Archaeopedology and chronostratigraphy of colluvial deposits as a proxy for regional land use history (Baar, southwest Germany)

Henkner, Jessica; Ahlrichs, Jan J.; Downey, Sean S.; Fuchs, Markus; James, Bruce R.; Knopf, Thomas; Scholten, Thomas; Teuber, Sandra; Kühn, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2017.03.005

Cited by 37 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…The radiocarbon ages ( Henkner et al, , submitted) of Elzhof provide a consistent time‐depth model (Fig. ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Based on the datings (Fig. ; Henkner et al, , submitted) and the cultural periods, five phases of colluvial deposition can be distinguished (Fig. ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the favorable Baar area ( Henkner et al., ) the formation of colluvial deposits occurred more frequently, suggesting more intensive land use than in the Black Forest. On the Baar seven main phases of colluvial deposition are discussed in Henkner et al (): (1) during the Younger Neolithic (≈ 3800 BCE), (2) the early to middle Bronze Age (≈ 1550 BCE), (3) the Iron Age (≈ 500 BCE), (4) the Roman Empire (≈ 100 CE) and (5, 6, 7) from the high Middle Ages onwards (> 1200 CE, 1300 CE, 1600 CE). The intensity of the phases of increased colluvial deposition is increasing with time, which can be explained by the increasing influence of humans rather than changing environmental conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Henkner

Ahlrichs

Fischer³

et al. 2017

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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The Black Forest is considered to be a rather unfavorable area, having a short vegetation period, low mean annual temperatures, high precipitation, and a pronounced relief. These conditions do not favor agricultural land use and thus it is widely accepted that people only began using the land intensively during the Middle Ages. In this integrated study 17 soil profiles, two peat bogs and a database of archaeological finds were used to reconstruct past land use impacts on the environment. AMS–14C datings of charcoals, luminescence datings of colluvial deposits, archaeological finds and pollen records indicate land use already during the Neolithic. This pre‐medieval land use might be related to seasonal settlements dominated by pastoralism and the use of wood or bedrock to build settlements and infrastructure or as energy supply. There is new evidence of human activity dating back to the Bronze and Iron Age, which is a discrepancy to the absence of archaeological finds in the direct vicinity of the studied sites. With the beginning of the Middle Ages land use practices changed, most likely with the expansion and intensification of agricultural land use, which coincides with the increasing use of natural resources in the Black Forest. Hence, the main phases of colluvial deposition date to the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Increased contents of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, or Zn in medieval colluvial deposits might indicate smelting or mining, even though there are no known archeological sites pointing to such activities nearby. Whereas the pattern of colluvial deposition in the southeastern Black Forest points to distinct, but local land use in pre‐medieval times and to intensified and widespread land use since the Middle Ages, thick and multi‐layered colluvial deposits indicate intensive land use in the neighboring Baar region since the Neolithic. The different land use patterns of these two regions originate from the rather favorable conditions for agriculture in terms of soils, climate, and topography in the Baar region compared to the unfavorable conditions in the Black Forest.

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“…The radiocarbon ages ( Henkner et al, , submitted) of Elzhof provide a consistent time‐depth model (Fig. ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Based on the datings (Fig. ; Henkner et al, , submitted) and the cultural periods, five phases of colluvial deposition can be distinguished (Fig. ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Henkner

Ahlrichs

Fischer³

et al. 2017

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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“…Erosion and colluviation increased during Medieval times (Zolitschka et al 2003, Dreibrodt et al 2010b, Henkner et al 2017. Mining activities led to rapid deforestation but also to new regulations prohibiting forest clearing in certain areas (Steuer 1993).…”

Section: Transition To the K-phase: Conservation Of Agriculture In Cementioning

confidence: 99%

“…), barley (H. vulgare), spelt (T. spelta), millet (Panicum miliaceum) Kanstrup et al (2014) transition, land use change induced by humans led to erosion and the development of so-called colluvial deposits on foot slopes (Lang 2003, Leopold andVölkel 2007). The original reason for deforestation (e.g., clearance for fields or overgrazing) is difficult to determine; however, the analysis of colluvial deposits with 14 C dating and luminescence dating, and archaeobotanical and soil scientific research methods gives insight into the past (Eckmeier et al 2007, Kadereit et al 2010, Bogaard et al 2013, Bakels 2014, Pietsch and Kühn 2014, Henkner et al 2017. In international literature, the term "colluvial deposit" is unclearly connected to land use.…”

Section: Southwest Germanymentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil cultures – the adaptive cycle of agrarian soil use in Central Europe: an interdisciplinary study using soil scientific and archaeological research

Teuber¹,

Ahlrichs²,

Henkner³

et al. 2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Today's global challenges (e.g., food security) are not unprecedented in human history. Starting with the Neolithic transition, the agricultural sector and society underwent several cultural and technological changes and endured natural challenges. These challenges and changes are analyzed by using the adaptive cycle metaphor and the social-ecological system as tools to show the complexity of human-environment interactions and their development. The analysis relies on archaeological, pedological, and botanical research, and demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary work. Agrarian soil use as a social-ecological system persisted in Central Europe for 7000 years and underwent an adaptive cycle from the Neolithic transition to industrialization. With agriculture's mechanization, a second adaptive cycle started. The resilience of agrarian soil use for thousands of years shows that agriculture, as a human-environmental interaction, is adaptive to change. Understanding past agricultural challenges and changes using archaeological and soil scientific data puts the present development into a new perspective. A cultural perspective on soils might trigger soil protection and sustainable land use in a technical as well as political domain. Applying social-ecological system and adaptive cycle concepts to this interdisciplinary reconstruction of agrarian soil use illustrates their usefulness for archaeology and soil science.

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Mid‐ to Late Holocene landscape dynamics and rural settlement in the uplands of northern Bavaria, Germany

Kothieringer

Seregély

Jansen³

et al. 2022

Geoarchaeology

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We present results from a systematic interdisciplinary study on (pre‐)historic rural settlement and landscape development in an upland region of northern Bavaria, Germany. The archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations—supported by radiocarbon dating, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and palaeoecological analysis—were performed to (i) identify so far unknown prehistoric rural settlement sites, (ii) determine site‐specific soil erosion from colluvial deposits, and (iii) assess the composition of woodland from on‐ and offsite charcoal finds. The earliest indicators of human activities from the Younger Neolithic (late 5th to early 4th millennium B.C.E.) come from colluvial deposits. Our investigations, for the first time, show Middle to Late Bronze Age (ca. 1400–800 B.C.E.), permanent rural settlement in a German central upland region, with a peak in the Late Bronze Age. Due to the varying thicknesses of Bronze Age colluvial deposits, we assume land use practices to have triggered soil erosion. From the spectrum of wood species, Maloideae, ash, and birch are regarded as successional indicators after fire clearance in that period. Settlement continued until the 5th century B.C.E. After a hiatus of 500 years, it re‐flourished in the Late Roman and Migration periods (mid‐3rd–5th century C.E.) and went on in the Medieval period.

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Archaeopedology and chronostratigraphy of colluvial deposits as a proxy for regional land use history (Baar, southwest Germany)

Cited by 37 publications

References 54 publications

Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Soil cultures – the adaptive cycle of agrarian soil use in Central Europe: an interdisciplinary study using soil scientific and archaeological research

Mid‐ to Late Holocene landscape dynamics and rural settlement in the uplands of northern Bavaria, Germany

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Archaeopedology and chronostratigraphy of colluvial deposits as a proxy for regional land use history (Baar, southwest Germany)

Cited by 37 publications

References 54 publications

Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Land use dynamics derived from colluvial deposits and bogs in the Black Forest, Germany

Soil cultures &#8211; the adaptive cycle of agrarian soil use in Central Europe: an interdisciplinary study using soil scientific and archaeological research

Mid‐ to Late Holocene landscape dynamics and rural settlement in the uplands of northern Bavaria, Germany

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Soil cultures – the adaptive cycle of agrarian soil use in Central Europe: an interdisciplinary study using soil scientific and archaeological research