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

本研究将调查Lough Gur， Co. Limerick， Ireland周围文化景观的发展。它将主要基于对湖泊沉积物和新石器时代至中世纪时期考古遗址的分析。这些材料特别适合于检验关于人类对环境的长期影响所造成的植被和侵蚀变化的若干假设。总体假设认为，北纬后植被的变化伴随着侵蚀，反映了当地史前和历史上的农业。辅助假设有：湖泊流域植被扰动的位置随时间变化，可以通过湖泊沉积物的古地磁分析来追溯。榆树的数量主要受到早期人类在较浅土壤上定居期间砍伐树木的影响。沉积物中藻类的相对频率与湖泊集水区沉降的波动相对应。榆树的减少是疾病的结果，与侵蚀无关。

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.