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Cultivation and human Impact at 6000 cal yr B.P. in Tropical Lowland Forest at Niah, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

C.O. Hunt  and
G. Rushworth
C.O. Hunt
Affiliation:
School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1 NN, UK
G. Rushworth
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1 DP, UK
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Abstract

This paper describes palynological evidence for what appears to be comparatively large-scale human impact in the catchment of the Sungai Niah in the wet tropical lowland swamp forests of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo close to the Great Cave of Niah. Pollen associated with cleared landscapes and rice cultivation is evident in the sedimentary record from before 6000 cal yr B.P. Human activity seems to have been associated with changes in sedimentary regime, with peat-dominated environments being replaced diachronously by clay-dominated deposition. This may reflect anthropogenic soil erosion in the catchment of the Sungai Niah.

Keywords

HolocenePalynologyWet tropical forestRice farmingClearanceSedimentation
Type
Short Papers
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , November 2005 , pp. 460 - 468
Copyright
University of Washington

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