| The vegetation history for southern New England has been revised by identifying plant macrofossils from the post-glacial sediments of three sites. The local vegetation patterns and species distributions document an ameliorated climate at these sites during the early migration of humans into the region. The macrofossil data establish revised minimal arrival times for spruce, white pine, oak and hickory. The plant identifications provide species level determinations validating the local presence of numerous plants.;The macrofossil record, documented by AMS dates, shows that herb-shrub tundra grew in Connecticut, beginning over 15,000 years ago. Climatic warming allowed white pine, spruce and fir, and temperate deciduous trees to migrate into Connecticut at the time humans were moving into the region. A sediment hiatus at two sites between 11,000 and 10,000 yrs BP suggests an absence of a record may be the result of climatic cooling and changes in the precipitation/evaporation ratio. Implications for human settlement patterns are proposed.;A 10,200 yrs BP date on white oak charcoal from the Templeton Site indicates that a warmer climate was in place by the late-Paleoindian Period. Water levels increased and new plant populations colonized immediately following the Younger Dryas, but frequent periods of decreasing water levels was suggested by the change in plant composition, a decline in plant preservation, and the presence of chemically altered, oxidized sediments.;During the mid-Holocene, alternating layers of charred plants, silty sediments and a drop in sediment accumulation suggest repeated fires, erosion of the sediments and the possibility of declining water levels. Resulting aeolian sediments buried Middle to Early Archaic archaeological sites on the surrounding uplands. The water level rose during the late-Holocene, preserving evidence of the Atlantic white cedar-red maple swamp, a diverse shrub flora and numerous herbaceous and aquatic species. The implications for human settlement patterns spanning thousands of years of environmental reversals suggests continual movement of habitations sites to take advantage of seasonally and locally changing resources. |
