A reconstruction of middle Holocene alluvial hardwood forests (Lower Scheldt river, northern Belgium) and their exploitation during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period (Swifterbant culture, ca. 4,500 - 4,000 BC)

The analysis of a large number of charcoal fragments from fire places from a wetland camp site of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period (Swifterbant culture) now permits a detailed reconstruction of a middle Holocene riverine forest along the Lower Scheldt River (northern Belgium) and its exploitation between ca. 4,500 and 4,000 BC. The identified taxa point towards an alluvial hardwood forest (Querco-Ulmetum minoris Issler 1924) on the sand dune on which the camp site was situated, surrounded by alder carr. The results are compared with palynological and macrobotanical analyses from the... Mehr ...