Islands of history: the Late Neolithic timescape of Orkney

Bayliss, Alex; Marshall, P.; Richards, Colin; Whittle, Alasdair

doi:10.15184/aqy.2017.140

Cited by 38 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…The first dated archaeological evidence of settlement in Mainland Orkney is recorded during the 3600-3400 cal BC timeslice (Bayliss et al, 2017). The increase in dated settlement activity, particularly in the "core" Brodgar-Stenness area, over the period 3200-2800 cal BC is associated with a significant increase in inferred landscape disturbance.…”

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wealth of Neolithic archaeological remains in Orkney also contrasts with the Somerset case study, with wellpreserved settlements, tombs and monuments still dominating the landscape in many places even today. Recently developed chronologies for Neolithic archaeology (Griffiths, 2016;Bayliss et al, 2017) can be compared with land-cover reconstructions which were made for 200-year "timeslices" over the period 4200-2200 cal BC.…”

Section: Case Study Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"Plausible" (sensu Caseldine and Fyfe, 2006) mapped landcover reconstructions for all 10 timeslices across the period 4200-2200 cal BC are shown in Figure 3 and land-cover trends plotted in Figure 4, compared with the intensity of settlement activity in "core" and "peripheral" areas across Orkney derived from the number of dated structures in use on individual sites ( Figure 4A; Bayliss et al, 2017). A baseline for disturbed grassland communities in the pre-Neolithic landscape (communities with higher proportions of anthropogenic indicator taxa than the "natural" grassland) can be taken from the timeslice 4200-4000 cal BC.…”

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Established Neolithic activity on Mainland Orkney probably began in the thirty-fifth century cal BC (Bayliss et al, 2017;Bunting et al, unpublished), about 300 years later than elsewhere in Britain and Ireland (Whittle et al, 2011), implying that Neolithic people were slow to establish themselves on Mainland. The MSA reconstructions support this relatively late start date.…”

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A distinct shift in land-cover is reconstructed between 3400 and 3000 cal BC (see Figure 4), the period that covers the first sustained tomb building, the shift from timber to stone houses, and the concentration of settlement in the "core" BrodgarStenness area of Mainland (Bayliss et al, 2017;Bunting et al, unpublished). There is an increase in coverage of the "disturbed ground" community and a reduction in woodland cover, but woodland does not disappear from the landscape entirely.…”

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

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Maps From Mud—Using the Multiple Scenario Approach to Reconstruct Land Cover Dynamics From Pollen Records: A Case Study of Two Neolithic Landscapes

et al. 2018

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Pollen records contain a wide range of information about past land cover, but translation from the pollen diagram to other formats remains a challenge. In this paper, we present LandPolFlow, a software package enabling Multiple Scenario Approach (MSA) based land cover reconstruction from pollen records for specific landscapes. It has two components: a basic Geographic Information System which takes grids of landscape constraints (e.g., topography, geology) and generates possible "scenarios" of past land cover using a combination of probabilistic and deterministic placement rules to distribute defined plant communities within the landscape, and a pollen dispersal and deposition model which simulates pollen loading at specified points within each scenario and compares that statistically with actual pollen assemblages from the same location. Goodness of fit statistics from multiple pollen site locations are used to identify which scenarios are likely reconstructions of past land cover. We apply this approach to two case studies of Neolithisation in Britain, the first from the Somerset Levels and Moors and the second from Mainland, Orkney. Both landscapes contain significant evidence of Neolithic activity, but present contrasting contexts. In Somerset, wet-preserved Neolithic remains such as trackways are abundant, but little dry land settlement archaeology is known, and the pre-Neolithic landscape was extensively wooded. In Orkney, the Neolithic archaeology includes domestic and monumental stone-built structures forming a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the pre-Neolithic landscape was largely treeless. Existing pollen records were collated from both landscapes and correlated within new chronological frameworks (presented elsewhere). This allowed pollen data to be grouped into 200 year periods, or "timeslices," for reconstruction of land cover through time using the MSA. Reconstruction suggests that subtle but clear and persistent impacts of Neolithisation on land cover occurred in both landscapes, with no reduction in impact during periods when archaeological records suggest lower activity levels. By applying the methodology Bunting et al. Land Cover From Pollen Records to specific landscapes, we critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses and identify potential remedies, which we then expand into consideration of how simulation can be incorporated into palynological research practice. We argue that the MSA deserves a place within the palynologist's standard tool kit.

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Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Case Study Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Orkney: Neolithisation In a Largely Treeless Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

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Maps From Mud—Using the Multiple Scenario Approach to Reconstruct Land Cover Dynamics From Pollen Records: A Case Study of Two Neolithic Landscapes

et al. 2018

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The Temporality of Shapes: A Genealogy of Early Pottery-Making Practices in the Andean–Amazonian Borderland

Kanezaki

Omori

2022

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Landscapes for Neolithic People in Mainland, Orkney

et al. 2022

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Neolithic occupation of the Orkney Islands, in the north of Scotland, probably began in the mid fourth millennium cal BC, culminating in a range of settlements, including stone-built houses, varied stone-built tombs and two noteworthy stone circles. The environmental and landscape context of the spectacular archaeology, however, remains poorly understood. We applied the Multiple Scenario Approach (MSA) to Neolithic pollen records from Mainland, Orkney, in order to understand land cover and landscape openness across the timespan 4200–2200 cal BC. Interpreted within a framework provided by Bayesian chronological modelling, 406 radiocarbon dates from archaeological contexts and a further 103 from palaeoenvironmental samples provide the basis for the first detailed reconstruction of the spatio-temporal patterns of Neolithic people and their environment. Major alterations to the land cover of Mainland took place from 3400 cal BC (reduction in woodland from 20% to 10%) and from 3200 cal BC (increase in disturbed land from 3% to 30%). The dramatic increase in disturbed land coincided with the Grooved Ware phenomenon and the establishment of settlements at Skara Brae and Ness of Brodgar. The upturn in the signal for disturbance communities in the pollen record may indicate an increase in the amount of land used as pasture. This accords with the archaeological record, since the Neolithic Orcadian economy probably relied heavily on cattle for subsistence. By 2800 cal BC in the core of the Orkney Mainland, most settlements appear to have been ending, with people dispersing into the wider landscape, as the MSA modelling indicates a maintenance of disturbed land, and indeed a subsequent slight increase, implying persistence of human activity elsewhere in Mainland. People exhausted themselves rather than their land; that and its varied resources endured, while the intensive social relationships and practices of the peak of late Neolithic Orkney could not be maintained.

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Islands of history: the Late Neolithic timescape of Orkney

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 38 publications

References 31 publications

Maps From Mud—Using the Multiple Scenario Approach to Reconstruct Land Cover Dynamics From Pollen Records: A Case Study of Two Neolithic Landscapes

Maps From Mud—Using the Multiple Scenario Approach to Reconstruct Land Cover Dynamics From Pollen Records: A Case Study of Two Neolithic Landscapes

The Temporality of Shapes: A Genealogy of Early Pottery-Making Practices in the Andean–Amazonian Borderland

Landscapes for Neolithic People in Mainland, Orkney

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