Journal Article

Living on the good soil: relationships between soils, vegetation and human settlement during the late Alleroed period in Denmark

Mortensen, Morten Fischer, Henriksen, Peter Steen, Bennike, Ole

2014

Overview

The immigration of woody plants, especially Betula (tree birch), is examined in relation to geomorphological regions in a compilation of Late-glacial plant macrofossil records from Denmark. The immigration of trees led to a large ecological transformation of the landscape and had a major effect on the flora and fauna available to Palaeolithic people. We show that soil type was a controlling factor in the development of vegetation during the Alleroed and Younger Dryas periods. Following the first immigration of trees during the Alleroed period, woods became established in the eastern part of Denmark, where ice advances from the Baltic had deposited calcareous and clayey sediments. The western and northern parts of Denmark that are characterised by more sandy and non-calcareous sediments remained treeless throughout the whole Late-glacial period. Finds from the Bromme Culture are concentrated in the region which was wooded, suggesting that the regional variable environment allowed local adaptations using the diverse resources available.

• Subject: Betula