Papers by Johanna A A Bos
Environmental Archaeology, 2017
This paper examines settlement location during the Iron Age in the northeast part of the Netherla... more This paper examines settlement location during the Iron Age in the northeast part of the Netherlands, an area shaped by Pleistocene geology. In recent years, a number of Late Iron Age/Early Roman settlements situated on the low lying slopes of sand ridges and nearby stream ridges revealed traces of an earlier Iron Age occupation. In this paper the archaeological and paleo-archaeological evidence is discussed and it is concluded that impact of human behaviour on the landscape was much higher during the earlier Iron Age. Due too the scarcity of archaeological evidence from aearlier periods, archaeologists must be awre of the opportunities to find them.
In this paper, a detailed vegetation and environmental reconstruction for the Lateglacial interst... more In this paper, a detailed vegetation and environmental reconstruction for the Lateglacial interstadial in the Moervaart area (NW Belgium) is discussed, in relation to former human occupation patterns. This reconstruction is based on a multidisciplinary research carried out on calcareous deposits of a large palaeolake (~25 km 2). The combination of physical (magnetic susceptibility, micromorphology, organic matter, calcium carbonate), botanical (pollen, macrofossils, diatoms), zoological (chironomids, molluscs, ostracods) and chemical analyses (stable carbon and oxygen isotopes) allowed for a highly detailed reconstruction of the lake ecosystem and vegetation surrounding the lake. The chronology of the lake record was provided by radiocarbon dating and comparison with the nearby Rieme sites and regional biostratigraphy. During the Bølling phase, the Moervaart palaeolake formed as result of a major rise of the groundwater table in the area. Water level rise continued during the early Allerød phase and a rich water flora and fauna developed in the lake. From this period onwards, the area provided a suitable landscape for the Federmesser Culture hunter– gatherers with fresh drinking water, extensive and fertile woodlands and lake edges for wild game hunting, plant gathering and fowling. Water levels rose to a maximum at the end of the early Allerød. Thereafter, an outlet for the lake was formed in the east. As a result, water levels gradually decreased during the middle to late Allerød and eventually the Moervaart lake turned into a swamp and ceased to exist. In combination with the prevailing colder conditions, this led to a marked population decrease with probably temporary abandonment of the region.
Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 2015
Interdisciplinary, landscape-oriented studies from an archaeological viewpoint in the Low Countri... more Interdisciplinary, landscape-oriented studies from an archaeological viewpoint in the Low Countries mainly concentrate on cultural and economic research questions. Focal points are the physical setting of settlements and cemeteries, land use patterns and subsistence economy. As a result, the collected data are rather site-based and one-dimensional. As a counterweight, this study aims to look beyond the boundaries of settlements and cemeteries by offering a regional and diachronic perspective on the development of the landscape, vegetation and habitation of Twente (the Netherlands) since the Late Glacial. A detailed search for existing pollen data yielded 125 sites containing information from a wide variety of sampling contexts. A series of six evidence-based regional vegetation maps have been constructed by analysing relations between pollen data, soil data and topography. The maps serve as first-stage generalised models that predict regional trends, allow subsequent testing and pla...
Multiple oscillations during the Lateglacial as recorded in a multi-proxy, high-resolution record of the Moervaart palaeolake (NW Belgium)
This paper presents the results of multidisciplinary research carried out on the deposits of Moer... more This paper presents the results of multidisciplinary research carried out on the deposits of Moervaart depression, NW Belgium, one of the largest palaeolakes (~25 km 2) that existed during the Lateglacial interstadial in NW Europe. The multi-proxy study, including physical (organic matter and calcium car-bonate, magnetic susceptibility, micromorphological), botanical (pollen, macrofossils, diatoms), zoological (ostracods, molluscs, chironomids) and chemical analyses (stable carbon and oxygen isotopes) has resulted in a detailed reconstruction of the Lateglacial landscape as well of the local conditions that prevailed in the lake itself. A chronology of the record was provided by radiocarbon dating and comparison with radio-carbon dates of the nearby Rieme site. These yielded a good match with the regional biostratigraphy. During the Lateglacial, vegetation and geomorphology of the landscape in general changed from a tundra landscape to a boreal forest. The vegetation development, however, was interrupted by a number of cold reversals. Three centennial-scale cold oscillations are present in the record: 1) the so-called Older Dryas corresponding to GI-1d in the Greenland ice-cores, 2) a short and pronounced cold event during the early Allerød, which could be correlated to GI-1c2 and 3) a cooling event during the late Allerød probably corresponding to the Intra Allerød Cold Period (IACP) or GI-1b. The latter most likely was responsible for the disappearance of the Moervaart palaeolake.
Books and book chapters by Johanna A A Bos
This study offers a regional and diachronic perspective on the development of the landscape, vege... more This study offers a regional and diachronic perspective on the development of the landscape, vegetation and habitation of the Twente region of the Netherlands since the Late Glacial. A detailed search for existing pollen data yielded 125 sites containing information from a wide variety of sampling contexts. A series of six evidence-based regional vegetation maps were constructed by analysing relationships between pollen data, soil data and topography. The maps serve as first stage generalised models that predict regional trends in vegetation development and land use, will allow for subsequent testing and place site specific archaeological data in a wider context. The method developed is applicable to other regions. A comparison with contemporary habitation patterns, based on archaeological and historical data, reveals spatio-temporal trends in human influence on vegetation and in physical factors influencing site location. Five maps have been ‘translated’ into artist’s impressions.
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Papers by Johanna A A Bos
Books and book chapters by Johanna A A Bos