Často uváděná první zmínka o vaření piva na našem území se objevila ve fundační listině vyšehrads... more Často uváděná první zmínka o vaření piva na našem území se objevila ve fundační listině vyšehradské kapituly z roku 1088. Bohužel jde patrně o podvrh nebo v lepším případě opis z 12. století (Hrubý a Šebánek, 1936). Jak naznačená skutečnost napovídá, je vypovídací hodnota písemných pramenů k prvopočátkům pivovarnictví značně omezená. Každopádně po celý středověk byl ječmen jako základní surovina pro výrobu piva dopravován z polí přímo do jednotlivých domů. Ty byly již při jejich zakládání prostorově a funkčně přizpůsobovány
Příspěvek se zabývá rozsáhlým souborem botanických ekofaktů získaným v letech 1985–1987 v raně st... more Příspěvek se zabývá rozsáhlým souborem botanických ekofaktů získaným v letech 1985–1987 v raně středověké lokalitě Olomouc-Povel (Zikova ulice). Sídliště bylo prozkoumáno v 80. letech a vzhledem k výjimečnosti situace bylo interpretováno jako předvelkomoravské správní a mocenské centrum. Součástí exkavace byl i sběr rostlinných ekofaktů a vzorkování zkoumaných sedimentů za účelem získání rostlinných zbytků plavením. Vzorkování bylo prováděno s cílem charakterizovat přírodní prostředí a základní rysy ekonomiky sídelní aglomerace. Trvale zvodnělé sedimenty umožnily získat, kromě běžně nalézaných zuhelnatělých rostlinných zbytků (uhlíky, zuhelnatělé makrozbytky rostlin), velké množství nezuhelnatělých rostlinných makrozbytků (semen, plodů, nezuhelnatělého dřeva), včetně unikátně dochovaného souboru listových čepelí. K zajímavým paleoekologickým zjištěním patří např. nízký vliv raně středověkého osídlení na lesní vegetaci a mezofilní charakter lesních porostů v nivě Povelky a Moravy, dů...
Multidisciplinary research based on the interpretation of data acquired by archaeological and nat... more Multidisciplinary research based on the interpretation of data acquired by archaeological and natural science methods and their correlation. The main objective is to reconstruct the interaction of factors of the environment and the living conditions of human communities and their development from the 6th until the early 12th century. The study will draw on research of the complex of the Great Moravian centre at Pohansko near Břeclav (South Moravia), its surroundings and hinterland. The subsistence strategy and its development in the early medieval society was studied on the basis of finds related to farming production and the subsequent processing of the products.
Colluvial sediments originating from soil erosion on slopes have proven to constitute significant... more Colluvial sediments originating from soil erosion on slopes have proven to constitute significant evidence for tracing past human impact on mountain landscapes. In the Central European Erzgebirge (Ore) Mountains, colluvial sediments are associated with specific landforms (footslopes, slope flattenings, dells) and cover a share of 11% (11,905 ha) of the regional soil landscape. Thirteen pedosedimentary sections with colluvial layers were investigated at five forested sites (520–730 m a.s.l.) within a context of mining archaeology, integrating data from pedology, archaeology, palaeobotany, and geochronology. The thickness of the gravel-bearing loamy, silty, and sandy colluvial layers is up to 70 cm, which are mostly located on top of the sections. The geochronological ages and archaeological data reveal a high to late medieval to post-medieval age of the colluvial sediments. Pollen data show a drastic decline of the mountain forests in the late twelfth to fifteenth centuries AD accomp...
Landscape evolution around the oppidum of Bibracte (Northern Massif Central, France) from the Late Iron Age to the Post-Mediaeval period
Quaternary International, 2021
Abstract The considerable intensification of human activity in the second and first centuries BC ... more Abstract The considerable intensification of human activity in the second and first centuries BC in Central Europe was related to the sudden appearance of a network of large fortified towns, which are known as oppida. Bibracte was one of the most important oppida in France, but knowledge about the evolution of its hinterland is still incomplete. This article addresses the evolution of the landscape surrounding this oppidum. Our research was based on a study of sedimentary profiles sampled around the archaeological site and examined by physical, geochemical and palaeoecological analyses. Sediment sequences indicate that the first humans caused erosion and associated geomorphological change in the 4th–1st century BC. Geochemical results indicate ancient mining and metallurgy in the catchment during the same time. Palaeoecological proxies from the same period point to a mosaic of an open cultural landscape with locally suppressed forest vegetation and prevailing pastoralism. Anthropogenic impact resurged in the 11th–13th centuries AD and was associated with livestock grazing and rye (Secale cereale) cultivation. Thereafter, the reconstructed human impact from the 15th century AD onwards was probably related to forest management focused on timber floating as well as to the cultivation of chestnut (Castanea sativa) and hemp (Cannabis sativa).
Raně středověký areál v Roztokách z pohledu ekofaktů
Pamatky Archeologicke, 2013
The Early Medieval settlement at Roztoky (Prague-west district, Central Bohemia) represents an ex... more The Early Medieval settlement at Roztoky (Prague-west district, Central Bohemia) represents an extraordinary case and, at the same time, a difficult challenge in terms of interpretation among sites of the Prague-type Culture (6th–7th century AD). Primarily, the high overall number of settlement features of the given culture is what makes this site unique and puzzling. To date, more than 300 sunken houses of this culture have been captured at the site (with an area size of min. 22 ha) and their overall number can be estimated as being at least double this amount. On the one hand, the site is specific also by its landscape setting (at the base of a canyon-like valley) and by its discontinuity in relation to the preceding and the following periods. On the other hand, the site lacks finds that would allow for a clear interpretation in terms of its function (e.g. production features, tools or waste materials, luxury goods, etc.). Finds of the Prague-type Culture were first discovered at ...
Zaniklý středověký rybník u Střítěže v kontextu osídlení severovýchodní části Českomoravské vrchoviny ve vrcholném středověku
Přispěvek představuje zaniklý středověký rybnik, který byl již v 90. letech objeven na katastru o... more Přispěvek představuje zaniklý středověký rybnik, který byl již v 90. letech objeven na katastru obce Střitěž, ktera leži v severovýchodni casti Ceskomoravske vrchoviny, v povodi Bukovskeho potoka. Zkoumane těleso hraze a sedimenty rybniku přinesly nejen informace ke stavbě samotne, ale podařilo se ziskat informace k sirsimu osidleni okolni krajiny ve středověku. Archeologicke a historických prameny v kombinaci s geoarcheologickým a paleoekologickým výzkumem sedimentů přispivaji k poznani průběhu osidlovani regionu ve vrcholnem středověku. Mimo vlastni sedimenty vyplňujici vnitřni cast rybnika byly zkoumany take fluvialni sedimenty udolni nivy a aluvialni kužely při usti bocnich udoli. Ze ziskaných dat vyplýva, že antropogenni aktivity v udoli Bukovskeho potoka můžeme datovat nejpozději od 12. stoleti, přicemž vlastni rybnik byl vybudovan pravděpodobně ve stoleti 13. a existoval pravděpodobně až do 17. stoleti. Ve středověku se zde nachazel bukovo-jedlový les, který byl postupně inte...
Ein Befund mit neolithischen Plastiken aus Těšetice-Kyjovice,Mähren : Fundverteilungsanalyse
Material from a settlement feature assigned to the Moravian Painted Ware culture containing fragm... more Material from a settlement feature assigned to the Moravian Painted Ware culture containing fragments of female figurines is described; emphasis is placed on taphonomical observations. This article presents data relating to the spatial distribution of figurine fragments and pottery, chipped stone, osteological and archaeobotanical finds and red dye. Taphonomical analysis should help to objectify the archaeological situation and help in its explanation. The final testimony of archaeological sources reveals the relationships between individual components and permits a description of the numerous processes involved in the backfill of the feature. The mutually supportive results of the analyses of artefacts and samples illustrate the necessity to record spatial information for all categories of archaeological sources.
Since the twelfth century, forest areas in the upper reaches of the low mountain ranges of centra... more Since the twelfth century, forest areas in the upper reaches of the low mountain ranges of central Europe provided an important source of wood and charcoal especially for mining and smelting as well as glass production. In this case study from a site in the upper Erzgebirge region (Ore Mountains), results from archeological, geophysical, pedo-sedimentological, geochemical, anthracological, and palynological analyses have been closely linked to allow for a diachronic reconstruction of changing land use and varying intensities of human impact with a special focus on the fourteenth to the twentieth century. While human presence during the thirteenth century can only be assumed from archeological material, the establishment of glass kilns together with quartz mining shafts during the fourteenth century has left behind more prominent traces in the landscape. However, although glass production is generally assumed to have caused intensive deforestation, the impact on this site appears rather weak compared to the sixteenth century onwards, when charcoal production, probably associated with emerging mining activities in the region, became important. Local deforestation and soil erosion has been associated mainly with this later phase of charcoal production and may indicate that the human impact of glass production is sometimes overestimated.
Tin is an essential raw material both for the copper-tin alloys developed during the Early Bronze... more Tin is an essential raw material both for the copper-tin alloys developed during the Early Bronze Age and for the casting of tableware in the Medieval period. Secondary geological deposits in the form of placers (cassiterite) provide easily accessible sources but have often been reworked several times during land-use history. In fact, evidence for the earliest phase of tin mining during the Bronze Age has not yet been confirmed for any area in Europe, stimulating ongoing debate on this issue. For this study a broad range of methods (sedimentology, pedology, palynology, anthracology, OSL/14C-dating, micromorphology) was applied both within the extraction zone of placer mining and the downstream alluvial sediments at Schellerhau site in the upper eastern Erzgebirge (Germany). The results indicate that the earliest local removal of topsoil and processing of cassiterite-bearing weathered granite occurred already in the early second millennium BC, thus coinciding with the early and middle Bronze Age period. Placer mining resumed in this area during the Medieval period, probably as early as the 13th century AD. A peak of alluvial sedimentation during the Mid-15th century AD is probably related to the acquisition of this region by the Elector of Saxony and the subsequent promotion of mining.
Knowledge on historic changes in vegetation, relief and soil is key in understanding how the upla... more Knowledge on historic changes in vegetation, relief and soil is key in understanding how the uplands in central Europe have changed during the last millennium, being an essential requirement for measures on forest conversion and nature conservation in that area. Evidence of forest-clearing horizons from the medieval period could be systematically documented at four low-to mid-altitudinal sites (360-640 m a.s.l.) in the Harz (Harz Mountains), Erzgebirge 2 (Ore Mountains) and Českomoravská vrchovina (Bohemian-Moravian Highlands). Subfossil trees with traces of human cutmarks and burning were recovered from buried wet-organic soils (paleosols) within a context of mining and settlement archaeology, applying a multiproxy-approach by using data from archaeology, palaeobotany, geochronology, dendrochronology, and pedology. Tree stumps and trunks as well as small-scale wood remains represent an in situ record of local conifer stands (spruce, fir, pine). Some deciduous tree taxa also occur. Dating of the tree remains yielded ages from the 10th/11th to the 13th/14th centuries A.D. After deforestation, the tree remains were buried by technogenic and alluvial-colluvial deposits. The reconstructed conifer-dominated woodlands on wet soils mirror the local vegetation structure immediately prior to medieval deforestation. As such wet sites are common in the uplands, conifers were significantly present in the natural vegetation even at mid and lower altitudes.
This paper presents a reconstruction of environmental conditions and subsistence strategies in th... more This paper presents a reconstruction of environmental conditions and subsistence strategies in the Early Neolithic (6th Millenium BC) settlement area at Těšetice-Kyjovice (Czech Republic). Our detailed reconstruction of the environment contributes to the unravelling of the genesis and spread of steppes and the formation of secondary anthropogenic forest-free areas in the Holocene in eastern-Central Europe. Mollusc shells, charcoals and plant macroremains were used as on-site evidence of a settlement environment. A relatively warm and dry anthropogenic forest-free area is reconstructed for the immediate vicinity of the Early Neolithic settlement. Communities of mixed deciduous forests are recorded in the surroundings of the settlement. Plant macroremains reflect the characteristic Neolithic range of cultivated plants (e.g. Triticum monococcum, Triticum dicoccon, Lens culinaris and Pisum sativum). Papaver somniferum seeds were also found, possibly constituting the oldest evidence of its presence and cultivation in the territory of the Czech Republic.
The invasion history of archaeophytes (i.e. alien taxa that were introduced into Europe prior to ... more The invasion history of archaeophytes (i.e. alien taxa that were introduced into Europe prior to AD 1500), their effect on past vegetation and their present status based on their residence time were studied. The residence times of archaeophytes range from 7500 to 500 years. It is likely that species with other functional traits came at different times. We summarized assemblages of macroremains obtained from the Archaeobotanical Database of the Czech Republic. The data based on 202 archaeological sites cover the period from the Neolithic to the Early Middle Ages. We found 123 alien species and 94 synanthropic species native in the Czech Republic. Three waves of immigration of increasing magnitude were distinguished: (i) the Neolithic, (ii) the Bronze Age, and (iii) the Early Middle Ages. The first phase of synanthropic plant immigration was characterized by the prevalence of native and alien generalist species, which are still very abundant, sharing both ruderal and segetal habitats. Specialist weeds of cereal fields occurred only since the Eneolithic. In the ruderal flora, the successive development started from a stage dominated by species associated with disturbance of less fertile soils and species that need nutrient-rich soils prevailed later. The composition of the oldest grassland flora corresponded with that of short lawns at disturbed and/or trampled sites, whereas a sudden increase in meadow species occurred in the Late Bronze Age. Since the Middle Ages, pastural species, avoided by grazing animals, indicate the intense use of pastures and their expansion into wet conditions. The species that arrived early in this era, i.e. in the Neolithic, are currently more successful than the later arrivals. Such a trend cannot be explained by the length of time they have had to naturalize and spread because all archaeophytes have been here long enough, whether they arrived early or late, to be
Často uváděná první zmínka o vaření piva na našem území se objevila ve fundační listině vyšehrads... more Často uváděná první zmínka o vaření piva na našem území se objevila ve fundační listině vyšehradské kapituly z roku 1088. Bohužel jde patrně o podvrh nebo v lepším případě opis z 12. století (Hrubý a Šebánek, 1936). Jak naznačená skutečnost napovídá, je vypovídací hodnota písemných pramenů k prvopočátkům pivovarnictví značně omezená. Každopádně po celý středověk byl ječmen jako základní surovina pro výrobu piva dopravován z polí přímo do jednotlivých domů. Ty byly již při jejich zakládání prostorově a funkčně přizpůsobovány
Příspěvek se zabývá rozsáhlým souborem botanických ekofaktů získaným v letech 1985–1987 v raně st... more Příspěvek se zabývá rozsáhlým souborem botanických ekofaktů získaným v letech 1985–1987 v raně středověké lokalitě Olomouc-Povel (Zikova ulice). Sídliště bylo prozkoumáno v 80. letech a vzhledem k výjimečnosti situace bylo interpretováno jako předvelkomoravské správní a mocenské centrum. Součástí exkavace byl i sběr rostlinných ekofaktů a vzorkování zkoumaných sedimentů za účelem získání rostlinných zbytků plavením. Vzorkování bylo prováděno s cílem charakterizovat přírodní prostředí a základní rysy ekonomiky sídelní aglomerace. Trvale zvodnělé sedimenty umožnily získat, kromě běžně nalézaných zuhelnatělých rostlinných zbytků (uhlíky, zuhelnatělé makrozbytky rostlin), velké množství nezuhelnatělých rostlinných makrozbytků (semen, plodů, nezuhelnatělého dřeva), včetně unikátně dochovaného souboru listových čepelí. K zajímavým paleoekologickým zjištěním patří např. nízký vliv raně středověkého osídlení na lesní vegetaci a mezofilní charakter lesních porostů v nivě Povelky a Moravy, dů...
Multidisciplinary research based on the interpretation of data acquired by archaeological and nat... more Multidisciplinary research based on the interpretation of data acquired by archaeological and natural science methods and their correlation. The main objective is to reconstruct the interaction of factors of the environment and the living conditions of human communities and their development from the 6th until the early 12th century. The study will draw on research of the complex of the Great Moravian centre at Pohansko near Břeclav (South Moravia), its surroundings and hinterland. The subsistence strategy and its development in the early medieval society was studied on the basis of finds related to farming production and the subsequent processing of the products.
Colluvial sediments originating from soil erosion on slopes have proven to constitute significant... more Colluvial sediments originating from soil erosion on slopes have proven to constitute significant evidence for tracing past human impact on mountain landscapes. In the Central European Erzgebirge (Ore) Mountains, colluvial sediments are associated with specific landforms (footslopes, slope flattenings, dells) and cover a share of 11% (11,905 ha) of the regional soil landscape. Thirteen pedosedimentary sections with colluvial layers were investigated at five forested sites (520–730 m a.s.l.) within a context of mining archaeology, integrating data from pedology, archaeology, palaeobotany, and geochronology. The thickness of the gravel-bearing loamy, silty, and sandy colluvial layers is up to 70 cm, which are mostly located on top of the sections. The geochronological ages and archaeological data reveal a high to late medieval to post-medieval age of the colluvial sediments. Pollen data show a drastic decline of the mountain forests in the late twelfth to fifteenth centuries AD accomp...
Landscape evolution around the oppidum of Bibracte (Northern Massif Central, France) from the Late Iron Age to the Post-Mediaeval period
Quaternary International, 2021
Abstract The considerable intensification of human activity in the second and first centuries BC ... more Abstract The considerable intensification of human activity in the second and first centuries BC in Central Europe was related to the sudden appearance of a network of large fortified towns, which are known as oppida. Bibracte was one of the most important oppida in France, but knowledge about the evolution of its hinterland is still incomplete. This article addresses the evolution of the landscape surrounding this oppidum. Our research was based on a study of sedimentary profiles sampled around the archaeological site and examined by physical, geochemical and palaeoecological analyses. Sediment sequences indicate that the first humans caused erosion and associated geomorphological change in the 4th–1st century BC. Geochemical results indicate ancient mining and metallurgy in the catchment during the same time. Palaeoecological proxies from the same period point to a mosaic of an open cultural landscape with locally suppressed forest vegetation and prevailing pastoralism. Anthropogenic impact resurged in the 11th–13th centuries AD and was associated with livestock grazing and rye (Secale cereale) cultivation. Thereafter, the reconstructed human impact from the 15th century AD onwards was probably related to forest management focused on timber floating as well as to the cultivation of chestnut (Castanea sativa) and hemp (Cannabis sativa).
Raně středověký areál v Roztokách z pohledu ekofaktů
Pamatky Archeologicke, 2013
The Early Medieval settlement at Roztoky (Prague-west district, Central Bohemia) represents an ex... more The Early Medieval settlement at Roztoky (Prague-west district, Central Bohemia) represents an extraordinary case and, at the same time, a difficult challenge in terms of interpretation among sites of the Prague-type Culture (6th–7th century AD). Primarily, the high overall number of settlement features of the given culture is what makes this site unique and puzzling. To date, more than 300 sunken houses of this culture have been captured at the site (with an area size of min. 22 ha) and their overall number can be estimated as being at least double this amount. On the one hand, the site is specific also by its landscape setting (at the base of a canyon-like valley) and by its discontinuity in relation to the preceding and the following periods. On the other hand, the site lacks finds that would allow for a clear interpretation in terms of its function (e.g. production features, tools or waste materials, luxury goods, etc.). Finds of the Prague-type Culture were first discovered at ...
Zaniklý středověký rybník u Střítěže v kontextu osídlení severovýchodní části Českomoravské vrchoviny ve vrcholném středověku
Přispěvek představuje zaniklý středověký rybnik, který byl již v 90. letech objeven na katastru o... more Přispěvek představuje zaniklý středověký rybnik, který byl již v 90. letech objeven na katastru obce Střitěž, ktera leži v severovýchodni casti Ceskomoravske vrchoviny, v povodi Bukovskeho potoka. Zkoumane těleso hraze a sedimenty rybniku přinesly nejen informace ke stavbě samotne, ale podařilo se ziskat informace k sirsimu osidleni okolni krajiny ve středověku. Archeologicke a historických prameny v kombinaci s geoarcheologickým a paleoekologickým výzkumem sedimentů přispivaji k poznani průběhu osidlovani regionu ve vrcholnem středověku. Mimo vlastni sedimenty vyplňujici vnitřni cast rybnika byly zkoumany take fluvialni sedimenty udolni nivy a aluvialni kužely při usti bocnich udoli. Ze ziskaných dat vyplýva, že antropogenni aktivity v udoli Bukovskeho potoka můžeme datovat nejpozději od 12. stoleti, přicemž vlastni rybnik byl vybudovan pravděpodobně ve stoleti 13. a existoval pravděpodobně až do 17. stoleti. Ve středověku se zde nachazel bukovo-jedlový les, který byl postupně inte...
Ein Befund mit neolithischen Plastiken aus Těšetice-Kyjovice,Mähren : Fundverteilungsanalyse
Material from a settlement feature assigned to the Moravian Painted Ware culture containing fragm... more Material from a settlement feature assigned to the Moravian Painted Ware culture containing fragments of female figurines is described; emphasis is placed on taphonomical observations. This article presents data relating to the spatial distribution of figurine fragments and pottery, chipped stone, osteological and archaeobotanical finds and red dye. Taphonomical analysis should help to objectify the archaeological situation and help in its explanation. The final testimony of archaeological sources reveals the relationships between individual components and permits a description of the numerous processes involved in the backfill of the feature. The mutually supportive results of the analyses of artefacts and samples illustrate the necessity to record spatial information for all categories of archaeological sources.
Since the twelfth century, forest areas in the upper reaches of the low mountain ranges of centra... more Since the twelfth century, forest areas in the upper reaches of the low mountain ranges of central Europe provided an important source of wood and charcoal especially for mining and smelting as well as glass production. In this case study from a site in the upper Erzgebirge region (Ore Mountains), results from archeological, geophysical, pedo-sedimentological, geochemical, anthracological, and palynological analyses have been closely linked to allow for a diachronic reconstruction of changing land use and varying intensities of human impact with a special focus on the fourteenth to the twentieth century. While human presence during the thirteenth century can only be assumed from archeological material, the establishment of glass kilns together with quartz mining shafts during the fourteenth century has left behind more prominent traces in the landscape. However, although glass production is generally assumed to have caused intensive deforestation, the impact on this site appears rather weak compared to the sixteenth century onwards, when charcoal production, probably associated with emerging mining activities in the region, became important. Local deforestation and soil erosion has been associated mainly with this later phase of charcoal production and may indicate that the human impact of glass production is sometimes overestimated.
Tin is an essential raw material both for the copper-tin alloys developed during the Early Bronze... more Tin is an essential raw material both for the copper-tin alloys developed during the Early Bronze Age and for the casting of tableware in the Medieval period. Secondary geological deposits in the form of placers (cassiterite) provide easily accessible sources but have often been reworked several times during land-use history. In fact, evidence for the earliest phase of tin mining during the Bronze Age has not yet been confirmed for any area in Europe, stimulating ongoing debate on this issue. For this study a broad range of methods (sedimentology, pedology, palynology, anthracology, OSL/14C-dating, micromorphology) was applied both within the extraction zone of placer mining and the downstream alluvial sediments at Schellerhau site in the upper eastern Erzgebirge (Germany). The results indicate that the earliest local removal of topsoil and processing of cassiterite-bearing weathered granite occurred already in the early second millennium BC, thus coinciding with the early and middle Bronze Age period. Placer mining resumed in this area during the Medieval period, probably as early as the 13th century AD. A peak of alluvial sedimentation during the Mid-15th century AD is probably related to the acquisition of this region by the Elector of Saxony and the subsequent promotion of mining.
Knowledge on historic changes in vegetation, relief and soil is key in understanding how the upla... more Knowledge on historic changes in vegetation, relief and soil is key in understanding how the uplands in central Europe have changed during the last millennium, being an essential requirement for measures on forest conversion and nature conservation in that area. Evidence of forest-clearing horizons from the medieval period could be systematically documented at four low-to mid-altitudinal sites (360-640 m a.s.l.) in the Harz (Harz Mountains), Erzgebirge 2 (Ore Mountains) and Českomoravská vrchovina (Bohemian-Moravian Highlands). Subfossil trees with traces of human cutmarks and burning were recovered from buried wet-organic soils (paleosols) within a context of mining and settlement archaeology, applying a multiproxy-approach by using data from archaeology, palaeobotany, geochronology, dendrochronology, and pedology. Tree stumps and trunks as well as small-scale wood remains represent an in situ record of local conifer stands (spruce, fir, pine). Some deciduous tree taxa also occur. Dating of the tree remains yielded ages from the 10th/11th to the 13th/14th centuries A.D. After deforestation, the tree remains were buried by technogenic and alluvial-colluvial deposits. The reconstructed conifer-dominated woodlands on wet soils mirror the local vegetation structure immediately prior to medieval deforestation. As such wet sites are common in the uplands, conifers were significantly present in the natural vegetation even at mid and lower altitudes.
This paper presents a reconstruction of environmental conditions and subsistence strategies in th... more This paper presents a reconstruction of environmental conditions and subsistence strategies in the Early Neolithic (6th Millenium BC) settlement area at Těšetice-Kyjovice (Czech Republic). Our detailed reconstruction of the environment contributes to the unravelling of the genesis and spread of steppes and the formation of secondary anthropogenic forest-free areas in the Holocene in eastern-Central Europe. Mollusc shells, charcoals and plant macroremains were used as on-site evidence of a settlement environment. A relatively warm and dry anthropogenic forest-free area is reconstructed for the immediate vicinity of the Early Neolithic settlement. Communities of mixed deciduous forests are recorded in the surroundings of the settlement. Plant macroremains reflect the characteristic Neolithic range of cultivated plants (e.g. Triticum monococcum, Triticum dicoccon, Lens culinaris and Pisum sativum). Papaver somniferum seeds were also found, possibly constituting the oldest evidence of its presence and cultivation in the territory of the Czech Republic.
The invasion history of archaeophytes (i.e. alien taxa that were introduced into Europe prior to ... more The invasion history of archaeophytes (i.e. alien taxa that were introduced into Europe prior to AD 1500), their effect on past vegetation and their present status based on their residence time were studied. The residence times of archaeophytes range from 7500 to 500 years. It is likely that species with other functional traits came at different times. We summarized assemblages of macroremains obtained from the Archaeobotanical Database of the Czech Republic. The data based on 202 archaeological sites cover the period from the Neolithic to the Early Middle Ages. We found 123 alien species and 94 synanthropic species native in the Czech Republic. Three waves of immigration of increasing magnitude were distinguished: (i) the Neolithic, (ii) the Bronze Age, and (iii) the Early Middle Ages. The first phase of synanthropic plant immigration was characterized by the prevalence of native and alien generalist species, which are still very abundant, sharing both ruderal and segetal habitats. Specialist weeds of cereal fields occurred only since the Eneolithic. In the ruderal flora, the successive development started from a stage dominated by species associated with disturbance of less fertile soils and species that need nutrient-rich soils prevailed later. The composition of the oldest grassland flora corresponded with that of short lawns at disturbed and/or trampled sites, whereas a sudden increase in meadow species occurred in the Late Bronze Age. Since the Middle Ages, pastural species, avoided by grazing animals, indicate the intense use of pastures and their expansion into wet conditions. The species that arrived early in this era, i.e. in the Neolithic, are currently more successful than the later arrivals. Such a trend cannot be explained by the length of time they have had to naturalize and spread because all archaeophytes have been here long enough, whether they arrived early or late, to be
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Papers by Petr Kočár