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Description
The Early Holocene is characterised by a set of climatic factors responsible for natural environmental fires. However, it is still debated whether humans also co-shaped the landscapes using fire in the Mesolithic period (~11.5–7.4 cal ka BP). Hypotheses on the anthropogenic fire impact during the Mesolithic period are often considered, but detailed, local scale, and well-dated paleofire-records linked with corresponding Mesolithic sites are still rare.
High-resolution, multi-proxy studies on the Ammer Valley palaeo-wetland, SW Germany, included pollen, micro- and macrocharcoal, and plant macro-remains together with archaeological evidence from Early and Late Mesolithic sites of Rottenburg-Siebenlinden. This multi-proxy approach was the key to understanding the link between palaeoecological records and Mesolithic land use strategies. The results suggested that rigorous natural fires strengthened the endurance of open and pioneer vegetation between 11.6-10.6 cal BP. The region became more and more attractive to hunter-gatherers between 10.6-9.5 cal BP. This was also related to the shift from a river-dominated environment towards a wetland with open stagnant waters where a diversity of plant resources (incl., hazel) were available. In the Ammer Valley, the Mesolithic population may have manipulated the environment by means of fire, attempting to promote open vegetation to reinforce their subsistence strategies from 10.1 cal BP onwards. Subsequently, up to 9.5 cal BP the multi-proxy records showed frequent low-intensity fires and vegetation disturbance coinciding with the Mesolithic occupation phases, suggesting certain anthropogenic control over fire.
