Normunds Stivrins
Biographic Data
| ID | 4971205 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Normunds Stivrins |
| GIVEN NAMES | Normunds |
| FAMILY NAME | Stivrins |
| SIGNATURE | STIVRINS N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Tallinn University of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1136-0146 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 24 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 18 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Plants in Burials
Palaeobotanical analysis of the Īles mežs cemetery (southern Latvia) provides new insights into the role of plants in Roman Iron Age funerary traditions. This study focuses on the Īles mežs barrow VII (1 st –4 th century AD), where two inhumation burials were investigated. Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from soil beneath the skeletal remains were compared with control samples from the barrow structure and with a parallel sediment sequence fro…
Influence of Geological and Soil Factors on Pine, Birch, and Alder Stability During the Holocene Climate Change in Central Latvia, Northeastern Europe
Understanding the past dynamics of vegetation in response to climate change is crucial for predicting future ecological outcomes. This study has two primary objectives: (1) to reconstruct the vegetation history of the coastal region around Lake Lilaste in Central Latvia during the Holocene and (2) to assess the impacts of climate change on forest composition through the analysis of pollen data and radiocarbon dating. The results indicate that dom…
Tracing the Onset of Agriculture Through Phytolith Analysis at the Abora I Neolithic Settlement, Eastern Latvia
Phytolith analysis was applied for the first time in Latvian archaeology to investigate plant use at the Abora I settlement, one of the key Late Neolithic sites in the Lubāns Wetland, eastern Latvia. Phytoliths were extracted from sediments, pottery sherds, grinding stones, and human teeth in order to assess evidence for cereal-type grasses and plant processing. A diverse range of phytolith morphotypes was identified, including rondel and bilobat…
Koksnes izmantošana dzelzs laikmeta kremācijas rituālos Rietumkurzemes ainavas kontekstā
Rakstā aplūkotas kuršu apbedīšanas tradīcijas ainavas kontekstā, pamatojoties uz kuršu ugunskapos atrasto kokogļu pētījumiem un korelējot tos ar Ķikuru ezera materiāla palinoloģiskiem pētījumiem. Pētījuma areāls aptver Latvijas rietumdaļu, kas atbilst kuršu apdzīvotai teritorijai, kur dominējošais apbedīšanas veids 10./11. gs. – 15. gs. bija kremācija. Franču ceļotājs Žilbērs de Lanuā šajā reģionā sastapies ar kuršiem, kuri mirušos dedzinājuši sā…
The Mortuary Landscape of the 1st–12th Centuries
In archaeology, landscape is studied as a cultural, social, and environmental process that simultaneously influences human thinking and is impacted by human actions. From such a perspective, the establishment of cemeteries, too, results from human choice with respect to the environment, engendering a specific mortuary landscape. This is, overall, a little-studied field in the history of research on the Iron Age in Latvia. Even so, a continuous de…
Human-induced vegetation change in the Turaida vicinity during the Iron Age and the medieval period
A lack of detailed information on pollen from the Gauja River valley potentially limits the strength of various reconstructions (vegetation composition, human impact, dominant agricultural activities) for this territory. This study seeks to examine the human-induced changes on vegetation, in particular with regard to the arrival of the Livs in the Turaida vicinity during the Late Iron Age. Here, we present the first analyses of pollen data, macro…
Urbanization-driven Cladocera community shifts in the lake - a case study from Baltic region, Europe
Our research aimed to evaluate, how urbanization affects lake ecosystems and Cladocera in particular. For this purpose, we chose a small urban lake with a well-documented history. Lake Velnezers (located in Riga, Latvia) is currently surrounded by apartment building complexes. Construction works around this lake started in the 1950s and continued up until the 1970s. To investigate how the transition from forested to agricultural and further urban…
Anthropogenic impact on a seacoast landscape during the last 1300 years in central Latvia, Northeastern Europe
Human‐induced activities around Lake Lilaste in the central Latvian sandy coastal area have been reconstructed over a 1300‐year period. We use a combination of well‐established geoarchaeological research methods ( 14 C dating, pollen, nonpollen palynomorphs, REVEALS modeling, diatoms, C/N ratio, magnetic susceptibility, loss on ignition) to study the human impact on the environment. Historical context aids focus on records of resource (e.g., timb…
Burial Practices at Lapiņi Curonian Cremation Cemetery, West Latvia, at the Close of the Iron Age and in the Middle Ages (12th–14th/15th Centuries)
This article examines cremation cemeteries in west Latvia from the end of the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages (12th–14th/15th centuries). During this period, cremation graves constituted the dominant burial form in the region. We have selected as a case study Lapiņi cemetery, which reveals additional details relating to cremation cemeteries of west Latvia. The aim of the article is to provide further insights into burials of this kind in the Ba…
Abrupt Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE in Europe – The event ecology, possible causes and implications
The study, based on the examination of 70 published and unpublished pollen profiles from Poland and supplementary data from the surrounding regions, shows that an abrupt, episodic Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE was a much more widespread event than has been previously reported, spanning large areas of the temperate and boreal zones in Europe. The data from Poland suggest that the decline was roughly synchronous and…
Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe
Fire is a major disturbance agent in the boreal forest, influencing many current and future ecosystem conditions and services. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to improve the accuracy of fire-event reconstructions even though the estimates of the occurrence of past fires may be biased, influencing the reliability of the models employing those data (e.g. C stock, cycle). This study aimed to demonstrate how three types of fire proxies – fire…
The final meltdown of dead-ice at the Holocene Thermal Maximum (8500–7400 cal. yr BP) in western Latvia, eastern Baltic
It is commonly assumed that the majority of buried ice-blocks in Europe melted at the end of Late Glacial period and during the first part of the early-Holocene. We show, however, that scattered dead-ice-blocks may have been preserved in the ground until 8500 cal. yr BP. We analysed thermokarst features in Lake Ķikuru, western Latvia, by means of a multi-proxy approach (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils, diatoms, loss-on-ignitio…
Quantitative summer and winter temperature reconstructions from pollen and chironomid data between 15 and 8 ka BP in the Baltic–Belarus area
Peat stratigraphy and changes in peat formation during the Holocene in Latvia
Palaeoenvironmental evidence for the impact of the crusades on the local and regional environment of medieval (13th–16th century) northern Latvia, eastern Baltic
This paper evaluates the impact of the crusades on the landscape and environment of northern Latvia between the 13th–16th centuries (medieval Livonia). The crusades replaced tribal societies in the eastern Baltic with a religious state (Ordenstaat) run by the military orders and their allies, accompanied by significant social, cultural and economic developments. These changes have previously received little consideration in palaeoenvironmental st…
The Ecological Impact of Conquest and Colonization on a Medieval Frontier Landscape
Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well‐documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń …
Organic inclusions in Middle and Late Iron Age (5th–12th century) hand-built pottery in present-day Latvia
Landscape change in central Latvia since the Iron Age
Landscape change in central Latvia since the Iron Age
The Ecological Impact of Conquest and Colonization on a Medieval Frontier Landscape
Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well‐documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń …
Abrupt Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE in Europe – The event ecology, possible causes and implications
The study, based on the examination of 70 published and unpublished pollen profiles from Poland and supplementary data from the surrounding regions, shows that an abrupt, episodic Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE was a much more widespread event than has been previously reported, spanning large areas of the temperate and boreal zones in Europe. The data from Poland suggest that the decline was roughly synchronous and…
Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe
Fire is a major disturbance agent in the boreal forest, influencing many current and future ecosystem conditions and services. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to improve the accuracy of fire-event reconstructions even though the estimates of the occurrence of past fires may be biased, influencing the reliability of the models employing those data (e.g. C stock, cycle). This study aimed to demonstrate how three types of fire proxies – fire…
Palaeoenvironmental evidence for the impact of the crusades on the local and regional environment of medieval (13th–16th century) northern Latvia, eastern Baltic
This paper evaluates the impact of the crusades on the landscape and environment of northern Latvia between the 13th–16th centuries (medieval Livonia). The crusades replaced tribal societies in the eastern Baltic with a religious state (Ordenstaat) run by the military orders and their allies, accompanied by significant social, cultural and economic developments. These changes have previously received little consideration in palaeoenvironmental st…
Organic inclusions in Middle and Late Iron Age (5th–12th century) hand-built pottery in present-day Latvia
Anthropogenic impact on a seacoast landscape during the last 1300 years in central Latvia, Northeastern Europe
Human‐induced activities around Lake Lilaste in the central Latvian sandy coastal area have been reconstructed over a 1300‐year period. We use a combination of well‐established geoarchaeological research methods ( 14 C dating, pollen, nonpollen palynomorphs, REVEALS modeling, diatoms, C/N ratio, magnetic susceptibility, loss on ignition) to study the human impact on the environment. Historical context aids focus on records of resource (e.g., timb…
Landscape change in central Latvia since the Iron Age
Quantitative summer and winter temperature reconstructions from pollen and chironomid data between 15 and 8 ka BP in the Baltic–Belarus area
Peat stratigraphy and changes in peat formation during the Holocene in Latvia
Palaeoenvironmental evidence for the impact of the crusades on the local and regional environment of medieval (13th–16th century) northern Latvia, eastern Baltic
This paper evaluates the impact of the crusades on the landscape and environment of northern Latvia between the 13th–16th centuries (medieval Livonia). The crusades replaced tribal societies in the eastern Baltic with a religious state (Ordenstaat) run by the military orders and their allies, accompanied by significant social, cultural and economic developments. These changes have previously received little consideration in palaeoenvironmental st…
The Ecological Impact of Conquest and Colonization on a Medieval Frontier Landscape
Slavic and German colonization of the southern Baltic between the 8th and 15th centuries A.D. is well‐documented archaeologically and historically. Despite the large number of pollen profiles from Poland, few palaeoecological studies have examined the ecological impact of a process that was central to the expansion of European, Christian, societies. This study aims to redress this balance through multiproxy analysis of lake sediments from Radzyń …
Organic inclusions in Middle and Late Iron Age (5th–12th century) hand-built pottery in present-day Latvia
The final meltdown of dead-ice at the Holocene Thermal Maximum (8500–7400 cal. yr BP) in western Latvia, eastern Baltic
It is commonly assumed that the majority of buried ice-blocks in Europe melted at the end of Late Glacial period and during the first part of the early-Holocene. We show, however, that scattered dead-ice-blocks may have been preserved in the ground until 8500 cal. yr BP. We analysed thermokarst features in Lake Ķikuru, western Latvia, by means of a multi-proxy approach (pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils, diatoms, loss-on-ignitio…
Abrupt Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE in Europe – The event ecology, possible causes and implications
The study, based on the examination of 70 published and unpublished pollen profiles from Poland and supplementary data from the surrounding regions, shows that an abrupt, episodic Alnus population decline at the end of the first millennium CE was a much more widespread event than has been previously reported, spanning large areas of the temperate and boreal zones in Europe. The data from Poland suggest that the decline was roughly synchronous and…
Integrating fire-scar, charcoal and fungal spore data to study fire events in the boreal forest of northern Europe
Fire is a major disturbance agent in the boreal forest, influencing many current and future ecosystem conditions and services. Surprisingly few studies have attempted to improve the accuracy of fire-event reconstructions even though the estimates of the occurrence of past fires may be biased, influencing the reliability of the models employing those data (e.g. C stock, cycle). This study aimed to demonstrate how three types of fire proxies – fire…
Burial Practices at Lapiņi Curonian Cremation Cemetery, West Latvia, at the Close of the Iron Age and in the Middle Ages (12th–14th/15th Centuries)
This article examines cremation cemeteries in west Latvia from the end of the Late Iron Age and the Middle Ages (12th–14th/15th centuries). During this period, cremation graves constituted the dominant burial form in the region. We have selected as a case study Lapiņi cemetery, which reveals additional details relating to cremation cemeteries of west Latvia. The aim of the article is to provide further insights into burials of this kind in the Ba…
Anthropogenic impact on a seacoast landscape during the last 1300 years in central Latvia, Northeastern Europe
Human‐induced activities around Lake Lilaste in the central Latvian sandy coastal area have been reconstructed over a 1300‐year period. We use a combination of well‐established geoarchaeological research methods ( 14 C dating, pollen, nonpollen palynomorphs, REVEALS modeling, diatoms, C/N ratio, magnetic susceptibility, loss on ignition) to study the human impact on the environment. Historical context aids focus on records of resource (e.g., timb…
Koksnes izmantošana dzelzs laikmeta kremācijas rituālos Rietumkurzemes ainavas kontekstā
Rakstā aplūkotas kuršu apbedīšanas tradīcijas ainavas kontekstā, pamatojoties uz kuršu ugunskapos atrasto kokogļu pētījumiem un korelējot tos ar Ķikuru ezera materiāla palinoloģiskiem pētījumiem. Pētījuma areāls aptver Latvijas rietumdaļu, kas atbilst kuršu apdzīvotai teritorijai, kur dominējošais apbedīšanas veids 10./11. gs. – 15. gs. bija kremācija. Franču ceļotājs Žilbērs de Lanuā šajā reģionā sastapies ar kuršiem, kuri mirušos dedzinājuši sā…
The Mortuary Landscape of the 1st–12th Centuries
In archaeology, landscape is studied as a cultural, social, and environmental process that simultaneously influences human thinking and is impacted by human actions. From such a perspective, the establishment of cemeteries, too, results from human choice with respect to the environment, engendering a specific mortuary landscape. This is, overall, a little-studied field in the history of research on the Iron Age in Latvia. Even so, a continuous de…
Human-induced vegetation change in the Turaida vicinity during the Iron Age and the medieval period
A lack of detailed information on pollen from the Gauja River valley potentially limits the strength of various reconstructions (vegetation composition, human impact, dominant agricultural activities) for this territory. This study seeks to examine the human-induced changes on vegetation, in particular with regard to the arrival of the Livs in the Turaida vicinity during the Late Iron Age. Here, we present the first analyses of pollen data, macro…
Urbanization-driven Cladocera community shifts in the lake - a case study from Baltic region, Europe
Our research aimed to evaluate, how urbanization affects lake ecosystems and Cladocera in particular. For this purpose, we chose a small urban lake with a well-documented history. Lake Velnezers (located in Riga, Latvia) is currently surrounded by apartment building complexes. Construction works around this lake started in the 1950s and continued up until the 1970s. To investigate how the transition from forested to agricultural and further urban…
Influence of Geological and Soil Factors on Pine, Birch, and Alder Stability During the Holocene Climate Change in Central Latvia, Northeastern Europe
Understanding the past dynamics of vegetation in response to climate change is crucial for predicting future ecological outcomes. This study has two primary objectives: (1) to reconstruct the vegetation history of the coastal region around Lake Lilaste in Central Latvia during the Holocene and (2) to assess the impacts of climate change on forest composition through the analysis of pollen data and radiocarbon dating. The results indicate that dom…
Tracing the Onset of Agriculture Through Phytolith Analysis at the Abora I Neolithic Settlement, Eastern Latvia
Phytolith analysis was applied for the first time in Latvian archaeology to investigate plant use at the Abora I settlement, one of the key Late Neolithic sites in the Lubāns Wetland, eastern Latvia. Phytoliths were extracted from sediments, pottery sherds, grinding stones, and human teeth in order to assess evidence for cereal-type grasses and plant processing. A diverse range of phytolith morphotypes was identified, including rondel and bilobat…
Plants in Burials
Palaeobotanical analysis of the Īles mežs cemetery (southern Latvia) provides new insights into the role of plants in Roman Iron Age funerary traditions. This study focuses on the Īles mežs barrow VII (1 st –4 th century AD), where two inhumation burials were investigated. Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs from soil beneath the skeletal remains were compared with control samples from the barrow structure and with a parallel sediment sequence fro…
Geography (15 works) · Archaeology (10 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (10 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (9 works) · Ecology (9 works) · Geology (9 works) · Physical geography (9 works) · Biology (7 works) · Historical and Archaeological Studies (7 works) · Holocene (6 works)