Universität zu Köln

Lechterbeck, Jutta ORCID: 0000-0003-3582-2605, Edinborough, Kevan ORCID: 0000-0002-7668-0749, Kerig, Tim, Fyfe, Ralph, Roberts, Neil and Shennan, Stephen (2014). Is Neolithic land use correlated with demography? An evaluation of pollen-derived land cover and radiocarbon-inferred demographic change from Central Europe. Holocene, 24 (10). S. 1297 - 1308. LONDON: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD. ISSN 1477-0911

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Abstract

The transformation of natural landscapes in Middle Europe began in the Neolithic as a result of the introduction of food-producing economies. This paper examines the relation between land-cover and demographic change in a regionally restricted case study. The study area is the Western Lake Constance area which has very detailed palynological as well as archaeological records. We compare land-cover change derived from nine pollen records using a pseudo-biomisation approach with C-14 date probability density functions from archaeological sites which serve as a demographic proxy. We chose the Lake Constance area as a regional example where the pollen signal integrates a larger spatial pattern. The land-cover reconstructions for this region show first notable impacts at the Middle to Young Neolithic transition. The beginning of the Bronze Age is characterised by increases of arable land and pasture/meadow, whereas the deciduous woodland decreases dramatically. Changes in the land-cover classes show a correlation with the C-14 density curve: the correlation is best with secondary woodland in the Young Neolithic which reflects the lake shore settlement dynamics. In the Early Bronze Age, the radiocarbon density correlates with open land-cover classes, such as pasture, meadow and arable land, reflecting a change in the land-use strategy. The close overall correspondence between the two archives implies that population dynamics and land-cover change were intrinsically linked. We therefore see human impact as a key driver for vegetation change in the Neolithic. Climate might have an influence on vegetation development, but the changes caused by human land use are clearly detectable from Neolithic times, at least in these densely settled, mid-altitude landscapes.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Lechterbeck, Jutta UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-3582-2605 UNSPECIFIED Edinborough, Kevan UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0002-7668-0749 UNSPECIFIED Kerig, Tim UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Fyfe, Ralph UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Roberts, Neil UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Shennan, Stephen UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-428041
DOI:	10.1177/0959683614540952
Journal or Publication Title:	Holocene
Volume:	24
Number:	10
Page Range:	S. 1297 - 1308
Date:	2014
Publisher:	SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
Place of Publication:	LONDON
ISSN:	1477-0911
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language CORYLUS-AVELLANA L.; QUANTITATIVE RECONSTRUCTION; HUMAN IMPACT; VEGETATION; HISTORY; CLIMATE; REPRESENTATION; STEISSLINGEN; SEDIMENTS; BIOMES Multiple languages Geography, Physical; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/42804