Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EXPLO (Exploring the dynamics and causes of prehistoric land use change in the cradle of European farming)
Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-02-28
European societies today face unprecedented environmental change. Understanding how human societies responded to past challenges of environmental change relates to the interface between culture and environment. The EXPLO project proposes a novel interdisciplinary approach to investigate key questions regarding the interaction between past human ways of life, land use and the wider environment through a unique combination of archaeological, biological and dynamic mathematical modelling approaches. Northern Greece and the southern Balkans constitute a key transition area between Mediterranean and continental climate zones, and between the cultures of western Asia and central-western Europe. Achieving a new standard of insight into the late prehistoric past in this region, and its contribution to subsequent social and environmental history, requires a synergistic approach incorporating cutting-edge techniques from archaeology and the natural sciences.
The EXPLO project aims to revolutionise understanding of Neolithic and Bronze Age societies in this strategic region through the unique lens of preserved lakeshore settlements, which offer extraordinary preservation of organic remains due to waterlogging, all in a wetland setting that is also ideal for palaeoecological investigation of changes in climate, vegetation and land cover. Here we set out the background to the approaches we will integrate, to contextualize our objectives. Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement remains in lakes and bogs represent one of the most significant sources of information on the prehistoric past of Europe. Due to the absence of oxygen and decomposition agents (bacteria, fungi), cultural layers under water or in bogs provide excellent preservation conditions for organic materials. Within waterlogged contexts of wetland sites, anthropogenic artefacts and structural components made of wood, bark and plant fibre survive intact for thousands of years. In these same contexts, biological remains of crops and wild plants as well as faunal remains are found in an excellent state of preservation (seeds, fruits, fibres, pollen, spores, cells, wood, invertebrates, bones). In terrestrial archaeological sites, waterlogged organic materials are only preserved in exceptional cases (e.g. in wells).
Wetland archaeological sites have an outstanding potential to yield unique insights into human behaviour and human-environment interaction for two reasons. First, prehistoric settlement activities and settlement structures reflect the sociality and traditions of early agrarian human group-entities. Secondly, natural vegetation dynamics and the formation of increasingly open cultural landscapes following the introduction and expansion of agriculture reflect economic and environmental conditions, the latter mainly driven by Holocene climate oscillations.
The main goal of EXPLO is to understand the introduction, evolution and environmental context of early agriculture in the southern Balkans and northern Greece by combining archaeological, bioarchaeological, palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental approaches within the context of Neolithic and Bronze Age wetland sites. It is widely acknowledged that Greece is pivotal for the mid-Holocene spread of agriculture from western Asia to the European continent including the Mediterranean realm. Scholars also agree that natural archives such as lake sediments preserve key information for exploring vegetational and agricultural dynamics and can deliver unique insights into the evolution of human populations and societies, including the development of cultural landscapes and the role of Holocene climate events. Four research axes are targeted to achieve these goals: Objective 1: Introduction of dendrochronology to the southern Balkans and northern Greece. Objective 2: Linking key archaeological assemblages with precise chronologies. Objective 3: Tracing early cultivation activities through the human impact on the wider environment. Objective 4: Reconstructing crop and livestock management regimes from on-site bioarchaeological remains. Objective 5: Modelling land-use, land-cover and anthropogenic land cover change.
The EXPLO project aims to revolutionise understanding of Neolithic and Bronze Age societies in this strategic region through the unique lens of preserved lakeshore settlements, which offer extraordinary preservation of organic remains due to waterlogging, all in a wetland setting that is also ideal for palaeoecological investigation of changes in climate, vegetation and land cover. Here we set out the background to the approaches we will integrate, to contextualize our objectives. Neolithic and Bronze Age settlement remains in lakes and bogs represent one of the most significant sources of information on the prehistoric past of Europe. Due to the absence of oxygen and decomposition agents (bacteria, fungi), cultural layers under water or in bogs provide excellent preservation conditions for organic materials. Within waterlogged contexts of wetland sites, anthropogenic artefacts and structural components made of wood, bark and plant fibre survive intact for thousands of years. In these same contexts, biological remains of crops and wild plants as well as faunal remains are found in an excellent state of preservation (seeds, fruits, fibres, pollen, spores, cells, wood, invertebrates, bones). In terrestrial archaeological sites, waterlogged organic materials are only preserved in exceptional cases (e.g. in wells).
Wetland archaeological sites have an outstanding potential to yield unique insights into human behaviour and human-environment interaction for two reasons. First, prehistoric settlement activities and settlement structures reflect the sociality and traditions of early agrarian human group-entities. Secondly, natural vegetation dynamics and the formation of increasingly open cultural landscapes following the introduction and expansion of agriculture reflect economic and environmental conditions, the latter mainly driven by Holocene climate oscillations.
The main goal of EXPLO is to understand the introduction, evolution and environmental context of early agriculture in the southern Balkans and northern Greece by combining archaeological, bioarchaeological, palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental approaches within the context of Neolithic and Bronze Age wetland sites. It is widely acknowledged that Greece is pivotal for the mid-Holocene spread of agriculture from western Asia to the European continent including the Mediterranean realm. Scholars also agree that natural archives such as lake sediments preserve key information for exploring vegetational and agricultural dynamics and can deliver unique insights into the evolution of human populations and societies, including the development of cultural landscapes and the role of Holocene climate events. Four research axes are targeted to achieve these goals: Objective 1: Introduction of dendrochronology to the southern Balkans and northern Greece. Objective 2: Linking key archaeological assemblages with precise chronologies. Objective 3: Tracing early cultivation activities through the human impact on the wider environment. Objective 4: Reconstructing crop and livestock management regimes from on-site bioarchaeological remains. Objective 5: Modelling land-use, land-cover and anthropogenic land cover change.
Within the EXPLO project, numerous fieldwork campaigns were carried out in Albania, Greece and Northern Macedonia during 2019-2021. The archaeological fieldwork took place at sites dating to the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, between 5600 and 1200 BC. The palaeoenvironmental drilling covers the Holocene period, i.e. around the last 12,000 years. The fieldwork included archaeological excavations under water at Lake Ohrid (Albania, Northern Macedonia), archaeological excavations on land at Lake Orestias (Greece) and palaeoenvironmental drilling in numerous lakes in Greece and Northern Macedonia. This work has yielded a large amount of archaeological material, especially pottery, subfossil wood samples and sediment samples, as well as numerous sediment cores. These form the basis for subsequent laboratory work. Currently, sediment samples from Neolithic settlement layers are being archaeobiologically examined. This involves plant remains that provide information about the economic and food plants used and managed, as well as resources in the direct vicinity of the settlements (on-site analysis).
Parallel to this, the numerous sediment cores are being examined palaeoecologically, which will allow conclusions to be drawn about the long-term development of the vegetation and the influence of humans on the environment as well as climate influences (off-site analysis). The archaeological investigations are concerned with the processing of archaeological finds from currently three Neolithic sites and the dendrochronological analysis of about 2000 subfossiled wood samples. Dendrochronology is used to date the archaeological sites and the find layers with great accuracy. As there is currently no continuous tree-ring calendar available for the region, an intermediate step must be taken with the additional dating of individual tree-ring sequences. The current accuracy is two to three decades. Based on the data already obtained, modelling of land use by the early farming and pastoralist communities will also be carried out.
Parallel to this, the numerous sediment cores are being examined palaeoecologically, which will allow conclusions to be drawn about the long-term development of the vegetation and the influence of humans on the environment as well as climate influences (off-site analysis). The archaeological investigations are concerned with the processing of archaeological finds from currently three Neolithic sites and the dendrochronological analysis of about 2000 subfossiled wood samples. Dendrochronology is used to date the archaeological sites and the find layers with great accuracy. As there is currently no continuous tree-ring calendar available for the region, an intermediate step must be taken with the additional dating of individual tree-ring sequences. The current accuracy is two to three decades. Based on the data already obtained, modelling of land use by the early farming and pastoralist communities will also be carried out.
The project's advances, which clearly go beyond the state of the art, are in the areas of dendrochronology, creation of representative sequences of archaeological materials in relation to high-precision chronologies of key sites, high-resolution and high-precision multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, and reconstruction of cultivation and livestock regimes from bioarchaeological remains.
Dendrochronology: In total, subfossil wood samples were obtained for the first time from six Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeside settlements. The total number of recovered wood amounts to about 2000 samples. The proportion of dendrochronologically usable wood varies but is mostly very high. The main types of wood, and at the same time those that can be successfully examined dendrochronologically, are oak, pine, and juniper. It is a fortunate circumstance that many wood samples have more than 100, in some cases more than 200 annual rings. Samples with a high number of annual rings facilitate the construction of tree ring sequences enormously. So far, dendrochronological "floating" mean curves have been established for the following periods: 5650-5600 BC, 5400-5300 BC, 4700-4350 BC, 2400-2150 BC, 2000-1800 BC and 1600-1250 BC. The study of wood samples is still ongoing and further excavations to obtain wood samples are planned for 2022 and 2023.
Establishing representative sequences of archaeological materials linked to high-precision chronologies of key sites: The ceramic assemblage of the lakeside site of Dispilio has been allocated to the phases of the site and documented, whereas the typological and technological analysis of the complete vessels (more than 1500 so far) is quite advanced. The study of the macrolithic artifacts, chipped stone and bone tools is in progress. The definition of contexts at Dispilio based on the excavation record, the stratigraphy and microstratigraphy on selected profiles and micromorphological blocks, and the excavation of a trial trench is almost completed. Further representative sequences of archaeological finds are available from the sites of Ohrid, Ploča-Michovgrad and Pogradec, Lin 3. They are currently being processed as part of a dissertation.
High-resolution and high-precision multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental reconstructions: A fundamental study was completed to investigate for the first time the pollen representation of vegetation along the entire ecological and environmental gradient of the study region. Moreover, a substantial number of surface samples from lakes located along environmental gradients was collected in the study area to calibrate the biogeochemical proxies for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. Numerous sediment sequences were retrieved (Lakes Zazari, Vegoritida, Orestias, Volvi and Ohrid). The palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental analyses of these sequences are ongoing, several manuscripts are accepted or in preparation.
Reconstructing crop and livestock regimes from on-site bioarchaeological remains: A first case study focusing on the archaeobotany (plant macrofossil assemblage) of Ploča Mičov Grad is well advanced. At this submerged site, based on excavations and sediment coring in 2019, we have been able to confirm fully the high-quality preservation of archaeobotanical remains at densities in the occupations layer that are entirely comparable to the renowned prehistoric lakeshore dwellings of the circum-Alpine region. Moreover, case studies under development, based largely on fieldwork in summer 2020, at two other lakeshore sites – Lin 3 and Dispilio – have enabled wider confirmation of excellent preservation and high densities of archaeobotanical and other bioarchaeological remains at multiple sites in the study region. This fieldwork and initial analysis therefore paves the way to complete fulfillment of the scheduled research.
Dendrochronology: In total, subfossil wood samples were obtained for the first time from six Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeside settlements. The total number of recovered wood amounts to about 2000 samples. The proportion of dendrochronologically usable wood varies but is mostly very high. The main types of wood, and at the same time those that can be successfully examined dendrochronologically, are oak, pine, and juniper. It is a fortunate circumstance that many wood samples have more than 100, in some cases more than 200 annual rings. Samples with a high number of annual rings facilitate the construction of tree ring sequences enormously. So far, dendrochronological "floating" mean curves have been established for the following periods: 5650-5600 BC, 5400-5300 BC, 4700-4350 BC, 2400-2150 BC, 2000-1800 BC and 1600-1250 BC. The study of wood samples is still ongoing and further excavations to obtain wood samples are planned for 2022 and 2023.
Establishing representative sequences of archaeological materials linked to high-precision chronologies of key sites: The ceramic assemblage of the lakeside site of Dispilio has been allocated to the phases of the site and documented, whereas the typological and technological analysis of the complete vessels (more than 1500 so far) is quite advanced. The study of the macrolithic artifacts, chipped stone and bone tools is in progress. The definition of contexts at Dispilio based on the excavation record, the stratigraphy and microstratigraphy on selected profiles and micromorphological blocks, and the excavation of a trial trench is almost completed. Further representative sequences of archaeological finds are available from the sites of Ohrid, Ploča-Michovgrad and Pogradec, Lin 3. They are currently being processed as part of a dissertation.
High-resolution and high-precision multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental reconstructions: A fundamental study was completed to investigate for the first time the pollen representation of vegetation along the entire ecological and environmental gradient of the study region. Moreover, a substantial number of surface samples from lakes located along environmental gradients was collected in the study area to calibrate the biogeochemical proxies for palaeoclimatic reconstruction. Numerous sediment sequences were retrieved (Lakes Zazari, Vegoritida, Orestias, Volvi and Ohrid). The palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental analyses of these sequences are ongoing, several manuscripts are accepted or in preparation.
Reconstructing crop and livestock regimes from on-site bioarchaeological remains: A first case study focusing on the archaeobotany (plant macrofossil assemblage) of Ploča Mičov Grad is well advanced. At this submerged site, based on excavations and sediment coring in 2019, we have been able to confirm fully the high-quality preservation of archaeobotanical remains at densities in the occupations layer that are entirely comparable to the renowned prehistoric lakeshore dwellings of the circum-Alpine region. Moreover, case studies under development, based largely on fieldwork in summer 2020, at two other lakeshore sites – Lin 3 and Dispilio – have enabled wider confirmation of excellent preservation and high densities of archaeobotanical and other bioarchaeological remains at multiple sites in the study region. This fieldwork and initial analysis therefore paves the way to complete fulfillment of the scheduled research.