Stone Age vegetation in Uppland, Southeastern Svealand, Sweden

Abstract

A compilation has been done of 12 pollen diagrams from the county of Uppland, southeastern Sweden, in order to describe the earliest vegetational history in the Uppland archipelago. All diagrams cover the Middle and the Late Neolithic (3300–2300 BC), while nine of them date back to the Early Neolithic (3900–3300 BC) and four to the Late Mesolithic (5500–3900 BC). The main part of the sites has been investigated in connection with archaeological projects. The pollen studies carried out so far are not detailed enough to trace the farming history in Uppland, but some important results are obtained: (i) One site indicates weak signs of clearance and cultivation from the Late Mesolithic. (ii) From the Early Neolithic possible traces of cattle breeding occur at one site. (iii) More obvious but sparse finds of human indicators start during the Middle and the Late Neolithic, with possible cattle breeding from five sites and cultivation from four sites. Cattle breeding seems not to have been applied in the archipelago during the Stone Age, but was initiated when the sites were connected with the mainland. (iv) Palynological indications may verify that the maritime deciduous forest zone in the Stockholm archipelago is of natural origin. (v) The elm decline can be traced in more than 50% of the diagrams and occur c. 2500 BC. (vi) In seven diagrams from the Early Neolithic and 10 from the Middle and Late Neolithic, pollen of Picea occur in the sediments, indicating either limited spruce stands in the vicinity or windblown pollen, possibly from the eastern coast of the Baltic.

Key Words:

• Pollen
• vegetation history
• human impact
• Stone Age
• Uppland
• Sweden