The potential of pollen analyses from urban deposits: multivariate statistical analysis of a data set from the medieval city of Prague, Czech Republic |
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Authors: | Radka Kozáková Petr Pokorný Jan Havrda Vlasta Jankovská |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Botany, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Charles University of Prague, Benátská 2, 128 01, Prague, Czech Republic 2. Institute of Archaeology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Letenská 4, 118 01, Prague, Czech Republic 3. National Institute for the Protection and Conservation of Monuments and Sites National Institute of the Care of Monuments, Na Per?tyně 12, 110 00, Prague, Czech Republic 4. Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 170/8, 603 00, Brno, Czech Republic
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Abstract: | 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. |
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