Development of Vegetation and Human Activities on the New Emergent Coastal Areas of Northwestern Estonia

The development of vegetation and agriculture on the uplifting coastal areas of northwestern Estonia was studied with palaeobotanical methods. On the basis of the land-uplift curves the dynamics of new land appearance was reconstructed. From these reconstructions, we could better understand the pollen and macrofossil records, though some taxa often interpreted as anthropogenic indicators (Ranunculus, Rumex, Chenopodiaceae) are in this case the indicators of pioneer vegetation. The comparison of historical, archaeological and palaeogeographical data from coastal northwestern Estonia demonstrate that the first strong signals about agricultural activity appear in different sections at different time: about AD 292 ± 55 in the northern area and about AD 1080 in the vicinity of Paslepa village.