Palaeoecological signals for Mesolithic land use in a Central European landscape?

Abstract

During the Early Holocene, climate was the major factor causing fires, but whether during the Mesolithic (~11.5–7.4 cal ka BP) people co-shaped their environment by means of fire remains of debate. Few studies have tackled this question by linking high-resolution multi-proxy palaeoecological studies from near Mesolithic occupation sites. An Early Holocene sediment record from the Ammer Valley palaeo-wetland in south-west Germany was studied using pollen, micro- and macrocharcoal, and plant macroremains. Archaeological evidence from Early and Late Mesolithic sites of Rottenburg-Siebenlinden allowed us to link this palaeoecological record with Mesolithic land use in the same catchment. Between 11.6 and 10.6 cal kabp,intensive wildfires reinforced the persistence of open and pioneer vegetation. A transition from a river-dominated landscape towards a wetland with open stagnant waters at 10.6–9.5 cal ka bpmade the region attractive to hunter-gatherers, providing various plant resources (incl. hazel). From 10.1 cal ka bponwards, Mesolithic communities may have shaped their environment by using fire as a tool to expand open areas, which were important for the implementation of their subsistence strategies. After 9.5 cal ka bp, human control over fires cannot be excluded as Mesolithic occupation phases chronologically coincide with frequent low-intensity fires and vegetation disturbance.