Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands

Dutch wetlands hold key evidence for the onset of farming, yet plant proxies from levee records outside excavated settlements have been largely underused. This study applies a comparative framework to plant macroremains, pollen, phytoliths and charred herbaceous plant tissues (CHPT) from a levee cor...

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Authors: Smuk, Ana, Schepers, Mans, Madella, Marco, Kubiak-Martense, Lucy, Bakkerf, Michael, Maurera, Arnoud, Familetto, Elena, Huisman, Hans
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2026
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:rdupf_______::87ef5e8aebf9c6433767264a9af9b2bb
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10230/73358
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2026.2624921
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Multi-proxy approach
Macroremains
Phytoliths
Pollen
Charred herbaceous plant tissues
Wetlands
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spelling Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the NetherlandsSmuk, AnaSchepers, MansMadella, MarcoKubiak-Martense, LucyBakkerf, MichaelMaurera, ArnoudFamiletto, ElenaHuisman, HansMulti-proxy approachMacroremainsPhytolithsPollenCharred herbaceous plant tissuesWetlandsDutch wetlands hold key evidence for the onset of farming, yet plant proxies from levee records outside excavated settlements have been largely underused. This study applies a comparative framework to plant macroremains, pollen, phytoliths and charred herbaceous plant tissues (CHPT) from a levee core to assess wetland suitability for early agriculture. Proxies were sampled from identical horizons, converted to relative depth-wise densities and regrouped into shared ecological and anatomical-taxonomic categories. This scale allows direct comparison by horizon, clarifies taphonomic and depositional influence on the assemblage, and reduces proxy-specific interpretative bias. The core sequence distinguishes four phases: a peat-forming bog/wet heath with little evidence of human activity; rapid clay sedimentation with sparse local plant input; a well-drained upper clay with peaks in cereal-type phytoliths and CHPT indicating managed, repeatedly burned grasslands; an overlying peat/detritus recording drowning and continued burning on emergent patches. High phytolith densities in levels with low macroremains reveal taphonomic loss rather than vegetation absence, refining the timing and character of an agricultural suitability window. Overall, the integrative multi-proxy approach points to an interval in the later fifth to middle fourth millennium BCE during which parts of the levee were periodically suitable for agriculture and subject to human management.Taylor & Francis2026202620262026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/10230/73358https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2026.2624921reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPFinstname:Universitat Pompeu FabraInglésEnvironmental archaeology. 2026. 18 p.© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrest-ricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of theAccepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:rdupf_______::87ef5e8aebf9c6433767264a9af9b2bb2026-06-12T07:21:37Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
title Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
spellingShingle Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
Smuk, Ana
Multi-proxy approach
Macroremains
Phytoliths
Pollen
Charred herbaceous plant tissues
Wetlands
title_short Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
title_full Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
title_fullStr Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
title_full_unstemmed Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
title_sort Advancing methodological integration in multi-proxy archaeobotany: a case study from a submerged Neolithic river system in the Netherlands
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Smuk, Ana
Schepers, Mans
Madella, Marco
Kubiak-Martense, Lucy
Bakkerf, Michael
Maurera, Arnoud
Familetto, Elena
Huisman, Hans
author Smuk, Ana
author_facet Smuk, Ana
Schepers, Mans
Madella, Marco
Kubiak-Martense, Lucy
Bakkerf, Michael
Maurera, Arnoud
Familetto, Elena
Huisman, Hans
author_role author
author2 Schepers, Mans
Madella, Marco
Kubiak-Martense, Lucy
Bakkerf, Michael
Maurera, Arnoud
Familetto, Elena
Huisman, Hans
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Multi-proxy approach
Macroremains
Phytoliths
Pollen
Charred herbaceous plant tissues
Wetlands
topic Multi-proxy approach
Macroremains
Phytoliths
Pollen
Charred herbaceous plant tissues
Wetlands
description Dutch wetlands hold key evidence for the onset of farming, yet plant proxies from levee records outside excavated settlements have been largely underused. This study applies a comparative framework to plant macroremains, pollen, phytoliths and charred herbaceous plant tissues (CHPT) from a levee core to assess wetland suitability for early agriculture. Proxies were sampled from identical horizons, converted to relative depth-wise densities and regrouped into shared ecological and anatomical-taxonomic categories. This scale allows direct comparison by horizon, clarifies taphonomic and depositional influence on the assemblage, and reduces proxy-specific interpretative bias. The core sequence distinguishes four phases: a peat-forming bog/wet heath with little evidence of human activity; rapid clay sedimentation with sparse local plant input; a well-drained upper clay with peaks in cereal-type phytoliths and CHPT indicating managed, repeatedly burned grasslands; an overlying peat/detritus recording drowning and continued burning on emergent patches. High phytolith densities in levels with low macroremains reveal taphonomic loss rather than vegetation absence, refining the timing and character of an agricultural suitability window. Overall, the integrative multi-proxy approach points to an interval in the later fifth to middle fourth millennium BCE during which parts of the levee were periodically suitable for agriculture and subject to human management.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/10230/73358
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2026.2624921
url https://hdl.handle.net/10230/73358
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2026.2624921
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Environmental archaeology. 2026. 18 p.
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Taylor & Francis
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Taylor & Francis
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
instname:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
instname_str Universitat Pompeu Fabra
reponame_str Repositorio Digital de la UPF
collection Repositorio Digital de la UPF
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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