Reconstruction of the Holocene palaeoenvironmental conditions accordingly to the multiproxy sedimentary records from Lake Pilvelis, Latvia
Abstract Reconstruction of the Holocene palaeoenvironment conditions in Southeastern Latvia is based on multiproxy records from Lake Pilvelis: pollen, plant macrofossil and microfossil analysis; loss-on-ignition (LOI) measurements; 14 C dating; humic substances content; humification index; and elemental composition of gyttja organic mass. The data complex obtained in the result of multiproxy studies of sediments in Lake Pilvelis indicates significant changes in the depositional environment during the lake development. Data from Lake Pilvelis show that the start of organic-rich sediments formation before approximately 9750 cal BP, when birch–pine forest dominated in the surrounding landscape…
A Cromerian Complex palaeolake sediment sequence from the Zidini site, south-eastern Latvia
Abstract This study is based upon palaeobotanical reinvestigation of the Pleistocene deposit strata revealed by test drillings in the buried valley at the Zidini site, southeastern Latvia. Up to 100 m thick lake sediment strata covered by three different till layers have been found in three 120–171 m deep test drillings. New palynological and plant macroremain analysis for sediment samples from core No. 43 have been done. These results and data from the earlier investigations at Zidini were compared. Clearer insights into depositional environment and vegetation change during the accumulation of sediments in the palaeolake have been acquired. According to recent studies and correlation of ob…
Pollen and Plant Macroremain Analyses for the Reconstruction of Environmental Changes in the Early Metal Period
A sharp increase in human population density and the same time fundamental changes in the location of settlement, moving away from earlier inhabited places points to significant changes in the environment. This period with a sharp decrease in anthropogenic indicators and poor records of slash and burn cultivation and field crop-growing is named “transition” period (Vasks et.al.1998) and indicates the lack of stable and continuous inhabitant sites. This phenomena can be explained by the small size of settlements at the Early Iron Age, expressed by a weak cultural layer and these could be defined as separate farmsteads. Modern farming practices, especially modern tillage, adversely affected t…
Plant macrofossil, pollen and invertebrate analysis of a mid-14th century cesspit from medieval Riga, Latvia (the eastern Baltic): Taphonomy and indicators of human diet
The paper presents the results of an integrated environmental analysis on the fill of an exceptionally well-preserved mid-14th century cesspit from the historic centre of Riga (Latvia, eastern Baltic). Palynological, plant macrofossils and invertebrate analysis yielded important new information about the use of plants by the indigenous community living within the medieval city, including their socio-economic status. The taphonomy of the botanical and invertebrate data is considered to largely reflect the input of undigested food waste and human faecal material with a subordinate component derived through the input of cereal waste-products. The results show that the diet of the indigenous co…
A multi-proxy, diachronic and spatial perspective on the urban activities within an indigenous community in medieval Riga, Latvia
Abstract The research presented here represents the first urban medieval context in Latvia where an integrated, multi-proxy environmental sampling strategy has been applied. The establishment of Riga, the modern capital of Latvia, is synonymous with the Livonian Crusade, and the foundation of the medieval town is examined here. This study uses an intra-site comparison of environmental datasets from several buildings to provide a unique, high resolution, diachronic analysis of the daily life of the inhabitants within the pre-Hansa town, and specifically of the indigenous ‘Liv’ population during the period of the Livonian crusades, 1198–1291. The integrated zooarchaeological, archaebotanical,…
Upper Pleistocene biostratigraphy and traces of glaciotectonics at the Satiki site, western Latvia
Structural, lithological, palynological and plant macroremain investigations of test-boring cores and gravel pit walls at the Satiki site suggest that gyttja and sandy gyttja units of basin sediments were deposited during the Felicianova (Eemian) Interglacial. A pollen diagram reflects the characteristic forest succession of the Eemian Interglacial: Betula, Pinus, Ulmus, Corylus, Quercus, Fraxinus, Tilia, Carpinus, Picea and Pinus. Forests of broadleaved trees and thermophilous plants dominated in the surroundings of the lake during the interglacial climatic optimum. The basin sediments contain a large number of warmth-demanding water plants such as Salvinia natans and Trapa sp. Paleobotani…
Large herbivore population and vegetation dynamics 14,600–8300 years ago in central Latvia, northeastern Europe
Abstract This study seeks to explain how the large herbivore (large vertebrate, megafauna – terrestrial taxa with adults > 45 kg) population density changed during abrupt postglacial climate and environmental change. The Lateglacial and Early Holocene (14,600–8300 years ago) were represented by various environmental and climate changes and a transition from a cold to a warm climate, with subsequent changes in flora and fauna. Using Lake Āraisi as a case study (Latvia, northeastern Europe), local to regional vegetation was reconstructed by analyzing plant macroremains and pollen from the lake sediment profile. Here, we present the first dung fungus spore-based qualitative reconstruction of l…