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In the paper we will introduce the results of several recent archaeological surveys in the area of Novi Kneževac, Čoka and Kikinda municipalities on the north Banat side of Tisza and Kanjiža and Senta municipalities on the Bačka side of the River. The north Bačka region of Serbia is physically divided by the waters of the Tisza River from the north Banat region, but both were greatly influenced by its everchanging course throughout (pre)history. The surveys have yielded new information about the middle and late Neolithic in the north of Serbia, but have also brought to light numerous interesting facts. The earliest evidence of human habitation in the area date to Körös-Starčevo period of the middle Neolithic with multiple sites of various sizes discovered on both sides of the River. Surface collection indicates that these sites are mostly short time, single period settlements, without prominent vertical stratigraphies or tell like formations. While the north Banat area on the left bank of Tisza was continuously occupied and transformed unhindered from middle to late Neolithic traditions with several multi-layered telloid sites attested in the period, having Körös-Starčevo, Sakalhat and early Vinča presence, on the opposite bank, in the north Bačka area, the late Neolithic period remains elusive. In the paper, we will analyse and compare several aspects of the living environment, the landscape and subsistence strategies to compare two neighbouring regions and attempt to isolate and identify factors that may have influenced the absence of the late Neolithic in the area of Serbian north Bačka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the first results of charcoal analyses carried out at Cova des Moro (Manacor, Mallorca, Spain) are presented. This cave is an archaeological but also palaeontological site that provides information on endemic fauna (the extinct caprine Myotragus balearicus) before the arrival of humans and, later, the relationship between the first farmers and the landscape. Several human occupations in the cave have been documented, from the Chalcolithic (end of the 3rd millennium cal BC), the Bronze Age (2nd millennium cal BC) and, finally, the Almohad period (13th century AD), during which the cave was used for different purposes. The first results of charcoal analyses at Cova des Moro provide information about the natural plant communities exploited by humans for comparison with later sequences, enabling us to evaluate how humans managed this territory over time. The results point to the exploitation of Mediterranean woodlands with wild olive (Olea europaea), mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), green olive tree (Phillyrea), Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), juniper (Juniperus) and rockrose species (Cistus), among others; these taxa would become the main elements of Mallorca's coastal landscape in later times, and it has been proven that they would already have been present as the island's natural flora at the time humans arrived there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of underwater prehistoric sites during the twenty-first century has been gathering momentum. This has been a positive development for the discipline that has been strengthened by research into human occupation of the drowned lands around the British coastline, particularly the submerged forests of the Solent seaway on the south coast of England as well as the North Sea. Over the last two decades underwater investigations at the Mesolithic site of Bouldnor Cliff, off the isle of Wight has revealed advanced wood working technological capabilities, the presence of sedimentary DNA from einkorn and outstanding levels of organic preservation including string, worked timbers, and most recently, a wooden platform. The timber assemblage represents the most extensive collection of Mesolithic worked wood in the country including previously unknown methods of timber working and wooden artefacts. The material evidence indicates links across Europe, while the wooden structures suggest some degree of sedentism. The site was occupied just prior to the severance of Great Britain from continental Europe, therefore, similar sites could remain in comparable landscapes before they were drowned by the emergent North Sea. This paper presents new evidence from Bouldnor Cliff to support previous interpretations, demonstrates how shallow underwater sites near the modern coastline can reveal new information about patterns of land use, population contacts and dispersal patterns over wide areas. It highlights their significance as a complement to large scale mapping of more deeply submerged landscapes and as a model for the discovery of archaeological sites in deeper water, and emphasises the need for more intensive investigation given the constant threat of erosion and destruction of such evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a stone arrangement on Pabaju (Albany Island) near the tip of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. The island is part of the traditional lands of the Gudang Aboriginal people. The site ‘Tarrungi’ is one of a number of stone arrangements in this area, which we interpret as the tangible evidence of ritual exchange within a regional cosmo-political landscape. The site on Pabaju is important as it has not suffered the same degree of disturbance from tourists as similar sites on the nearby Australian mainland. The presence of buttons, flaked glass and other artefacts on the site are suggestive of rituals enacted just after European settlement. This was at a time of significant social and political upheaval for the Gudang people who bore the brunt of the impact of European settlement in the region as the settlement of Somerset was located in the heartland of their traditional lands a mere 3 km south south-east of Tarrungi. In this paper we explore the relationship between ritual, cosmological re-working of contested landscapes and colonial settlement through the lens of an archaeological site on one of Australia's most northerly islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modeling soil evolution is an important step towards understanding the complexity of the soil system and its interaction with the other systems. The major challenge confronted by pedologists until now is the ability to develop models capable of describing the complete complexity of the soil system. This paper presents the state of art overview of such a soil evolution model, SoilGen, its applications and limitations. In addition, the paper gives an overview of how the SoilGen model may be linked to landscape evolution models to model soilscape development. SoilGen is a mechanistic pedogenetic model in which soil forming processes such as clay migration, decalcification, carbon cycling, bioturbation, physical and chemical weathering coupled with water flow are simulated at multi-millennium time scale. The model has been calibrated and undergone extensive field testing, giving reasonable results at both pedon and landscape scales. However discrepancies between observed and simulated soil properties such as base saturation (BS), cation exchange capacity (CEC) and pH have been reported. These have been attributed partly to simplification of soil forming processes particularly in the weathering and chemical systems. There is therefore a need to extend the description of chemical and weathering systems in the SoilGen model. These extensions will not only improve model performance but will also enlarge its application range in simulating the genesis of typical features of more than half of the WRB-Reference Soil Groups. We also note here that although landscape evolution models have been successfully applied to model soil production and distribution, simplified and/or incomplete description of soil forming processes remain major limitations. We therefore add to the voices in scientific literature calling for integration of pedon and landscape scale models. In addition there is critical need for high quality chronosequence, climosequence, and toposequence profile datasets to enhance calibration and validation of soil evolution models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ 15N) provide information that can be used to calculate, in a quasi-continuous manner, the trophic position (TP) of organisms within particular food webs. The estimation of the TP is fundamental to analyze cases in which some degree of omnivory is involved. Humans, as a species, are trophic omnivores that use plant and animal tissues as food sources, although in an intraspecific context they tend to significantly vary in their respective degree of omnivory. In archaeology, the use of stable isotopes to infer past diets is widespread; however, the formal assessment of TP is rare. In this paper we describe a method to simultaneously calculate and map the TP of past human populations across large spaces, involving wide environmental variation. This method uses, as inputs, δ 15N isoscapes corresponding to (i) primary producer/s, (ii) a taxon of primary consumers with wide spatial distribution and (iii) humans. The first two isoscapes function as the needed baselines for TP calculation. The approach is exemplified with data from central and southern Argentina and Chile (southern South America, 30°–56° S). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A series of charcoal analyses for nine Upper Palaeolithic caves in northern Spain chronologically placed in MIS 2 (19.6–10.3 ka uncal BP) is presented in this paper. Juniperus, Fabaceae and Salix, together with Hippophae and minor occurrences of Betula, Corylus and deciduous Quercus are recorded in some sites dated prior to 13 ka BP. This open vegetation was still dominant between 13 and 11 ka BP, although the sharp increase of Betula and deciduous taxa indicates greater environmental diversity. Pinus, Betula and deciduous Quercus are dominant between 11 and 10 ka BP. However, the manifestation of charcoal data is conditioned by the interaction of several natural and human factors that are the focus of anthracology. This paper discusses the vegetal landscape surrounding Cantabrian archaeological sites in relation with the major vegetation dynamics outlined in MIS 2 high-resolution pollen records from SW Europe, the available woody resources, and the human exploitation of these plant communities throughout the Late Upper Palaeolithic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper provides a preliminary chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework for the Late Pleistocene archaeological sequence at Melikane Rockshelter in mountainous eastern Lesotho. Renewed excavations at Melikane form part of a larger project investigating marginal landscape use by Late Pleistocene foragers in southern Africa. Geoarchaeological work undertaken at the site supports in-field observations that Melikane experienced regular, often intensive, input of groundwater via fissures in the shelter''s rear wall. This strong hydrogeological connection resulted in episodic disturbances of the sedimentary sequence, exacerbated by other processes such as bioturbation. Despite this taphonomic complexity, a robust chronology for Melikane has been developed, based on tightly cross-correlated accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C with acid-base-wet oxidation stepped-combustion (ABOx-SC) pretreatment and single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The results show that human occupation of Melikane was strongly pulsed, with episodes of Late Pleistocene occupation at ∼80, ∼60, ∼50, ∼46–38 and ∼24 ka. At least three additional occupational pulses occurred in the Holocene at ∼9 ka, ∼3 ka and in the second millennium AD, but these are dealt with only briefly in this paper. Implications of the Late Pleistocene pulsing for the colonisation of high elevations by early modern humans in Africa ahead of dispersals into challenging landscapes beyond the continent are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the paleogeographic reconstructions of flooded areas of the Tar - San Martín lacustrine system during the late Pleistocene - Holocene. The dimensions of lacustrine and glaciolacustrine levels of this basin are higher than the current levels of the lakes. The organic matter of lake levels recorded on stratigraphic profiles was described, sampled and dated using AMS, while other paleobathymetric indicators were also identified (height of the fan-delta apex and paleo-coast levels). Deriving out of the reconstruction of flooded areas it was established that the lake system was formed before 28 ka ago and would have reached its maximum expansion around 12 ka ago. The first hunter-gatherer occupation of the basin (11 ka) corresponds to the period of initial contraction of the lake system and the composition of the current configuration of the coastlines. This scenario would have allowed the exploration of western areas and the gradual incorporation of the forest to the action range of hunter-gatherer populations. Similarly, the levels of lakes Tar and San Martín would not have hindered the movement of human populations through the steppe throughout the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ach and Lone valleys of the Swabian Jura represent two key areas for the study of the dispersal of modern humans into central Europe, owing to the presence of numerous cave sites in the region that contain stratigraphic sequences spanning the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. However, despite the relatively complete sequences contained within these caves, previous studies hypothesize that phases of erosion have influenced the preservation of Upper Paleolithic deposits, particularly those dating to the Gravettian. Furthermore, these same studies suggest that during the Late Glacial and Holocene, colluvial sediments subsequently covered these unconformities. In this paper we present a dataset that helps us evaluate how geomorphological processes active at the regional scale around the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have impacted the preservation of the archaeological record within the cave sites of the Ach and Lone valleys. To this end we applied and integrated a variety of methods, including geophysical prospection, coring, micromorphology, Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and radiocarbon dating. Our results show that alternating phases of soil formation, hillside denudation, river valley incision and floodplain aggradation have been the major processes active in Lone and Ach valleys throughout the Pleistocene and Holocene. These processes impacted the formation histories of the caves in the two valleys, thereby significantly influencing how we interpret the archaeological record of the region. In particular our data support the hypothesis arguing for the erosion of Gravettian-aged deposits (which are dated between 29.000 and 27.000 14 C BP) from the caves of Bockstein, Hohle Fels and possibly Hohlenstein-Stadel. Shortly after this erosive phase, increased depositional rates of loess nearly free of gravel and reworked soils marked in both the Ach and Lone valleys a shift towards colder and drier conditions corresponding with the LGM. Deteriorating climate likely forced Gravettian groups to abandon the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian recolonization of the region took place in a cool interstadial (13.500–12.500 14 C BP) that was followed by a period of climate deterioration with minor phases of erosion in the caves and bedrock denudation. Towards the beginning of the Holocene the accumulation of frost debris ( Bergkies ) at the cave entrances marked the cessation of erosion within the caves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storage of artifacts is a common behavior among hunter-gatherers. Archaeologically, caches have been identified in different places and time periods. In this paper, we focus on the discussion of the role of caches recovered along the southern boundary of the Deseado Massif, Argentine Patagonia. Two caches, attributed to the colonization of this environment have been identified. Cache information is integrated into the known archaeological record of this space and spaces nearby and compared with data on raw material availability. In order to evaluate the location of the caches and understand human strategies of landscape utilization during this time period, we use GIS approaches along with available paleoenvironmental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human settlement within the landscapes of the Altai Mountains, especially in ancient times depended on natural factors. Change in natural conditions led to the mobility of people. This paper analyzes the identification of the relationship between landscapes and placement of cultures in the territory of the Altai Mountains in the Holocene. Additionally , the rhythms of Holocene climate change in the mountains are taken into account. To reach the aim of the study the landscape-archaeological GIS was created. The database of archaeological sites was created with the help of literature sources, archive materials and own field studies. The landscape maps were used to characterize the environmental conditions. The distribution of archaeological sites by types of landscapes proves that the reclaiming of landscapes was irregular in both space and time. There were periods of relative regression because of climatic, political and military factors. Comparison of climatic periods and stages of human exploration of the natural landscape shows that the most active development was during the periods of moist climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a multi-proxy study of tropical limestone forest and its utilization by human groups during the significant climatic and environmental upheavals of MIS-2 (29–11.7 kBP). Our data are drawn from new field research within the Tràng An World Heritage property on the edge of the Red River Delta, northern Vietnam. Key findings from this study include 1) that limestone forest formations were resilient to the large-scale landscape transformation of the Sunda continent at the end of the last glaciation; 2) that prehistoric human groups were probably present in this habitat through-out MIS-2; and 3) that the forested, insular, karst of Tràng An provided foragers with a stable resource-base in a wider changing landscape during the late Pleistocene and into the Holocene. These results have implications for our understanding of the prehistoric utilization of karst environments, and resonance for their conservation in the face of climate and environmental change today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural features such as mortars, basins, and slicks on rock outcrops, boulders, and cave floors have been identified in many parts of the world. They clearly evidence the long history of human use of landscape features; at the same time, they are under-investigated and not well incorporated into archaeological interpretation. Indeed, even accurate documentation of such features is rare, if presented at all. Advances in digital techniques offer archaeologists new tools to address the situation. We recently piloted a new methodological protocol for the efficient and precise documentation of cultural landscape features at two sites in San Diego County, California. In this paper, we describe techniques for the creation of a high-resolution model of each site, of specific rock outcrops or boulders within each site, and of individual cultural features by using Structure from Motion photogrammetry. We present examples of various analyses that are possible once the 3D models are constructed, on intra- and inter-site levels. Our use-wear studies of 159 features and of a curated handstone collection provide new insights into past use of shallow and deep features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present an overview of the process of mapping and field surveying of an area of ancient fields and irrigation canals around the pre-Hispanic sites of Topaín, Paniri and Turi, in the Andean highlands of northern Chile. As opposed to the usual conditions for prospection in temperate or tropical regions, where the surface visibility of archaeological features is often poor and confusing, here the extreme aridity of the landscape has permitted an extraordinary degree of both preservation and visibility of the fields, canals and other constructions. A field methodology based on a combination of an aerial approach (with relatively low-cost resources: high resolution satellite images, GIS, UAV) and field survey has allowed us not only to document the sites but to inject some order into a large assembly of archaeological features: to understand how the system as a whole was built, and how it evolved and changed in time, thus allowing for the proposal of a sound hypothetical sequence of the use and transformation of this area before and after the Inka period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we assess the evidence for on-site manufacture and re-sharpening of handaxes in the Lower Paleolithic layers of Tabun Cave by examining the ratio of thinning flakes, the typical waste of bifacial manufacture, to handaxes. Our study of twenty nine assemblages ranging from the Acheulean to the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex, combining results from Jelinek's and Ronen's excavations, shows that thinning flakes are scarce throughout the entire sequence. Results indicate that handaxes were commonly not manufactured or re-sharpened in the excavated area and that these activities were most likely conducted outside the site. The late Lower Paleolithic in various parts of Eurasia and Africa is characterized by high variability in lithic technology, which in the case of the Levant is best reflected in the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex. This study aids our understanding of variability in the Levantine late Lower Paleolithic by adding the concept of segmentation of reduction as an integral part of late Lower Paleolithic lithic technology. Significantly, in Tabun Cave the segmentation of reduction that characterizes handaxe manufacture differs from the patterns observed in Amudian blade production and Yabrudian scraper manufacture, which were both regularly conducted on site. The extent of variability and flexibility is thus reflected not only in the technologies employed, but also in how different reduction sequences were segmented and executed across the landscape, suggesting a link between technical knowledge, mobility patterns and landscape exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we focus on the regional/local scale of the archaeological record of the Central-West area of Chubut (Argentinean Patagonia) through the characterization of its regional taphonomy, considered from an archaeological perspective. We focus our research in the comparison of three different landscape situations: 1) a slope leading to highlands, 2) an azonal vegetal community (wetland or mallín ), and 3) a salt lake. Our main goal is to compare those situations, in order to determine the main taphonomic factors that regulate the archaeological material distribution in those locales. The ultimate goal is to address how past hunter–gatherers inhabited these landscapes. We depart from the assumption that distributions of artifacts are mainly explained by the action of post-depositional processes. To evaluate this assumption first we postulate a series of hypothesis and expectations for each locale, considering the main post-depositional agents present in them, and we evaluated if the patterns of material distributions can be explained by one or many of those processes. Only if explanation cannot be achieved by them, we recurred to human depositional activities. As a result we managed to explain most of the archaeological distributions in terms of post-depositional processes. Only in two cases we propose that human deposition occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of Mesolithic lithic scatters on the highland district of Cadore (1700–2700 m a.s.l.), in the Eastern Italian Alps, started during the 1980s, enhanced by the discovery of the rock-shelter site of Mondeval de Sora. A new archaeological survey project was developed in this area, particularly between Passo Giau and Col de la Puina, from 2011 to 2014. The adoption of a “total archaeology approach” enabled the identification of different types of archaeological evidence. This paper focuses specifically on the small-scale record represented by lithic artefacts. Both previously identified sites and newly recognised find-spots have been positioned, described and spatially analysed in connection to the topography of the investigated territory, in order to set hypotheses on the settlement strategies adopted by prehistoric groups. Most of these scatters can be attributed with a good approximation either to the Sauveterrian or to the Castelnovian phase of the Mesolithic or generically to the Mesolithic, thus confirming the intense occupation of these territories by the last groups of hunter–gatherers. Nonetheless the presence of some lithic artefacts that can be attributed to more recent prehistoric periods has led the authors to reconsider the common assumption that all lithic assemblages at high altitude should necessarily be attributed to the Mesolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lithic assemblages recovered from Qesem Cave can be divided into two distinct industries, the Amudian and the Yabrudian, based mostly on different proportions of blades and scrapers. The assemblages can also be divided chronologically and by area within the site, such as the shelf, and the hearth area. The goal of our study is to try to determine whether the assemblages vary in their use of the landscape and its resources. Were the same raw materials used in each case, or do the assemblages differ, either in proportions or in sources exploited? We have therefore undertaken an examination of a sample of approximately 6000 pieces, divided fairly equally between three assemblages: the Amudian and the Yabrudian from the shelf area, and the hearth area (which is Amudian). We begin by categorizing each distinct raw material as to rock type, and, since most of them are varieties of flint, distinguish individual types based on criteria such as colour, cortex characteristics, homogeneity, and any visible fossils. To date we have identified 51 raw material types, some of which are varieties of each other which will be grouped together later. Each lithic piece examined is recorded as to typological category, assigned a raw material type, and weighed. We are thus able to examine the differences in proportions of use of the raw material types in each assemblage, by typological category, and in terms of number of pieces and of weight of material used. This paper reports only on the data concerning numbers of pieces, and shows that some raw materials were selected for specific types of tools or technological requirements. In addition, we have started field work aimed at locating the sources of the flint varieties. We have located 15 potential sources, most within 5 km of the site, but also two located more than 15 km away. Comparison of samples from the geologic sources with samples from the site assemblages has allowed us to tentatively suggest the origins of 46 of the 51 raw material types. This gives us an idea of the extent of the territory exploited by the hominins at Qesem, how different raw materials were used for different purposes, and how use of these resources and territory differs between assemblages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early Epipaleolithic groups in the Levant often are described as highly mobile. Although there are some exceptions (e.g., Kharaneh IV and Ohalo II), most sites are aerially small and said to represent short-term camps. In this paper, we use information from the Early Epipaleolithic occupations at KPS-75, Yutil al-Hasa, Tor Sageer, and Tor at-Tareeq in the Wadi al-Hasa region of Jordan to examine their nature as persistent places in the landscape, which yield cumulative palimpsests that often result in time-averaging of the activities and events that occurred at these locales. We argue that aerially small sites do not necessarily constitute short-term occupations because sites that might indicate high mobility as part of the spatial palimpsest of the landscape would have been quite ephemeral and often are not recorded by traditional surveys which focus on identifying highly visible sites rather than on systematically recording nonsite locales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition from Late Palaeolithic to early Mesolithic cultures is strongly associated with the major environmental and climatic changes occurring with the shift from the Younger Dryas to the Holocene in northern Europe. In this paper, we present an interdisciplinary study combining archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research in an attempt to examine the relationship between environment and culture during this transition. Lundby Mose is a former kettle hole lake in southern Denmark where the earliest Danish human traces of the Holocene were excavated. Two types of bone deposits were found, 1) ritual offerings of worked, marrow-split elk bones and antler and 2) settlement waste with multiple species. These date to the early Holocene and are affiliated to the early Maglemose culture. The modelled 14 C ages suggest that the bones were deposited in four phases. A pollen based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction suggests that the ritual offerings were deposited in an environment of limited, underdeveloped forest with unstable soils and areas of open grassland. The settlement waste deposit is associated with a more developed Preboreal forest type. This forest type was not fully established until c. 11,250 cal BP and if substantiated by further evidence, may be one of the reasons why there are no known early Maglemose/Preboreal settlement sites in southern Scandinavia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is an overview of tropical West Africa soils with the aim to compile soil characteristics and identify research gaps in respect to rates of soil forming processes. Compilation of morphological, mineralogical and chemical data on soil development has distinguished several types of soils. The major soils identified and described include ferrallitic soils, ferruginous tropical soils, vertisols, semi-arid tropical soils, and hydromorphic soils. Their formation and their evolution depend on climate and paleoclimate actions, parent materials, vegetation, and geomorphology. Most of these soils have been mapped using FAO, CPS classification, and Worldwide Reference Base (WRB). Some aspects of the pedogenesis process are also discussed. Three new methods of investigation used by researchers: Potassium–argon, gold mineralogy, and cosmogenic beryllium-10 allow dating chemical and weathering processes and also led to a quantification of geochemical and mechanical processes in this area. The modern climate has an impact on soils. All these types of soils are experiencing secondary pedogenic processes such as rejuvenation, and especially reworking to some extent by water or wind erosion, giving rise to younger soils. Rapid disturbance through reworking leads to induration and armouring. Soil dating data in this area are very scarce. Some approaches (e.g. mass balance, relative chronology, chronostratigraphic, archaeological, luminescence, paleobiological, radiocarbon, OSL, and termite activity) have been implemented to assess the time factors of soil formation. Finally, this work highlights some gaps about soil research, particularly the need to define soil parameters which can be related to soil age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to generate new data on raw material sourcing of multiple activities sites at La Primavera locality to describe some provisioning strategies adopted by mobile hunter–gatherer societies, and contribute to the study of the local settlement in the wider regional context. The local structure of lithic resources is characterized; the natural distribution of useful rocks is modeled and the raw materials of artifacts from multiple activities sites are sourced. The classification and sourcing technique applied is not a determinant method, but a preliminary approach adequate to deal with a very large lithic artifact sample. The rock distribution across the landscape was analyzed using a Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for compiling the available data and estimating the distances from the sites to the sources for each raw material found in them. Based on the circulation distances and different considerations regarding the characteristic of the lithic sources, three different provisioning strategies are delineated. They suggest that settlement at the locality involved a certain permanence time that surpasses a logistic use, while keeping trade and social networks with other localities in the regional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, results of archaeological studies conducted in the central San Jorge gulf sector (north coast of Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina) are presented. A distributional approach was employed, and a systematic surface sampling in several landscape units were performed, registering all lithic artifacts and other variables that could influence the archaeological visibility. The landscape units identified in this sector were: high plateau, plateau flank, cañadón León, temporary lagoons, and coast. The artifactual assemblage recovered is presented, analyzed and discussed in relation to several archaeological expectations derived from the resource availability of the different landscape units. Results are discussed in relation to ways in which these landscape units could have been used by hunter–gatherer populations that inhabited this sector during Late Holocene, considering the differential availability of resources of importance to Patagonian human groups. In this sense, the archaeological expectations were contrasted, with higher densities near the coast and lower densities on inland landscape units. Among the first, the availability of alimentary resources (mainly shellfish, fish and pinniped) would have produced longer residential settlement. Among inland landscape units, some differences were observed, which were related to variation in resources availability, such as fresh water sources and lithic raw materials. In this latter, more variability than anticipated according to the archaeological expectations was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the approaches to characterizing and monitoring two very similar sites in proximity. It explores the paucity of scientific evidence for understanding conditions of preservation, and techniques for monitoring it, that presently exist for sites that lie in superficial unconsolidated sediments within which a capillary fringe has developed above a groundwater table, rather than for a more conventional water-logged site. Challenge and review by peers is essential for a robust approach to ensuring management measures are appropriate, rather than relying on the knowledge and experience of a single individual or team. Since 2007, a monitoring programme for the internationally important timber platform at Hanson's Must Farm clay extraction site has been developed and enhanced, whilst excavations within the footprint of the quarry have revealed outstanding preservation of organic remains. The 3000 year inundation and sedimentary sequence, and the 100 years recent development in this landscape, are described along with the unusual preservation processes which have contributed to exceptional survival of archaeological remains. The results from Must Farm are contrasted to the paucity of monitoring data from Flag Fen, and the separate trajectories between a developer-funded project and a nationally protected monument are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the late Holocene landscape development and settlement history of the central Bakırçay valley (the ancient Kaikos valley) in western Turkey, which exemplifies a buried archaeological site approximately 12 km SW of Pergamon. A minimally intrusive geoarchaeological approach was applied by coupling an archaeological survey, geophysical exploration, geomorphological mapping and sedimentological analysis of drilling cores and pre-existing outcrops. The geomorphological and lithostratigraphical results imply that in the early and middle Holocene the site was situated on a depositional piedmont plain that was protected from the annual Bakırçay floods. Over the past two millennia, the Bakırçay flood plain was gradually aggraded and the site became prone to flooding. Despite the limitations of non-intrusive archaeological investigations, three scenarios were developed on the function and age of the buried site. Hence, the site was either a sanctuary from the 2nd century AD, a luxurious estate from the 4th–8th century AD, or a lime kiln from late Antique/Byzantine times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the Quaternary, episodes of glaciation and associated low sea level have resulted in the connection of the terrestrial landmasses of Britain and mainland Europe. The river systems that established themselves across these newly emergent land surfaces of the coastal plain would have created important migration corridors for both animals and humans, a point corroborated by the affinity of Palaeolithic remains across Britain and Europe. Technological developments within the last decade have allowed these now submerged valley floors and adjacent terrestrial landscapes associated with the last cold stage and early and middle parts of the current (Holocene) interglacial to be explored and their archaeological legacies unravelled, providing geoarchaeologists with an opportunity to contribute to major cultural debates. However, in order to maximize knowledge, it is essential that geoarchaeologists working within river valleys across both Britain and the European continent are addressing similar research questions by collecting data using comparable methodologies. This paper reviews the approach taken in different regions and provides a baseline assessment to allow the development of a coherent European-wide framework for alluvial geoarchaeology and geoprospection, particularly with respect to the Holocene record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new perspective for the temporal variation of crop cultivation adoption during the period 6000–5400 BP in Flevoland (central Netherlands) based on the spatial evolution of soils and hydrology. To determine the role of soil properties and groundwater level rise in the adoption of crop cultivation in wetlands, mapping of the mid-Holocene palaeotopography, palaeohydrology, soil conditions and distribution of Swifterbant archaeological remains was combined with grain size analyses of cored sediments in two selected study areas. Results show that the low natural fertility and water holding capacity of the sandy soils on the Pleistocene surface in southern Flevoland compared to the loamy soils in the northern part of Flevoland, can explain the lack of crop cultivation in the south. The relation between natural soil fertility and initial adoption of crop cultivation in the IJssel/Vecht valley corresponds with examples from other wetlands in northwest Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of tufas is of outstanding significance due to their inter-relationship with human occupation and landscape changes. The impacts induced by human occupation in the tufa systems during the Holocene would influence the balance of their construction and destruction and the genesis of tufaceous sequences. In the studied area, a Mediterranean-transitional low mountain environment in North Iberian Peninsula, there is numerous tufa buildups scattered by bottom valleys and slopes. In this paper, a first diachronic synthesis of landscape changes during the Holocene is carried out based on construction and erosion of tufas, evolution of settlement and known environmental changes by pollen studies, to establish a landscape sequence in which assess the importance of the natural dynamics or human activity in shaping the landscape. The main components of the landscape in the Holocene, tufas, vegetation, and human intervention are analyzed from published references and our work on tufa. Reconstruction of landscape evolution is based on tufa morphosequence evolution and geomorphology, archeological, dating, and palynological data. Nineteen dated tufa buildups, ten archaeological sites of environmental interest, and two peat bogs are available. The evolution of the landscape involves human and natural changes during the Holocene. Nine different landscape stages have been differentiated from the Upper Pleistocene to historical times. The natural changes determine the landscape between 14 and 8.1 ka, after which the human occupation started to impact the natural environment. Approximately between 4.2 ka and 3.2 ka, the Millennium of Change occurred, when agriculture was consolidated, the population expanded, feeding habits and customs changed, the tufa system eroded, and intense landscape repercussions resulted. From 2 to 1.9 ka, a new constructive phase of tufas was generated that has also lasted to the present day. This new tufa construction stage is interpreted as the response to the re-balancing of the geosystem, now in balance with human use. This was the last phase of the anthropic-climate sequence that began 5.5 ka, determining the landscape evolution. The human intervention on the territory and consequent changes in the geomorphological processes on slopes and valley bottoms, altering tufa construction and generating intense erosion processes, soil loss and vegetation cover modification, permits us define the geomorphological and landscape Holocene evolution as a human-climate sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ukraine, changes in composition, morphology and spatial distribution of small mammals provide insight regarding environmental dynamics of the Holocene. During an early stage, conditions were rather close to the Pleistocene ones. Microtus gregalis , Microtus oeconomus , and Lagurus lagurus still dominated but were represented by small-sized forms when compared to the Late Pleistocene. During a middle stage, meadow-steppe elements prevailed; bunodont rodents (hamsters, ground squirrels, birch mice, mice) dominated voles. A late stage was characterised by plenty and widespread forest species. These stages most adequately reflect situation in river valleys, where taphocenoses considered in this paper were mainly connected. Increasing fluvial activity of wet epochs formed open landscapes even in small valleys, and decreasing flow during arid time spans allowed valleys to be overgrown with forest. On watersheds, the same climatic changes caused the opposite effects. Taking this into account, the mid-faunal stage should be dated as Atlantic, despite its seemingly forestless character. The taphocenoses of this stage are contemporary with valley incisions. The early stage, corresponding to relatively high base level position, should be dated as Preboreal–Boreal, and the late stage as Subboreal–Subatlantic. Some tundra-steppe species were stable through all the stages. Ochotona pusilla and Spermophilus superciliosus persisted almost until present. O. pusilla , differing from its Pleistocene distribution, was confined to rocky biotopes, evidently, due to a change of herbage. A special case of range dynamics is represented by Spermophilus pygmaeus . A population of this Left Bank species had come to be isolated on the Dnieper Right Bank, seemingly, as a result of the Dnieper channel change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present a review of the available Holocene pollen records from the Spanish Central System (113 sites and 150 14 C dates). Palynological data obtained from pollen analyses of peat-bogs, lakes and archaeological sites, as well as radiocarbon dating, were used to infer the human impact on vegetation and landscape during the last 9 millennia. The Neolithic contribution to the configuration of landscape is scarce, limited to the valleys, while Chalcolithic settlements and their related activities (agriculture and grazing) represent the first evidence of significant human impact on the high-mountains. The pollen record has allowed us to relate two cultural periods of changing, the Copper Age–Early Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age–Early Iron Age transitions, to abrupt climate disruptions, the so-called 4.2 and 2.8 ka cal BP events respectively. From the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages, anthropic activities were still sporadic, mainly located in the lowlands, but from the Feudal Period onwards, when La Mesta transhumance system takes place, high-mountain landscapes changed dramatically. Late Modern Period brings a further intensification of human pressure, especially related to forestry, with widespread pinewood afforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our knowledge of the Quaternary landscape evolution in the high mountain areas of the Iberian Peninsula has substantially improved over the last decades. The Sierra Nevada is one of the most studied mountain ranges in southern Europe regarding its environmental evolution. The purpose of the present paper is to integrate and summarize all the studies focused on the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental history in this massif since the Last Glaciation. Research has focused both on different sedimentary records and historical sources. A wide range of geomorphological, sedimentological and geochronological techniques have been used to characterize the glacial, periglacial, wetland and lacustrine records for palaeoenvironmental purposes. For the last nine centuries tens of descriptions, maps and sketches describe the landscape of the summit area of the Sierra Nevada, providing evidences of the historical environmental events. Based on a multi-proxy approach, five periods have been identified: Last Glaciation, deglaciation, Holocene, Little Ice Age and recent evolution. Recent studies have detected the maximum expansion of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada around 30–32 ka BP, predating the global temperature minimum. No data about the environmental evolution is available between 20–30 ka BP. Around 19–20 ka BP glaciers advanced significantly. The process of deglaciation was rapid and around 14–15 ka BP the massif was almost free of ice. The Late Glacial promoted the formation of small glaciers in the highest northern cirques and widespread active periglacial processes (i.e. rock glaciers). During the Holocene there has been an alternation of colder/warmer periods and changing moisture conditions. Periglacial processes have been generally widespread in the summit area, with an increasing or decreasing activity depending on climate conditions. Ephemeral reappearance of small glacial cirques occurred in the highest northern cirques during the coldest and wettest phases. This is the case of the Little Ice Age, as revealed by historical documents and sedimentary records. Since the last decades of the XIX century the temperature has increased ∼0.93°C leading to a decrease of the intensity of periglacial processes in the high lands of the Sierra Nevada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological research that has been carried out in East Anglia since the 1960s has shed light on the changes in animal husbandry and farming that took place in eastern England between the 5th and the 10th centuries CE. The sites of West Stow and West Stow West have shed light on animal husbandry during the Early Saxon period. The rural estate centres of Brandon, Suffolk and Wicken Bonhunt, Essex provide evidence for Middle Saxon animal husbandry practices. Animal bones from the proto-urban ‘wic’ site of Ipswich in Suffolk show how this site was provisioned, while data from the Late Saxon contexts at Ipswich can shed light on the transition of this site from an emporium to a local market town. This paper takes a multi-proxy approach to changes in animal husbandry, farming, and landscape in Eastern England between the end of the Roman period and the 10th century, drawing on faunal data including species ratios, age profiles, biometrical data, and butchery patterns, as well as other classes of data that can inform us about changes in agriculture and landscape use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The term landscape is a crucial term for a diversity of scientific disciplines researching the Quaternary, each of which maintains different concepts and definitions. With increasing interdisciplinary research cooperation between disparate disciplines, a basis for communication has to be established. The aim of this paper is a) to survey an assortment of concepts and understandings of landscape within diverse disciplinary contexts and b) to explore the possibilities and usefulness of a common concept in an interdisciplinary palaeo-environmental research field, shared by scholars from the humanities and natural sciences alike. This comprises the disciplines art history, prehistoric archaeology, classical archaeology, ecology, geography, geology, and history. As a result, it can be stated that landscape is a cultural term: Landscapes are a cultural construct, and any landscape is the result of contemporary vision which is culturally influenced by the current context. Thus, landscapes are always shaped through today's construction of landscapes, independent from the discipline, and equally if in or for modern, or prehistoric times, and equally, if with or without humans. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As in many other regions of the world, the Late Pleistocene in China underwent rhythmic changes of climate, which caused some obvious changes in mammalian fauna, natural landscape and human cultural adaptations. This paper is a brief introduction of four representative Late Pleistocene sites in North China, which are dated at periods between Middle and Upper Palaeolithic, and demonstrated common or particular features from geographic and geological aspects, archaeological and environmental characters, and chronological position. A large transformation happened, reflected by culture remains, showing that environmental changes profoundly influenced human behaviour and inspired new forms of culture appearance. This indicates the clear existence of Middle Palaeolithic at least in North China, which became a foreshadowing for the coming Upper Palaeolithic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Paganica normal fault, that caused the April 9, 2009, L''Aquila earthquake (Central Apennines), is part of the Paganica-San Demetrio fault system (PSDFS). All available data useful to constrain the Quaternary activity of the PSDFS were reviewed, with the aim to point out its role in the landscape evolution of the L''Aquila region and particularly of the Middle Aterno Valley basin. Uplifted remnants of a low relief landscape (Summit Paleosurface, SP) constrain to about 800 m the total offset of the PSDFS since the late Lower Pleistocene. Also, a sedimentary cycle ended at the beginning of Middle Pleistocene is now displaced about 550 m along the PSDFS, whereas alluvial deposits containing tephra layers (560–360 ka) have been displaced more than 150 m by the Paganica fault segment. The long term slip rate values based on this evidence (ranging between 0.4 and 0.9 mm/y), together with the short term slip rate values based on displacements along Late Pleistocene geomorphic features and deposits, have shown that the PSDFS i) has played a primary role in the landscape evolution of the area, despite its minor geomorphic appearance, ii) is linked at depth with other important listric faults located in the PSDFS footwall (Assergi and Campo Imperatore faults) that in this paper are interpreted as secondary faults. This result has relevant seismotectonic implications for the Middle Aterno Valley basin. The PSDFS is the main seismic source of the basin and controls also the seismic potential of other linked structures, including the Assergi and Campo Imperatore faults. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A set of plant opal particles – phytolith assemblage – found in soils can provide information on the covering vegetation. The phenomena of redundancy and multiplicity usually makes it difficult to directly link a single phytolith to a given species or even to a higher taxanomic unit. The aim of this paper is to present the results of multivariate statistical analyses applied on the data gained from twenty soil profiles and to recommend on diagnostic morphotypes and/or morphotype groups. Correspondence and principal component analyses have been performed on the data matrix composed of over 6000 phytoliths identified in 117 soil samples from Hungary. Based upon the results, soil types representing different habitats can be charaterized by distinctive indicator groups. On the basis of the research data of 20 soil profiles and as a result of the comparative analysis a suggested reference system is presented, which hopefully enables detection of the habitat and soil type through the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the diagnostic morphotypes in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An oasis is defined here as an efficient eco-geographical landscape that allows flourishing vegetation or human settlement due to a stable water supply in an arid region. The water resource is the major limiting factor impacting the oasis scale in arid regions. For discussion of the suitable scale of an oasis supported by a specific quantity of water resource, the Manas River Basin, a typical continental river basin in the arid region of China, was taken as the study object. Based on the remote sensing images and socio-economic data, the stability and suitable scale of oasis in 1976, 1987, 1998, 2010, and 2020 were analyzed using an oasis water-heat balance model. The results indicated that (1) the respective stability index (H 0) of 1976, 1987, 1998, and 2010 was 0.10, 0.15, 0.40, and 0.38, respectively, changing from an unstable level into a metastable level. (2) Under the guarantee of natural oasis ecosystem stability, the suitable scales of natural oasis in 1976, 1987, 1998, and 2010 were 697.2–1045.7 km2, 942.2–1413.3 km2, 2042.0–3063.0 km2, and 1428.2–2142.3 km2, respectively. The suitable scales of the total oases were 3681.3–4030.3 km2, 5259.1–5730.2 km2, 7654.5–8675.5 km2, and 8130.3–8844.4 km2, respectively. (3) If the artificial oasis scale remained unchanged from 2010, the suitable scale of the natural oasis in the Manas River Basin in 2020 would be 1695.8–2543.8 km2, and the suitable scale of the total oases would be 8398–9246 km2. With a reasonable proportion between natural and artificial oases, the suitable scales of each would be 3400.3–5100.5 km2 and 2266.9–3400.4 km2. This paper not only provides data for reasonable oasis planning of the Manas River Basin, but also provides a new direction for studies on the suitable scale of oases in arid regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present paper analyses changes in the composition and ecological structure of large and small mammal faunas in mountains in comparison with the Transuralian peneplain region during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. At present, the study area is one of a small number of regions in Northern Eurasia where a series of local faunas have been dated. Small mammal fauna changes occurred mostly due to shifts in species ranges, while large mammal fauna changes occurred as a result of both range shifts and of extinctions. Large and small mammal faunas varied synchronously across the Southern Urals. The transition from the periglacial (mammoth) to the Holocene assemblage is recorded approximately at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary and seemingly occurred over all of the Southern Urals. Changes in the species composition both of small and of large mammal faunas were directed largely along the same line. From the end of the Pleistocene through the Holocene, both groups of faunas show an increase in the number of inhabitants of partly forested landscapes and forests, and a decrease in the number of open landscape species. This trend was more strongly pronounced in the mountain region in comparison to the peneplain. Changes in species composition of mammal fauna in the Southern Urals, the southern part of Eastern Europe, and the Altay mountains, Southern Siberia and the Baikalian region followed the same basic pattern. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The surface landscape of the Chinese Loess Plateau features densely developed gully systems. Gully incision and extension are extremely active over the elevated regions of loess hills, ridges and tablelands. This paper presents the results of investigations on major gullying phases over the Loess Plateau during the Quaternary. The objective is to establish a chronology of gullying events and to examine their relations with monsoonal climatic changes and neo-tectonic uplifts. Results from field observations, geomorphologic and pedo-stratigraphic analysis indicate that pre-historical gullying events are recorded by buried palaeogullies and pedo-stratigraphic unconformities preserved in loess sections. There were four major gullying phases identified at the loess to palaeosol transitions of L6/S5, L3/S2, L2/S1, L1/S0 in the stratigraphy over the Loess Plateau. The age of a gullying event is closely related with the bottom unit of the palaeosol series in the overlying loess blanket. The Gullying phases were therefore dated to ca. 600 ka, 240 ka, 125 ka and 11.5 ka, respectively, by loess chronology. This means that gully incision occurred when large-scale monsoonal climatic shift met with coincided neo-tectonic uplift of the land mass. Neo-tectonic uplift provided the gullying with potential for deep down-cutting. Excessive runoff resulted from precipitation brought on by intensified maritime monsoon was a dynamic forcing of the gullying at the transitions of MIS 16/15, 8/7, 6/5 and 2/1. In response to each wave of gully incision and cross-section development occurred the outspreading of the tributary gullies, and a new order of gullies formed. Gully density is therefore increased and the loess land became more dissected hills and ridges. These results provide new insights into history of gully erosion and long-term landscape development in the semi-arid loess regions of the world. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) eruption ∼74 ka is the largest volcanic event to occur during the last two million years. This paper presents a high resolution landscape reconstruction for the Jurreru Valley, south India, immediately prior to this eruption. Primary ash fall deposits have sealed the pre-Toba surface of the Jurreru Valley, and subsequent deposition of remobilised ash has helped preserve this horizon. These primary YTT deposits provide an isochron that allows for the study of palaeoenvironmental conditions across a 25,000 m2 area in the Jurreru Valley, permitting the reconstruction of the pre-Toba landscape. Sixty sites with exposed primary ash deposits have been recorded as part of a Total Station survey, twelve of which have been subject to detailed stratigraphical study. This has enabled a reconstruction of the topography of the buried surface in the Jurreru Valley. Stable isotope and phytolith analyses are used to explore diversity across this buried landscape, indicating that the ratio of C3 to C4 plants varies with regard to changes in topographic height in the landscape of up to ∼5 m. High levels of spatial heterogeneity within these proxy data are indicated by this study, highlighting the risks of extrapolating regional palaeoenvironmental sequences from vertically sampled sedimentary sections, which may well reflect highly localised influences of topography and geomorphology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Whether people like it or not, landscapes change. Accepting this and understanding processes of landscape change are prerequisites for the maintenance and development of specific landscape- or ‘natural’ values. This paper discusses the relevance of landscape historical information and insights to the management of landscape change. The focus is on the Netherlands, especially the Pleistocene inland part of the country and on the period 1000BP - present. Two dominant (seemingly contradictory) long-term processes of landscape change can be distinguished: drowning and ‘desertification’ (severe land degradation). Both will be outlined. The first of these historical processes, ‘drowning’, is also highly relevant to one of today’s most pressing topics: how to cope with the consequences of climate change. Long-term studies of landscape formation processes and the associated landscape dynamics can provide essential contributions to the formulation of historically acceptable solutions to current challenges and problems, and to the dissociation of processes of policy making, planning and decision from current fashions. Linking the so-called ‘Landscape Development Plans’ to research guided by the concept of ‘landscape biography’ proves to be an effective strategy to achieve this. Insight into the long-term history of people and landscapes can effectively inspire and shape future developments, especially on a regional and local level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Relations between humans and the rain forest in Java Island began during the Lower Pleistocene, but clear evidence for anthropic impact and clearance of the forest does not occur until late in the Holocene, after the rise of the ancient kingdoms on Java at the end of 1st millennium A.D. The history of landscape change in Java over the last 2.5 million years appears highly complex and linked to the repetitive expansion and fragmentation of the rain forest over this time. These processes are now much better understood, thanks to the range of palaeoenvironmental studies undertaken at various altitudes and in locations that show the dynamics of rain forest in response to variations in climatic and regional environmental change. The extent of rain forest throughout the Holocene appears to have been quite sensitive to small perturbations, making it somewhat difficult to discriminate (especially for relatively ancient Holocene forest recessions) between a climatic cause and one of anthropic origin. Clear evidence of intensive human impact on rain forest is observed late, c. 1500 years ago, a pattern that is repeated in other parts of Island Southeast Asia. This paper will focus on the history of the landscape changes in Java during the Quaternary, with special reference to the dynamics of rain forest structure and composition, largely drawn from available pollen analyses. Subsequently, the paleoenvironmental, palaeoanthropological, and archaeological records are considered to investigate the adaptive relationships between human groups and the forest through time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Oil palm is an integral part of modern subsistence economies in West Africa, and archaeological evidence suggests that it also played an important role in antiquity. Steep increases in oil palm pollen during the mid- to late Holocene have been observed in the paleoenvironmental record, which some have argued may represent cultivation activities. Charred plant macroremains from archaeological sites provide an alternate means by which to examine the relationship between people and oil palm. The Late Stone Age Kintampo Tradition is associated with early domesticates alongside continued use of wild resources, leading scholars to suggest that they occupy the middle ground between foraging and farming. This paper evaluates the relationship between Kintampo and oil palm using archaeological plant remains from two sites (K6 and the B-sites) in central Ghana. Oil palm use at both sites over time indicates similar patterns of landscape utilization that may represent arboriculture. These activities can be viewed as the performance of domesticatory relationships on the landscape, which may be a more fruitful lens through which to characterize Kintampo subsistence practices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Pictorial, and increasingly photo-realistic, visualisation of past landscapes is underpinned by reconstructions of the past environment themselves effected through palaeoecological methods. The role played by such visualisations has traditionally been that of final-statement, or end-product, intended to convey a synthesis of the interpretation for general consumption, geared around the deceptively straightforward question ‘what did the landscape look like in the past?’. This paper seeks to provide a critical appraisal of the production of such visualisations, through exploration of the nature, spatial scale and interpretative framework of the palaeoecological datasets that underpin them. It is argued that a more sophisticated approach to the spatial interpretation of data is needed, through different approaches to spatial sampling, to facilitate what might be considered complete, and more importantly plausible, visualisations of the past. These visualisations should be considered partial at best, and certainly not full representations of the experiences of communities and individuals that engaged with them. Finally, it is argued that the role of visualisation of past landscapes should move beyond the presentation of interpretations as an end-product of research. Rather, they should form part of the interpretative framework of research that by its very nature needs to be interdisciplinary from start to finish. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fine-grained æolian sediments are an important component of many loessic soil–landscape systems across south-eastern Australia. These loessic soils are commonly related to the deposition of ‘parna’, a red, clayey, calcareous material proposed to have been transported predominantly as silt-sized pellets and companion silt grains. However, it is apparent that loessic soils of south-eastern Australia do not necessarily exhibit or retain the morphological features regarded as typical of parna. This may be due to variations in post-depositional pedogenic processes operating over long periods of time. It is important to understand this inconsistency in loessic soil expression because the physico-chemical and structural attributes of these profiles may significantly affect catchment-wide processes such as salinisation and erosion. In this paper, the pedological features of a range of previously identified loessic profiles occurring across south-eastern Australia are examined to assess the relative importance of climate and local landscape processes on profile characteristics. Most of the sampling sites occur in mid- to upper-slope positions, while the annual average rainfall of the sites ranges from 440mm to 650mm. The deepest profiles in the driest locations tend to yield whole-coloured, slightly alkaline, slightly saline and sodic subsoils with moderate cation exchange capacities. Profiles in the wettest locations are generally characterised by smaller cation exchange capacities, are acidic, non-saline and non-sodic, and feature prominent mottling and sesquioxide nodules. Measurements and predictions of the structural attributes of the profiles indicate that all topsoils are quite stable to wetting, whereas subsoils exhibit variable stabilities, depending on physico-chemical properties. These results appear to demonstrate a broad climosequence effect on loessic soil attributes. The climosequence effect was compared to the changes in loessic profile characteristics down a case study toposequence in southern New South Wales. The toposequence indicates that local landscape features such as slope and drainage have also been important in determining the properties of these materials, as has re-working by colluvial processes. We conclude that to explain adequately the current characteristics of profiles containing fine-grained æolian sediments, particularly their salinisation potential and stability to erosion, it is critical to consider both the past and present climate and the local soil-forming processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Results of lithological and palynological data of key sequences of the forest-steppe region in the Upper Don River basin, notably, the Kulikovo Battle-Field area, are presented. The obtained evidence shows the occurrence of open forest-steppe and steppe landscape in the Late Holocene. Climate reconstructions failed to demonstrate any drastic changes in the second half of the Holocene. However, even small reductions in annual precipitation, from 400 to 500mm in the Atlantic, to 300–400mm in the Subboreal period, accompanied by the rise of summer temperature, from 20–22°C to 22–24°C, respectively, were sufficient to cause landscape changes from the forest-steppe to typical steppe. The paper discusses various aspects of human impact on the landscape. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]