Impulses of agro-pastoralism in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC on the south-western coastal rim of Norway

Human impact and landscape utilization from the Mesolithic to medieval time traced by high spatial resolution pollen analysis and numerical methods

“…Although a few earlier dates exist further south along the coast (Sandvik, 2003;Soltvedt, 2000), the date from Gossen is by the oldest in Norway so far, indicating establishment of agriculture in this region of central Norway in the same period as in south Norway (Bårdseth and Sandvik, 2010;Hjelle et al, 2006;Høgestøl and Prøsch-Danielsen, 2006).…”

“…Agriculture was introduced to southern Norway during the fourth millennium BC, but the impact on vegetation and landscape seem low until the final establishment towards the end of the Middle Neolithic, c. 2400 cal BC (Hjelle et al, 2006;Høgestøl and Prøsch-Danielsen, 2006). From this time onwards opening of the forest, development of cultivated fields, pastures, meadows and heathlands took place, but with differences in time and space depending on natural constraints such as topography, soil and climate, as well as cultural influences.…”

“…Cultural impulses from southern Scandinavia were important for the establishment of agriculture (e.g. Diinhoff, 1999;Hjelle et al, 2006;Høgestøl and Prøsch-Danielsen, 2006;Myhre, 2004;Prescott, 1996;Prescott and Walderhaug, 1995). New insight into agricultural development in southern Norway has been gained through the interaction between archaeology and palaeobotany in interdisciplinary studies (Bakkevig et al, 2002;Bårdseth and Sandvik, 2010;Hjelle, 2005;Hjelle et al, 2006;Høgestøl and Prøsch-Danielsen, 2006;Sageidet, 2005;Soltvedt, 2000;Soltvedt et al, 2007).…”

From deciduous forest to open landscape: application of new approaches to help understand cultural landscape development in western Norway

“…The introduction and development of farming altered the vegetation, but when and how farming was established in Scandinavia differs among regions, and is still debated (e.g. Bakka and Kaland 1971;Berglund 1991;Prescott 1991;Høgestøl and Prøsch-Danielsen 2006;Hjelle et al 2006;Sørensen and Karg 2014;Mehl and Hjelle 2015). In western Norway the farming economy became established at the end of the Neolithic, c. 2300 cal BC, and gradually changed the vegetation into heathlands along the coast, and into cultivated fields, meadows and pastures in the fjord regions (Kaland 1986;Hjelle 1999a).…”

Characterizing the rural landscape during the Iron Age and Roman period (ca. 1200b.c.–a.d.400): An intensive survey of Wadi al-Feidh, southern Jordan

“…Archaeologically, the diverse historical and social evolutionary trajectories of these groups are sometimes visible in regional surveys and excavations, but more often their presence is inferred from historical sources. With recent studies targeting these societies directly, we now have a better understanding of their basic social organization and varied responses to climate change and processes of environmental degradation (Chepstow-Lusty 2011;Crumley 1994;Hill 2004;Høgestøl and Prøsch-Danielsen 2006), as well as the degree of variability and complexity of these systems across time and space (Casana 2013;Crumley 1994;Porter 2011). Despite the lack of archaeological studies in Jordan that directly address these issues, Jordan is an excellent place to study the evolution of non-urban communities because of its long history at the periphery of ancient states and empires.…”