The environmental changes (vegetation history, human impact and land use, influence of the Black Sea) in the area of Lake Durankulak, northeastern Bulgaria, were reconstructed and synthesized for the last ca. 8000 years. The palaeoecological information derived from various proxies (pollen, plant macrofossils, molluscs, sediments) was compared on a regional scale with the evidence from the nearby coastal lakes ShablaeEzeretz and Bolata. The Early Holocene xerothermic steppe vegetation, dominated by Chenopodiaceae, Artemisia and Poaceae species, and accompanied by stands of trees in moister habitats, was transformed after 6000 cal. BP into a forest-steppe, comprising oak woods with Carpinus betulus, Ulmus, Tilia, Acer. This vegetation pattern has been periodically modified, depleted and replaced by arable land or xerothermic herbaceous communities enriched with anthropophytes and ruderals, particularly after the intensification of human activities since 3300 cal. BP. The archaeobotanical evidence from the region has provided valuable information about the occupation phases and subsistence strategy of the local people since the Late Neolithic (5300 cal. BC/7250 cal. BP). Periods with cultivation of cereals (Triticum, Hordeum) and/or stock-breeding activity were interrupted by abandonment of the settlements and the arable land due to unfavourable environmental changes. The periodical connection/isolation of Lake Durankulak with the Black Sea and the periods of marine influence were recorded by changes in the composition of the fossil molluscan fauna and the lithology of the sediments, and chronologically confirmed by radiocarbon dates. The development of the coastal lakes throughout the largest part of the Holocene has been also considerably influenced by the fluctuations of the Black Sea level.
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In light of recent discoveries of early figurative art in Paleolithic sites of southwestern Germany, gaining an improved understanding of biological, cultural, and social development of these hunter-gatherer populations under past environmental conditions is essential. The analysis of botanical micro- and macrofossils from the Hohle Fels Cave contributes to the limited floral record from this region. These data suggest generally open vegetation, with the presence of wood near Hohle Fels, as indicated by pollen, phytoliths, and evidence from wood charcoal throughout the whole sequence of occupation. The Aurignacian horizons (early Upper Paleolithic, starting around 44,200 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP) correlate with prevailing shrub tundra. Few arboreal pollen in the transitional section from the Aurignacian to the Gravettian horizons (middle Upper Paleolithic, until ca. 32 cal yr BP) supports the model of an interglacial tundra with a mosaic of cold steppe elements and some patches of woody species. In the Gravettian, the macrobotanical and the palynological records indicate colder climatic conditions and a generally reduced presence of wood patches. Few seed remains, mostly of the Asteraceae and Poaceae families suggesting the use of these plants. The collection of bearberry (Arctostaphylos sp.) for specific purposes is indicated by large amounts of bark fragments.
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