Palinologiniai tyrimai

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Archeologija; Archeologiniai radiniai; Holocenas; Kultūriniai augalai; Metodai; Sporos; Žemdirbystės istorija; Žiedadulkės; Archaeological finds; Archaeology; Cultural plants; History of agriculture; Holocene; Lithuania; Methods; Pollen.

ENPollen analysis is one of the most important palaeoecological techniques. Known since the first millenium BC, pollen grains became an object of the scientific investigations in the 17th–18th centuries. The next step in the development of this method coincided with the improvement of the laboratory equipment in the19th c. In 1916, the method of palaeopalynological investigations was created. In Lithuania, the earliest pollen investigations were carried out by foreight scientists in the third and fourth decades of the 20th c. In the beginning, the use of the technique was limited to the study of Quaternary lake and bog deposits with the aim of reconstructing vegetation changes. Basically, pollen analysis is a technique for reconstructing former vegetation from pollen grains it produced. The identification of pollen grains to the lowest possible taxonomic level is a crucial point in pollen analysis. However, planning future investigations and thinking about the results we expect, the existing limitations of the method should be taken into consideration as well. The collaboration that began during the 1950s–1960s between archaeologists, historians and palynologists working in Lithuania has successfully expanded during the last twenty years. In this case, pollen diagrams contribute to the knowledge of vegetation history and human-induced environmental changes, i.e. the mainly history of agriculture and animal husbandry.The initial work of this type, alongside with the palaeogeographical investigation of the area, was conducted on the grounds of the Šventoji Neolithic site at the initative of archaeologist Dr. Rimutė Rimantienė. Later, cooperation of this type has been expanded in different archaeological sites covering Stone, Bronze and Iron Age, alongside with sites of the post-Christian time. During the last two decades, in collaboration among palaeobotanists, archaeologists and historians numerous interdisciplinary national and international research projects have been performed, such as "The Stone Age in South Lithuania" (1994–1998), "Human–nature relationships from the earliest times until Christ" (1998–2002), "Anthropogenic activity and the ecosystem in northwest Lithuania during the postglacial period" (1998–2000), "The natural and cultural heritage of Merkinė – significance and content" (2000–2001), "An early crisis in population activity: the result of natural circumstances or social relationships? " (2002), "The impact of short-lived ecosystem changes on population dynamics during the late prehistory" (2003), "The development of the anthropogenic landscape in the upper reaches of the Virvytė, Minija, and Varduva rivers over 5000 years" (2001–2003), "Early agricultural field systems in West Lithuania" (2002–2004), "Indications of climate changes in the sediment records of the last glacial–interglacial cycle" (2007–2009), and "The effect of anthropogenic factors on the development of invasive species in the context of the palaeoecosystem history during the Holocene" (2010–2011). [From the publication]