Resolving complexities of pollen data to improve interpretation of past human activity and natural processes
Resolving complexities of pollen data to improve interpretation of past human activity and natural processes
Pollen analysis provides a powerful tool for understanding past human activity and its impact on the environment. This is due to pollen being preserved in a wide range of sedimentary environments and pollen being derived from, and therefore providing a record of, vegetation beyond the sampling location. While the basic premise of pollen analysis has remained constant since the pioneering work of Lennart von Post 100 years ago, methodological approaches for interpretation of pollen records have continued to evolve. Large datasets can now be compiled for identifying and exploring the complexities of pollen data temporally and spatially. Here two Holocene pollen stratigraphic changes in the British Isles are focused upon: the Ulmus and Tilia declines. Methodologies for examining the chronological controls on the timing of these changes and disentangling the processes recorded in pollen data are presented. Of particular note are the complexities of separating human impacts from natural processes in coastal wetland records which have been one of the main sources of pollen data from lowland England. We argue that it is only by unravelling the complexities of both the chronological and pollen data that extant theories on the interaction between past human activity and vegetation change can be rigorously tested.
103-119
The Geological Society of London
Grant, Michael
56dae074-d54a-4da8-858a-2bf364a5a550
Waller, Martyn
502455b4-1de8-4341-9907-dc719772c7df
19 July 2017
Grant, Michael
56dae074-d54a-4da8-858a-2bf364a5a550
Waller, Martyn
502455b4-1de8-4341-9907-dc719772c7df
Grant, Michael and Waller, Martyn
(2017)
Resolving complexities of pollen data to improve interpretation of past human activity and natural processes.
In,
Williams, Mark, Hill, Tom, Boomer, Ian and Wilkinson, Ian
(eds.)
The archaeological and forensic applications of microfossils: a deeper understanding of human history.
Bath, GB.
The Geological Society of London, .
Record type:
Book Section
Abstract
Pollen analysis provides a powerful tool for understanding past human activity and its impact on the environment. This is due to pollen being preserved in a wide range of sedimentary environments and pollen being derived from, and therefore providing a record of, vegetation beyond the sampling location. While the basic premise of pollen analysis has remained constant since the pioneering work of Lennart von Post 100 years ago, methodological approaches for interpretation of pollen records have continued to evolve. Large datasets can now be compiled for identifying and exploring the complexities of pollen data temporally and spatially. Here two Holocene pollen stratigraphic changes in the British Isles are focused upon: the Ulmus and Tilia declines. Methodologies for examining the chronological controls on the timing of these changes and disentangling the processes recorded in pollen data are presented. Of particular note are the complexities of separating human impacts from natural processes in coastal wetland records which have been one of the main sources of pollen data from lowland England. We argue that it is only by unravelling the complexities of both the chronological and pollen data that extant theories on the interaction between past human activity and vegetation change can be rigorously tested.
Text
SpatialTemporalScales_FinalSubmission.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy
More information
Submitted date: 10 February 2016
Published date: 19 July 2017
Organisations:
Geology & Geophysics, Archaeology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 393820
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/393820
PURE UUID: ce67512d-b410-4a71-a6fb-d1043f83e557
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 05 May 2016 10:37
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:49
Export record
Contributors
Author:
Martyn Waller
Editor:
Mark Williams
Editor:
Tom Hill
Editor:
Ian Boomer
Editor:
Ian Wilkinson
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
