The potential of pollen analyses from urban deposits: multivariate statistical analysis of a data set from the medieval city of Prague, Czech Republic

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the land which is now the Czech Republic underwent deep social and landscape changes, defined by historians and archaeologists as a transitional period between the early and late medieval periods. This study aims to analyze this transition as reflected by 142 pollen spectra from urban deposits so far excavated in the city of Prague. Multivariate statistics and critical assessment of the results has brought general conclusions on the potential of pollen analysis for urban archaeological research. They reveal an early medieval urban environment as a fine mosaic formed by extensive management, and composed of many habitats without sharp borders between them. Since human impact increased with time and the use of land became more rationalized and intensive, this mosaic developed a relatively coarser structure in the high medieval period. Our results support findings of the earlier subjective and uncertain characteristics of two differing types of medieval pollen spectra (Cerealia-dominated ones with low pollen diversity versus those with a higher proportion of arboreal and wild herbal pollen and high pollen diversity) obtained from various archaeological sites.     

Occupation and land-use history of a medium mountain from the Mid-Holocene: A multidisciplinary study performed in the South Cantal (French Massif Central)

A multidisciplinary investigation combining archaeological and palaeoecological approaches (pollen, micro-charcoal, major elements geochemistry, and radiocarbon data) has been carried out since 2000 in the southern Cantal (French Massif Central) in order to achieve a better understanding of the environmental/anthropogenic interactions in a mountain ecosystem ranging from 1000 to 1600 m a.s.l. from the Mid-Holocene to the end of Modern Times. This medium mountain area must be considered as a complex landscape shaped during a long-term land-use history. Pollen and archaeological evidences suggest a human frequentation as early as the beginning of the 6th millennium BC. For the following periods, different stages related to the human settlement and anthropogenic activities of land clearance and agro-pastoralism have been documented: the final Neolithic/Early Bronze Age and the Roman period (mainly the 3rd and 4th centuries AD). Middle Ages (between the 10th and the 12th centuries AD) and Modern Times (since the 14th–16th centuries AD) appear to be two key phases revealing complex spatial patterns of land-use.     

Vegetation history and agriculture in the cover-sand area west of Breda (province of Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands)

Botanical investigation of archaeological sites situated in the northwest of the region bounded by the rivers Maas, Scheldt and Demer (‘MSD region’), west of the city of Breda, has provided a great deal of evidence about the landscape and its use in the period between 2000 b.c. and a.d. 1500. From pollen analysis, it appears that this cover-sand area gradually lost its woodlands through human activity after the beginning of the Bronze Age (ca. 2000 b.c.). Patches of woodland did survive there, however, until the early Middle Ages. In contrast to the cover-sand area in the vicinity of ’s-Hertogenbosch and Oss-Ussen in the northeast of the MSD region, the first large heathlands in the Breda area did not evolve until the early Middle Ages. In late prehistory, land use in this area was not much different from that in the micro-region of ’s-Hertogenbosch and Oss-Ussen. In the Bronze Age, Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare (hulled six-row barley) and Triticum dicoccon (emmer wheat) were grown. During the Iron Age, Panicum miliaceum (common millet) and T. spelta (spelt wheat) were introduced, but these crops disappeared during the Roman period. The Roman period is remarkable because of the lack of any Mediterranean culinary herbs or exotic fruits. Only pollen of Juglans regia (walnut), found around the transition from the Roman period to the early Middle Ages, indicates the introduction of an exotic tree into the region. From the early Middle Ages onwards, Secale cereale (rye) was the most important cereal, which was grown as a winter crop. In the course of the Middle Ages, arable weeds of the Sclerantho annui-Arnoseridetum plant community appeared, which is associated with the continuous growing of rye.     

A three-thousand-year history of vegetation and human impact in Burgundy (France) reconstructed from pollen and non-pollen palynomophs analysis

This article presents a 241 cm long sediment record documenting the vegetation history using pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs recovered from the Fénay marsh in Burgundy (Dijon area - France). The pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) record largely reflects intensive human influence (clearing, cultivation and grazing) on the surrounding area from the Late Bronze Age and Hallstatt period. La Tène period is marked by drier conditions and a substantial increase in Alnus. During the Gallo-Roman period, high values of Alnus decrease to the benefit of Quercus. In the Early Middle Ages (5th-10th C), the swamp becomes a temporary pond and Cerealia type and Secale are cultivated in this very open landscape. During the Late Middle Ages (13th-15th C), the temporary pond is transformed into a larger and deeper pond, used by the Cistercians for hydraulic power and perhaps as a hemp-retting pit. By the end of the 16th C, the pond had dried out and was used for the cultivation of cereal.     

Natural and anthropogenic influences on the population structure of white‐tailed eagles in the Carpathian Basin and central Europe

European populations of the white‐tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla suffered a drastic decline during the 20th century. In many countries, only a few dozen breeding pairs survived or the species disappeared completely. By today, the populations have recovered, naturally or through restocking (e.g. in Scotland or the Czech Republic). In the Carpathian Basin, which is now a stronghold in southern Europe for the species in the southern part of the distribution range with more than 500 breeding pairs, only about 50 pairs survived the bottleneck. This region provides important wintering places for individuals arriving from different regions of Eurasia. In the present study, we investigated 249 DNA samples from several European countries, using 11 microsatellites and mitochondrial control region sequences (499 bp), to answer two main questions: 1) did the Carpathian Basin population recover through local population expansion or is there a significant gene flow from more distant populations as well? 2) Does the Czech population show signs in its genetic structure of the restocking with birds of unknown origin? Our microsatellite data yielded three genetically separate lineages within Europe: northern, central and southern, the latter being present exclusively in the Carpathian Basin. Sequencing of mitochondrial DNA revealed that there is one haplotype (B12) which is not only exclusive to the Carpathian Basin but it is frequent in this population. Our results suggest that in accordance with the presumably philopatric behaviour of the species, recovery of the Carpathian Basin population was mainly local, but some of the wintering birds coming from the northern and central populations contributed to its genetic composition as well. We detected considerably higher proportions of northern birds within the Czech Republic compared to the neighbouring areas, making it likely that parents of the reintroduced birds came from northern populations.     

Palynologische Erforschung archäologischer Proben aus dem Komořanské jezero-See bei Most (NW-Böhmen)

From the sediments of the former Komo?anské jezero Lake near Most, pollen analysis of samples linked with archaeological finds has been performed. One reference profile has been pollenanalytically elaborated, followed by pollenanalytical dating of various isolated samples. The samples elaborated were linked with the following cultural periods: of stroked pottery, of funnel beakers, of domestic specimens of Baden pottery, of corded pottery, of the Únětice culture, and of the Middle Ages. A reconstruction of the natural surroundings in various developmental epochs, especially that of the vegetation, has been performed in the locality, in its close vicinity and in more distant neighbourhoods (Komo?anské jezero Lake, the Podkru?nohorská panev Basin, the Kru?né hory Mountains, the ?eské st?edoho?í Mountains). The results refer to the Atlantic, Subboreal and Subatlantic periods. The differentiation of the Subboreal in the area under study is still uncertain.     

Persistence of a vegetation mosaic in a peripheral region: could turbulent medieval history disrupt Holocene continuity of extremely species-rich grasslands?

Fluctuations in intensity of human impact and corresponding vegetation changes have been reported from different parts of Europe for the period from the beginning of the 1st millennium ad to the high Middle Ages. In the Bílé Karpaty mountains (White Carpathians), a region well-known for its biologically valuable ancient grasslands, an extensive spread of woodland could have occurred in the Migration period (4th–6th century) and especially in the Confinium period (11th–12th century), when settling of this border region was legally prohibited. However, Holocene continuity of non-woodland vegetation was suggested as an explanation for the unique species richness of the local grasslands. If this explanation is true, then the turbulent times in medieval history could not have led to complete re-establishment of woodland. To test this idea palaeoecologically, we analysed four new profiles from wetland deposits for pollen, macrofossils and abiotic proxies, and re-dated some old profiles from the area. The results show the continual presence of human impact indicators since the Migration period in the southwest of the Bílé Karpaty, where these unique grasslands occur. Agricultural activities were indicated by pollen of crops, ruderals, weeds and grassland taxa and by macrofossils of fen-grassland plants. Grazing and burning seem to have been the main disturbances during the older period, while mowing of meadows by scythe became more important since the 17th century. Fossil records differed among the sites as a consequence of differences in altitude and disturbance regimes, but converged gradually with time. Despite intensification of human activities, the landscape remained mosaic-like. Indicators of undisturbed woodlands have been detected only in the northeast. Continuous yet perhaps never too intensive disturbances might therefore have maintained the ancient grassland species pool in the long term.     

Plant landscape and land use at the Neolithic lake settlement of Dispilió (Macedonia,northern Greece)

The Neolithic settlement of Dispilió (lake Orestiás, northern Greece) is a unique site due to its continual inhabitation from the Middle Neolithic (5400 BC) to the Chalcolithic (3600 BC) and its exceptional location at the shore of Lake Orestiás (also known as Lake Kastoria). The plant landscape shaping of the area has been examined by correlating pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from both on-site and off-site records. The examined pollen profiles bear concrete evidence of agricultural activities and land use in the area. The local pollen assemblages identified, each of them corresponding either to a different kind or intensity of exploitation of natural resources, display the diachronic evolution of the cultural landscape during more than 2000 years of human activity. The successive phases of intense human impact on vegetation patterns are in good accordance with the periods of major constructing activities described by the archaeological study of the Dispilió settlement. Finally, the differences on palynomorph accumulation pathways of the examined records made possible the distinction between local and “regional” plant landscapes and related human activities.     

Tulips: An Ornamental Crop in the Andalusian Middle Ages

Tulips: An Ornamental Crop in the Andalusian Middle Ages. The authors are working on the project “Crop Flora of al-Andalus,” which aims to recover the crop diversity of the Middle Ages in western Europe during the Islamic period. The documental sources of this study are all the agricultural treatises written in this territory and culture between the 10th and 14th centuries. Al-Andalus was the territory occupied by Islam between the 8th and 15th centuries, varying over time on varying regions on the Iberian Peninsula. In this period, a genuine agricultural revolution took place, as well as the incorporation into the Western world of many Eastern agricultural species. When we focused on the study of ornamental species used in gardens, courtyards, and houses, tulips could be identified in several texts, the main one being the ‘Umda, a botanical work written at the end of the 11th century or beginning of the 12th, probably by the agronomist Abu l-Jayr. Tulips are mentioned in this text 500 years before the first known references to their introduction into Europe, traditionally asserted to be from the Ottoman Empire to Holland via Austria, always in the 16th century. Thus the route of these ornamental bulbs in their passage from East to West must be modified.     

A new find of macrofossils of feather grass (Stipa) in an Early Bronze Age storage pit at Vliněves, Czech Republic: local implications and possible interpretation in a Central European context

The abundance of Stipa remains in material dated to the Middle Neolithic (ca. 4400–4000 b.c.) from Kujawy (central Poland) and their presence in a storage pit at Vliněves (Czech Republic) dated to the Early Bronze Age (ca. 2300–1600 b.c.) are most probably connected with gathering of the plant. Stipa grains are edible and the whole plant could have been used as insulation, for making mattresses and for a range of similar purposes. Nowadays spikelets of Stipa are used for decoration. They are dangerous to herbivores because of the sharpness of the basal part of the spikelet and the tendency of the awns to unroll in wet conditions. Already in the first half of the 20th century the plant was regarded as a weed of meadows. The gathering and use of Stipa, as suggested by the abundance of its archaeological macro-remains, was most probably prompted by changes in the local environment. These latter arose from intensive human activity, mostly deforestation and grazing by domestic animals, leading to the formation of steppe-like vegetation. This process is documented by a pollen diagram from a peat section located near the Vliněves site.     

Intact growth factors are conserved in the extracellular matrix of ancient human bone and teeth: a storehouse for the study of human evolution in health and disease

For the first time we have extracted, solubilized and identified growth factors, such as insulin growth factor II (IGF-II), bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), from archaeological compact human bone and tooth dentin dating from the late pre-ceramic pottery Neolithic (late PPNB) and the early Middle Ages. These factors are typical of special physiological or pathological situations in the metabolism of bone. The extracellular matrix proteins from bone and teeth of individuals from the late PPNB and early Middle Ages were separated by 2-D electrophoresis and more than 300 different protein spots were detected by silver staining. The matrix protein patterns of compact bone and tooth from the same individual (early Middle Ages) are very different and only 16% of the protein spots were detected in both compact bone and tooth dentin.     

Origin and genetic structure of white-tailed sea eagles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Haliaeetus albicilla</Emphasis>) in the Czech Republic: an analysis of breeding distribution,ringing data and DNA microsatellites

The population of white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in the Czech Republic declined dramatically during the twentieth century. None were observed in the area for more than 60 years until population recoveries were observed beginning in the 1980s. It is currently estimated that 25–30 breeding pairs of white-tailed sea eagles nest in the Czech Republic. This article analyses surveillance data from three periods between 1973 and 2003 on the occurrence and nesting of white-tailed sea eagles in the Czech Republic. We investigated recolonization of European white-tailed sea eagles in the Czech Republic in terms of migration patterns and population structures. Bird ringing data suggest the Czech population may be recovered from various areas encompassing northern Europe. Using data collected by DNA microsatellite, no population structure was revealed through Bayesian and cluster analyses with an existing Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, which suggests mixed panmictic populations of white-tailed sea eagles in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. While analysis of genetic diversity showed no difference between recovered populations in the southeastern Czech Republic and those persisting in Slovakia, there was genetic diversity between eagles of the southeastern subpopulation and eagles in other parts of the Czech Republic. Taken together, these observations on the population structure of white-tailed sea eagles in the Czech Republic imply that other European birds contributed to the recovery of the Czech population, likely through breeding mixture with an identifiable centre in the southeastern Czech Republic.     

The activity of catalase and phosphatase in wheat when controlling the growth rate

K-humát stimuloval r?st p?enice a byla zji?těna zvý?ená aktivita fosfatázy v listech i v ko?enech a zvý?ená aktivita katalázy pouze v ko?enech. Vy??í teplota (30° C) p?i kultivaci zp?sobila pokles aktivity fosfatázy v ko?enech i v listech a pokles aktivity katalázy v listech. Narkotizace klí?ních rostlinek chloroformem zpomaluje r?st, zvy?uje aktivitu fosfatázy jen v prvních dnech po zásahu a zvy?uje aktivitu katalázy. Rovně? odnětí endospermu mělo za následek zpomalený r?st. P?enice takto vypěstovaná měla zvý?enou aktivitu katalázy a fosfatázy. Aktivita fosfatázy v listech v?ech variant i kontrol byla podstatně ni??í ne? v ko?enech na rozdíl od katalázy, která byla v listech a? několikanásobně aktivněj?í ne? v ko?enech. Aktivita fosfatázy v listech i v ko?enech klesala ve vét?ině p?ípad? se stá?ím. Aktivita katalázy klesala se stá?ím pouze v ko?enech, zatím co v listech stoupala. Aktivita katalázy je pravděpodobně méně závislá na rychlosti r?stu a souvisí spí?e s vý?ivou, tvorbou chlorofylu, fotosyntetickou aktivitou apod. Jak z literárních údaj?, tak z na?ich výsledk? vyplývá, ?e neexístuje jednoduchý vztah mezi aktivitou sledovaných enzym? a rychlostí r?stu; jde o vztahy komplikovaněj?í.     

Pollen from archaeological layers and cultural landscape reconstruction: Case studies from the Bradano valley (Basilicata,southern Italy)

Abstract

The article aims at presenting some aspects of environmental reconstruction through pollen analysis from archaeological contexts. The anthropogenic pollen transport into archaeological sites is regarded as an interesting tool to improve knowledge on flora and vegetation in the area of influence of sites. The zoophilous plants can be found more easily than in the regional airborne pollen rain where anemophilous pollen is generally overrepresented. Moreover, pollen from archaeological contexts is mainly a result of the cultural landscape shaped by human activities. Two case studies from the Bradano Valley (Basilicata, southern Italy), rich in archaeological sites dating altogether from the Middle Bronze Age to the Medieval age, are reported. Difesa San Biagio and its surroundings is one of the biggest settlements of the area, settled in early times by Enotrians. Altojanni is an extended area mainly frequented in Hellenistic, Roman late Imperial and Medieval times. A very open landscape, and clear signs of plant exploitation and cultivation, breeding and settlements were present in the two sites. Though samples are disturbed and preservation problems are sometimes observed, the main characters of pollen spectra are recurrent. High percentages of Poaceae and Cichorioideae, together with coprophilous fungal spores, strongly suggest a long tradition of pastoral activities. These case study examples suggest that human activities would have produced a fairly xeric environment.     

Iridoid glucosides of the genus Veronica s.l. and their systematic significance

 The mode of reproduction, pollen production, chromosome numbers, genetic variation (RAPD, allozymes) and overall similarity were studied in 6 species of Hieracium sect. Alpina in the Tatry Mts. (the Western Carpathians, Slovakia). All species were confirmed to be agamospermous and, except of H. krivanense and H. slovacum, lacking pollen grains. For the first time, a chromosome number is reported for H. krivanense (2n=4x=36). Considerable genetic variation was revealed in H. alpinum and a correlation between geographic and genetic distances was found in this species. Between-population variation in RAPD and allozyme phenotypes was found in H. pinetophilum and H. crassipedipilum. In all other species, allozyme and RAPD variation was low or absent. With few exceptions, the species differ in their allozyme as well as RAPD patterns. The relatedness of one population of endemic H. slovacum and H. halleri was confirmed. It is shown, that Carpathian species of the H. fritzei group are derived from at least two ancestors. Received July 3, 2000; accepted June 24, 2002 Published online: November 20, 2002 Addresses of the authors: H. Štorchová, (e-mail: storchova@ueb.cas.cz) Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 135, CZ-165 00 Praha 6, Czech Republic. I. V. Bartish, J. Chrtek Jr., J. Kirschner, M. Tetera, J. Štěpánek, Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-252 43 Pruhonice, Czech Republic.     

Long-term history of land-use and vegetation at Femtingagölen — a small lake in the Småland Uplands, southern Sweden

Pollen analysis was carried out on gyttja from the small lake Femtingagölen in the Småland Uplands, southern Sweden. The interpretation of the pollen diagram focused on land-use history and comparisons were made to archaeological and historical information from the area. An absolute chronology, based on AMS dates from terrestrial plant macrofossils, was complemented by inferred dates. The pollen analytical data suggest interference with the woodland cover from ca. 1700 B.C. onwards. Intensified grazing and forest clearances resulted in semi-open pastures between ca. A.D. 400–600 which was followed by forest regeneration (chronology based on AMS ¹⁴C dates and cross-correlation with other well dated profiles). The landscape became more open again between A.D. 800 and 1400. Animal husbandry was complemented by small-scale shifting cultivation during the Iron Age. Permanent arable fields were probably not introduced until the Late Iron Age or the Middle Ages. Hordeum and Triticum were grown during the Iron Age, Hordeum, Triticum, Secale and Cannabis sativa during the Middle Ages and early Modern time, and Hordeum and Avena in the recent past. Sandy and silty soils, where stone clearance was not necessary, have probably been used for cereal growing in prehistoric and historic time.     

The oldest Czech fishpond discovered? An interdisciplinary approach to reconstruction of local vegetation in mediaeval Prague suburbs

Wet sediments of a former water reservoir were discovered during an archaeological rescue excavation. Vegetation and environmental changes taking place in the mediaeval suburbs of Prague, Czech Republic, from the tenth to the middle of the fourteenth century were investigated. The origin and function of the water reservoir was revealed using a multi-proxy approach that combined the results of macrofossil, pollen, diatom, antracological, archaeo-zoological and sedimentological analyses. Gradual changes of the surrounding vegetation were documented. Field indicators increased in time, whereas proportions of broad-leaf trees and shrubs decreased; proportions of ruderal plants increased continually. A gradual decline of semi-natural hygrophilous vegetation was accompanied by an inverse tendency in trampled vegetation. All these trends indicate an intensification of human activity around the pool. A similar intensification of anthropogenic influence is clearly visible in the development of the aquatic environment. According to the diatom composition, the base of the profile is the result of sedimentation in considerably oligotrophic conditions. A successive deterioration of water quality was documented by various organisms (diatoms, green algae, water macrophyta, fishes and intestinal parasites). The high content of dissolved nutrients, probably connected with anoxia, could have caused the disappearance of both diatoms and fishes.     

Detection of the impact of early Holocene hunter-gatherers on vegetation in the Czech Republic, using multivariate analysis of pollen data

Pollen data from the Czech Republic was used to detect the early Holocene impact of hunter-gatherers on vegetation based on a selection of 19 early Holocene pollen profiles, complemented with archaeological information regarding the intensity of local and regional Mesolithic human habitation. Archaeological evidence was assigned to simple categories reflecting the intensity of habitation and distance from pollen sites. Multivariate methods (PCA and RDA) were used to determine relationships between sites and possible anthropogenic pollen indicators and to test how these indicators relate to the archaeological evidence. In several profiles the pollen signal was influenced by local Mesolithic settlement. Specific pollen types (e.g. Calluna vulgaris, Plantago lanceolata, Solanum and Pteridium aquilinum) were found to be significantly correlated with human activity. The role of settlement proximity to the investigation site, the statistical significance of pollen indicators of human activity, as well as the early occurrence of Corylus avellana and its possible anthropogenic dispersal, are discussed.     

Multiple origins of European populations of the giant liver fluke Fascioloides magna (Trematoda: Fasciolidae), a liver parasite of ruminants

The giant liver fluke, Fascioloides magna, a liver parasite of free-living and domestic ruminants of Europe and North America, was analysed in order to determine the origin of European populations and to reveal the biogeography of this originally North American parasite on the European continent. The variable fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox1; 384bp) and nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit I (nad1; 405bp) were used. Phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks were constructed and the level of genetic structuring was evaluated using population genetic tools. In F. magna individuals originating from all European foci of infection (Italy, Czech Republic and Danube floodplain forests involving the territories of Slovakia, Hungary and Croatia) and from four of five major North American enzootic areas, 16 cox1 and 18 nad1 haplotypes were determined. The concatenated sequence set produced 22 distinct haplotypes. The European fluke populations were less diverse than those from North America in that they contained proportionately fewer haplotypes (eight), while a more substantial level of genetic diversity and a greater number of haplotypes (15) were recorded in North America. Only one haplotype was shared between the European (Italy) and North American (USA/Oregon and Canada/Alberta) flukes, supporting a western North American origin of the Italian F. magna population. Haplotypes found in Italy were distinct from those determined in the remaining European localities which indicates that introduction of F. magna to the European continent occurred more than once. In the Czech focus of infection, a south-eastern USA origin was revealed. Identical haplotypes, common to parasites from the Czech Republic and from an expanding focus in Danube floodplain forests, implies that the introduction of F. magna to the Danube region came from an already established Czech focus of infection.     

Land-use history of the Axlarp area in the Småland uplands,southern Sweden: palaeoecological and archaeological investigations

The results of pollen analysis, magnetic measurements (SIRM), and archaeological and historical investigations, in the Axlarp area are presented. With respect to natural conditions and the distribution of prehistoric features, this area is typical of the higher parts of the Småland uplands, which, agriculturally, is a marginal region of southern Sweden. The study shows that farming in the Axlarp area began at ca. 700 B.C. (dates in calibrated/calendar years). The period 700 B.C.-A.D. 500 was characterized by shifting cultivation of Hordeum and Triticum and much pasture. Between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1200 farming declined but some pasturage was still practised, possibly on a seasonal basis. Two farms were established in the Middle Ages, probably between A.D. 1200–1300. Cereals were sown in stone-cleared fields and pastoral farming and hay making was carried out. One farm was deserted during the 15th or early 16th century and the other developed into the hamlet Axlarp whose farmers practised a three-course cropping system. Land-use history as recorded in the pollen diagram can be related to activities associated with these farms. Cereals grown after A.D. 1200 included Hordeum and Avena, and possibly Triticum and Secale. There are no indications of slash-and-burn cultivation in the area.