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Recent paleoclimatic research has revealed that volcanic events around 536–540 AD caused severe, short-term global cooling. For this same period, archeological research from various regions evidences significant cultural transformation. However, there is still a lack of understanding of how human societies responded and adapted to extreme climate variability and new circumstances. This study focuses on the effects of the 536/540 AD volcanic event in four Scandinavian regions by exploring the shift in demographic and land use intensity before, during, and after this abrupt climate cooling. To achieve this, we performed climate simulations with and without volcanic eruptions using a dynamically downscaled climate model (iLOVECLIM) at a high resolution (0.25° or ~25 km). We integrated the findings with a comprehensive collection of radiocarbon dates from excavated archeological sites across various Scandinavian regions. Our Earth System Model simulates pronounced cooling (maximum ensemble mean −1.1°C), an abrupt reduction in precipitation, and a particularly acute drop in growing degree days (GDD0) after the volcanic event, which can be used to infer likely impacts on agricultural productivity. When compared to the archeological record, we see considerable regional diversity in the societal response to this sudden environmental event. As a result, this study provides a more comprehensive insight into the demographic chronology of Scandinavia and a deeper understanding of the land-use practices its societies depended on during the 536/540 AD event. Our results suggest that this abrupt climate anomaly amplified a social change already in progress.

The main objective of this paper is to generate a deeper understanding of bear and human relationships in the 1st millennium AD. This will primarily be achieved by the analysis of a detailed chronology of bear phalanges from Iron Age burials. The aim is to note changes in the deposition patterns of bear remains in burials in order to identify human impact - which we consider significant for hunting pressure - on the Scandinavian bear populations of the 1st millennium AD. The authors suggest that bear hunting can be considered as part of the larger processes of intensified exploitation of the boreal forest in the Iron Age that contributed to the formation of interregional trade networks. It is suggested that this exploitation affected the bear population to such an extent that overused animal resources can be understood as one of several contributing factors behind the Viking expansion outside Scandinavia. An understanding of bear and human relationships will contribute to a better knowledge of the cultural history of Scandinavia’s forested region and of interregional contacts with the central agricultural regions., Viking Phenomenon, UTMA

The colonization and establishment of agriculture and iron production in the boreal forest inland regions of central Scandinavia from the Iron Age onwards implied that people must have overcome great difficulties. Climate is harsh, and vast areas are covered with forest and mires initially unsuitable for farming. The authors suggests that a combination of a mind-set based on infield systems occurring in the regions from where the colonizers came, and constraints imposed by the environment, promoted human niche construction processes specific for these regions. The landscape was basically structured as infields and outland, but the constraints imposed by the poor productivity of the forests necessitated extending forest grazing spatially, promoted use of outland mires for harvest of winter fodder, and ultimately led to development of secondary farms, shielings, as an innovative strategy of a spatially structured domesticated landscape.

Results from new methods for tracing provenience of objects and raw materials show that there have been networks of trade connecting the boreal forests of inland Scandinavia to central agricultur-al regions in spite of long geographical distances. As there is no information in written documents, we suggest that biocultural heritage, derived from the entangled socio-ecological processes of niche construction and landscape domestication, is the main source for studying the commodity production in these rural edges of inland Scandinavia. Biocultural heritage includes place names, diverse archaeological sites, shaped biophysical elements of the landscape, such as responses in vegetation and soils, species composition, fauna and biodiversity. This paper is examining two well studied forested areas of inland Scandinavia where commodity production was performed in the Viking Age and medieval to Early Modern times (ca. 800–1700 AD); Dalby in northern Värm-land and Ängersjö with neighbouring areas in northwest Hälsningland/south Härjedalen. Agrarian settlement colonisation, by freeholding peas-ants, in the early to middle Iron Age (ca. 500 AD or a bit earlier) was based on an innovation package of farm-shieling-outland use, and on versatile and cooperative working systems. It was also a question of resource colonisation, with commodities such as furs, attracting settlers. Three types of outland uses are examined: pit-fall hunting, bloomery iron production and shiel-ings (seasonally used sites for grazing livestock). In Dalby there was intensive pitfall hunting and bloomery iron production in the Viking Age and Early Middle Ages (ca. 800–1250 AD), resulting in a surplus production for trade of iron and elk (Alces alces) related products such as antler. When the markets for these products were lost, the peasants instead expanded the use of shielings in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern times. In the Ängersjö-area shielings and bloomery iron production were expanded in the

Shielings are the historically known form of transhumance in Scandinavia, where livestock were moved from the farmstead to sites in the outlands for summer grazing. Pollen analysis has provided a valuable insight into the history of shielings. This paper presents a vegetation reconstruction and archaeological survey from the shieling Kårebolssätern in northern Värmland, western Sweden, a renovated shieling that is still operating today. The first evidence of human activities in the area near Kårebolssätern are Hordeum- and Cannabis-type pollen grains occurring from ca. 100 BC. Further signs of human impact are charcoal and sporadic occurrences of apophyte pollen from ca. AD 250 and pollen indicating opening of the canopy ca. AD 570, probably a result of modification of the forest for grazing. A decrease in land use is seen between AD 1000 and 1250, possibly in response to a shift in emphasis towards large scale commodity production in the outlands. Emphasis on bloomery iron production and pitfall hunting may have caused a shift from agrarian shieling activity. The clearest changes in the pollen assemblage indicating grazing and cultivation occur from the mid-thirteenth century, coinciding with wetter climate at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. The earliest occurrences of anthropochores in the record predate those of other shieling sites in Sweden. The pollen analysis reveals evidence of land use that predates the results of the archaeological survey. The study highlights how pollen analysis can reveal vegetation changes where early archaeological remains are obscure.

This is the second out of three white papers from the TERRANOVA project, The European Landscape Learning Initiative an Innovative Training Network consortium of the European Union’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. Between 2019 and 2023, fifteen Early Stage Researchers (ESRs - ie. PhD students) are trained within this project to envision ‘nature-based' landscape developments for Europe, relying on an integrated and multidisciplinary approach. TERRANOVA seeks to outline the necessity to promote good communication skills in research to transfer efficiently ‘landscape knowledge’ to policymakers and the public. This white paper presents TERRANOVA’s vision on landscape transformation and stakeholders’ engagement in knowledge production. First, we reflect on the relevance of engaging with stakeholders in research. Second, we present the outcomes of a workshop conducted with practitioners in nature conservation and reflect on the challenges they reported to integrate interdisciplinarity in their practice. We conclude that the inclusion of stakeholders and practitioners at every stage is key to ensure that research outcomes have a societal impact. Strengthening this approach will ensure that TERRANOVA ESRs’ research outputs are understandable and useful for land managers and decision-makers. HIGHLIGHTS: RECOMMENDATIONS Establishing connections between TERRANOVA and stakeholders involved in landscape management is crucial to ensure the relevancy and usefulness of ESRs’ research. TERRANOVA researchers and stakeholders met to discuss how research can be tailored to stakeholders’ needs during a workshop on Friday 26th February 2021. TERRANOVA’s ESRs collected recommendations for their own research practices that reinforced their willingness to engage with stakeholders, connect with practitioners and rely on participatory methods for landscape management interventions. Stakeholders identified the engagement of different local stakeholders, the coexistence of diverging visions abo, TerraNova. The European Landscape Learning Initiative. European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 813904

This is the first out of three white papers from the project TERRANOVA the European Landscape Learning Initiative an Innovative Training Network consortium of the European Union’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.1 TERRANOVA investigates the deep history of human-environment interactions and how these interactions have shaped European landscapes as a foundation to design sustainable environmental policies in Europe. In 2019–2023, fifteen PhD students will be trained to conduct interdisciplinary research around this topic in order to promote a long-term understanding of the structure and functioning of European landscapes to meet current challenges caused by reduced biodiversity and climate change. TERRANOVA seeks knowledge through landscape energy regimes and transitions, which will help in the transition to future low-carbon society. In this paper, we will present our starting point and briefly describe the project design and expected outcomes of the project. RECOMMENDATIONS - POLICYMAKERS TO RECOGNISE AND SUPPORT: The importance of a nuanced understanding of the deep history of European landscapes and past changes in human-environment interactions that are required in order to address the climate and the biodiversity crises. Potential reservoirs of knowledge and experience that landscapes encompass, for nature conservation, landscape planning and sustainable livelihoods, which now remain unexplored. Sustainable research and training networks, like TERRANOVA, which means shifting academic curricula to demonstrate intelligent and innovative solutions for problems of land abandonment, landscape management and stewardship, rewilding and the process of transitioning to a low-carbon society., TerraNova: The European Landscape Learning Initiative. European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 813904

The conceptual framework of biocultural heritage allows for new approaches to heritage, nature conservation, landscape planning and development goals, providing means to negotiate management goals in these areas, and in certain cases, also to combine them. By reviewing knowledge from the literature, this paper develops a new conceptual framework of biocultural heritage. Five "elements" constitute biocultural heritage in this framework. First, ecosystem memories denote biophysical properties, non-human organisms and agents changed or affected directly or indirectly by humans. Second, landscape memories represent tangible materialised human practice and semi-intangible ways of organising landscapes, such as built environments and archaeological sites, and settlement systems linked to user and property rights. Third, place-based memories refer to intangible living features of human knowledge and communication expressed in know-how, place names, orature, arts, ideas and culture, received, preserved and transmitted over generations. The fourth element, integrated landscape analysis, denotes a toolbox and a conceptual framework for knowledge construction and landscape management. The final fifth element of biocultural heritage, stewardship and change, represents the activity of, and ability in, exploring memory reservoirs of biocultural heritage for transferring knowledge to policy and management and for shaping collaborative initiatives. To illustrate the framework, this paper then presents a study from the village Angersjo located in the boreal forest in central Sweden. As conclusion, we suggest that the approach - with improvements and modifications - represents an operational joint framework for exploring and managing biocultural heritage, drawing on the past for envisioning the future. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this paper, we review the potential of biocultural heritage in biodiversity protection and agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. We begin by defining the concept of biocultural heritage into four interlinked elements that are revealed through integrated landscape analysis. This concerns the transdisciplinary methods whereby biocultural heritage must be explored, and here we emphasise that reconstructing landscape histories and documenting local heritage values needs to be an integral part of the process. Ecosystem memories relate to the structuring of landscape heterogeneity through such activities as agroforestry and fire management. The positive linkages between living practices, biodiversity and soil nutrients examined here are demonstrative of the concept of ecosystem memories. Landscape memories refer to built or enhanced landscapes linked to specific land-use systems and property rights. Place memories signify practices of protection or use related to a specific place. Customary protection of burial sites and/or abandoned settlements, for example, is a common occurrence across Africa with beneficial outcomes for biodiversity and forest protection. Finally, we discuss stewardship and change. Building on local traditions, inclusivity and equity are essential to promoting the continuation and innovation of practices crucial for local sustainability and biodiversity protection, and also offer new avenues for collaboration in landscape management and conservation.

This paper focusses on animal remains associated with archaeological contexts dated to the middle and later phases of the Scandinavian Iron Age, which corresponds to the first millennium AD. The main question to be addressed is whether this record can be used for identifying human impact on certain animal populations for modelling faunal exploitation and interregional trade. In the first part of the paper, we undertake a detailed inventory of animal finds recorded in published excavation reports, research catalogues, and in existing databases maintained primarily by the Historical Museum in Stockholm. We compare the chronological pattern identified in the burial assemblages with a chronological sequence retrieved from pitfall hunting systems located in the Scandinavian inland region. The chronologies of the animal finds from burials and the pitfall systems are then compared with dated pollen-analytical sequences retrieved in the inland region and additional archaeological assemblages, such as graves and hoards of Roman coins. In our discussion, we outline an interregional model of faunal exploitation between ad 300 and 1200, including the possible location of hunting grounds and end-distribution areas for animal products. The paper provides deeper insights into the burial record of the middle Iron Age, arguing for the need for broader interregional approaches, and focussed archaeological research in the inland regions of Scandinavia., Cet article traite de vestiges de faune retrouvés dans des contextes archéologiques datant de l’âge du Fer moyen et tardif en Scandinavie, donc du premier millénaire apr. J.-C. La question principale est de déterminer si les données de l'archéozoologie nous permettent d'identifier l'impact anthropogénique sur certaines populations d'animaux, dans le but de modéliser leur exploitation et leur échange à l’échelle interrégionale. On trouvera en première partie de notre article un inventaire détaillé des restes d'animaux publiés dans les rapports de fouilles, les catalogues de recherche et les bases de données tenues à jour principalement par le Musée Historique de Stockholm. Nous présentons ensuite une étude comparant la succession chronologique observée dans le mobilier funéraire avec la séquence retrouvée dans les systèmes de piège de l'intérieur de la Scandinavie. La chronologie des restes d'animaux découverts dans les ensembles funéraires et dans les systèmes de piège est comparée avec les séquences datées provenant de l'analyse pollinique des régions de l'intérieur et avec d'autres données archéologiques, telles que les sépultures et les dépôts de monnaies romaines. Nous présentons en fin d'article un modèle interrégional concernant l'exploitation de la faune entre 300 et 1200 apr. J.-C. qui identifie entre autres l'emplacement de terrains de chasse et de zones de destination de produits animaux. Notre article a pour but d'approfondir nos connaissances sur les ensembles funéraires de l’âge du Fer moyen et plaide en faveur d'une approche interrégionale plus étendue et d'une étude archéologique plus ciblée des régions de l'intérieur de la Scandinavie. Translation by Madeleine Hummler., Die Tierreste, die mit archäologischen Befunden der mittleren und späten Eisenzeit in Skandinavien in Zusammenhang stehen, bilden den Schwerpunkt dieses Artikels. Die Grundfrage ist, ob es möglich sei, die Angaben dieser Tierresten für die menschlichen Einwirkungen auf gewisse Tierbevölkerungen auszuwerten, sodass ein Bild der Tiernutzung und des interregionalen Austausches entsteht. Im ersten Teil des Artikels wird ein detailliertes Inventar der in Ausgrabungsberichten, Forschungskatalogen und Datenbanken (die vor allem vom Historischen Museum in Stockholm geführt werden) erhältlichen Tierresten vorgelegt. Die chronologischen Angaben der Grabbefunde werden mit der Zeitabfolge der Fallgruben, die im skandinavischen Landesinneren vorkommen verglichen. Die Chronologie der Tierreste, die zu Gräbern gehören und die in Wildgruben vorkommen, wird dann mit den Ergebnissen von datierten pollenanalytischen Untersuchungen im skandinavischen Binnenland verglichen; andere Befunde, wie Gräber und Hortfunde von römischen Münzen werden auch eingeschlossen. In den Schlussfolgerungen stellen wir ein interregionales Modell für die Tiernutzung zwischen 300 und 1200 n.Chr. vor, in welchem wir die eventuelle Lage von Jagdrevieren und den Endpunkt von Erzeugnissen tierischer Herkunft einbeziehen. Unser Artikel versucht, tiefere Einblicke in die Grabbefunde der mittleren Eisenzeit zu liefern und plädiert für umfangreichere interregionale Perspektiven sowie gezielte archäologische Untersuchungen des skandinavischen Binnenlandes. Translation by Madeleine Hummler.

Free Fulltext in the main post, Ancient Death Ways This paper focuses on the question of how a landscape perspective can contribute to the understanding of mortuary practices. By applying basic GIS methodology, we argue that it is possible to add additional dimensions to an understanding of the management of burials. The starting point is that the selection of locations and spatial relations of burials should be considered an expression of the norms and values that were important for the society that created the burials and organised the landscape. To illustrate this we use two case studies: The Passage Graves of Karleby, Falbygden and the Pitted Ware burials in Eastern Middle Sweden, Lake Hjälmaren.

Theban Harbours and Waterscapes Survey (THaWS)

This paper focusses on animal remains associated with archaeological contexts dated to the middle and later phases of the Scandinavian Iron Age, which corresponds to the first millennium AD. The main question to be addressed is whether this record can be used for identifying human impact on certain animal populations for modelling faunal exploitation and interregional trade. In the first part of the paper, we undertake a detailed inventory of animal finds recorded in published excavation reports, research catalogues, and in existing databases maintained primarily by the Historical Museum in Stockholm. We compare the chronological pattern identified in the burial assemblages with a chronological sequence retrieved from pitfall hunting systems located in the Scandinavian inland region. The chronologies of the animal finds from burials and the pitfall systems are then compared with dated pollen-analytical sequences retrieved in the inland region and additional archaeological assemblages, such as graves and hoards of Roman coins. In our discussion, we outline an interregional model of faunal exploitation between ad 300 and 1200, including the possible location of hunting grounds and end-distribution areas for animal products. The paper provides deeper insights into the burial record of the middle Iron Age, arguing for the need for broader interregional approaches, and focussed archaeological research in the inland regions of Scandinavia.

The literature is rich in descriptions of different forms of commons in the later pre-industrial agrarian society of northern Sweden. The industrial era resulted in a noticeable shift in the use of forests and in the introduction of firmer property rights and rigid land boundaries. A large number of commons from the pre-industrial period has never been officially registered and can therefore partly be seen as 'hidden' resources. The objective of this paper is to discuss the concept of commons in relation to a variable archaeological record, mainly associated with the forested regions of Sweden. Is it possible to identify commons by an archaeological landscape approach and to what extent can a long-term perspective contribute to current theoretical discussions concerned with commons?, Commons as Hidden Resources - Analysing the Shifting Roles of the Commons in Rural Development Processes

This paper discusses a series of wells mapped in an archaeological survey in western Kalahari, Namibia. The study examines the wells as archaeological evidence for livestock herding and considers their implications for related studies in southern Africa. Cet article présente une discussion sur une série de puits cartographiés lors d’une reconnaissance archéologique dans le Kalahari de l’ouest, en Namibie. L’étude considère les puits comme preuve archéologique sur l’élevage de troupeaux de bétail et examine leurs implications pour des études apparentées en Afrique australe.