Geoarchaeological research of the large palaeolake of the Moervaart (municipalities of Wachtebeke and Moerbeke-Waas, East Flanders, Belgium). From Late Glacial to Early Holocene (original) (raw)
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2013
This paper presents new geo-archaeological perspectives on the Late Glacial and Early Holocene human occupation around a large palaeolake, the Moervaart palaeolake (∼25 km²). Intensive fieldwork, using invasive and non-invasive survey techniques, combined with modelling of the palaeotopography and palaeogroundwater and multi-proxy palaeoecological analyses have resulted in a detailed reconstruction of the landscape during the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic occupation of the area. A major shift in the occupation from the Federmesser Culture to the Early Mesolithic was contemporaneous with a sudden and drastic change in the palaeohydrology of the area between ca. 13,300 and 13,000 cal BP (end of Allerød), which coincided with a short but abrupt cooling event known as the Intra Allerød Cold Period (IACP) GI 1b. It is assumed that this event triggered the sudden drying up of the Moervaart palaeolake and surrounding ponds, which until then had provided Federmesser hunter-gatherers with extensive and fertile grounds for hunting, gathering and drinking water. The population decline which followed this hydrological event was reinforced by the prevailing cold and harsh conditions of the Younger Dryas and probably lasted until the Pre-boreal. Hunter-gatherers returned to the area in the Boreal, now settling along the proximal floodplain regions of a meandering channel which was connected with the southern Scheldt River.
Notae Praehistoricae, 2011
Meylemans, Erwin, Philippe De Smedt, Annelies Storme, Jan Bastiaens, Koen Deforce, Dries Desloover, and Marc Van Meirvenne. 2011. “A Multi-diciplinary Palaeoenvironmental Survey in the Western Moervaart-depression (East Flanders, B).” Notae Praehistoricae 31: 7–15. ... Meylemans, E., De Smedt, P., Storme, A., Bastiaens, J., Deforce, K., Desloover, D., & Van Meirvenne, M. (2011). A multi-diciplinary palaeoenvironmental survey in the western Moervaart-depression (East Flanders, B). NOTAE PRAEHISTORICAE, 31, 7–15.
From late 2009 until early 2012, multiple palaeo-environmental and archaeological survey efforts took place in a clay mining zone at Oekene south of Roeselare (Belgium). In Late Pleistocene sediments, well preserved palaeo-ecological records have been found, including large numbers of macrofaunal remains. In these same deposits, lithic artifacts point to human presence on the interfluvium of the Mandel and Leie (Lys) rivers during the Middle Palaeolithic.
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.