Dissertation Research: Development of the Cultural Landscape Around Lough Gur, Ireland

本研究将调查的发展， 爱尔兰的利默里克湖周围的文化景观。 它 将主要基于对湖泊沉积物的分析， 从新石器时代到中世纪的考古遗址。 这些材料特别适合测试几种 植被和侵蚀变化假说 人类对环境的长期影响。 的 总体假设表明， 伴随着侵蚀的植被反映了当地的史前和 历史农业 辅助假设是： 湖泊流域植被干扰的变化， 时间和可以追溯到古地磁分析的湖泊 沉积物 榆树的数量主要受树木的影响 在较轻的土壤早期殖民化期间切割， 人类 沉积物中藻类的相对频率 与湖泊集水区定居点的波动相对应。 和 榆树的衰落是疾病的结果，而不是 与侵蚀有关。

This research will investigate the development of the cultural landscape around Lough Gur, Co. Limerick, Ireland. It will be primarily based on analysis of lake sediments and archaeological sites from the Neolithic the Medieval period. These materials are particularly well suited for testing several hypotheses concerning vegetational and erosional changes resulting from human impact on the environment through time. The overall hypothesis states that Post-Boreal changes in the vegetation accompanied by erosion reflect local prehistoric and historic farming. Subsidiary hypotheses are: That the locality of vegetation disturbance in the lake catchment changes through time and can be traced by paleomagnetic analysis of the lake sediment. That the elm population was primarily affected by tree cutting during the early colonization of lighter soils by humans. That the relative frequency of algae in the sediment corresponds to fluctuations in lake catchment settlements. And that the elm decline is an outcome of disease and is not associated with erosion.