Pollen taphonomy and hydrology at Vranský potok versus Zahájí alluvial pollen sites: Methodological implications for cultural landscape reconstruction in the Peruc sandstone area, Czech Republic
Abstract
Analyses of pollen samples in a 4.5 m sediment core at Vranský potok in the Peruc sandstone region of north Bohemia demonstrate the potential of alluvial sites towards reconstruction of vegetation history in lowlands settled intensively by prehistoric and medieval farmers. The radiocarbon chronology indicates continuous sedimentation from the Bronze age.
For this sequence, a method of relating pollen taphonomy to fluvial hydrology, deforestation and soil erosion is described. Anthropogenic indicators are abundant in the pollen record, reflecting the intensity of early farming regimes as well as inferred taphonomic modes to be considered in detail here. the methods of site interpretation are validated via a comparative exercise with the Zahájí pollen site, as well as with the Peruc area.