Characterising prehistoric lowland environments using local pollen assemblages

Abstract This paper discusses the archaeological value of small pollen sites which reflect patchy local vegetation conditions typical of prehistoric floodplains. It is argued that both floristics and vegetation structure can only reliably be gained from macrofossil analysis and/or local pollen assemblages where the problem of the mixing of pollen from different communities is minimised and site to site differences are maximised. This exploits the pollen recruitment characteristics of small sites and differences between the pollen transport curves between canopy and understorey/ground cover species, many of which are known to be reliable indicators of vegetation structure and management. The data used to illustrate this approach are taken from six archaeological and environmental sites in the Soar and Nene valleys. The data available at present suggests small‐scale temporary clearances of the Neolithic floodplains with regeneration. It is not until the Bronze Age that larger scale deforestation occurs and it appears to be associated with ritual use of the floodplain. By the middle‐late Iron Age the floodplains are almost totally deforested and used for grazing. A common feature of the sites is an expansion of Pteridium (bracken) as clearance occurs and its use as bedding in the Iron Age is indicated by macrofossil finds at one site. Given the small scale of the Neolithic clearances (however caused), including permanent changes to the herb curves it is suggested that this may reflect a forest farming (grazing) system. The coincidence of the landscape‐scale deforestation of the floodplain and the construction of funery monuments raises the question as to whether the deforestation was primarily a ritualization of the landscape, agriculturally driven, or both.