Palaeobotany

Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Central China was the scene of important cultural developments, which impacted on agricultural practices and local vegetation. Using phytolith data from 4 archaeological -sites and a survey of a further 11 sites in Henan this project investigates changing crop choices, developments in crop processing and, to a lesser extent, differing local environments both temporally and spatially.

For analogues of global warming, the mid-Cretaceous is held up as both an archetype and a warning. Using a combination of theoretical models and geological evidence, a consensus is revealing that polar latitudes experience the greatest degree of warming during global greenhouse conditions. The Tupuangi Formation of the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, is the highest latitude (~ 75-80°S) floral assemblage ever discovered from the mid- Cretaceous; as such, the Chatham Islands provide an unprecedented perspective into the most extreme effects of global warming. This research has provided important climatic and evolutionary implications for the flora and fauna in both a regional (e.g. Zealandia, Australia and Antarctica) and global context. The Tupuangi Formation, and its fossil flora record, reveals a benign terrestrial polar environment amid the regional context of tectonic rifting, and a global context of extreme greenhouse conditions. Based on the timing of structural and sedimentological attributes of the Tupuangi Formation, the tectonic and palaeoenvironmental context of the region was established for the first time. It was concluded that these sediments were deposited in a terrestrial, failed-rift basin of Eastern Zealandia prior to the onset of seafloor spreading between Zealandia and Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica. Without ongoing orogenesis in the region, a trend of fluvial aggradation and thermal subsidence followed this failed-rift event; this resulted in an upsequence transition from high to low fluvial flow-rate, with increasing prevalence of swamps, peats and paralic settings. This thesis includes a quantitative spore and pollen analysis to achieve comprehensive biostratigraphic correlations of the Tupuangi Formation and ecological interpretations of the mid-Cretaceous south polar region. As typical for terrestrial basins, the Tupuangi Formation features several age-old problems of spore and pollen biostratigraphy and ecological reconstructions, including preservation biases and the inclusion of older, reworked spores and pollen. This study demonstrates, that these variables can be minimised by employing a range of novel statistical measures, and the systematic removal of contaminated samples. This approach results in more reliable biostratigraphic correlations and ecological interpretations. This study documents seventy-seven distinct spore and pollen species, including five new pollen species (Araucariacites saganii, Balmeiopsis discus, Liliacidites exquisitus, Podocarpidites microradiatus and Trichotomosulcites hemisphaerius) and two fern spores (Klukisporites sphaerogoufus, Biretisporites labruplenus); a total of over one hundred spore-pollen species was found. Spore and pollen biostratigraphy was employed to derive the first island-wide stratigraphic correlation of the Tupuangi Formation. Three newly reported unconformities were identified; the uppermost of these is concurrent with the Zealandian ‘breakup unconformity,’ a time-gap of ~ 4-5 Ma demarcating the uplift phase of rifting between Zealandia and Antarctica. Aligning the spore and pollen assemblage into the global scheme, a Ngaterian to Mangaotanean (Cenomanian to Turonian; ~ 99-90 Ma) age was constrained for the sequence. The age of this sequence is concurrent with the initiation of two related global events: 1) the primary stage of flowering plant (angiosperm) diversification; and 2) the mid-Cretaceous thermal maximum. The palynological record of the Tupuangi Formation provides direct evidence for the first event, and indirect evidence of the second. Abundance data of spore and pollen species reveal an overall predominance of gymnosperm taxa in the floral ecology; conifers as the primary overstorey components, and an understorey comprised of smaller gymnosperms, ferns, angiosperms, bryophytes, lycopods and ‘seed-ferns’. A tentative analogy is drawn to the conifer-dominated boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. There is increasing angiosperm diversity and abundance upsequence, and this work corroborates that the angiosperms spread to the high latitudes instep with the warming global climate of the time. As such, the increasing diversity and abundance of angiosperm pollen of such a high palaeolatitude locality corroborate an increasing global temperature. However, contrary to previous findings, this study reveals that the angiosperm diversification at south polar latitudes did not result in an ecological replacement of understorey taxa, but instead increased the overall species richness. As such, it is interpreted that the angiosperms formed new ecological niches, rather than invade and outcompete the established flora in pre-existing niches.

ABSTRACT:
There is a known bias in C/N, d13C and d15N values of organic matter (OM) due to pre-analysis acid treatment methods. We report here, for the first time, the results of a pre-analysis acid treatment method comparison of measured C/N, d13C and d15N values in bulk OM from a sedimentary sequence of samples to illustrate this bias. Here we show that acid treatment significantly reduces the accuracy (between method biases) and precision (within method bias) of C/N, d13C and d15N values of OM, suggesting a differential response of sample OM between methods and sample horizons, and in some cases inefficient removal of inorganic carbon. We show that different methods can significantly influence environmental interpretation in some of our sample horizons (i.e. interpretation of aquatic vs. terrestrial OM source; C3 vs. C4 vegetation). Specifically, there are unpredictable and non-linear differences between methods for C/N values in the range of ~ 1 – 100; d13C values in the range of 0.2 – 6.8 ‰ and; d15Nvalues in the range of 0.3 – 0.7 ‰. Importantly, these ranges are mostly much greater than the instrument precision (defined as the standard deviation of replicate analysis of standard reference materials; for this study, ± 0.5 for C/N values, ± 0.1 ‰ for d13C values and; ± 0.1 ‰ for d15N). The accuracy and precision of measured C/N, d13C and d15N values of bulk OM is not just dependent upon environmental variability, but on acid pre-treatment, residual inorganic carbon and organic matter state and composition. Collectively, this makes the correlation between samples prepared in different ways, including those from down core reconstructions, highly questionable.

Keywords: C/N ratios, δ13C, δ15N, organic matter; pre-analysis acid treatment methods, environmental interpretation, palaeoclimate.

The illaenid trilobite Vysocania is widely represented in the Upper Ordovician of the Czech Republic, Portugal and Spain, and is one of the most characteristic taxa in the high-latitude peri-Gondwana palaeobiogeographical region to which it is endemic. Three species of the genus that were formerly assigned to Stenopareia and Zetillaenus, from the Czech Republic and Spain respectively, are herein revised, and a new species is described from the Czech Republic. The genus Octillaenus, of which a new species is described from the Upper Ordovician of Morocco, is considered to have arisen from Vysocania through paedomorphic (neotenic) processes. The relationships between Vysocania, Octillaenus, Stenopareia and Zetillaenus are reviewed and the criteria used in the definition of these taxa discussed. Species assigned to Vysocania are V. vaneki (type-species), V. iberica, V. moraveci sp. nov. and V. panderi; species assigned to Octillaenus are O. hisingeri (type-species) and O. marocanus sp. nov. Vysocania appears for the first time in the lower Berounian (Sandbian) and has its last undoubted record in the upper Berounian (upper Katian); Octillaenus is presently restricted to the Kralodvorian (upper Katian). •

A new exceptionally preserved marginal marine biota is reported from the Late Ordovician Big Hill Formation of Stonington Peninsula in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The new Lagerstätte hosts a moderately diverse fauna of medusae, linguloid brachiopods, non-mineralized arthropods and orthocone nautiloids, alongside dasycladalean green algae. The biota is similar to those of Lagerstätten from the Late Ordovician of Canada, revealing an extensive distribution of a distinctive marginal marine palaeocommunity in Laurentia at this time. The Big Hill biota extends the geographical range of exceptionally preserved Late Ordovician faunas in Laurentia and indicates that further examples remain to be discovered.

Common models for modern calcite precipitation in and around caves, soils, springs and streams involve CO2 supplied by thick, high pCO2 biogenic soils which were probably thin or non-existent before vascular plants. Indeed plant-influenced chemical weathering might have caused accelerated terrestrial carbonate production from the Devonian onwards. However terrestrial carbonates have also been documented from the Archaean, Proterozoic, Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian. Mechanisms which could have caused non-marine carbonates to precipitate without organic-rich soils are described, and some geological events likely to have influenced non-marine carbonate precipitation up to the origin of vascular plants are highlighted. As organisms have evolved, so have the petrographic characteristics of non-marine carbonates; some examples of this are also given here .

The most severe mass extinction among animals took place in the latest Permian (ca. 252 million years ago). Due to scarce and impoverished fossil floras from the earliest Triassic, the common perception has been that land plants likewise suffered a mass extinction, but doubts remained. Here we use global occurrence data of both plant macro- and microfossils to analyse plant biodiversity development across the Permian–Triassic boundary. We show that the plant fossil record is strongly biased and that evidence for a mass extinction among plants in the latest Permian is not robust. The taxonomic diversities of gymnosperm macrofossils and of the pollen produced by this group are particularly incongruent. Our results indicate that gymnosperm macrofossils are considerably undersampled for the Early Triassic, which creates the impression of increased gymnosperm extinction in the latest Permian.

https://doi.org/10.1017/ppr.2018.5

The Celtic field research programme of Groningen University involves research excavations of Dutch Celtic fields or raatakkers: embanked field plots thought to date to the Iron Age (c. 800 cal bc–12 bc). In this paper, detailed attention is given to (a) the palaeoecology of raatakkers; (b) the relationship between habitation and agriculture in such systems; and (c) their dating and use-life. Counter-intuitively, it is argued that the macro-remains from crops such as barley, wheat, millet, and flax recovered from Celtic field banks represent a non-local (settlement) signal rather than document local agricultural regimes. Palynological approaches, in which a more local signal can be preserved but which also show evidence for details of the agricultural regime such as manuring strategies and fallow cycles, are argued to be more appropriate avenues to study local agricultural strategies. A discussion of the relations between habitation and agriculture shows that house sites uncovered within Dutch Celtic fields are almost invariably placed in positions partly overlapping banks. Moreover, in most cases such settlement traces appear to date to the Middle or Late Iron Age, raising the question of where the initial farmers of the Celtic fields lived, as the communities planning and first using these Celtic fields probably pre-dated the Iron Age. A critical review of existing dates and discussion of new OSL and AMS dates has shown that bank construction of Dutch Celtic fields started around the 13th–10th centuries cal bc and continued into the Roman era. The chronostratigraphies preserved in the banks testify to a sustainable agricultural regime of unprecedented time-depth: centuries of continued use make the system employing raatakkers the most enduring and stable form of farming known in the history of the Netherlands.

New palynological evidence shows that the beginning of cereal use in central Europe probably started during the transition from the Boreal to Older Atlantic period in the region of Lake Zürich (Switzerland). This is about 2000 years before the first Neolithic lake dwellings there, and much earlier than previously reported. The pollen profiles of Wallisellen- Langachermoos and Zürich-Mozartstrasse reveal several phases of human impact between 6500 and 4500 BC cal. Pollen of cereals and of plants showing small-scale forest openings - possibly related to fire events - hint to a society of forager-farmers. We propose to connect these communities to the Late-Mesolithic, Early Neolithic (La Hoguette) and Middle Neolithic cultures of central Swiss Plateau. For the areas belonging to the zone of western mediterranean neolithisation we therefore have to reject the idea of a Neolithic revolution and 'landnam' by farmers. The neolithisation of the central Swiss Plateau was more probably a long-lasting process of subsequent and discontinuous acculturation of the local, Late-Mesolithic population. Neolithic elements such as the use of cereals were quickly distributed among them. Our results obtained from palynological and archaeological studies give new aspects for the process of neolithisation on the Swiss Plateau and in central and western Europe in general. (Abstract IPNA Basel)

Forty palynofloral assemblages were obtained from the Waihere Bay and Tupuangi Beach outcrop successions of Pitt Island, Chatham Islands, New Zealand. All assemblages are from the Ngaterian–Mangaotanean (Cenomanian–Turonian) Tupuangi Formation, except one which is from the overlying Kahuitara Tuff. These strata likely represent the highest southern palaeolatitude (about 75–80°S) locality of the mid-Cretaceous studied to date, an interval of extreme global greenhouse conditions. Samples yielded well-preserved and moderately diverse plant miospore and megaspore assemblages. This study includes the taxonomic treatment of 37 spore taxa, 37 pollen taxa, two taxa of probable algal affinity and two taxa of unknown affinity (incertae sedis). These taxa include three newly described conifer species, Araucariacites mildenhallii sp. nov., Balmeiopsis disca sp. nov. and Podocarpidites microradiatus sp. nov., one emendation of a previously described species, Trichotomosulcites hemisphaerius, and two new binominal combinations, Retitriletes pseudoreticulatus and R. saturnalis. Quantitative data were collected for all taxa, and a statistical approach was employed to test the conspecificity of variant forms of common Cretaceous taxa. A pitted/foveolate sculpture was commonly observed across various disparate taxa; this was attributed to sample-specific exinal degradation, rather than taxonomic variation.
The Tupuangi palynoflora differs from coeval high palaeolatitude assemblages of Gondwana in having a high diversity and extremely high abundance of conifer pollen. The quantitative data reveal intermittent, low diversity ‘fern spikes’, but conifer pollen abundance was greater than fern spore abundance in almost all samples. The abundance of probable freshwater algae and absence of marine microplankton throughout most of the succession supports a predominantly terrestrial setting for the Tupuangi Formation. Lycopod and non-vascular plant spores are moderately diverse, but represent minor components in all examined assemblages. Angiosperm pollen occur in low relative abundance in all the studied samples, and show a lower diversity compared to coeval lower palaeolatitude localities. The most abundant conifer groups were (in order of decreasing abundance): Cupressaceae, Podocarpaceae and Araucariaceae. The Tupuangi palynoflora suggests a Cupressaceae-dominated subprovince at the highest palaeolatitudes during the early Late Cretaceous.
Representing an intermediate province between the assemblages of the Antarctic Peninsula and New Zealand/Australia, the Pitt Island palynoflora provides an important foundation for future mid-Cretaceous biostratigraphic and phytogeographic correlations of southern Gondwana.

The evolution of Spanish landscapes through history is mainly a story of deforestation. Through time, exploitation of natural resources increased to cope with the requirements of more and more complex civilizations. In this work, a review of how the Spanish forests were influenced by human activities and their changes is provided. Forests were cleared for mining, charcoal, shipbuilding and caulking. The most fertile lands were converted into cultivation and more productive cultivars were introduced. Mobile livestock, in particular sheep, became widespread, and with it the burning of wooded land to produce pastures. Woods were privatized through a series of disentailments. All these factors have occurred during the history of Spain, linked to profound changes in the landscape and vegetation. Not until the beginning of the 20th century were real efforts devoted to invert the trend to deforestation inherited from the negative woodland management of previous centuries.

La Serie de Trabajos Varios del SIP se intercambia con cualquier publicación dedicada a la Prehistoria, Arqueología en general y ciencias o disciplinas relacionadas (Etnología, Paleoantropología, Paleolingüística, Numismática, etc.) a fin de incrementar los fondos de la Biblioteca del Museu de Prehistòria de València.

RESUMEN
En esta Tesis Doctoral se trata de ofrecer una visión sintética sobre la historia de la vegetación, la
dinámica antropogénica y el cambio ambiental de los últimos 8000 años en un sector muy concreto del
Valle del Ebro, el actual Territorio Histórico de Álava, comprendido entre la divisoria de aguas
cantabro-mediterránea y el río Ebro. Para ello se ha empleado una herramienta paleoambiental de gran
interés, el estudio de los microfósiles polínicos y no polínicos preservados en diversos depósitos
sedimentarios de diferente cronología (yacimientos arqueológicos y turberas), con el objetivo de
aportar datos y reflexiones a diferentes problemáticas históricas. Se incide especialmente en el modo en
el que los seres humanos que habitaron este territorio en el pasado modificaron el paisaje, en función de
las diferentes actividades productoras que desarrollaban.
ABSTRACT
This doctoral dissertation provides a synthetic view on the vegetation history, the anthropogenic
dynamic and the environmental change during the last 8000 years of a very specific area in the Ebro
Valley, province of Alava, located in the watershed between the Cantabrian-Mediterranean and the
Ebro River basin. We have use a paleoenvironmental tool of great interest in order to get this
information, such as the study of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs preserved in several sedimentary
deposits with different chronologies (archaeological sites and mires), with the purpose of providing
data and reflections about various historical issues. Special attention is paid on the way past inhabitants
modified the landscape, according to the different productive activities they developed.

ABSTRACT:
This study is the first systematic comparison of the effect of acid treatment methods on the reliability of organic carbon [C] and nitrogen [N], and carbon isotope (δ13C) values on a range of terrestrial and aquatic, modern and geological environmental materials. We investigated the 3 most common methods; (i) acidification followed by sequential deionised water rinses (“rinse method”); (ii) acidification in silver capsules (“capsule method”); and (iii) acidification by exposure to an acid vapour (“fumigation method”). We also investigated the effect of sample size and capsule type (silver and tin) on C/N ratio and δ13C values. We find (i) %C, %N, C/N and δ13C showed significant within and between method variability; (ii) disproportionate and non-linear offsets of %C, %N and C/N values after acidification within and between methods and within and between sample materials; (iii) that alterations in %C did not necessarily manifest themselves in shifts in δ13C, and vice-versa; (iv) small (~ 90 μg C) sample sizes showed consistent overestimations and inaccuracies after acidification; (v) The effect of capsule type was not significant on most samples, but did show a notable effect on our aquatic materials, generally increasing %C and %N, and producing depleted δ13C values. These findings raise cause for concern on the interpretative nature of C/N ratios and their support for carbon isotope values. The comparability between laboratories (different preparation methods) and environmental settings (amount, type and nature of OM) are also likely to be problematic. We conclude that the response of C and N concentrations in organic matter to acid treatment in environmental materials is neither negligible nor systematic.

Keywords: δ13C; C/N ratio; Method comparison; Rinse method; Capsule method; Fumigation method; environmental reconstruction

Keywords (english/german)

celtic square enclosures (Viereckschanzen, Keltenschanzen)
ditch and rampart (Graben und Wall)
late iron age (Späte Eisenzeit)
archaeological survey (archäologische Feldbegehungen)
pottery (Keramik)
prehistoric and historic changes in landuse (Änderungen in der prähistorischen und historischen Landnutzung)
agrarmorphological structures (agrarmorphologische Strukturen)
ridge and furrow (Wölbäcker, Hochäcker)
documented loss of archaeological monuments (dokumentierter Denkmalverlust)
aerial archaeology (Luftbildarchäologie)

The tiger Panthera tigris (L.) has a fragmented modern biogeographic range, much contracted by recent extinctions, covering continental Asia from India, Nepal and Bhutan east through China and south to Peninsular Malaysia and the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. In Southeast Asia, the historic range of tiger included Java and Bali, and archaeozoological research has shown that it was also present on Borneo in the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene, possibly until fairly recently. Here we report on the first evidence of the former presence of tiger on the south-western Philippine island of Palawan. This new record confirms that the tiger was once distributed throughout the Sundaic biogeographic region and all the large islands of Southeast Asia west of Wallace's Line of Huxley. The disappearance of the tiger from Palawan probably resulted from climatic and palaeogeographic changes at the end of the last glaciation as the landmass greatly decreased and open woodland environments were replaced by closed tropical rainforests. Reduction in prey availability could also have played a role, as local deer populations diminished and eventually disappeared.

As vegetation evolved during the Palaeozoic Era, terrestrial landscapes were substantially transformed,
especially during the 120 million year interval from the Devonian through the Carboniferous. Early
Palaeozoic river systems were of sheet-braided style – broad, shallow, sandbed rivers with non-cohesive
and readily eroded banks. Under the influence of evolving roots and trees that stabilised banks and added
large woody debris to channels, a range of new fluvial planform and architectural styles came to
prominence, including channelled- and island-braided systems, meandering and anabranching systems,
and stable muddy floodplains. River systems co-evolved with plants and animals, generating new
ecospace that we infer would have promoted biological evolution. By the end of the Carboniferous, most
landforms characteristic of modern fluvial systems were in existence.

We review the Triassic record of terrestrial plants and animals from the Southern Alps at more than 60 sites. The Triassic tetrapod track record seems to mirror the global body fossil record of diapsids (with the exception of the Olenekian record), but is almost completely devoid of synapsids and amphibians. During the Bithynian-Pelsonian interval (early-late Anisian, Middle Triassic) the ichnoassociation documents a diverse tetrapod fauna composed of lepidosauromorphs, basal amniotes, archosauriformes (“rauisuchians”) and possible dinosauromorphs, whereas the body fossil fauna is represented only by small lepidosauromorphs and archosauriformes (“rauisuchians”). The rich flora is one of the best examples of early recovery of ecosystems after the Permo-Triassic event. The Illyrian (late Anisian, Middle Triassic) ichnoassociation reflects a faunal composition of lepidosauromorphs, archosauriformes and dinosauromorphs, while the body fossil assemblage is only
represented by a few remains of archosauromorphs. Tetrapod footprints are missing from the Fassanian (early Ladinian, Middle Triassic), while scattered skeletal remains document the presence of large and small archosauromorphs. Fassanian plant fossils record a flora dominated by conifers and seed ferns. The Longobardian body fossil record (late Ladinian, Middle Triassic) documents the presence of archosauromorphs and mammallike-
reptiles, whereas tracks are completely absent. During this period, floras still show some typical Early-Middle Triassic elements and are dominated by conifers. The Longobardian fossil record is biased by taphonomic selection, as these specimens are found only in basinal successions. Middle and early Late Triassic rich plant fossil associations record some interesting evolutionary trends, such as the radiation of modern fern families and the appearance of entire new groups (e.g., the bennettitaleans). During the Carnian (Late Triassic) the flora reaches its highest diversity and shows the first occurrence of
unequivocal bennettitaleans and the first putative cheirolepidiacean conifers. From the latest Carnian to the end of
the Norian (Late Triassic), faunal associations are dominated by dinosaurs, while archosauriformes, drepanosaurids,
protorosaurs, pterosaurs, lepidosauromorphs, “rauisuchians” and dinosauromorphs are only minor components of the fauna. Norian floras are poorly known but seem to be dominated by conifers, with rare fragments of Bennettitales.
The numerous tetrapod track associations provide a series of snapshots trough time that show a huge increase in variability reflecting the morphological diversity spanning from a stem-amphibian to a crurotarsan to a dinosaur foot. The nearly-complete absence of non-diapsid tetrapods appears to be possibly correlated with the paucity of fluvial-lacustrine environments, while the dominance of dinosaurs in the Norian has to be understood in the context of a monotonous, harsh, carbonate-platform environment. The Norian sites document the presence of a variety of archosaurs, prolacertiforms and lepidosauromorphs whose diversification may have been the result of strong evolutionary pressures triggered by the unstable environment.

Tikal, a major lowland Maya civic-ceremonial center in the heart of the Petén region of Central America, relied heavily on the adjacent lowland rainforest as a resource base for fuel and construction materials. In this study, we analyzed 135 wood samples from timbers used in the construction of all six of the city's major temples as well as two major palaces to determine which tree species were being exploited and to better understand ancient Maya agroforestry practices during the Late Classic period. We found evidence for a change in preference from the large-growing, upland forest species, Manilkara zapota, to a seasonal wetland species Haematoxylon campechianum in A.D. 741 as well as a decrease in lintel beam widths over time. Though M. zapota later returned as the wood species of choice in A.D. 810, beam widths were found to be significantly smaller. These findings concur with models that hypothesize widespread deforestation during the Late Classic period and indicate a declining forest resource base by the 9 th century A.D. Also, because of the many large timbers used in temple construction, some system of forest conservation is suggested for the ancient Maya prior to the Late Classic period.

A common predicament in archaeobotany is the relatively low proportion of the plant material exploited by humans that survives into the archaeobotanical record. Ethnobotanical survey can provide insights on how people utilized and disposed of their local plant resources and this can feed back into interpretations of archaeological evidence. Here ethnobotanic data from different regions of Thailand are employed to better understand the exploitation of gathered and garden economic plants in the context of traditional village systems where there is often a blurred line between the wild and the domestic and no clear division between the garden and the forest. This information is used in turn, to understand archaeobotanical results from Rach Nui, a Neolithic settled non-agricultural site in Vietnam, and Non Ban Jak, an Iron Age site with a rice farming economy in Northeast Thailand.

In 2009, the GIA dug a trench alongside the Archaic to Roman temple sanctuary of Juno at Tratturo Canio in the ager of Setia in the Pontine plain (Lazio, Italy), in order to investigate the older Bronze and Iron Age remains that had been reported in Italian probing excavations in the mid-1980s. The trench, up to 2 m deep, yielded a wealth of stratigraphic and environmental data as well as much pottery and bone from a Middle Bronze Age habitation layer. This article describes the work, the finds, and the phased geoarchaeological interpretations and reconstructions that were based on the sedimontology and environmental samples. The work is part of the Hidden Landscapes project which aims to show that there is a well-preserved protohistoric landscape buried beneath the Pontine plain.

The carbon-isotope composition of fossil wood fragments, collected through a biostratigraphically well-constrained Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) shallow-marine siliciclastic succession on the Isle of Wight, southern Britain, shows distinct variations with time. The results indicate that the stratigraphic signature of δ13Cwood through the Aptian was influenced primarily by fluctuations in the isotopic composition of CO2 in the global ocean-atmosphere system, as registered in marine carbonates elsewhere, and was not governed by local paleoenvironmental and/or paleoecological factors. Negative and positive excursions in δ13Cwood through the lower Aptian occur in phase with inferred transgressions and regressions, respectively—a pattern that contrasts with that observed in many previous studies for different time intervals. The relationship between δ13C variations and relative sea-level change is tentatively interpreted as a response to various climatic and eustatic factors, relating to rapid sea-floor spreading, thermal uplift of ocean floor, emplacement of plateaus, volcanic CO2 emissions, weathering, and sedimentary rate.

In South East Arabia (Sultanate of Oman and United Arab Emirates), oases are irrigated gardens characterised by intensive and mixed farming: date palms form a canopy under which other crops are protected from the sun’s rays and the heat. The origin of this agrosystem and its impact on the historical trajectory of Arabian populations are still much debated issues. Some scholars have suggested that oases developed as soon as agriculture was introduced into the region, at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (3200–2000 BC). The intensification of trade with neighbouring civilisations of Mesopotamia, Iran and Indus seems to have ignited the spark for the adoption of agriculture in Southeast Arabia. According to the existing theories, oases then emerged rapidly and were a means of adapting agriculture to the arid environment of this region. This agrosystem remained unchanged in its fundamental principles until the present day. This theory, however, denies the diachronic dimension of Southeast Arabian landscapes. The present chapter therefore aims to re-evaluate the data and reassess current theories of an Early Bronze Age origin for oases. An alternative development model, based on the available data, will be proposed. It is suggested that the development of oases corresponds to a long process with several steps resulting from environmental changes, technological innovation and socio-economic factors.

This paper describes the pollen representation of vegetation patterns along an altitudinal transect in the South Caucasus region. Surface sediments from eight small- to medium-sized lakes and wetlands were analysed for modern pollen, and the results analysed numerically using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and dichotomised ordination (TWINSPAN). Pollen spectra from the semidesert region have a clear palynological signal characterised by an abundance of Chenopodiaceae. Differentiation of oak forest, upper tree-line and subalpine communities is more difficult: all are dominated by arboreal pollen (AP) types. The authors propose a number of indicator pollen types and pollen threshold values that may assist in detecting tree-line variations and deforestation events in Holocene pollen diagrams.

The Middle Jurassic flora of Sardinia has been studied, and 24 taxa (19 genera) belonging to horsetails, ferns (Phlebopteris, Hausmannia, Coniopteris, Todites, Cladophlebis), seed ferns (Sagenopteris, Ptilozamites), cycadophytes (Nilssonia, Pterophyllum, Cycadeospermum, Ptilophyllum, Williamsonia, Weltrichia, Taeniopteris), ginkgophytes (Czekanowskia), conifers (Geinitzia, Brachyphyllum, Elatocladus) and seeds (Carpolithes), have been identified.  The flora of Sardinia is the southernmost of all Middle Jurassic European floras.  The coeval European and North African floral assemblages (112 genera) are present in a wide variety of environments and different palaeogeographic positions, which is reflected in a wide variety of taxa. A comparison between the coeval floras of Middle Jurassic age reveals a higher degree of dissimilarity than similarity between the various assemblages, which is in disagreement with the general picture of the homogeneity in the Jurassic floras given by previous authors.

Among classicists, archaeobotanists and agricultural historians, the meaning of the word phasolus (ϕασηλος
in Greek) is ambiguous. While Latin scholars have agreed that the word refers to a type of pulse or bean, there are various interpretations and subsequent identifications as to which botanical species is meant. The current paper aims to address this ambiguity by assessing the validity of the proposed interpretations. This will be done on three levels. First, the a priori feasibility of the interpretations will be ascertained. Second, all classical mentions of phasolus, both in Greek and Latin, will be reviewed and analysed. The aim of this step is to find what biological traits and characteristics were associated with phasolus, which may aid in confirming or rebuking an identification. Thirdly, we will assess the archaeobotanical evidence pertaining to the proposed interpretations for the Roman period. This paper includes the assessment of several classical sources previously absent from the debate as well as a new botanical identification of a key archaeobotanical
sample previously used to prove the presence of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) in the Mediterranean during Antiquity.

This paper presents new evidence, together with previous findings, for the appearance of charred seeds of Lathyrus sativus (grass pea)/Lathyrus cicera. This grain legume was a food staple in ancient times, principally in the Aegean region, but also appeared sporadically and in a limited way in the archaeological record of the southern Levant. It is encountered there first in the Late Bronze Age but disappears in the record at the end of the Iron Age. Although a palatable, nutritious plant adapted for growing under adverse conditions, its seeds can be toxic when consumed in large quantities. Apparently L. sativus/cicera made its way to the lowlands of the southern Levant, either by trade or with Philistine immigrants. It is absent at other south Levantine Bronze Age (i.e., Canaanite) and Iron Age sites and it remained a food component in the southern coastal region (i.e., Philistia, the region associated with the biblical Philistines) up to the end of Iron Age II, suggesting a possible ethnic association. Evidence of L. sativus/cicera joins that of another Aegean archaeobotanical import from an earlier, Middle Bronze Age II context, Lathyrus clymenum, found at Tel Nami, a coastal site farther to the north of the region.