Open AccessPalaeoecological, archaeological and historical data and the making of D evon landscapes. I . T he B lackdown H ills
Author(s) -
Brown Antony G.,
Hawkins Charlotte,
Ryder Lucy,
Hawken Sean,
Griffith Frances,
Hatton Jackie
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
boreas
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.95
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1502-3885
pISSN - 0300-9483
DOI - 10.1111/bor.12074
Subject(s) - woodland , palynology , vegetation (pathology) , archaeology , pollen , coppicing , range (aeronautics) , geography , ecology , biology , woody plant , composite material , medicine , materials science , pathology
This paper presents the first systematic study of the vegetation history of a range of low hills in SW E ngland, UK, lying between more researched fenlands and uplands. After the palaeoecological sites were located bespoke archaeological, historical and documentary studies of the surrounding landscape were undertaken specifically to inform palynological interpretation at each site. The region has a distinctive archaeology with late M esolithic tool scatters, some evidence of early N eolithic agriculture, many B ronze A ge funerary monuments and R omano‐ B ritish iron‐working. Historical studies have suggested that the present landscape pattern is largely early M edieval. However, the pollen evidence suggests a significantly different H olocene vegetation history in comparison with other areas in lowland E ngland, with evidence of incomplete forest clearance in later‐ P rehistory ( B ronze− I ron A ge). Woodland persistence on steep, but poorly drained, slopes, was probably due to the unsuitability of these areas for mixed farming. Instead they may have been under woodland management (e.g. coppicing) associated with the iron‐working industry. Data from two of the sites also suggest that later I ron A ge and R omano‐ B ritish impact may have been geographically restricted. The documented M edieval land management that maintained the patchwork of small fields, woods and heathlands had its origins in later P rehistory, but there is also evidence of landscape change in the 6th–9th centuries AD . We conclude that the B lackdown H ills area was one of many ‘distinctive subregions’, which due to a combination of edaphic, topographic and cultural factors could qualify as an eco‐cultural region or ‘pays’. It is argued that the use of such eco‐culturally distinctive regions or pays can provide a spatial and archaeological framework for palaeoecology, which has implications for landscape research, designation and heritage management.