Man and environment at 9500 BP. A palynological study of an Early-Mesolithic settlement site in South-West Estonia

 A pollen diagrams from South-West Estonia within the Early Mesolithic Pulli settlement site and from a contemporary buried humus layer at Paikuse without known archaeological finds were compared in order to evaluate the impact of Mesolithic people upon vegetation. The pollen data indicate the occurrence of closed willow-birch thickets at Paikuse in contrast with open woods and meadows at Pulli. The general openness of the landscape at Pulli was probably natural. The impact of people on the woodland is difficult to estimate on the basis of the data available. However, the extremely high diversity of ruderals probably represents the result of human activities. [Acta Palaeobot. - Supplementum No. 2]