This paper discusses the generation of a high precision DEM (Digital Elevation Model) based on high density airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data for an interdisciplinary landscape archaeological study concerning the settlement history and environment in Sandy Flanders, a region to the north of Ghent (Belgium). The objective was to create a detailed topographical surface free of artificial features and topographical artefacts, in the form of a DEM, visualizing the natural and current topography through the implementation of true ground points only. The semi-automatical removal of these features and artefacts was based on topographical vector data, visual interpretations and slope analysis. Ultimately two DEM's were constructed (1) a TIN (Triangulated Irregular Network) model, whereby the inherent large file format restricts the usability to large scale and (2) a grid model which can be used for small-, medium- and large-scale applications. Both datasets were used as an image that is interpreted using ancillary data from historical sources. Its usefulness is illustrated in a case of field pattern and microfield topography. Starting from this DEM, the approach of this landscape historical study is mainly retrogressive, i.e. starting from the landscape structures and elements that are still present in the contemporary landscape and moving into the past.

Empirical and model data are used to re-assess the patterns of dietary change across the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in north-west Europe. A step-shift in bone collagen δ 13 C values can be observed among coastal populations in Great Britain and parts of southern Scandinavia c. 4000/3900 cal BC, reflecting the rapid introduction of farming. Regional and local variations are evident, and there is a clear geographical trend in the use of marine resources by Neolithic populations across north-west Europe. Our findings suggest that the δ 13 C value of bone collagen may not accurately reflect the proportion of seafood in a diet where the diet included significant quantities of marine bivalves, such as oysters. This also has implications for calculating the marine reservoir contribution to the 14 C ages of human bones. BC, reflétant la rapide introduction de l’agriculture et de l’élevage. Les variations locales et régionales sont évidentes comme la nette variation géographique de l’utilisation des ressources marines par les populations néolithiques du nord-ouest de l’Europe. Nos résultats suggèrent que la valeur δ 13 C du collagène osseux pourrait ne pas refléter, de façon précise, la proportion de fruits de mer du régime alimentaire quand celui-ci comporte une quantité importante de bivalves marins, comme les huîtres. Ceci a aussi une importante conséquence dans le calcul de la contribution du réservoir marin dans l’âge 14 C des os humains.

This paper discusses an aquatic reservoir effect present in Mesolithic human bone samples from the Iron Gates section of the River Danube. Its magnitude has been calculated from a comparison of the C ages of human bones and terrestrial mammal bones from Schela Cladovei, equivalent to 545±70 years for a 100% aquatic diet. From this, using the δN value of human bone collagen to estimate the proportion of aquatic food in diet, a correction factor can be applied to the human bone C ages. Reservoir correction makes the resultant C age less precise but more accurate. The reservoir effect is derived from the inclusion of aquatic resources from the River Danube in the diets of the Mesolithic inhabitants. On the basis that the Black Sea became marine around 7400 cal BC, the possibility that part of the reservoir effect derives from anadromous fish species cannot be discounted. Human remains are abundant in the Iron Gates sites and therefore potentially important for construction of archaeological chronologies. Our ability to correct for the aquatic reservoir affect has important implications for establishing accurate chronologies, especially at the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition, which was marked by a significant change in diet and subsistence.