Archaeological fieldwork at Eversley Quarry, Fleet Hill Farm, Finchampstead, Berkshire documented evidence of Mesolithic activity, associated with paleoenvironmental deposits, on the Blackwater River floodplain, a river for which activity of this period was previously unknown. The discovery evolved from initial recognition of worked flint artefacts across a well weathered, stripped subsoil surface in part of the site. Additional material was collected subsequently from the summit of an adjacent low knoll. The findings were of sufficient extent and importance to warrant supplementary archaeological fieldwork using a gridded test pit strategy to evaluate the Mesolithic potential in remaining parts of the site. This resulted in the identification of additional clusters of worked flints, which were preserved in situ.

The clusters were predominantly of Mesolithic date but also included Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts, indicating prolonged use of the landscape. Concentrations were consistently located on slightly elevated sand bars flanking palaeochannels of a formerly braided river system. The contemporaneity of the palaeodrainage and Mesolithic activity has been confirmed by radiocarbon dates from peat that formed during the Holocene. The collective results mark a significant contribution to knowledge of the Blackwater River valley, a major communications artery in the Mesolithic period linking the west end of the Wealden Greensand to the Rivers Thames and Kennet. These findings also highlight the importance that river valleys can make to locations that have been less well studied but nevertheless enjoyed prolonged use.

From the middle of the 1st century AD, the Lower Rhine was part of the frontier of the Roman Empire (Limes). However, this Limes was not an impermeable line, but rather an open corridor that served as march area and as a trade and supply route for the adjacent military and civilian settlements as well as the hinterland. This required access to the river and permanent harbours. When planning military camps and towns along the Rhine, the existing topography and the challenge of a dynamic riverine landscape had to be taken into account. The prefered location for forts and towns were the raised edges of the Lower Terraces close to the undercut bank of a meander. For many years, research assumed that the river bend adjacent to a Roman site had to be an oxbow lake. The main argument being that only an oxbow situation would have protected the Roman sites against strong currents and the risk of demolition of land and settlements by the main stream (abandoned channel hypothesis). A re-evaluation of the extensive archaeological, sedimentological and palynological archive and published data from the Rhine plain, as well as of supplementary data from new boreholes, lead to a considerable increase in the previously incomplete knowledge of the fluvial history, especially regarding the timing of palaeomeander infilling. It showed that most of the meanders and river bends of the Rhine with Roman settlements on their banks not silted up before Late Antiquity (from the end of the 3rd century AD on). Before that those meanders were part of the main stream. The advantage of steep undercut banks was that a quay could be built on a location that ensured mooring all year round, even at low water level. However, it was necessary that stabilising bank protections were present in order to avoid shifting the course of the river with subsequent destruction of the infrastructure. Such an antique bank protection construction (a so called “Packwerk”) could be recognised in front of the Colonia Ulpia Traiana (CUT, Xanten). With this knowledge in mind, other excavated structures on the banks of palaeomeanders, previously mostly interpreted as Roman harbour remains, could be interpreted as bank protections.

At Wesel near the strategically important mouth of the Lippe, the archaeological, sedimentological and palynological data showed that a meander that had silted up in Prehistoric times (Bronze Age) had been reactivated in Roman times and silted up again in Late Antiquity. A man-made diversion (perhaps by building a groyne) of the main stream could have been responsible for this.

With the beginning of the Late Antiquity crisis of the Roman Empire at the end of the 3rd century, it presumably became increasingly difficult to maintain these water works. This enabled the river to regain its morphodynamics, by cutting of the meanders that were active during Roman times. We hypothesise that this increase in fluvial activities of the Lower Rhine from the end of the 3rd century onwards is due to an anthropogenic trigger: the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Two new records from the Amersfoort glacial basin are investigated by means of pollen analysis. The cores are situated in the deeper part, close to the original Eemian stratotype Amersfoort 1 (Zagwijn, 1961) and at the margin of the basin. The aim is to reconstruct the Eemian and Early Weichselian vegetation development and to explore the impact of accommodation space, influx of allochthonous pollen and geomorphology on the vegetation composition. The results of the Amersfoort Basin are compared to the current Eemian stratotype in the Amsterdam Basin and other Eemian sites in the Netherlands. An almost complete Eemian to Early Weichselian sequence (E2-EWII) was retrieved from the deeper part of the Amersfoort basin. The late Saalian (LS) to early Eemian transition is not recorded in the Amersfoort basin, in contrast to the deeper Amsterdam Basin. The basin marginal core Den Treek reveals a condensed late Eemian (E5-6) and Early Weichselian (EW I-II) succession showing the importance of accommodation space. The first impact of the Eemian transgression is registered at the E3 to E4a boundary in the Amersfoort and Amsterdam basins, and highest sea level is proposed at the end of pollen zone E5. Upstream in the Eemian delta, in the palaeo-Vecht valley and IJssel Basin, the transgression is recorded later.

The influx of reworked (allochthonous) pollen in clastic sediment units hampers vegetation and climatic reconstructions during the LS and Eemian. The early appearance of Picea in zone E4 and Abies in zone E5 in clastic sediment intervals can be related to long-distance transport by the river Rhine and redistribution in the Eemian delta.

Local vegetation development can complicate regional biostratigraphic correlations. Alnus, considered characteristic for the late Eemian (E5-6), shows large differences over short distances in the Amersfoort Basin, related to local alder growth since Eemian E3. Carpinus, diagnostic for pollen zone E5, shows high values in the basins adjacent to higher, well-drained ice-pushed ridges, but low values in low-relief environments. Salt- to brackish-water marshes were present during high sea level in zone E5 in the Amsterdam and Amersfoort basins, while further upstream in the Rhine delta brackish to fresh-water tidal conditions dominated.

In line with Zagwijn (1961), the E6 to EWI boundary is defined at the first opening of the vegetation cover with Calluna, Poaceae and Artemisia increase, often coinciding with a lithological change from organic to clastic deposition, reflecting increased landscape instability.

The cores from the Amersfoort basin reveal a complete Eemian to Early Weichselian record. It is suggested to define the boundary stratotype for the base of the Weichselian Stage in the Amersfoort Basin. The current stratotype Amsterdam-Terminal reveals a fully developed LS to Eemian transition and contains the boundary stratotype for the base of the Eemian Stage.

In conventional pollen analysis, usually one sediment core per basin is analyzed to reconstruct past environmental conditions. This approach does not consider spatial heterogeneity of pollen assemblages, and assumes that one analyzed location is representative of the whole basin. To improve the spatial resolution of fossil pollen studies, further knowledge of the factors influencing variations in pollen assemblages throughout a basin is needed. We examined the spatial heterogeneity of pollen assemblages from 45 lacustrine surface samples from a lake with relatively simple hydrology and compared this dense network of surface pollen samples with the Lithuanian State Forest Service arboreal vegetation database. Calculations of pollen productivity at different locations across the lake revealed variations in the behavior of a pollen-vegetation relationship model in different parts of the basin. Our findings suggest that the model underestimated pollen contributions from the lakeshore vegetation. We demonstrate that detailed investigations of surface pollen as a step prior to fossil pollen investigations can provide useful insights, including understanding the influence of sedimentation rate on modelling results and spatial variations in pollen composition, thus providing guidance for site selection for fossil pollen studies.

Variation in human activities has greatly impacted the processes and intensities of erosion, sediment transport and storage throughout the Late Holocene, and many lowland rivers around the world have responded to these variations. Although this long-term process–response relationship has been established before, the effects of short-term (c.200-year) changes in human impact on lowland rivers are less well studied. Here, we followed an integrated approach whereby observations of floodplain changes are evaluated against detailed data on human impact for three lowland rivers in the Belgian loess belt: Dijle, Mombeek and Gete rivers. Pollen data were used to reconstruct changes in local and regional vegetation and to calculate human impact scores. Corings along transects and a database of c.160 radiocarbon ages were used to reconstruct geomorphic changes in the river valleys. Our results show a decrease in human impact between 200 and 800 AD, which can be related to the decreased population density in Europe during the first millennium AD. During this period, forests in the studied catchments regenerated, soil erosion decreased, hillslope–floodplain connectivity decreased due to the regeneration of valley-side vegetation barriers, and sediment input in the floodplain decreased. A reaction to this decreased human impact can be observed in the river valleys during the first millennium AD, with a regrowth of the alder carr forest and an increase in the organic matter content of the alluvial deposits with a local reactivation of peat growth. The observed trajectories of Belgian river valleys during the first millennium AD provide more insight into the sensitivity of these river valleys to short-term variations in human impact. These results can in turn be used to better estimate the effects of future changes in the catchments on the fluvial system.

The Younger Dryas cold period caused major changes in vegetation and depositional environments. This study focuses on the aeolian river-connected dunes along the former, Weichselian Late Glacial, course of the Scheldt River in the southern Netherlands. Aeolian dunes along the Scheldt have received little attention, as they are partly covered by Holocene peat and marine deposits. The spatial distribution of the dunes is reconstructed by digital elevation model analysis and coring transects. Dunes are present on the high eastern bank of the Scheldt and in the subsurface of the polder area west of the Brabantse Wal escarpment. A reach-specific higher channel gradient probably caused a channel pattern change from meandering to braiding during the Younger Dryas. This enabled deflation from the braid plain and accumulation in source-bordering river dunes east of the incised and terraced, subsurface Late Pleistocene Scheldt valley. The age of the dune formation is established by pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating of underlying and overlying peat beds. The peat layer below the dune at Zomerbaan is attributed to the Allerød and early Younger Dryas periods. Dune formation occurred predominantly during the second part of the Younger Dryas stadial, both on and in front (west) of the Brabantse Wal escarpment. Wind direction was reconstructed by geomorphic analysis and sedimentary structures on lacquer peels. A southwesterly wind direction is demonstrated by the parabolic dune morphology. For the first time, Younger Dryas wind direction is reconstructed based on adhesion ripple cross-laminated sets on lacquer peels. Sand-transporting south-southwesterly winds were dominant during the Younger Dryas, most likely during summer.

The permeability of the crop surroundings to pests and the landscape structure can influence pest dispersal between crop patches as well as its abundance within the crop. In this work, we analyzed the dispersal of the olive moth Prays oleae (Bernard) throughout the olive grove surroundings and their abundance within the crop following three approaches: (i) pollen grains settled on bodies of olive moths collected in olive groves were identified and compared with flora occurring on the surrounding patches; (ii) the capability of P. oleae males to penetrate non-crop patches was analyzed (iii) the effect of the landscape structure on the abundance of the three generations of the olive moth was studied. Pollen grains of scrubs and other trees occurring in the crop surroundings, such as Cistus sp., Quercus sp., Juniperus-type or Pinaceae were identified on P. oleae bodies suggesting that P. oleae penetrates into non-crop habitats. Additionally, woody and, to a lesser degree, herbaceous patches, did not constitute barriers for P. oleae. Finally, more complex and heterogeneous patches presented lower numbers of captures of P. oleae. These results give new insights into the movements of the olive moth in the olive grove surroundings and suggest that the management of non-crop areas could influence this pest abundance.

In late summer, sometime between cal a.d. 340–405, a hoard of tightly packed, stacked copper-alloy vessels was deposited in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire. The corrosion of the vessels allowed for the preservation of delicate plant macrofossils and pollen. Analysis of this material has provided insights into the date, season and context of this act of structured deposition. A second hoard of similar vessels was deposited in the fourth or fifth century only a few miles away at Wilcot. The hoards and their deposition relate to Romano-British lifeways, at a time when the region was on the cusp of a dramatic period of change. The distribution of late Roman coins and belt fittings offers further insights into the social and economic character of Wiltshire at their times of deposition.

We present the results of multiproxy study of a peat deposit from Carlisle Island (the Islands of Four Mountains, Aleutians). Vegetation on the initial stage of the peat is characterized by heath vegetation dominated by Ericales indicating cold conditions at 7300–6100 cal yr BP. The appearance of Betula and Alnus is the result of long-distance transportation attributable to strong winds at this time. Sedge-grass (Cyperaceae and Poaceae) communities began replacing heath vegetation at 6100 cal yr BP because of the climatic amelioration. C/N ratios and pollen spectra remain relatively stable at 6100–2450 cal yr BP. For the CR-03 peatland, volcanic tephra contributed significantly to the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectral data. Volcanic input created overlap of an aluminosilicate signal with carbohydrate vibrations. Significant changes occurred at approximately 2450 cal yr BP when there is the some evidence of cooler and wetter conditions of the Neoglacial. High values of δ15N observed at 7100–7000 cal yr BP reflect the fertilizing effect of seabird nesting colonies. A decrease in δ15N ca. 6900 cal yr BP may indicate initial settlement on Carlisle Island corresponding with harvesting seabirds. Human predation continued until a series of volcanic eruptions, which deposited Okmok II and CR-02 tephra layers at ca. 2000 and 1050 cal yr BP, respectively.

We collected peat sediments (sediment core ADK13083002) from Haven Lake on the north side of Adak Island (central Aleutian Islands, Alaska) to determine whether the vegetation has changed. We confirmed the presence of six tephra layers, including Forty Years (0.3 cal ka BP), T2, YBO (3.3 cal ka BP), Intermediate (6.4 cal ka BP), Main (9.5 cal ka BP), and T6. We identified four major pollen assemblage zones (HL-1 to HL-4, in descending order) in the cored sediment. HL-1 was dominated by Ranunculaceae and Empetrum pollen; H-2 was dominated by Poaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Empetrum pollen; HL-3 was dominated by Poaceae and Empetrum pollen; and HL-4 was dominated by Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Lycopodiaceae, and Empetrum pollen. Small charcoal particles, likely transported from a distance, were found at low frequencies until 6.4 cal ka BP. The total cross-sectional area of charcoal particles increased to 1500 μm2 or more by 6.4 cal ka BP, implying that the large charcoal particles originated from nearby Aleut settlements, which were established around the same time.

Climatic change that affects biological productivity is often argued to be a primary force influencing human activities during the glacial period. To test this assumption, we combine in-site pollen, paleoclimatic, and archaeological data from the Dadiwan site and nearby areas on the western Loess Plateau (WLP) that date to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Our comparison of multiple datasets suggests that regional human activities increased when the vegetation around the Dadiwan area shifted from forest steppe in the early MIS 3 (59–46.7 ka) to steppe in the middle to late MIS 3 (46.7–29.5 ka). Our results indicate that regional human activities increased again during the late MIS 3 when the amount of precipitation was higher, as indicated by the lower Artemisia proportion. We suggest that increased precipitation on the WLP enhanced the above-ground biomass production and may be responsible for an increase in human activity and population in this region.

The wetland find in Levänluhta (western Finland) consists of unburnt, mixed up remains from almost 100 human individuals along with artefacts and animal bones. This spring site, a small lake at the time of use (ad 300–800), has been investigated archaeologically from the late nineteenth century onwards. An impressive array of finds, including precious artefacts, is on display at the National Museum of Finland. However, the material has not previously been subjected to systematic research to clarify who these people were, and why they were buried in a small lake at a time when cremation was the prevailing burial tradition. Here we present the results of a multidisciplinary study that includes new analyses and interpretations of the finds and the site. Prestigious artefacts, peripheral location, and the fact that only a few males were found suggest this unusual burial site was a cemetery for socially or ideologically deviant members of the society.

The glacial history of the Tagliamento morainic amphitheater (southeastern Alpine foreland, Italy) during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been reconstructed by means of a geological survey and drillings, radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis in the amphitheater and in the sandur. Two phases of glacial culmination, separated by a distinct recession, are responsible for glacial landforms and related sediments in the outer part of the amphitheater. The age of the younger advance fits the chronology of the culmination of the last glaciation in the Alps, well established between 24 and 21 cal ka BP (20 to 17.5 14C ka BP), whereas the first pulse between 26.5 and 23 cal ka BP (22 to 21 14C ka BP), previously undated, was usually related to older (pre-LGM) glaciations by previous authors. Here, the first pulse is the most extensive LGM culmination, but is often buried by the subsequent pulse. The onset and final recession of the late Würm Alpine glaciation in the Tagliamento amphitheater are synchronous with the established global glacial maximum between 30 and 19 cal ka BP. The two-fold LGM glacial oscillation is interpreted as a millennial-scale modulation within the late Würm glaciation, caused by oscillations in inputs of southerly atmospheric airflows related to Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. Phases of enhanced southerly circulation promoted increased rainfall and ice accumulation in the southern Alps.

A thick alluvial sequence in central New Mexico contains the Scholle wet meadow deposit that traces upstream to a paleospring. The wet meadow sediments contain an abundant fauna of twenty-one species of freshwater and terrestrial mollusks and ten species of ostracodes. The mollusks and ostracodes are indicative of a local high alluvial water table with spring-supported perennial flow but without standing water. Pollen analysis documents shrub grassland vegetation with sedges, willow, and alder in a riparian community. Stable carbon isotopes from the wet meadow sediments have δ13C values ranging from − 22.8 to − 23.3‰, indicating that 80% of the organic carbon in the sediment is derived from C3 species. The wet meadow deposit is AMS dated 10,400 to 9700 14C yr BP, corresponding to 12,300 to 11,100 cal yr BP and overlapping in time with the Younger Dryas event (YD). The wet meadow became active about 500 yr after the beginning of the YD and persisted 400 yr after the YD ended. The Scholle wet meadow is the only record of perennial flow and high water table conditions in the Abo Arroyo drainage basin during the past 13 ka.

Cucú cave is a small cavity, 1600 m above sea level on the southern slope of Sierra de María (Almería Province, SE Spain), where current mean annual precipitation is < 450 mm. Fossils and palynomorphs contained within a sedimentary sequence, up to 9 m in depth, allow us to consider the prevailing climatic conditions, and the timing of cavern development. The lithological sequence is dominated by clast-supported detrital material with no evidence of alluvial transport. These sediments were formed by freeze-cracking during periglacial conditions, causing further cave enlargement after initial solutional development. The clastic sequence formed during cold climates is covered by a flowstone that was deposited during a period of warmer, wetter conditions. This provides a minimum U–Th isochron age of 40.2±4.5 ka for the timing of periglacial action. Micromammal fossil species indicate a chronology between 140 and 80 ka. Paleoecological data based on the structure of the mammal community indicates that cold conditions prevailed at the time of deposit. In the studied sequence the presence of anthropogenic components has not been documented. The pollen assemblages identified are a common feature of Pleistocene cold stages that are in semi-arid regions.

The Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) overcomes some of the fundamental problems in pollen analysis for quantitative reconstruction of vegetation. LRA first uses the REVEALS model to estimate regional vegetation using pollen data from large sites and then the LOVE model to estimate vegetation composition within the relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) at small sites by subtracting the background pollen estimated from the regional vegetation composition. This study tests LRA using training data from forest hollows in northern Michigan (35 sites) and northwestern Wisconsin (43 sites). In northern Michigan, surface pollen from 152-ha and 332-ha lakes is used for REVEALS. Because of the lack of pollen data from large lakes in northwestern Wisconsin, we use pollen from 21 hollows randomly selected from the 43 sites for REVEALS. RSAP indirectly estimated by LRA is comparable to the expected value in each region. A regression analysis and permutation test validate that the LRA-based vegetation reconstruction is significantly more accurate than pollen percentages alone in both regions. Even though the site selection in northwestern Wisconsin is not ideal, the results are robust. The LRA is a significant step forward in quantitative reconstruction of vegetation.

The Holocene Period for the province of West New Britain, Papua New Guinea, is characterised by periodic catastrophic volcanism. The region is mantled in dense wet tropical rainforest, and has been occupied by people since the Pleistocene. Analyses of peat from two nearby sites within a lowland rainforest environment provide us with a macro-level landscape account of the periodic destruction and recovery of the coastal forests during seven periods of volcanic activity in the latter part (∼2900 yr ago to present) of the Holocene. Radiocarbon dating shows the very close correlation of the peat and tephra layers at both sites, yet the pollen analysis reveals different vegetation communities. These initial results allow us to begin identifying the processes of recovery, and to recognise different ecological pressures placed on vegetation at these neighbouring sites. Evidence of hydrological changes are observed beginning with a marine incursion recorded at Garu Site 3 ∼1360 14C yr B.P. The distinct differences in the vegetation re-establishment and community regeneration rates suggest the greater level of disturbance at Garu Site 1 could be related to the depth of the ashfall, although the proximity of a known human settlement may also be a contributing factor. Of note, palynologically, we found that the fern spore flora is particularly rich and believe it will be useful for ecological interpretation.

A well-dated palynological record spanning the interval ~ 40,500–7060 cal yr BP, retrieved from a peatland on the Leizhou Peninsula in south China, clearly shows regional vegetation and climate changes during the last glacial period. Pollen data showed that the study region was mainly covered by subtropical evergreen trees during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), indicating a subtropical climate with relatively high temperature and precipitation. During MIS 2, subtropical evergreen-deciduous forest with large areas of grassland occurred, implying cooler and drier conditions. Some tropical forest elements increased during the early Holocene, indicating a warm and wet trend. Several millennial-scale oscillations of the pollen records appeared to correlate with the cold anomalies in the North Atlantic region. Our records agree well with many records from other regions, but they are a bit different than that inferred from the neighboring Huguang Maar Lake. Furthermore, our results suggest that the vegetation surrounding Xialu peatland was strongly influenced by the migration of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and variability in the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). Changes of atmospheric CO2 concentration (pCO2) levels may have also affected the long-term vegetation changes in the study region.

Analysis of a buried deposit in the Diamond Valley of southern California has revealed well-preserved pollen, wood, and diatom remains. Accelerator mass spectrometry dates of 41,200±2100 and 41,490±1380 14C yr B.P. place this deposit in marine isotope stage 3. Diatoms suggest a shallow lacustrine environment. Pollen data suggest that several plant communities were present near the site, with grassland, scrub, chaparral, forest, and riparian communities represented. Comparison with modern pollen suggests similarities with montane forests in the nearby San Bernardino and San Jacinto ranges, indicating vegetation lowering by at least 900 m elevation and temperatures 4°–5°C cooler than today. An increase in high-elevation conifer pollen documents climatic cooling near the profile top. Early-profile diatoms are typical of warm water with high alkalinity and conductivity, whereas later diatoms suggest a higher flow regime and input of cooler water into the system. We suggest that the sequence is part of the cooling phase of an interstadial Dansgaard–Oeschger cycle. Records of the middle Wisconsin period are rare in southern California, but the Diamond Valley site is similar to records from Tulare Lake in the San Joaquin Valley and the ODP Site 893A record from Santa Barbara Basin. It is probable that the Diamond Valley assemblage is a local expression of a vegetation type widespread in the ranges and basins of southwestern California during the middle Wisconsin.

Pollen analysis at two sites, correlated by the presence of the 190,000 yr-old Sheep Creek tephra, documents fluctuations in vegetation and climate consistent with this date and indicates that the records span marine oxygen isotope stage 7 and the stage 6/7 transition. Dawson Cut, near Fairbanks, Alaska, provides a 5.2-m-long pollen record of interglacial boreal forest succeeded by shrub tundra and then forest/tundra. Ash Bend, Stewart River, central Yukon, provides a 9.5-m-long record of interglacial boreal forest succeeded by forest/tundra, shrub tundra, and herbaceous tundra. The replacement of forest at both sites by more open or tundra vegetation indicates warm interglacial conditions giving way to cold and arid climate. It is not clear whether stage 7 was warmer than the present. The warm–cool–warm climate oscillation evident at both sites may correlate to Lake Baikal substages 7a, 7b, and 7c. Sheep Creek tephra fell on forest/tundra vegetation.