Bronze Age landscape dynamics: spatially detailed pollen analysis from a ceremonial complex
- 作者：Ralph M. Fyfe ; ralph.fyfe@plymouth.ac.uk
- 关键词：Pollen analysis ; Bronze Age ; Barrows ; Exmoor ; Ceremonial landscapes ; Openness
- 刊名：Journal of Archaeological Science
- 出版年：2012
- 期刊代码：137_03054403
- 类别：soc
- 出版时间：August, 2012
- 卷：39
- 期：8
- 页码：2764-2773
- 文件大小：2135 K
摘要
The late Neolithic and early Bronze Age are periods marked by the construction of conspicuous concentrations of 鈥榬itual鈥?complexes, used for funerary rituals, seasonal gatherings and communal activities. Understanding the environmental context of monuments may provide detailed insights into relationships between the physical environment and the activities undertaken at individual monuments. Raised burial mounds (barrows) are generally assumed to have been constructed in open landscapes (the so-called 鈥榣andscape openness鈥?hypothesis) thus rendering them highly visible in the surrounding landscape. This paper seeks to test to what extent vegetation (and in particular openness) around a dense concentration of barrows was actively managed, using three pollen sequences in close spatial juxtaposition to the archaeology. The local vegetation histories, supported by radiocarbon dating, demonstrate spatial differences in vegetation pattern both during the time of monument construction and use (c. 2000-1500聽cal聽BC) and during subsequent periods. They do not support the 鈥榣andscape openness鈥?hypothesis. This suggests that there is no single 鈥榖lueprint鈥?for vegetation structure on and around these types of monument complexes. There is no evidence for major restructuring of the landscape during the early Bronze Age. The data describe a major transformation of the vegetation around 1500聽cal聽BC (the Middle Bronze Age) in an area not known for archaeology of this date. This serves to emphasize the role of palaeoecology in augmenting the archaeological record of landscape re-organisation and transformation in prehistory.