Hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the southern North Sea basin: Final Palaeolithic–Final Mesolithic land use in northwest Belgium

Crombé, Philippe; Sergant, Joris; Robinson, Erick; Reu, Jeroen De

doi:10.1016/j.jaa.2011.04.001

Cited by 65 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…When the ice shields retreated after the Late Glacial Maximum (Hughes and Gibbard 2015), a new α-phase of the ecological system started with plant species and fauna spreading into the now ice-free space , where soil formation processes started (Terberger et al 2004). The adaptive cycle was influenced by climatic changes, and different species occupied these areas during the Early Holocene, including hunter and gatherer populations (Bos 2001, Tinner and Lotter 2001, Crombé et al 2011, Giesecke et al 2011. During the Mesolithic, hunting and gathering was the subsistence form of life (Uerpmann 2007, Bailey and Spikins 2008, Tolksdorf et al 2009, Prummel and Niekus 2011; the impact on the soil remained small.…”

Section: Analysis Of the Social-ecological System Agrarian Soil Use Imentioning

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Section: Analysis Of the Social-ecological System Agrarian Soil Use Imentioning

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

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Archaeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oldest remains date back to the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic (Cromb e et al, 2011(Cromb e et al, , 2013, when the landscape was still a largely dry environment. A series of sites dating back to the MesolithiceNeolithic transition (Cromb e, 2005;Sergant et al, 2006;Cromb e et al, 2009) and attributed to the Swifterbant culture (Cromb e et al, 2011), are contemporaneous with a period of increased tidal influence (Verhegge et al, 2014). So far no direct archaeological evidence of human activity has been found that dates from the Middle Neolithic to the Middle Ages, when the area was a large peat marsh, but archaeological records from nearby locations in the Netherlands suggest that occupation took place even in these wet environments (De Clercq, 2009;De Clercq and Van Dierendonck, 2008).…”

Section: Archaeological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of cone penetrating testing for mapping deeply buried palaeolandscapes in the context of archaeological surveys in polder areas

Missiaen

Verhegge

Heirman

et al. 2015

Journal of Archaeological Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geoarchaeological mapping of wetlands conventionally involves extensive coring. Especially in wetlands marked by a deep palaeosurface (>3 m deep) this can be very difficult and time-consuming. In this paper we therefore present an alternative approach based on Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) for structured, rapid and cost-effective evaluation of buried palaeolandscapes. Both estuarine and river floodplain environments were investigated, including the watereland transition zone (marsh). The efficiency, reliability and repeatability of the CPT method was tested through the comparison with ground-truth core data. The CPT data generally allowed highly accurate mapping of the palaeotopography of the prehistoric surfaces and the overlying peat sequences. Thin organic-rich clay intercalations within the peat layers could often still be identified. Additional pore pressure, conductivity and seismic velocity data (from CPTU, CPT-C and S-CPT) did not add much crucial information and their main use seems to lie in the added value for near surface geophysical measurements. The results of this research clearly illustrate the importance of CPT information for mapping of palaeolandscapes in archaeology

show abstract

“…Near many of these units and systems, Final Paleolithic to Mesolithic remnants were found (Crombé and Verbruggen, 2002;Crombé et al, 2011), indicating the value of this landscape for hunting, gathering and fishing. In the central and the southern parts, fluvial plains dominate (floodbasins near Sleidinge, footslopes near Sinaai, levees near Zeveneken).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Vermeer

Finke

Zwertvaegher

et al. 2013

Earth Surf Processes Landf

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

Hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the southern North Sea basin: Final Palaeolithic–Final Mesolithic land use in northwest Belgium

Cited by 65 publications

References 31 publications

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

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

Potential of cone penetrating testing for mapping deeply buried palaeolandscapes in the context of archaeological surveys in polder areas

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Hunter–gatherer responses to environmental change during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the southern North Sea basin: Final Palaeolithic–Final Mesolithic land use in northwest Belgium

Cited by 65 publications

References 31 publications

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

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

Potential of cone penetrating testing for mapping deeply buried palaeolandscapes in the context of archaeological surveys in polder areas

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

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

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