Plant Use in the Mesolithic Period. Archaeobotanical Data from the Czech Republic in a European Context – a Review

Divišová, Michaela; Šída, Petr

doi:10.24916/iansa.2015.1.7

Cited by 27 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(82 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…These microcharcoals are linked to burning and forest clearance [ 78 – 80 ]. Divišová & Šída [ 81 ] offer the explanation of forest clearings as social phenomena out of fear and anxiety about the environmental surroundings. The increased use of wild plants during the Mesolithic [ 81 , 82 ] might have led to local agriculture and the transition to the Neolithic culture [ 69 , 83 , 84 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Divišová & Šída [ 81 ] offer the explanation of forest clearings as social phenomena out of fear and anxiety about the environmental surroundings. The increased use of wild plants during the Mesolithic [ 81 , 82 ] might have led to local agriculture and the transition to the Neolithic culture [ 69 , 83 , 84 ]. There is a long-time discussion about the interpretation of proxies for Mesolithic agriculture: the practice of agriculture during the Mesolithic is inferred from cereal pollen found in bogs in central Europe, especially in Switzerland [ 85 , 86 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Archaeopedological analysis of colluvial deposits in favourable and unfavourable areas: reconstruction of land use dynamics in SW Germany

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Colluvial deposits, as the correlate sediments of human-induced soil erosion, depict an excellent archive of land use and landscape history as indicators of human–environment interactions. This study establishes a chronostratigraphy of colluvial deposits and reconstructs past land use dynamics in the Swabian Jura, the Baar and the Black Forest in SW Germany. In the agriculturally favourable Baar area multiple main phases of colluvial deposition, and thus intensified land use, can be identified from the Neolithic to the Modern times. In the unfavourable Swabian Jura increased colluvial deposition began later compared to the more favourable areas in the Baar. The same holds true for the unfavourable areas of the Black Forest, but intensified land use can only be reconstructed for the Middle Ages and Early Modern times instead of for the Bronze and Iron Age as in the Swabian Jura. Land use intensity and settlement dynamics represented by thick, multilayered colluvial deposits increase in the Baar and the Black Forest during the Middle Ages. In between those phases of geomorphodynamic activity and colluviation, stable phases occur, interpreted as phases with sustainable land use or without human presence.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeopedological analysis of colluvial deposits in favourable and unfavourable areas: reconstruction of land use dynamics in SW Germany

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These taxa are not recently known in any natural habitats (Chu et al., ). It is important to note, that archaeobotanical evidences support the occurrence of C. album in Europe not only in the Neolithic settlements but also from the much‐older campsites of hunter‐gatherer cultures (Divišová & Šída, ). Moreover, pollen grains of unspecified Chenopodiaceae have been found in northern Italian settlements dating back as far as 25,000 years bp (Aranguren, Becattini, Lippi, & Revedin, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Human‐mediated dispersal of weed species during the Holocene: A case study of Chenopodium album agg.

Krak

Habibi

Douda

et al. 2019

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim We hypothesised that during the Holocene, the distributions of species such as crop weeds have been significantly influenced by human activity. We aimed to (a) identify the main centres of diversity of the Chenopodium album agg. species and (b) test if these species colonised Europe from western Asia, most likely due to the westward expansion of agriculture in the Neolithic period. Location Eurasia. Taxon Chenopodium album aggregate (Amaranthaceae). Methods Three cpDNA regions were sequenced in 904 individuals, from 26 species of the C. album aggregate. A dated phylogeny was inferred and this was used to establish relationships among the haplotypes and to estimate their divergence times. The group's main centres of diversity were inferred by comparing species and haplotype richness between Europe, the Mediterranean, western Asia, central Asia and Siberia. Results The most haplotype‐diverse area for the entire C. album aggregate is central Asia. Interestingly, Europe is poor in terms of haplotype diversity, showing the same level of diversity as the western Asian region. The pairwise genetic differentiation between Europe, the Mediterranean and western Asia is lower than between any of these regions and either central Asia or Siberia. This points to the origin of the European Chenopodium species pool as being in western Asia. In some phylogenetically‐defined clades, species could not be distinguished based on cpDNA haplotypes due to a high level of haplotype sharing. However, in others, the haplotype variation follows the species boundaries. Main conclusions Using the C. album agg. species as a model, we show the importance of central Asia as one of the main centres of diversity for weedy species. However, the group's colonisation of Europe had its origins in western Asia, highlighting the importance of human‐mediated dispersal of ruderal and weed plant species accompanying the westward spread of agriculture in the Neolithic period.

show abstract

“…Herbaceous plants that prefer open habitats, such as Poaceae, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Rumex, and those that expand to fire-affected areas, including Pteridium aquilinum occurred. Woodland clearance led to particular advantages for the propagation of edible plants and facilitated hunting as well as the mobility of human populations (Zvelebil 1994;Mason 2000;Divišová and Šída 2015).…”

Section: Local Forest Development During the Prehistoric Human Occupamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The diverse use of plant resources and the significance of selected plants for the economy of foragers has often been the subject of scientific discussions in the context of the Mesolithic (e.g. Zvelebil 1994;Bos et al 2006;Innes et al 2010;Deforce et al 2013;Bishop et al 2015;Warren et al 2014; Albert and Innes 2015;Divišová and Šída 2015). Until now, much less information has been collected regarding the para-Neolithic societies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forests and foragers: exploitation of wood resources by Mesolithic and para-Neolithic societies in north-eastern Poland

Wacnik

Gumiński

Cywa

et al. 2020

Veget Hist Archaeobot

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Newly acquired palaeobotanical data, including pollen, charred and uncharred wood, provided an exhaustive overview of the temporal changes in woodlands, which changes are due to the cumulative effect of natural processes and the long-term impact of pre-agrarian societies. We used the unique advantage of the peat bog archaeological site at Szczepanki located on an island in the former Lake Staświn (Masurian Lake District) to get an overview of wood exploitation throughout the Stone Age. Special attention was paid to the period of the most intense settlement, the period of the para-Neolithic Zedmar culture. This culture is interesting due to its economy having not been fully recognized so far, especially with respect to the use of plant resources. The evidence from Szczepanki confirmed the use of 16 arboreal taxa, accessible in local woodlands, as a source of timber by foragers. The majority of both unworked wood and fragments bearing traces of processing has been discovered in layers corresponding to the Zedmar period. An important role in the economy was played by wood with medium or low mechanical properties that was however fissile and amenable to woodworking. In addition, other useful properties such as flexibility, lightness, water resistance, strength and ease of splitting were favoured in the selection. The temporal distribution of wood remains in cultural layers at Szczepanki was convergent with a pollen record documenting the course of postglacial migration and local growth of particular taxa, as well as with the archaeologically documented changes in the intensity and time frame of the settlement.

show abstract

Plant Use in the Mesolithic Period. Archaeobotanical Data from the Czech Republic in a European Context – a Review

Cited by 27 publications

References 63 publications

Archaeopedological analysis of colluvial deposits in favourable and unfavourable areas: reconstruction of land use dynamics in SW Germany

Archaeopedological analysis of colluvial deposits in favourable and unfavourable areas: reconstruction of land use dynamics in SW Germany

Human‐mediated dispersal of weed species during the Holocene: A case study of Chenopodium album agg.

Forests and foragers: exploitation of wood resources by Mesolithic and para-Neolithic societies in north-eastern Poland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About