Papers by Dagmar Dreslerova
The upper regions of the Bohemian and Bavarian Forests are home to what appear to be some of the ... more The upper regions of the Bohemian and Bavarian Forests are home to what appear to be some of the best-preserved natural ecosystems in Europe. Airborne laser scanning (LIDAR) methods have nonetheless revealed numerous surface relics of past human activity. Among the most recent discoveries is a series of quadrangular enclosures with various types of stone walls or stone earth banks that range from 20 m to 40 m wide. At altitudes of around 1100 m a.s.l., there are some 600 of these barely detectable and little-known features that have largely fallen out of the historical consciousness, partly as a result of the displacement of the German population after the Second World War, and partly because they are hardly recognizable in the terrain. Radiocarbon dating, an analysis of historical administrative, topographical and forestry maps, and observations regarding the present-day vegetation enable us to estimate the origin of the enclosures between the second half of the 17th century and the second half of the 19th century. Preliminary results suggest that some of them could have been forest nurseries and seedbeds, some of which could have been founded before the great forest disturbances of the 1860s and 1870s. They therefore represent a missing piece in the history of forest management in the Šumava region.
NEWS-ZPRÁVY Arch14CZ: A new open database of radiocarbon dates from the Czech Republic released A... more NEWS-ZPRÁVY Arch14CZ: A new open database of radiocarbon dates from the Czech Republic released Arch14CZ: nová veřejná databáze radiokarbonových dat z České republiky byla spuštěna
I ron smelting belongs to a relatively widely studied field within Iron Age production activities... more I ron smelting belongs to a relatively widely studied field within Iron Age production activities in La Tène Europe, even if the attention it has received has varied across time and space. There have been recent general surveys by R. Pleiner 1 , for France by M. Leroy, and, M. Mangin et al. 2 and by C. Domergue et al. 3 , for northern Europe by H. Jöns 4 , for Oberlausitz by V. Hirsekorn 5 and for Poland by K. Bielenin, M. Mangin and S. Orzechowski 6. Whilst until recently there has not been reliable archaeological evidence for iron production of the 6 th-5 th centuries BC in the Late Hallstatt to Early La Tène periods 7 , the record relating to the 4 th-3 rd and especially 2 nd-1 st centuries BC (or later La Tène period) is richer. For the lastmentioned phase of the Iron Age, the existence of a rather limited number of specialised bloomery sites seems to be typical. This pattern changes in the succeeding Roman Period (1 st-4 th centuries AD) with its large number of bloomeries, recovered either in groups or dispersed.
The article presents the assemblage of finds from a sunken hut in Nižbor opposite the Stradonice ... more The article presents the assemblage of finds from a sunken hut in Nižbor opposite the Stradonice oppidum on the other bank of the Berounka River. The inventory from the sunken hut, which testifies to its contemporaneity with one of the phases of settlement at the oppidum in the Late La Tène period, was composed of common settlement finds of pottery and animal bones but also the skeletal remains of an older male. As such, it is a source for the study of excarnation, or the handling of the body of the deceased in the central European Late La Tène period following the end of burials at the so-called flat cemeteries. Radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones is important for establishing the chronology of the accompanying find assemblage, especially painted pottery in Bohemia. The location of the site near a probable ford over the Berounka River is the starting point for the reconstruction of the roads in the broader vicinity of the oppidum. settlement-oppidum hinterland-excarnation-roads-ford-La Tène period-radiocarbon dating Článek představuje nálezový soubor z polozemnice v Nižboru, ležící naproti oppidu Stradonice na druhém břehu řeky Berounky. Nálezy z polozemnice, které svědčí o její současnosti s jednou z fází osídlení na oppidu v mladší době laténské, tvořily kromě běžných sídlištních nálezů keramiky a zvířecích kostí také kosterní pozůstatky staršího muže. Jde tedy o pramen ke studiu exkarnace, resp. zacházení s těly zemřelých ve středoevropské mladší době laténské po ukončení pohřbívání na tzv. plochých pohřebištích. Radiokarbonové datování lidských i zvířecích kostí významně přispívá k řešení chronologie doprovodného nálezového souboru, zejména malované keramiky v Čechách. Poloha lokality u pravděpodobného brodu přes Berounku tvoří výchozí bod pro rekonstrukci cest v širším okolí oppida. sídliště-zázemí oppida-exkarnace-cesty-brod-doba laténská-radiokarbonové datování
The Holocene, Oct 10, 2020
In the lower forested mountain ranges of Europe, human impact on nature is usually confined to th... more In the lower forested mountain ranges of Europe, human impact on nature is usually confined to the written history of the Middle Ages. Our research in the Šumava mountains aims to specify the nature and intensity of human impact on vegetation, especially during agricultural prehistory. We use results from a multidisciplinary study of the unique La Tène archaeological site in the Sklářské Valley (elevation 802 m a.s.l.) and from a pollen and charcoal record 60 m away. With knowledge of this reference site we focus on the meaning of anthropogenic pollen indicators in 13 other pollen sites from central Šumava. From ca 3300 cal yr BP we detect an increase in NAP, Betula, Pinus and secondary anthropogenic indicators in pollen records – vegetation changes of anthropogenic origin. Charcoal records show a significant peak around 3200 cal yr BP. We found weak anthropogenic influence on the La Tène archaeological site in the Sklářské Valley, and much stronger anthropogenic pollen signals at other pollen sites dated to the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Some of these sites are situated on trade routes which have been known since Medieval times but which most likely have much older origins. During prehistory, pollen data reveal no specific human activity such as pasturing or arable farming but reflect small-scale disturbances that supported growth of Betula and Pinus and an abundance of herbs. Such human impact could be connected primarily to activities along trade routes and to hunting, but other factors cannot be excluded.
Předloženo redakci v prosinci 2009 Předložená studie představuje dosavadní výsledky téměř osmdesá... more Předloženo redakci v prosinci 2009 Předložená studie představuje dosavadní výsledky téměř osmdesátileté historie archeobotanických analýz rostlinných makrozbytků v pravěkých archeologických kontextech v České republice. Starší, více či méně náhodné nálezy jsou doplněny a konfrontovány s výsledky bádání z posledního desetiletí. V úvodu jsou představeny základní ekologické nároky jednotlivých plodin a metodologické problémy jejich určování. Chronologický vývoj pěstování obilnin, luštěnin a technických plodin je srovnán s poznatky z okolních středoevropských států. Je nastíněn pravděpodobný vývoj způsobů obdělávání a využívání orné půdy a porovnán se znalostmi založenými na jiných typech archeologických pramenů. Práce obsahuje soupis pravěkých archeologických lokalit s existujícími archeo botanickými analýzami. botanické makrozbytky, pěstované plodiny, pravěké zemědělství, Česká republika This study deals with the results of almost eighty years of archaeobotanical determination of plant macro remains from prehistoric archaeological contexts in the Czech Republic. The early, more or less accidental finds are supplemented and reviewed with the results from the last decade. The introduction presents basic ecological requirements of individual plants and methodological problems of their determination. Chronological development of cultivating cereals, legumes and technical plants is compared with the knowledge from surrounding central European countries. A probable development of the cultivation and use of arable land is outlined and compared with the knowledge based on other types of archaeological evidence. The study includes a list of prehistoric archaeological sites with archaeobotanic analysis pursued. botanical macroremains, cultivated crops, prehistoric agriculture, Czech Republic 1 Práci věnujeme Ing. Zdeňku Tempírovi, CSc. za jeho celoživotní přínos ke studiu pravěkého zemědělství a za jeho obětavou pomoc při shromažďování materiálu k této studii.
Archeologické rozhledy
Radiouhlíkové datování je etablovanou metodou, která pomáhá určit absolutní stáří archeologických... more Radiouhlíkové datování je etablovanou metodou, která pomáhá určit absolutní stáří archeologických nálezů. Tento tematický přehled prezentuje základní principy radiouhlíkové metody, předpoklady pro výběr vzorků z archeologických situací, způsob zacházení se vzorky před zasláním do radiouhlíkové laboratoře, laboratorní postupy úpravy vzorků, průběh AMS měření a kalibraci výsledků. Dále jsou vysvětleny faktory, které omezují výsledky radiouhlíkového datování, zejména radiouhlíková plata a rezervoárový efekt, a jak lze jejich vliv rozpoznat a případně eliminovat. Hlavním cílem článku je kriticky zhodnonit aplikaci radiouhlíkové metody na méně obvyklé archeologické vzorky (lipidy uchované v pórech keramiky, spálené kosti, zubní kámen, železné předměty a železné strusky, malta, pylové a fytolitové koncentráty vyextrahované ze sedimentů či půd), jejichž datace otevírá nové možnosti pro chronologické ukotvení přírodních i kulturních procesů a událostí v minulosti.
Geochronometria
Mountain summits in the Slovak part of the Western Carpathians bear evidence of human presence fr... more Mountain summits in the Slovak part of the Western Carpathians bear evidence of human presence from the Late Bronze to the Late Iron Age. According to fire-induced changes in archaeological record and finds of weaponry, some of the extreme upland sites (EUS) were viewed as places of safety or refugia violently destroyed within a short period. We have focussed on three sites with summits at 1300–1550 m a. s. l. and found out that two of them were used in 650–400 calBC and 390–150 calBC, respectively. By the first systematic use of 14C dating and targeted 14C sampling, we have overcome the inherent chronological imprecision of their artefactual record and opened new vistas for interpretation of this type of sites.
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
Radiocarbon
ABSTRACTTriliths are megalithic monuments scattered across the coastal plains of southern and sou... more ABSTRACTTriliths are megalithic monuments scattered across the coastal plains of southern and southeastern Arabia. They consist of aligned standing stones with a parallel row of large hearths and form a space, the meaning of which is undoubtedly significant but nonetheless still unknown. This paper presents a new radiocarbon (14C) dataset acquired during the two field seasons 2018–2019 of the TSMO (Trilith Stone Monuments of Oman) project which investigated the spatial and temporal patterns of the triliths. The excavation and sampling of trilith hearths across Oman yielded a dataset of 30 new 14C dates, extending the use of trilith monuments to as early as the Iron Age III period (600–300 BC). The earlier dates are linked to two-phase trilith sites in south-central Oman. The three 14C pairs collected from the two-phase trilith sites indicated gaps between the trilith construction phases from 35 to 475 years (2 σ). The preliminary spatio-temporal analysis shows the geographical expan...
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2021
Abstract The study presents nitrogen isotope data from prehistoric and Medieval charred cereal gr... more Abstract The study presents nitrogen isotope data from prehistoric and Medieval charred cereal grains and grains from modern experiments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The results are consistent with δ15N values of cereals from other European countries. Various crops were manured differently, perhaps according to specific societal needs. Surprisingly, the highest (but also the lowest) δ15N value is found in barley. In modern experiments, means of fertilisation other than farmyard manure were tested. Based on these findings, and on soil analysis and prehistoric settlement activity observed within an agricultural landscape, we propose an alternative method for maintaining soil productivity by the periodic movement of fields within the settlement areas into places intensively fertilised by abandoned habitation areas, and vice versa. The results of the isotopic analysis of more than 700 archaeobotanical samples of cereal grains from Europe show that the improvement and maintenance of good soil productivity by adding organic material has been practised everywhere, to a greater or lesser extent, since the very beginnings of agricultural history, and confirm the high level of skill in prehistoric and Early Medieval farming practices.
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Aug 12, 2018
EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts, Apr 1, 2016
Czech version of international book published in 10 languages - Česká verze mezinárodní publikace... more Czech version of international book published in 10 languages - Česká verze mezinárodní publikace, vydané v 10 jazycích. Pathways to Europe´s Landscape explores the traces of past human activity that survive in the landscape, celebrating diversity and local character as well as recognising the common heritage themes that are shared by the project areas. It discusses how landscape is created and percieved and how explanations from the past, such as myths and legends, are just as important as those of today.
Agricultural and Pastoral Landscapes in Pre-Industrial Society, 2014
Sofus' interactions were always made even more pleasurable by his legendary humour. This, togethe... more Sofus' interactions were always made even more pleasurable by his legendary humour. This, together with his vast knowledge of worldwide geography, helped launch new initiatives and provided the basis for interesting and entertaining discussions for the members of this programme and the authors of this book, particularly concerning the relationship between nature, environment and humans. We are grateful for his help and inspiration
Quaternary International, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Radiocarbon, 2019
ABSTRACTToday, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technology enables us to carry out very precis... more ABSTRACTToday, accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technology enables us to carry out very precise measurements of radiocarbon (14C). Unfortunately, due to fluctuations in the 14C calibration curve, the resulting calibrated time intervals vary from decades up to centuries in calibrated age. Within a time scale of several decades, we can find several time intervals on the 14C calibration curve which correspond with periods of rapid increases in atmospheric 14CO2 activity. Some of these “high slope” parts of the calibration curve could be used for fine time resolution for radiocarbon dating of individual samples. Nevertheless, there are certain limitations owing to the properties of the samples measured. We have prepared a time-resolution curve for the 14C dating method, applying calibration curve IntCal13 and assuming an uncertainty of 14C analyses ±15 yr BP (for recent samples). Our curve of the time resolution covers the last 50 ka. We found several time intervals with time resolut...
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2018
This study investigated the long-term role and drivers of fire in the central European temperate ... more This study investigated the long-term role and drivers of fire in the central European temperate spruce-beech forests from Prášilské jezero, Czech Republic. The results illustrate the complex relationship between broad-scale climate, vegetation composition, and local human activities on fire throughout the Holocene. Biomass burning was the highest (average 3 fires/1000 years) and most severe during the early Holocene when fire resistant taxa (Pinus, Corylus and Betula) dominated. Using a Generalized Additive Model to assess the response of dominant canopy taxa to changes in biomass burning and fire severity, response curves demonstrate a positive relationship (p < 0.01) between fire resistant taxa and increases in biomass burning. Norway spruce (Picea abies) established ~10,000 cal yr BP and expanded during peak biomass burning. Response curves show a slight negative relationship with Picea and increasing biomass burning, and a positive relationship with increasing fire severity. This suggests that central European spruce forests may not be significantly impacted by fire. Regional biomass burning dramatically decreased with the expansion of fire sensitive taxa (e.g. Fagus sylvatica) ~6500 cal yr BP, yet no dramatic reduction in local fire frequency occurred. This suggests either human activities or rare fire-promoting climatic events were important in shaping local fire regimes. Fire activity peaked (6 fires/1000 years) ~2500 cal yr BP and paralleled increases in anthropogenic pollen indicators. Fagus response curves illustrates a negative (p < 0.01) relationship with increasing biomass burning and fire severity suggesting that natural Fagus forests may be increasingly vulnerable to projected increases in wildfire occurrence.
Archeologické rozhledy
Horské sezónní pastevectví tvořilo důležitou součást hospodářství mnoha evropských zemí prakticky... more Horské sezónní pastevectví tvořilo důležitou součást hospodářství mnoha evropských zemí prakticky od počátků zemědělství. V novodobé historii České republiky se praktikovalo ve formě valašského pastevectví zhruba od konce 15. stol. na moravských vnějších západních Karpatech, Hrubém Jeseníku a Kralickém Sněžníku. V Čechách bylo zavedeno až v průběhu 17. stol. v Krkonoších a na Šumavě. Z ostatních horských hřebenů a ze starších období, zejména pravěkých, doklady této činnosti chybějí. Důvod, proč se horskésezónní pastevectví v Čechách objevovalo v tak malé míře, není plně objasněn. Jednou z příčin může být rozlehlost pahorkatin, která umožňovala případnou sezónní pastvu mimo horská území. Horské pylové profily však zaznamenávají indikátory lidského vlivu již na konci doby bronzové a v době železné. V souvislosti s tím je diskutována možnost specifické formy pravěkého a raně středověkého horského zemědělského hospodaření, jehož poznání naráží na limity současné archeologie i palynologie.
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Papers by Dagmar Dreslerova