Lisbeth Prøsch-Danielsen

Palaeoecological investigations towards the reconstruction of the history of forest clearances and coastal heathlands in south-western Norway

Palynological data collected over a period of 60 years have been compiled and re-interpreted in order to reveal the patterns of deforestation and health establishment in the south-western Norwegian coastal heathland. This heathland area has been divided into four sub-regions based on topography, bedrock and drift cover. The palynological investigations are from sites with pollen source areas of different sizes. The palynological signals are interpreted in terms of models that suggest an abrupt, gradual or stepwise deforestation which can be explained by terms of different pollen source areas. The deforestation seems to have been metachronous, leading to a regional mosaic pattern of different vegetation types. The deforestation process spanned more than 3600 calendar years (4000-400 B.C.), with three pronounced clearance periods at 4000-3600 B.C. (Mesolithic/Early Neolithic transition), 2500-2200 B.C. (Middle Neolithic II/Early Late Neolithic transition), and 1900-1400 B.C. (Late Neolithic to Bronze Age period II). The expansion of heathland has also been metachronous and took place over a period of ca. 4000 years between 4000-200 B.C., but was mainly completed by the end of the Bronze Age. Regional differences in the chronology of deforestation and heathland establishment are discussed. Deforestation with subsequent heathland expansion can best be explained in terms of the interaction between land-use history, topography and edaphic conditions under climatic conditions that favoured heathland development.

Impulses of agro-pastoralism in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC on the south-western coastal rim of Norway

Abstract A review of the available archaeological and palaeoecological evidence from the coastal heathlands of south-western Norway was compiled to reveal the processes of neolithisation proceeding from the Early Neolithic towards the generally accepted breakthrough in the Late Neolithic, 2500/2350 cal. BC. South-western Norway then became part of the Scandinavian, and thus the European, agricultural complex. Three phases of forest clearance are recorded — from 4000–3600 cal. BC, 2500–2200 cal. BC and 1900–1400 cal. BC. Deforestation was intentional and followed a regional pattern linked to the geology and topography of the land. In the first period (4000–2500 cal. BC), forage from broad-leaved trees was important, while cereal cultivation was scarcely recorded. Agro-Neolithic (here referring to agriculturally-related Neolithic) artefacts and eco-facts belonging to the Funnel Beaker and Battle Axe culture are rare, but pervasive. They must primarily be considered to be status indicators with a ritual function; the hunter-gatherer economy still dominated. The breakthrough in agro-pastoral production in the Late Neolithic was complex and the result of interactions between several variables, i.e. a) deforestation resulting from agriculture being practised for nearly 1500 years b) experience with small-scale agriculture through generations and c) intensified exchange systems with other South Scandinavian regions. From 2500/2350 cal. BC onwards, two distinct environmental courses are noticeable in all pollen diagrams from the study area, indicating expansion in pastoralism, either towards heath or towards grassland and permanent fields.

Vegetation history and human impact during the last 11 500 years at Lista, the southernmost part of Norway. Based primarily on Professor Ulf Hafsten's material and diary from 1955–1957

Pollen analysis has been carried out on cores from three basins from the Lista area, Vest-Agder, southern Norway. One of the basins dates back to 11 500 BP. During the Late Weichselian, vegetation and soil cover were poorly developed on the low-lying Listalandet, due to the unfavourable climate and the area being affected by sea level fluctuations. The Holocene can be biostratigraphically divided into five local PAZs. The vegetational succession during the first 5000 years was almost identical with the known succession from the South Scandinavian nemoral region. Modest forest clearance is suggested throughout the Early and Middle Neolithic periods. Agricultural activity based on both cereal cultivation and animal husbandry is indicated to 5200 BP. A slow deforestation took place onwards, parallel to the development of Calluna heath and the expansion of pastoral and arable farming. During the Iron Age, a complete agrarian landscape developed.

Prehistoric agriculture revealed by pollen analysis, plough-marks and sediment studies at Sola, south-western Norway

In 1985 archaeological excavations at Stavanger Airport, Sola, south-western Norway, revealed evidence for five phases of human activity ranging in age from the Mesolithic to the Late Bronze Age. The two youngest phases, namely 4 and 5 which reflect agrarian activity, are considered in detail in this paper. The fourth phase, which dates to ca. 3500 B.P., contains the first evidence of animal husbandry at the site and, in the fifth phase, there is evidence for a mixed farming economy. Physical evidence of cultivation includes intersecting patterns of plough-marks and, at seven sites, pollen assemblages indicative of arable farming have been recorded. The arable fields, in which weed-rich crops of Hordeum and Triticum were grown, date to ca. 2550-2200 B.P. The fields were subsequently covered by a thick layer of aeolian sand.

New light on the Holocene shore displacement curve on Lista, the southernmost part of Norway

The aim of this study was to determine and present the Holocene shore displacement on Lista based on material obtained with a Hiller sampler by Professor Ulf Hafsten during the period 1955–1957 and in 1966. A shore displacement curve can serve as a tool in the localization of prehistoric sites and can give a better understanding of both rapid and long–term processes within the landscape. Small fluctuations in sea level may cause dramatic changes in the landscape, particularly in the low–lying Listalandet. This article is part of a comprehensive pollenanalytical study of the southernmost coast region of Norway initiated by Ulf Hafsten in 1955 (Hafsten 1979, 1983a, b). Hafstens principal objective was to trace the late Pleistocene shore displacement from Lista to Kristiansand (Hafsten pers. comm. in Nydal 1962).

The Environmental Aspects and Palynological Signals of the “Fairy-Circles” – Ancient Earthworks linked to Coastal Heathland in South-Western Norway

Abstract The fairy-circles, a group of mysterious earthworks, are restricted to the coastal heathland of Jæren, south-western Norway. They are the result of a specialised farming practice adapted to local environmental conditions and are often situated on convex landforms of Quaternary deposits. These earthworks comprise an enclosure defined by a bank and an oval or rectangular ditch in loose deposits. They have been recorded, archaeologically investigated and debated since the 1820s. Problems concerning their form, function and period of use have until now been unsolved. Factors such as climate, Quaternary deposits, vegetation cover and land-use were recorded to put the fairy-circles into an environmental context. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on fossil pollen data from structures within 16 of these man-made constructions and compared to modern and fossil analogues. This study reveals a change in the pollen taxa throughout the period of use of these historic relics suggesting that the wet heaths and mires found on the slopes and concave landforms were used for haymaking, and that the fairy-circles served as bases for haystacks. The onset of this activity may be dated back to the Late Iron Age while the upper age limit is tentatively put at AD 1835.

Long-term changes in regional vegetation cover along the west coast of southern Norway: The importance of human impact

Special Feature “Millennial to centennial vegetation change” (Eds. Thomas Giesecke, Petr Kuneš & Triin Reitalu). 1Department of Natural History, University Museum, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway 2Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway 3Museum of Archaeology, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway 4Institute of Ecology, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia 5Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

The Use of Pollen, Magnetic and Carbon Analyses in Identifying Agricultural Activity and Soil Erosion from the Neolithic to the Iron Age – A Study of Two Lake Sediment Cores from Jæren, South-Western Norway

Abstract Sediment cores from two small lakes, Alvevatn and Hanalandstjønn, both situated in the coastal heathland in Jceren, south-western Norway, were investigated with respect to microfossil analyses of pollen, spores and charcoal. The two lakes are situated close to prehistoric sites and monuments ranging in time from the Mesolithic to the Medieval Age. The microfossil analyses clearly reflect abrupt deforestation from closed mixed deciduous forest to heathland at approximately 3800 BP (ca. 2500–2200 cal BC). This event coincides with the generally accepted introduction of an agro-pastoral economy in the area at the Middle Neolithic II/Early Late Neolithic transition (MN II/ELN). However, at both localities, weak signals of agrarian impact are traced earlier by palynology. In recent years conclusions based on weak palynological signals have been criticised severely. In this investigation the tenability of the palynological method has been tested by applying independent methods to sediments from the same cores, viz. mineral magnetic and carbon analyses, which are likely to be proxy records for anthropogenic activity. The close agreement between the different methods support the conclusion that an agrarian economy was introduced prior to 4300 BP in the coastal heathland in Jæren.

Economic and social zones during the Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age in Jæren, Southwest Norway. Reconstructing large-scale land-use patterns

Zusammenfassung Basierend auf einer Untersuchung der ökologischen und archäologischen Hinterlassenschaften für Jæren, Südwest-Norwegen, wird vorgeschlagen, dass der Übergang zu einer agrar-pastoralen Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft am Übergang vom mittleren zum späten Neolithikum (2400–2350 v. Chr.) erfolgte und es in Folge zu einer raschen Strukturierung der besiedelten Kulturlandschaften kam. In den folgenden Jahrzehnten und Jahrhunderten entwickelte sich die Gesellschaft auf dieser Basis fort. >Eines der charakteristischen Merkmale der damaligen Landschaften ist, dass diese umfassend in das soziale und rituelle Leben integriert wurden, was auf lokaler Ebene zu einer Zonierung der Landschaft mit jeweils deutlichen Unterschieden in den wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und kulturellen Ausdrucksformen führte. In den offenen, gras- und heidedominierten Küstenzonen manifestiert sich der Befund auf monumentaler und ritueller Ebene, während geeignete quartäre Lagerstätten als Zonen unterschiedlich intensiven Getreideanbaus genutzt wurden. Die beschriebenen Landschaften entwickelten sich als Reaktion auf eine nachhaltige Wirtschaftspraxis, die eine kontinuierliche Ausweitung der Beweidung, eine Intensivierung der Getreideproduktion und den Zugang zu Kommunikationswegen umfasste. Unterschiede im Nutzungsdruck, in der Produktion und in der Wirtschaftsstrategie spiegeln eine Reihe von Umweltparametern wider. Somit korrelieren die Aktivitätszonen weitgehend mit physikalischen Eigenschaften der Landschaft, was offensichtlich sowohl einen adaptiven Aspekt in der Wirtschaft als auch Muster einer umfassenden Ressourcenausnutzung der Zonen widerspiegelt, etwa in der Kombination von Getreideproduktion, Wanderweidewirtschaft, Jagd und Zugang zu maritimen Engstellen. Zur Interpretation schlagen die Autoren ein Modell sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Organisationen und Interaktionen in der Region Jæren vor, basierend auf den Verteilungen mehrerer Kategorien archäologischer Funde. Das Modell präsentiert eine Reihe voneinander abhängiger Zonen innerhalb einer einheitlichen, aber diversifizierten Wirtschaft mit Querschnittsaktivitäten und Mobilitätsmustern. Der präsentierte Ansatz stellt eine Alternative zu bestehenden Hierarchiemodellen innerhalb begrenzter Gebiete dar. Die Landschaftszonierung in Jæren ähnelt jener in Westskandinavien, einschließlich Jütlands, Dänemark. Aus diesem Grund war die Einführung einer subsistenzorientierten, Feldbau und Weidewirtschaft kombinierenden Landwirtschaft in Jæren von externen Impulsen abhängig.

A Synthesis of Pollen Composition in Prehistoric Cultivation Layers in Southwestern Norway

Pollen records and radiocarbon dates from cultivation layers were compiled to explore agricultural changes in southwestern Norway, with a focus on cereals and associated herbs. Variations in the po...