Low and variable: Manuring intensity in Danish Celtic fields

Nielsen, Nina Helt; Kristiansen, Søren Munch; Ljungberg, Thomas; Enevold, Renée; Løvschal, Mette

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.101955

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The crop fields during the Scandinavian Neolithic were temporary [58]. Permanent field systems managed by wooden ards were introduced during the first millennium BC, but probably before manure was available in sufficient amounts, e.g., [59]. Table 1.…”

Section: Crop Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Historical Ecology of Scandinavian Infield Systems

2021

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Infield systems originated during the early Iron Age and existed until the 19th century, although passing many transitions and changes. The core features of infield systems were enclosed infields with hay-meadows and crop fields, and unenclosed outland mainly used for livestock grazing. We examine the transitions and changes of domesticated landscapes with infield systems using the framework of human niche construction, focusing on reciprocal causation affecting change in both culture and environment. A first major transition occurred during the early Middle Ages, as a combined effect of a growing elite society and an increased availability of iron promoted expansion of villages with partly communal infields. A second major transition occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries, due to a then recognized inefficiency of agricultural production, leading to land reforms. In outlands, there was a continuous expansion of management throughout the whole period. Even though external factors had significant impacts as well, human niche construction affected a range of cultural and environmental features regarding the management and structure of domesticated landscapes with infield systems. Thus, niche construction theory is a useful framework for understanding the historical ecology of infield systems.

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Section: Crop Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These reasons could be, for example, protection from cattle robbery, and enhancing production of milk and manure. The use of permanent fields also seems to precede the establishment of infield systems, and the earliest permanent field systems were not intensively manured [59,66].…”

Section: Spatio-temporal Stabilizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical Ecology of Scandinavian Infield Systems

2021

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“…This tradition of using household refuse as part of a manuring mix is both long-lived and widespread and led to what is aptly called a Scherbenschleier (Klamm 1993: 84) or 'veil/scattering of small sherd fragments' on later prehistoric fields (cf. Ford et al 1988;Bakels 1997;Liversage et al 1987;Miller and Gleason 1994;de Hingh 2000;Guttmann et al 2005;Nielsen et al 2019). Accepting the intentionality of the mixing-in of refuse means that the sherds recovered from field plots and banks form -albeit crude -terminus ad or post quem dates for usage.…”

Section: Celtic Fields and Where To Find Themmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The palynological data also contained indicators for wetland landscapes: pollen of sedges, bullrush and burr-reed as well as freshwater algae such as Debarya, Spirogyra and Zygnemataceae were found in the banks (Arnoldussen and van der Linden 2017: 560; 562, cf. Nielsen and Dalsgaard 2017, 431;Nielsen et al 2019). The presence of dung is indicated through spores of coprophilous fungi such as Sporormiella, Cercophora, Podospora and Sordaria (ibid.…”

Section: How Celtic Field Banks Came To Bementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Every field plot had to be cleared of weeds and harvested at various points in the agricultural cycle, which may explain the uniformity in bank dimensions and heights within a Celtic field (even if allowing for more use-trajectories of individual fields or clusters of field plots; cf. Klamm 1993: 44;Zimmermann 1995: 293;Gerritsen 2003: 175;177;Nielsen et al 2019).…”

Section: How Celtic Field Banks Came To Bementioning

confidence: 99%

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Formation, Use and Chronology of Celtic Fields: New Perspectives from the Groningen Celtic Field Research Programme

Arnoldussen

2021

Themes in Contemporary Archaeology

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Targeted excavations of Dutch Celtic fields (Dutch: raatakkers) have yielded much-needed data on the ways in which Celtic fields developed and were used over time. This type of later prehistoric field system is common to gently undulating upland landscapes consisting of Saalian and Weichselian deposits, which were frequently affected by podzolisation. As direct dating of the use-period of Celtic fields is difficult, the Groningen Celtic field research programme employs combined archaeological, AMS-and OSL-dating of bank sediments. Using such dates, use-histories starting in the Middle Bronze Age and lasting well into the Roman era could be shown. Detailed palaeo-botanical analyses of bank sediments suggest that soil and plants from wetland parts were taken to settlements to be used as byre-bedding, after which they were enriched with household refuse (sherds, ash, charcoal) and carted-off to the fields to be used as manure. The locations of such settlements remain difficult to establish, as the chronological relations between settlement features and locations of banks are often unclear. Moreover, despite the fact that botanical macro-remains and pollen inform us on the types of crops cultivated, details of (changes in) the agricultural cycles still escape us.

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Creation of Cultural Landscapes – Decision-Making and Perception Within Specific Ecological Settings

Dörfler,

Dreibrodt,

Eriksen

et al. 2024

Quantitative Archaeology and Archaeological Modelling

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This chapter starts with a theoretical introduction to the concept of the creation and perception of cultural landscapes. Niche construction theory and human agency, often treated as controverse concepts are discussed as complementary aspects of human environment relations. The DPSIR framework (the concept of Driving forces, Pressures, States, Impacts and Responses) is applied as valuable approach for the explanation of the transformations in human behaviour in reaction to environmental developments. Aspects of intended and unintended reactions to human agency and action are discussed as well as the temporal and spatial scales of transformations that consequently occured. Therefore, four examples are presented from case studies within the CRC 1266. The Palaeolithic and Mesolithic use of natural resources will have left visible but short-lived traces in the landscape as first steps towards a cultural landscape. The role of humans in the spread of plants and the influence of human action on the plant distribution and composition are discussed in this context. The Neolithic transformation shows a new dimension of changes in the landscape. The producing economy leads to a wide range of resource extractions that enable a much higher population being nourished by the manipulated environment with anthropogenic open land as a new landscape element or niche. Bronze Age progression and intensification of land use in many areas lead to soil degradation and the widespread expansion of heathlands. Even though the process was too slow to be perceived consciously, associated economic adaptations to this new type of cultural landscape are observable. The fourth example explains an unexpected positive aspect of deforestation. In the context of Neolithic Trypillian megasites the soil developed towards a deep and fertile Chernozem. The role of earthworms is discussed as key factor for the soil development in the transition from a forest and forest steppe towards the agrarian steppe of today. The difference between human agency and human action is discussed for the presented examples as the awareness of the consequences of human behaviour very much depends the velocity of changes and human perception.

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Low and variable: Manuring intensity in Danish Celtic fields

Cited by 7 publications

References 23 publications

Historical Ecology of Scandinavian Infield Systems

Historical Ecology of Scandinavian Infield Systems

Formation, Use and Chronology of Celtic Fields: New Perspectives from the Groningen Celtic Field Research Programme

Creation of Cultural Landscapes – Decision-Making and Perception Within Specific Ecological Settings

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