Late Neolithic to Middle Bronze Age (around 4900–3100 cal. BP) lake-level fluctuations at Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland) as reflected by the sediment sequence of the site of Colombier/Les Plantées de Rive: Palaeoclimatic and archaeological implications

Abstract

Recent archaeological investigations at the site of Colombier/Les Plantées de Rive (COL-PR) on the northwestern shore of Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland) revealed an exceptional concentration of anthropic structures from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age interbedded within an alternation of terrestrial and lacustrine deposits. The chronology is based on radiocarbon dates from terrestrial material and on artefacts found in archaeological structures. Using various proxies, the sedimentological analysis of the COL-PR sediment sequence allows the reconstruction of lake-level fluctuations for the period 4900-3300 cal. BP. Three major lake-level highstands occurring at ca. 4900 (Late Neolithic), 3650 (Early Bronze Age) and 3400 cal. BP (Middle Bronze Age) have been related to the possible influences of decreases in the solar activity sometimes accentuated by increases in volcanic activity. The COL-PR site provides robust data to document the climatic deterioration assumed to be responsible for the abandonment of the lake-dwellings north of the Alps during the Middle and the early Late Bronze Age. In addition, the interbedding of successive monuments within terrestrial as well as lacustrine deposits suggests a significant role played over hundred years by the collective memory in the perpetuation of the ceremonial and funeral vocation of the site and its spatial organisation at the interface between lacustrine and terrestrial domains, despite interruptions provoked by major lake-level rises associated with worsening of climatic conditions.

Early human impact on soils and hydro-sedimentary systems: Multi-proxy geoarchaeological analyses from La Narse de la Sauvetat (France)

“…The second phase was certainly linked to the middle Bronze Age climate event (so-called Löbben in the Alpine area), which implied cooler and wetter conditions between 3.5 and 3.2-3.1 kyr. cal BP in western Europe (Berger et al, 2007;Burga et al, 2001;Deák et al, 2017b;Magny et al, 2009). These two high-energy hydro-sedimentary episodes are therefore the first serious sedimentary evidence of 4.2 and 3.5 kyr.…”

Adapt or die—Response of large herbivores to environmental changes in Europe during the Holocene

“…years bp) still occurred according to regional studies and Neolithic and Late Holocene specimens from locations in space and time where Neolithic and later agriculture was established(Antanaitis-Jacobs et al, 2009;Deak, Magny, & Wuthrich, 2018;Puhe & Ulrich, 2001). The normality of the variables' distribution was tested with Shapiro-Wilk test.…”

“…The Early and pre-Neolithic Holocene specimens included those from regions where Mesolithic cultures (between 12,000 and 6,000 cal. years bp) still occurred according to regional studies and Neolithic and Late Holocene specimens from locations in space and time where Neolithic and later agriculture was established(Antanaitis-Jacobs et al, 2009;Deak, Magny, & Wuthrich, 2018;Puhe & Ulrich, 2001). We explored changes in δ 13 C and δ 15 N variables between the two periods for each of the species separately.…”

The concept of socio-environmental transformations in prehistoric and archaic societies in the Holocene: An introduction to the special issue

“…The dynamics of human–environmental relationships have also become a central focus in current debates through the perilous consequences of human-induced alteration, pollution and destruction of natural landscapes, which are transforming both the environment and human societies to a hitherto unprecedented extent. Archaeology, with its long-term temporal perspective on human societies and landscapes, is in a unique position to trace and link comparable phenomena in the past, to study human involvement with the natural environment, human impact on nature and the consequences of the various dimensions of environmental change on human societies (Bevan et al, 2019; Deák et al, 2018; Hansson et al, 2018; Ledger et al, 2015; Müller, 2018; O’Brien and Shennen, 2010; Rowley-Conwy and Layton, 2011; Shennan, 2009; Walsh et al, 2019; Widlok et al, 2012; Zimmermann, 2012). Archaeology has the means to contrast major transformations with minor changes, rapid transitions with continuous modifications, transient with enduring changes, periods of more stable relations with the occurrence of crises, and restoration with collapse.…”