A palynological study of the impact of man on the landscape of central Southern England, with special reference to the chalklands
Year: 1983
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The investigation was formulated to clarify and supplement the limited \npalaeoenvironmenta1 evidence available from the chalklands of central \nsouthern England. Pollen analysis was the principal technique utilised. \nOnly two deposits within the chalk outcrop contained sufficient fossil \npollen for analysis: a riverine peat north of Winchester and a mire in \nclays overlying chalk at Snelsmore in Berkshire. Consequently, five \nsites peripheral to the chalk were also examined: Amberley in Sussex, \nRimsmoor, Okers and Kingswood in Dorset and Woodhay in Berkshire, \n \nThe sequence from Winchester provides evidence for the Boreal and \nAtlantic woodland of the chalk and exhibits an early Ulmus decline \nclearance. Open conditions appear to have prevailed in at least this \narea of the Hampshire Downs since the Early Neolithic. The Snelsmore \ndata show that from the end of the UImus decline clearance, woodland was \na more common feature of the local landscape. \n \nThe peripheral sites in general exhibit phases of woodland clearance and \nregeneration similar to sites elsewhere in Britain. At several of these \nperipheral sites there is a good correlation between the chronology of \nepisodes in the pollen diagrams and archaeological events on the \nchalklands, although the representation of pollen from vegetation on the \nchalk outcrop may have been low. The rapidly accumulating peat at Rimsmoor \nshows clearance episodes in considerable detail and at Kingswood a phase \nof Mesolithic disturbance may be recorded. \n \nIt is proposed that certain areas of the chalk, such as that around \nWinchester, have been characterised by an essentially open landscape \nsince the Early Neolithic. In other areas, however, as perhaps typified \nby the Snelsmore analysis, woodland was more common. Edaphlc and \nsocio-economic reasons are advanced for these differences.
Author: Paul Vernon Waton
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1972138400