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Palaeoecological research in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Aberdeen can be traced back to pollen-analytical (palynological) and geomorphological collaborations in the early 1970s. The research has generally been nested within Quaternary science and it features strong interdisciplinary links with archaeology, chronostratigraphy, climate change and ecology more generally. The pollen-based emphasis has been augmented by multi-proxy approaches including plant macro- and microfossils, geochemistry and pedology. There has always been techniques- and methodologically-orientated output and the chronological focus has spanned especially the period from the Lateglacial through to the present. With an emphasis upon research since the year 2000, the account is structured around such themes as environmental change in Scotland and the rest of the British Isles, human-environment interactions in the North Atlantic region, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, atmospheric pollution and metals in prehistory, and carbon sequestration and chronologies. A final section looks briefly and selectively at future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of multielemental mapping conducted on peat samples taken from a presumed Mesolithic coastal activity zone at the intertidal site of Clachan Harbor, Scotland. The aim of the study was to use peat geochemical analysis to assess possible evidence for an anthropogenic chemical signal within the peat that might be linked to the use of the site during the Mesolithic. Spatial changes in peat geochemistry revealed a 'change point' within the peat bed that may reflect the former boundary between the human activity zone and the coastline. Enhanced dating of events was achieved by integrating the chemical dataset with an existing relative sea-level curve available for the site. The research demonstrates the advantages of using a multielemental method ahead of a single-element (e.g., phosphorous-only) approach when attempting to characterize and trace chemical evidence for past human activity in the intertidal zone. This paper will hopefully lead to the adoption of an improved methodology that can help us to better understand the development of coastal sites within an archaeological context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]