Land Clearance in the Irish Neolithic: New Evidence and Interpretation

Time scales are derived, from radiocarbon dating of pollen diagrams, for Neolithic land clearance at three Irish sites. Three stages are distinguished beginning in the 4th millennium B.C.: stage A, clearance and farming (possibly arable), 100 to 400 years; stage B, farming (possibly pastoral), 150 t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1971-05, Vol.172 (3983), p.560-562
Main Authors: Pilcher, J. R., Smith, A. G., Pearson, G. W., Crowder, Adèle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cereal grains
Crops
Forest regeneration
Forest trees
Irish culture
Land clearing
Pastoralism
Pollen
Radiocarbon dating
Sustainable agriculture
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Summary:Time scales are derived, from radiocarbon dating of pollen diagrams, for Neolithic land clearance at three Irish sites. Three stages are distinguished beginning in the 4th millennium B.C.: stage A, clearance and farming (possibly arable), 100 to 400 years; stage B, farming (possibly pastoral), 150 to 200 years; and stage C, forest regeneration, 50 to 100 years.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.172.3983.560