Title Abstract "Studying the origin and use of the oldest prehistoric pottery in north Belgium using high-end mass spectrometric methods" "Prehistoric pottery sherds from the Scheldt basin will be analyzed via high-end mass spectrometric techniques. Elemental “fingerprinting” and isotopic analysis of selected elements within the clay fraction will be relied on for provenancing the clay. Compound-specific isotopic analysis of absorbed organic residues will reveal the diet of the users, which will also aid in adequate sampling for reliable radiocarbon dating." "The impact of the physical characteristics of flint and their weathering on the preservation of prehistoric use wear traces" "Philippe Crombé" "Department of Archaeology, Department of Geology" "The present project aims at analyzing the relationship between the technical properties of flint artefacts from the Scheldt valley and the origin and weathering of their micro wear traces. By characterizing the intrinsic properties, combined with functional experiments as well as weathering experiments, a new 3D registration protocol will follow the evolution of the micro wear traces in relation to the structure of the flint." "The evolution of prehistoric occupation in Sandy Flanders from an environmental perspective" "Jacques Verniers" "Department of Archaeology, Department of Geography, Department of Soil Management, Department of Geology" "The present project aims at an interdisciplinary, GIS-related study of the land-use systems in Sandy Flanders (NW Belgium) from the late Stone Age (ca. 13,000 uncal. BP) until the Roman period. The main aim is to investigate the role and impact of the environment (vegetation, climate, soil) on the preshistoric settlement system in a multitemporal framework. The project will focus on 3 to 4 core-areas, 2 with a low site-density (""empty areas""), combining different research methods and techniques: palaeoecological analyses (pollen, seeds, fruits, etc.), absolute dating (AMS, OSL), morphological and soil modelling (using DHM, SoilGen, etc.), geophysical survey (drillings, electromagnetic survey) and land evaluation." "MesoMag: a geophysical perspective on Mesolithic land use in complex environments." "Philippe De Smedt" "Department of Environment, Department of Geology, Department of Archaeology" "MesoMag aims to expand understanding of the Mesolithic beyond commonly researched wetlands. By combining environmental magnetism, archaeological prospection, and environmental archaeology, the project will develop novel survey approaches to study hunter-gatherer land use and impact in challenging dryland and mountainous upland settings. Focus will be on detecting fireplaces and fire events, which persistently influence magnetic soil properties. After characterizing the magnetic signal of Mesolithic activities at two references sites in Britain, we will prospect for hunter-gatherer traces across the wider landscape. Combining survey outcomes with magnetic proxy and charcoal analysis, MesoMag will estimate the Mesolithic presence, as well as the impact, intensity, and chronology of fires. Alongside fundamental and methodological research outcomes, it will be evaluated how such data can support modelling spatiotemporal land-use changes during the Mesolithic in future research programmes." "Mountains, Mobility, and Memory. An interdisciplinary approach to long-term patterns in high altitude land use in the Apennines (Italy) during the Metal Ages" "Frank Vermeulen" "Department of Archaeology" "The Apennine mountain chain in Italy is often described as a crossroads of cultures during the pre-Roman Metal Ages (ca. 3000-300 BC), but archaeologists know little about how, why and where people moved through these mountains. Research of pre-Roman communities in these highlands is traditionally focused on long-distance connectivity and exchange networks, as well as the emergence of large settlement centers. Local socio-economic systems of mountain occupation, the practicalities of upland mobility, and the resilience of Apennine communities in changing environmental and political situations remain obscure through persistent research biases towards easily accessible lowland zones. The Mountain, Mobility, and Memory (MoMoMe) project investigates Metal Age mobility and occupation in two Apennine mountain zones using an interdisciplinary approach. Non-invasive geophysical techniques, archaeological field walking, the predictive modelling of mountain routes, environmental data, and ethnographical observations of recent and present users of the landscape are integrated to come to a better understanding of pre-Roman Apennine communities. The aim of the research is to integrate the mountainous backbone of Italy in models of Metal Age societies and to fine-tune archaeological methodologies for the study of marginal landscapes." "Woodland dynamics in the Anthropocene" "Wim De Clercq" "Department of Archaeology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences" "Human land use and in particular deforestation has changed ecosystem pattern and processes of most of the terrestrial biosphere. It is therefore one of the elements used to define the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch characterised by anthropogenic changes in the Earth’s system. This is often described as historically recent and potentially catastrophic for both humanity and the biosphere, but recent palaeoecological, archaeological and historic studies indicate that already since prehistory, deforestation has been extensive in some region. Insight in the dynamic relations between past human activities and the environment is therefore of key importance for addressing present day issues such as biodiversity loss, restoration and management of (semi-)natural biotopes, sustainability, and for the modelling of the impact of future climate change on global terrestrial biodiversity. But also to fully understand the relations between environmental and societal change, a thorough understanding of these interactions in the past is crucial." "Reconstructing the Stonehenge Landscape through electromagnetic induction survey" "To understand the prehistoric human-landscape interactions that have shaped the Stonehenge landscape (UK), detailed palaeolandscape information is indispensable. While Stonehenge has been the focal point of archaeological studies for over four centuries, no intensive mapping of the Stonehenge soil has been conducted. The project aims to bridge this gap by reconstructing this past landscape starting from multi-receiver electromagnetic induction surveying." "Human-environment interactions in the Dijle-Demer catchment (800 BC-1000 AD). An interdisciplinary approach" "Archaeology, Leuven, Geography and Tourism" "Floodplains are highly dynamic environments that have attracted humans throughout history. As such, they have not only been shaped by the interplay of geomorphological, ecological and hydrological processes. They have also been directly and indirectly impacted by human activity. It is in these parts of the landscape that we find ideal research areas to study and reconstruct transformations of human-environment interactions through space and time.One such area, the Dijle-Demer catchment (Belgium), has been selected as the main point of focus of the Floodplainscapes-project. This project aims to provide fundamental insight in the long-term development of these landscapes, by reconstructing human-environment interactions from prehistory to now. This will provide insight in 1) how the present-day cultural palimpsest landscape developed, and 2) how the use and management of the floodplains evolved through time. An interdisciplinary approach is used to unravel the complex and multi-layered history of these floodplainscapes, integrating research topics and methods from geography, archaeology and history.Chronologically the research has been split up in three interdisciplinary PhD’s, in which this PhD focusses on the period 800 BC-1000 AD. Prior research has identified human impact as the main driving force of morphological and ecological change in floodplains. Its progression throughout the Middle and Late Holocene can be characterised as non-linear, ranging from rapid increases to periods of regeneration. How this relates to the human activities involved is the subject of ongoing research and will form the main topic of this PhD. For the period at hand human impact can be considered largely of an indirect nature. Therefore human activities are studied across the entire catchment area and not solely in the floodplains themselves.A variety of archaeological and historical sources is studied and integrated on a large spatial and temporal scale. This facilitates integration with data collected through geomorphic field work and environmental studies. Set against a back-drop of climatological and socio-political developments taking place on a supra-regional scale, the aim is to identify the complex set of factors that trigger changes in human-environment interactions throughout the Iron Age, Roman and Early Medieval Period. For now, major components are considered to be settlement patterns, agricultural practices and artisanal activities. At a later stage these will be studied in greater detail through several case studies, to come to a high-resolution understanding of the processes taking place on a local scale."