"Anthropogenic" pollen assemblages from a Bronze Age cemetery at Linga Fiold, West Mainland, Orkney

Citation

Bunting MJ, Tipping R & Downes J (2001) "Anthropogenic" pollen assemblages from a Bronze Age cemetery at Linga Fiold, West Mainland, Orkney. Journal of Archaeological Science, 28 (5), pp. 487-500. https://doi.org/10.1006/jasc.2000.0607

Abstract
Pollen analyses from a variety of contexts in a Bronze Age cemetery are used to reconstruct aspects of activity around the site during mound construction and use. Various tests are used to assess the reliability of the pollen assemblages recovered, and error analysis used to determine whether perceived differences between contexts are significant and therefore able to support an archaeological interpretation. The data suggest that the mounds were constructed on pasture land, that pyre fuel was predominantly turf, from both heathland and grassland sources, and that polleniferous material including sources ofPlantago lanceolata and cereal pollen were deposited on some cist floors before they were filled.

Keywords
Bronze Age burials; data reliability; Orkney; palynology; Scotland; soil pollen

Journal
Journal of Archaeological Science: Volume 28, Issue 5