The impact of prehistoric mining activities on the environment: a multidisciplinary study at the fen Schwarzenbergmoos (Brixlegg, Tyrol, Austria)

The exploitation of copper ore deposits of the northern Greywacke Zone was initiated by the implementation of metallurgic technologies in the Eastern Alps thousands of years ago. This multi-proxy study aimed to detect prehistoric mining phases in the vicinity of a prominent copper ore deposit in the Lower Inn Valley. Therefore we studied a peat core from a fen using pollen, micro charcoal and geochemical analyses. In the same fen, an archaeological investigation revealed an ore beneficiation site, well dated by dendrochronological analysis to the Late Bronze Age (9th century b.c.). First hints of mining activities reflected by the occurrence of anthropogenic indicators in the pollen diagram, associated with elevated metal values, at the beginning of the Bronze Age might result from early mineral prospecting and metallurgical experiments around the use of fahlore. The local ore deposit was then abandoned until during the Bronze Age mining activities started to increase. This is reflected by an expansion of the pioneer species Pinus and Larix on mine spoil heaps in the proximity. Concomitantly metal ratios and micro charcoal increase. From about 1000 to 850 b.c. a strong impact of mining activities is displayed in the multi-proxy data. The local forest was partly cleared on and in the vicinity of the fen. According to dendrochronological data the ore beneficiation plant was in use from about 900 to 870 b.c. Until about 700 b.c. another period with moderate impact by mining activities in the further vicinity of the fen shows up.     

Carthamus species in the ancient Near East and south-eastern Europe: archaeobotanical evidence for their distribution and use as a source of oil

We present an overview of archaeobotanical Carthamus spp. finds from Neolithic to medieval sites in the Near East and adjacent areas. A particular focus is put on the cultivated form of the genus. Safflower appears first in a number of early Bronze Age (3000 b.c.) sites in northern and central Syria. From there it apparently spread to Egypt, the Aegean and south-eastern Europe. The Near Eastern Bronze Age evidence shows a striking exclusiveness in the distribution patterns of safflower and flax, with flax being restricted to Levantine and Iranian sites. This may reflect the contrasting ecological requirements of the two crops, with safflower being well adapted to drought and salinity and thus to arid conditions. At the same time the geographically complementary evidence may indicate a similar use of the two crops and most probably suggests that the safflower was also used for oil almost from the beginning of its cultivation. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Population continuity, demic diffusion and Neolithic origins in central-southern Germany: The evidence from body proportions

The transition to agro-pastoralism in central Europe has been framed within a dichotomy of “regional continuity” versus exogenous “demic diffusion”. While substantial genetic support exists for a model of demographic diffusion from an ancestral source in the Near East, archaeological data furnish weak support for the “wave of advance” model. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence attests the widespread introduction of an exogenous “package” comprising ceramics, cereals, pulses and domesticated animals to central Europe at 5600 cal BCE.Body proportions are under strong climatic selection and evince remarkable stability within regional lineages. As such, they offer a viable and robust alternative to cranio-facial data in assessing hypothesised continuity and replacement with the transition to agro-pastoralism in central Europe. Humero-clavicular, brachial and crural indices in a large sample (n=75) of Linienbandkeramik (LBK), Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age specimens from the middle Elbe-Saale-Werra valley (MESV) were compared with Eurasian and African terminal Pleistocene, European Mesolithic and geographically disparate recent human specimens.Mesolithic Europeans display considerable variation in humero-clavicular and brachial indices yet none approach the extreme “hyper-polar” morphology of LBK humans from the MESV. In contrast, Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age peoples display elongated brachial and crural indices reminiscent of terminal Pleistocene and “tropically adapted” recent humans. These marked morphological changes likely reflect exogenous immigration during the terminal Fourth millennium cal BC. Population expansion and diffusion is a function of increased mobility and settlement dispersal concomitant with significant technological and subsistence changes in later Neolithic societies during the late fourth millennium cal BCE.     

Analysis of the fuel wood used in Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age copper mining sites of the Schwaz and Brixlegg area (Tyrol,Austria)

Charcoal analysis was carried out as part of an interdisciplinary project focusing on the copper mining history of the former mining area of Schwaz and Brixlegg, a region pivotal as a copper source in prehistoric Europe. The goal was to use remains of carbonised wood to investigate environmental implications of prehistoric mining, as well as to gain new insight about the ancient mining technique of fire-setting. Charcoal samples from seven copper mining sites (Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age) were analysed. The results reveal a strong preference for coniferous wood as fuel in fire-setting, but not in ore smelting/roasting processes. Species composition at the ore-processing sites indicates moderate forest degradation processes caused by human intervention.     

Is naked barley an eastern or a western crop? The combined evidence of archaeobotany and genetics

Forms of Hordeum vulgare ssp. vulgare (barley) that possess a naked caryopsis are an important human staple and are mainly found today in eastern Asia. However, naked barley has not always been an eastern crop: archaeobotanical data show that it was prevalent in Europe and the Near East during various periods in prehistory. In this review we have collated data on the incidence of hulled and naked barley at archaeological sites in Europe and the Near East from two sources: archaeobotanical literature reviews and an archaeobotanical database, both assembled by Helmut Kroll. We have also examined the incidence of hulled and naked barleys in extant germplasm collections. Our compilation of this archaeobotanical data has enabled us to elucidate long-term changes in the ratio of hulled to naked barley under cultivation in these regions; specifically, these records show that naked barley begins to disappear from the archaeobotanical record from the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age onwards in the Near East, and from the Iron Age/Roman periods onwards in Europe. We discuss the possible causes of this decline in naked barley cultivation in these regions, along with the present-day prevalence of naked barley landraces in eastern Asia, particularly in relation to genetic evidence, which shows that naked barley has a single origin.     

Dendrochronological analysis and dating of wooden artefacts from the prehistoric copper mine Kelchalm/Kitzbühel (Austria)

The potential of dendrochronological analysis of wood found in prehistoric and historic mining areas in Tyrol has remained unattended for a long time. For the first time, systematically analysed wooden artefacts from a prehistoric mining area in Tyrol (Kelchalm near Kitzbühel) can be presented here.The investigated artefacts, related to mining and everyday life, were found in the course of archaeological excavations, which were carried out between 1932 and 1953 by Richard Pittioni and Ernst Preuschen. Taking an adequate number of tree rings and well-preserved wood wane into account, 21 pieces of mining timber were pre-selected for a dendrochronological analysis. The identified wood species are spruce (Picea abies, n=18) and fir (Abies alba, n=3). The length of the established tree-ring series ranges from 13 to 145. We cross-dated the tree-ring series of seven wooden artefacts among each other, which resulted in a spruce-fir tree-ring record of 153 values (Kelchalm mean curve). The last tree ring measured of the Kelchalm spruce-fir mean curve dates back to 1237 BC. This accurate dendro-result dates the Bronze Age mining activities at the Kelchalm to about two centuries earlier than the long-lasting assumption proposed by Richard Pittioni. His assumption was based on the typology of ceramic and metal artefacts.The established dendro-date for the Bronze Age mine at the Kelchalm matches with available ¹⁴C results from other important copper-mining areas in the north-eastern Alps (NE Alps). The activities at these other sites are dated between the 17th and 6th century BC. Furthermore, the radiocarbon dating, as well as the dendro-result from the Kelchalm, suggests a transition from earlier mined copper-ore deposits in the eastern areas of the NE Alps, to the later mined ore deposits in the western section. This has led to both parallel and sequential mining activities in several ore districts during the last two millennia BC in the NE Alps.     

Radiocarbon age of carbonate in fruits of Lithospermum from the early Bronze Age settlement of Hirbet ez-Zeraqōn (Jordan)

Uncarbonized fruits of the Boraginaceae occur widely in cultural layers of archaeological sites in the Mediterranean and the Near East. To date, interpreting their origin remains problematic. It is difficult for archaeobotanists to tell whether such fruits were deposited as part of the cultural layer or were introduced post-depositionally. In an attempt to answer this question for the early Bronze Age site of Hirbet ez-Zeraqon (Jordan), we used direct ¹⁴C dating of biogenic carbonate from calcareous fruits of Lithospermum. The radiocarbon ages of seven fossil samples of the fruits suggest that they originate from plants that grew during or around the time of occupation.     

Contents of a storage pit from late Bronze Age Stillfried,Austria: another record of the "new" glume wheat

Since Jones et al. (2000) drew attention to a "new" type of glume wheat from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in northern Greece, several finds of this morphologically distinct tetraploid wheat form have been made across central and southeastern Europe. Charred remains of this wheat, dating from 819–1031 cal b.c., have also been discovered in a storage pit at late Bronze Age Stillfried, eastern Austria. As both chaff and grains were found, it was not only possible to match the diagnostic features of the spikelet bases to the "new" form, but also to examine the grains, which are strikingly long, slender and flat. A dorsal ridge is absent and there is no hump above the embryo. The embryo angle is relatively low and compression lines are much more distinct. Within the Stillfried store "new" glume wheat grains were also easily separable from two-grained einkorn and spelt grains. The morphology of the grains is not inconsistent with the suggestion that the "new" type glume wheat might correspond to modern Triticum timopheevi. In Stillfried "new" glume wheat was grown as a winter crop, and it seems to have been cultivated as a maslin (mixed crop) together with T. monococcum (einkorn).     

Stable isotope evidence for the consumption of millet and other plants in Bronze Age Italy

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis was carried out on human and animal bones from four inland Early and Middle Bronze Age sites in Northern and Southern Italy. The main aims of the investigation were to explore the contribution of plant foods to the human diet and to examine any dietary differences between and within each of the sites. At two of the sites in Northern Italy, human and animal bones were significantly enriched in ¹³C. This finding was attributed to the consumption of domestic millets (Panicum miliaceum and/or Setaria italica), which are C₄ pathway plants. Conversely, individuals from the two Bronze Age sites in Southern Italy were significantly depleted in ¹³C compared to those from the north. Here, millet was absent from the diet, and protein from C₃ plants made a much greater dietary contribution than animal protein. This finding highlights the importance of cereal cultivation, most likely of wheat and barley, in the south of Italy during the Bronze Age. Overall, our results support the idea that the widespread cultivation of millet first occurred in Northern Italy, following its introduction from across the Alps in Central Europe. Finally, we found no significant differences in the stable isotope values between individuals at each site, when grouped by their sex or presence of grave goods. This leads to the conclusion that any status difference that may have existed is not reflected in the long‐term dietary record, or at least not as measurable by stable isotope analysis. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

New records on the Red-tailed Wheatear,Oenanthe xanthoprymna,in Turkey

Abstract

Data are given on the distribution of the freshwater clam Corbicula fluminalis (Corbiculidae) in the Near East, with special reference to its north-western limit. Its present distribution is relatively stable, and this contrasts with the continuing expansion throughout Europe of C. fluminea and C. fluviatilis, two East Asian species that were introduced into America and thence into Europe. The distribution pattern of C. fluminalis in the Near East was shaped during the Pliocene. There were only small expansions in its range in Mesopotamia and the northern Levant during the Pleistocene Riss glacial, which is quite different from the situation in other parts of its range. During the pre-glacial Pleistocene (Ubeidiya) C. Jluminalis reached the Jordan rift valley. From there, either immediately or subsequently during the Riss glacial, it invaded the coastal rivers of the southern Levant and the Nile, reaching upstream as Far as Lake Tana. In Africa C. fluminalis met C. consobrina which had been there since the middle of the Pliocene.     

Subsistence strategies of two Bronze Age hill-top settlements in the eastern Alps—Friaga/Bartholomäberg (Vorarlberg, Austria) and Ganglegg/Schluderns (South Tyrol, Italy)

Up to now, archaeobotanical investigations of prehistoric sites in the eastern Alpine region have been rare. Recent palaeoethnobotanical investigations of carbonised plant remains from two Bronze Age hill-top settlements, one located north and the other south of the main Alpine range, contribute essentially to the knowledge of subsistence strategies and husbandry regimes in the Alps in prehistoric periods. The principal cereals were Hordeum vulgare (hulled barley), Triticum dicoccon (emmer) and Panicum miliaceum (broomcorn millet). In general, hulled barley was the most important cereal crop in the eastern Alps. Legumes such as Vicia faba (horse bean) and Pisum sativum (pea) also occurred regularly in both hill-top settlements. In addition to these field crops, a large variety of wild plants was still gathered and contributed considerably to the daily diet. The arable weed flora suggests that crops were sown in spring and autumn and it indicates crop rotation in this period. The results of the plant macrofossils imply a complex pattern of plant resource utilisation in the Alpine area during the Bronze Age.     

The molecular population structure of the tall forb Cicerbita alpina (Asteraceae) supports the idea of cryptic glacial refugia in central Europe

There is an ongoing debate about the glacial history of non‐arctic species in central and northern Europe. The two main hypotheses are: (1) postglacial colonization from refugia outside this region; (2) glacial survival in microclimatically favourable sites within the periglacial areas. In order to clarify the glacial history of a boreo‐montane tall forb, we analysed AFLPs from populations of Cicerbita alpina through most of its range (Scandinavia, the mountains of central Europe, the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Balkan Peninsula). We found a major differentiation between the Pyrenean population and all others, supported by principal coordinate, neighbour joining and STRUCTURE analyses. Furthermore, three populations from the central and north‐eastern Alps were genetically distinct from the bulk of populations from Scandinavia, central Europe, the Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Most populations, including those from central and northern Europe, had moderate to high levels of genetic diversity (mean Shannon index H_Sh = 0.292, mean percentage of polymorphic loci P = 54.1%, mean Nei's gene diversity H = 0.195). The results indicate separate glacial refugia in the Pyrenean region and the Italian Alps. Furthermore, they provide evidence of glacial persistence in cryptic refugia north of the Alps, from where Scandinavia and most of the Alps are likely to have been colonized following deglaciation. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 164 , 142–154.     

Late Quaternary history of Hippophaë rhamnoides L. (Elaeagnaceae) inferred from chalcone synthase intron (Chsi) sequences and chloroplast DNA variation

Fossil pollen records indicate that Hippophaë rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) was widespread on late‐ and early postglacial raw soils throughout much of central and northern Europe, but that Early Holocene reforestation restricted populations to northern coastal habitats, or along mountain streams in the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians. We used sequence variation at the nuclear chalcone synthase intron (Chsi), in conjunction with chloroplast DNA–restriction fragment length polymorphism data, to investigate the intraspecific phylogeny, phylogeographic structure, and expansion demographic history of this dioecious and wind‐pollinated shrub at its range‐wide scale in Europe and Asia Minor. Four major Chsi phylogroups of unresolved relationships were identified with estimated divergences ～172 000 years ago. Large‐scale phylogeographic structures of nuclear and cytoplasmic markers were congruent in identifying (i) southeastern Europe as the most likely source of colonization into central Europe and Scandinavia, and (ii) the area just north of the Alps as a contact zone between populations from the Alps and the east/central European‐Scandinavian lineage. Coalescence‐based analyses (i.e. nested clade analysis and mismatch distributions) of Chsi variation were able to detect at least four major episodes of population growth, all within about the last 40 000 years. In particular, these analyses identified a nearly synchronized timing of population expansions in various parts of the species’ range in central‐eastern Europe/Asia Minor, most likely correlating with the Younger Dryas Stadial (～13 000–11 600 years ago). It remains to be established whether the phylogeographic history of H. rhamnoides, and particularly its rapid response to the rapid environmental changes of the Younger Dryas cold snap, is unique to the species, or whether it is shared with other cold‐tolerant shrub (or grassland) species known from late‐glacial raw soils in Europe.     

Two interesting floral finds from third millennium B.C. Tell Hammam et-Turkman,northern Syria

Charred flower-head remains of Carthamus tinctorius recovered from an Early Bronze Age site in northern Syria indicate that safflower was used as a dye plant. The kernels of Prunus mahaleb probably served as a flavouring agent.     

Mid to late Holocene vegetation and land use history in the Weald of south-eastern England: multiple pollen profiles from the Rye area

The High Weald is an unusually well-wooded area in southern England. A high proportion of this woodland is ancient, being formerly exploited as seasonal pasture and coppice. Multiple pollen profiles from the Rye area have been used to elucidate the origins of this cultural landscape. By combining sites with small and large pollen source areas, both local and regional patterns of vegetation change have been determined. The mid-Holocene Tilia-dominated woodlands were subjected to temporary clearance as early as the Neolithic. This woodland was more extensively exploited over a ca. 700 year period from the beginning of the Bronze Age. The main elements of the modern landscape (woodland, pasture and limited cultivation) can be traced back to a more intensive phase of human activity, which commenced in the late Bronze Age. A regional increase in Fagus sylvatica pollen ca. 750 B.C. probably reflects the use of the Wealden woods for pasturage. There is no palynological evidence that the fuel demands of the Roman iron industry resulted in widespread woodland destruction. The early Anglo-Saxon period appears to have been one of land-use continuity, with a second increase in Fagus pollen at ca. A.D. 700 corresponding to historical evidence for the presence of wood-pastures in the Weald.     

Middle to Late Holocene vegetation history of the Upper Engadine (Swiss Alps): the role of man and fire

To reconstruct the vegetation and fire history of the Upper Engadine, two continuous sediment cores from Lej da Champfèr and Lej da San Murezzan (Upper Engadine Valley, southeastern Switzerland) were analysed for pollen, plant macrofossils, charcoal and kerogen. The chronologies of the cores are based on 38 radiocarbon dates. Pollen and macrofossil data suggest a rapid afforestation with Betula, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus cembra, and Larix decidua after the retreat of the glaciers from the lake catchments 11,000 cal years ago. This vegetation type persisted until ca. 7300 cal b.p. (5350 b.c.) when Picea replaced Pinus cembra. Pollen indicative of human impact suggests that in this high-mountain region of the central Alps strong anthropogenic activities began during the Early Bronze Age (3900 cal b.p., 1950 b.c.). Local human settlements led to vegetational changes, promoting the expansion of Larix decidua and Alnus viridis. In the case of Larix, continuing land use and especially grazing after fire led to the formation of Larix meadows. The expansion of Alnus viridis was directly induced by fire, as evidenced by time-series analysis. Subsequently, the process of forest conversion into open landscapes continued for millennia and reached its maximum at the end of the Middle Ages at around 500 cal b.p. (a.d. 1450).     

A Novel abscisic acid metabolite from cell suspension cultures of Nigella damascena

The structure of a novel abscisic acid metabolite isolated from cell suspension cultures of Nigella damascena fed [2-¹⁴C]abscisic acid was iden     

Cochlearia macrorrhiza (Brassicaceae): A bridging species between Cochlearia taxa from the Eastern Alps and the Carpathians?

Cochlearia macrorrhiza is one of the most highly endangered species in Central Europe and less than five individuals survived at its natural stand in a lowland area between the Eastern Alps and the Carpathians. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) confirmed the status of C. macrorrhiza as a distinct taxon. Lowland C. macrorrhiza does not bridge the distribution of montainous and alpine Cochlearia species from the Eastern Alps and the Carpathians genetically, and C. macrorrhiza represents a separate lineage which evolved from diploid Cochlearia as C. excelsa in East Austrian high alpine regions did. Another species considered in this study, the Romanian C. borzaeana is more closely related to C. tatrae from the High Tatra mountains than to C. pyrenaica from Slovakia or Austria and the AFLP results suggest a single origin of alpine 2n=42 taxa. Genetic differentiation within and between populations is highly structured geographically, and the AFLP data favour a former widespread distribution of C. pyrenaica in mountainous regions and a parallel evolution of high alpine taxa in the Eastern Alps and the Carpathians, respectively.     

Glacial refugia and postglacial expansion of the alpine–prealpine plant species Polygala chamaebuxus

The shrubby milkwort (Polygala chamaebuxus L.) is widely distributed in the Alps, but occurs also in the lower mountain ranges of Central Europe such as the Franconian Jura or the Bohemian uplands. Populations in these regions may either originate from glacial survival or from postglacial recolonization. In this study, we analyzed 30 populations of P. chamaebuxus from the whole distribution range using AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) analysis to identify glacial refugia and to illuminate the origin of P. chamaebuxus in the lower mountain ranges of Central Europe. Genetic variation and the number of rare fragments within populations were highest in populations from the central part of the distribution range, especially in the Southern Alps (from the Tessin Alps and the Prealps of Lugano to the Triglav Massiv) and in the middle part of the northern Alps. These regions may have served, in accordance with previous studies, as long‐term refugia for the glacial survival of the species. The geographic pattern of genetic variation, as revealed by analysis of molecular variance, Bayesian cluster analysis and a PopGraph genetic network was, however, only weak. Instead of postglacial recolonization from only few long‐term refugia, which would have resulted in deeper genetic splits within the data set, broad waves of postglacial expansion from several short‐term isolated populations in the center to the actual periphery of the distribution range seem to be the scenario explaining the observed pattern of genetic variation most likely. The populations from the lower mountain ranges in Central Europe were more closely related to the populations from the southwestern and northern than from the nearby eastern Alps. Although glacial survival in the Bohemian uplands cannot fully be excluded, P. chamaebuxus seems to have immigrated postglacially from the southwestern or central‐northern parts of the Alps into these regions during the expansion of the pine forests in the early Holocene.     

Holocene timber-line dynamics at Bachalpsee, a lake at 2265 m a.s.l. in the northern Swiss Alps

Palaeobotanical analysis and radiocarbon dating of lake sediments from Bachalpsee (2265 m a.s.l.), a small lake above the present-day timber-line in the northern Swiss Alps reveals that the region was already deglaciated during the Younger Dryas. The sediment record is dominated by long-distance transported pollen that originates from lowland vegetation but the plant macrofossils give evidence of the local vegetation development. Comparison with palaeobotanical results from three sites along an altitudinal transect permits the reconstruction of the regional timber-line history. Throughout the entire Holocene the catchment of Bachalpsee consisted of a mosaic of open meadows and dwarf shrubs (Salix, Vaccinium, Rhododendron). Chironomid and cladoceran assemblages suggest that the early to mid-Holocene was the warmest interval at Bachalpsee. Comparison of the palaeobotanical results with those from the mire “Feld” (2130 m a.s.l.) in the vicinity of Bachalpsee showed that during the mid-Holocene the timber-line was formed by Pinus cembra and Picea abies with some scattered Abies alba trees and was situated close to Bachalpsee but never reached its catchment. The maximum timber-line in the Northern Alps was reached between 6000 and 3000 cal b.p. which is several millennia later than in the Central Alps. The species composition of the tree-line (Abies alba, Pinus cembra and the absence of Larix decidua) points to less continental and moister climatic conditions compared with the central Alps during the early to mid-Holocene. From 3000 cal b.p. onwards the timber-line was lowered by human deforestation with the most intense pulses of human impact occurring since the Middle Ages. The catchment of Bachalpsee has been used as alpine pasture since the Bronze Age.