Vorträge - Universität Salzburg

Abstracts Primus Conventus Austriacus Archaeometriae - MMIX
A multi-proxy analysis discloses the environmental impact of ancient
mining near Schwaz (Tirol)
Elisabeth Breitenlechner 1 , Marina Hilber 2 , Joachim Lutz 3 , Yvonne Kathrein 4 , Alois
Unterkircher 2 & Klaus Oeggl 1
1
Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Botanik, Sternwartestraße 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, +43-(0)512-507-5972,
Elisabeth.Breitenlechner@uibk.ac.at
2
Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Geschichte und Ethnologie, Innrain 52, A-6020 Innsbruck, +43-(0)512-507-
4388
3
Curt Engelhorn-Zentrum für Archäometrie, C5, Zeughaus, D-68159 Mannheim
4
Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Germanistik, Innrain 52, A-6020 Innsbruck
Changes in ancient cultural landscapes result predominantly from agricultural activities, but
there exist other types of human impact, which shaped past environments; e.g. ore mining
caused a huge demand on raw materials and the following metallurgic processes polluted the
environment. Recent advances in pollen analysis enable a detailed reconstruction of past
vegetation and its agricultural utilization, but the problem of palynology in mining areas is
that mining activities produce a similar pollen signal like agricultural activities. Therefore,
here we use a multi-proxy approach to evaluate the effects of historical mining on the
environment by a combination of pollen, micro-charcoal and geochemical analyses validated
by historical and archaeological data. The studies are conducted on peat deposits of the fen
“Kogelmoos” located within the prominent historical mining area of Schwaz. The data reflect
significant changes in the vegetation, intensive fire activities and lead pollution since the Late
Middle Ages. The potential of this multi-proxy approach to evaluate past mining impact on
the environment is discussed.
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