New methodical trends in pollen investigations of archaeological sites of the medieval period

The work by E.A. Spiridonova, A.S. Aleshinskaya, and M.D. Kochanova discusses new methodical trends in pollen analytical studies worked out in the course of investigations of medieval archaeological sites. The discussed sites need a different approach in carrying out pollen analyses than those dating from the earlier epochs. This situation is determined by the fact that the Middle Ages represent relatively a very short period and chronologically close to the present, therefore it is difficult to register correctly the corresponding climatic changes. It was established that the discussed period was characterized by substantial man-caused landscape transformations in the environment that in some cases developed much more rapidly than those determined by climatic factors.