Během posledních desetiletí tato metoda doznala řadu modifikací. Mezi nejzásadnější patří zvýšení taxonomické přesnosti určování pylových zrn, zavedení numerických přístupů v analýze dat, kvantitativní interpretace na základě moderních analogií, stanovení absolutní koncentrace pylových zrn ve vzorcích a pylové analýzy s vysokým časovým rozlišením. Význam těchto metod pro rekonstrukci vývoje kulturní krajiny je diskutován na obecné úrovni a s použitím konkrétních příkladů. Hlavní důraz je kladen na problém prostorové reprezentativnosti pyloanalytických dat, což je otázka zásadní právě pro studium historie kulturní krajiny v prostředním prostorovém měřítku (tj. řádově v měřítku archeologických mikroregionů). Pyloanalytická data představují zdroj poznatků zcela nezávislý na archeologických datech. Právě proto může korelace těchto dvou nezávislých informačních zdrojů přinést zcela novou kvalitu v pochopení interakcí mezi přírodním prostředím a lidskými kulturami v minulosti. and Pollen analysis is probably the most appropriate source of data for the study of long–term changes in terrestrial ecosystems, including the development of cultural landscapes. During the last few decades it has experienced considerable methodological development, including growing taxonomic precision in pollen determination, the introduction of numerical approaches to data analysis, quantitative data interpretation on the basis of modern analogues, and the development of absolute and high–resolution counting techniques. This review article discusses the importance of such developments to the reconstruction of cultural landscapes in detail, and provides case studies. The main emphasis in the discussion is placed on the spatial resolution of pollen analyses, a question crucial to the reconstruction of cultural landscapes at intermediate spatial scales (i.e. those relevant for the study of archaeological microregions). Pollen analytical data represent a source of knowledge completely independent of the archaeology, and it is for this reason that the correlation of the two may result in a new quality to our understanding of past landscape/cultural interactions.