Reconstructing prehistoric land cover and landuse in complex ‘blue-green’ landscapes

Environmental context is vital when analysing archaeological sites and interpreting past human activity. Pollen, being widely dispersed and readily preserved in wetland sediments, is frequently used to investigate past land cover, especially in wetland-rich ‘blue-green’ lowland landscapes (landscapes formed in locations where hydrology is an important determinant of natural vegetation, geomorphology and land use, such as river valleys and estuaries; landscapes which are transitional between aquatic-dominated and terrestrial-dominated). Recent developments in quantitative landcover reconstruction from pollen diagrams, such as the Multiple Scenario Approach (MSA), improve interpretations by taking into account variations in pollen production, dispersal, and sedimentary basin properties. We apply the MSA to derive quantitative, spatially-informed land cover reconstructions for four prehistoric periods in a major UK blue-green lowland landscape, the Humberhead Levels. Reconstructed quantified land cover broadly confirms inferences from previous studies, showing the spread of wet woodland and development of raised mires in the middle Holocene, whilst highlighting the spatial complexity of this dynamic blue-green landscape. The reconstruction process highlights gaps in available data and shows, for example, that the complex interplay of freshwater and marine systems in the later Holocene is only partially understood; thus reconstructions can inform the development of future research agendas in this and other blue-green landscapes. The spatially referenced MSA outputs offer a powerful means of enhancing the integration of pollen analysis with other disciplines, including archaeology, and for developing clear hypotheses for future research.