From Wilderness to Pasture - Bronze Age Grazing Landscapes in Thy, Northwest Denmark

Since the 1990s, when S. T. Andersen and B. Odgaard compared pollen records from western Jutland and Thy, it has been clear that the rise in heathland pollen percentages at Lake Solsø in west Jutland and the increase in grassland pollen in the Lake Ove diagram from Thy represent parallel phenomena. Beginning with the Single Grave culture, the grasslands of Thy expanded significantly, reaching their peak during the Early Bronze Age due to population growth. In the pollen record from Lake Ove, this grassland expansion is subsequently followed by an increase in heathland during the Late Bronze Age. This article explores the relationship between human activity and landscape development, drawing on a new quantitative landscape reconstruction based on pollen data from Lake Ove. Particular attention is given to the formation of grasslands and heathlands during the Bronze Age.