Archaeobotanical and Palynological Investigations at the Neolithic Settlement of Okolište, Bosnia-Herzegovina and its Environs

D. Kučan of the NIhK conducted investigations into the landscape and natural resources of the Neolithic settlement of Okolište which belongs to the Butmir Culture and is located some 50 km northwest of Sarajevo in the Visoko basin. The botanical investigations were part of the excavations, which took place over several years, by Kiel University (Prof. Dr. J. Müller), the Roman-Germanic Commission Frankfurt (Dr. K. Rassmann) and the National Museum Sarajevo (Dr. Z. Kujundžic). In order to understand the human influence on the vegetation and its development over time, particularly during the Neolithic, palynological studies were carried out on a sediment section taken from a fen located on a plateau c. 7 km northeast of Okolište. Although the sediments of the palynological section did not reach back as far as the Neolithic, these investigations provide the first record of vegetation history in a landscape with markedly low numbers of lakes and mires, providing an account of its vegetation development and land use over the past 4000 years.

Bibliography

Kučan, D., Wolters, S., Bittmann, F. (2006) Prvi izvještaji, istraživanja polenanalitičkog i ugljenisanog makrobotaničkog materijala neolitskog naselja Okolište (centralna Bosna) [Erste Berichte über pollenanalytische und archäobotanische Untersuchungen aus der neolithischen Siedlung Okolište (Zentral-Bosnien)]. Godisnjak Centar za balkanoloska ispitivanja, XXXV/33: 51-70.

Wolters, S., Bittmann, F. (2008) Pollenanalytische Untersuchungen zur Landschaftsentwicklung im Visoko-Becken / Bosnien-Herzegowina. In: Hofmann, R., Kujundžic-Vejzagic, Z., Müller, J., Müller-Scheeßel, N., Rassmann, K.: Prospektionen und Ausgrabungen in Okolište (Bosnien-Herzegowina): Siedlungsarchäologische Studien zum zentralbosnischen Spätneolithikum (5200-4500 v. Chr.). Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission 87: 167–174.

Wolters, S., Bittmann, F. (2009) Analize polena na podrucju bazena Visoko. In: Hofmann, R., Kujundžic-Vejzagic, Z., Müller, J., Rassmann, K., Müller-Scheeßel, N.: Rekonstrukcija procesa naseljavanja u kasnom neolitu na prostoru centralne Bosne. Glasnik Zemaljskog Muzeja Bosne i Hercegovine u Sarajevo, Arheologija, N.S. 50/51 (2008/2009): 132–139

Wolters, S., Enters, D., Bittmann, F. (2010) Landscape history and land-use dependent soil erosion in central Bosnia from the Bronze Age to Medieval Times, Abstract. Geophysical Research Abstracts 12, 11200, EGU2010-11200.pdf