How animal dung can help to reconstruct past forest use: a late Neolithic case study from the Mooswinkel pile dwelling (Austria)

Thorsten Jakobitsch; Cyril Dworsky; Andreas G. Heiss; Marlu Kühn; Sabine Rosner; Jutta Leskovar

doi:10.1007/s12520-023-01724-5

journal article Open Access Feb 04, 2023

How animal dung can help to reconstruct past forest use: a late Neolithic case study from the Mooswinkel pile dwelling (Austria)

Thorsten Jakobitsch Cyril Dworsky Andreas G. Heiss

Marlu Kühn Sabine Rosner Jutta Leskovar

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences Vol. 15 No. 3 · Springer Science and Business Media LLC

View at Publisher Save 10.1007/s12520-023-01724-5

Abstract

Abstract
Animal dung analyses are a useful tool for vegetational studies. Preserved ruminant dung from archaeological layers offers a unique possibility for the reconstruction of past fodder management strategies, and further for studying the impact of fodder acquisition and pasturing on forests. In this case study we investigate the impact of Late Neolithic livestock keeping on the forest around the “Mooswinkel” pile dwelling at the Austrian lake Mondsee through the analysis of botanical macroremains, insect remains as well as microhistological analyses of botanical remains in animal dung. Seasonal plant parts in the dung point out that cattle, goats, and/or sheep were evidently kept inside the settlement during the winter for protection. During the daytime, they were allowed to forage around the settlement. Winter fodder consisted of dried leaf hay, hay from grasses and herbs, male flowers of early blooming bushes, and fresh twigs of evergreen species, such as fir (Abies alba), ivy (Hedera helix), and mistletoe (Viscum album).

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Details

Published: Feb 04, 2023
Vol/Issue: 15(3)
License: View

Authors

Institute of Botany University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Gregor Mendel‐Straße 33 1180 Vienna Austria

J

Jutta Leskovar

Funding

Direktion Kultur des Amtes der Oberösterreichischen Landesregierung

Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften

Cite This Article

Thorsten Jakobitsch, Cyril Dworsky, Andreas G. Heiss, et al. (2023). How animal dung can help to reconstruct past forest use: a late Neolithic case study from the Mooswinkel pile dwelling (Austria). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01724-5

How animal dung can help to reconstruct past forest use: a late Neolithic case study from the Mooswinkel pile dwelling (Austria)

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