Grandes phases de pédogenèse, d'érosion et d'anthropisation des sols au cours de la seconde moitié de l'Holocène en Lorraine (France)

Abstract

This paper presents the most significant results of the last decade from soil, sedimentary and micromorphology analyses of archaeological sites in Lorraine. A tentative diachronic reconstruction of the main pedogenetical, erosional and anthropisation phases observed at the regional scale is proposed. The soil erosion seems to have started locally during the Bronze Age and perhaps Late Neolithic, developed during Iron Age and stabilized during Roman time and Middle Age. The erosion processes are related to intricated human and natural factors, including population and climatic changes, as observed in neighbouring regions. These results from Lorraine contribute to the more global reflexion on the environmental variability and social mutation appearing through the second half of the Holocene in Northern Europe.