Settlements and economy of the Funnel Beaker Culture communities. Archaeological and palynological evidence from the annually laminated lake bottom sediments (Gostynin Lake District, central Poland)

Palynological information preserved in pollen diagrams is of key importance for investigating prehistoric human activity. According to M. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa, of particular importance for assessing anthropopressure are results of the multidisciplinary research of annually laminated lake sediments carried out in Lake Gościąż and its surroundings in the Gostynin Lake District. In light of the results of human-environment analyses, the environmental disturbances recorded in laminated bottom sediments from Lake Gościąż can be described as reflecting pollen being “an account from afar”. In the analysed case, the pollen fallout may have originated from longer distances, and the recorded transformations of plant assemblages, both with respect to phase 5 and phase 6 from Gościąż, can be attributed to humans inhabiting up to 10 km from Lake Gościąż (e.g. around Lake Białe). On the other hand, the observations made in palynological sites of Białe, Lucieńskie, and Gąsak are well-correlated with the archaeological evidence of human activity. These diagrams reflect nearby activity, as the changes recorded in them correlate distinctly with the intensity of FBC settlement.

Annually Laminated Lake Sediments—Recent Progress

The collection of papers entitled “Annually Laminated Lake Sediments” illustrates the recent progress made in varved sediment research and highlights the variety of methodological approaches and research directions used. The contributions cover the monitoring of modern sediment fluxes using sediment traps, geochronological and sedimentological analyses of varves, multi-proxy investigations, including geochemical and biological proxies, as well as spatiotemporal analyses based on multi-core studies supported by satellite images. The scientific issues discussed the influences of hydroclimatological phenomena on short-term changes in sediment flux, the relationships between biogeochemical processes in the water column and the formation of varves, the preservation of environmental signals in varves, and possibilities of synchronizing varved records with other high-resolution environmental archives.

The Mesolithic settlement and economy in the Lake Gościąż area

Lake Gościąż is located in a Gostinińskie Lake District (Central Poland). It contains long and good preserved continuous sequence of the annually laminated lake sediments spanning from the end of the last glaciation to contemporary times. They offer unique opportunities for investigating changes in the environment and human activity in the vicinity of the lakes. This paper is focused on correlation of palynological indicators of activity of the Mesolithic people with the picture of settlement in the region. Another problem discussed there question of reliability of palynological data, and therefore their usefulness for studies on settlement and economy.