Religion, war, and changing landscapes: An historical and ecological account of the yew tree (Taxus baccata L.) in Ireland.

摘要

This research identifies cultural and ecological factors that influenced yew tree (Taxus baccata L.) populations in and around the parish of Youghal, County Cork, Ireland since c.5000 BP. The Celts revered the tree as ‘noble’ and considered it a symbol of life and death. The Normans used it as raw material for the longbow. All species in the genus contain taxol, which has cured ovarian cancer. It is the longest lived tree species in Europe. Scotland's Fortingall yew is reputed to be 5,000 years old. Toponymic analysis revealed over 160 Irish towns named after the yew. Palynological analyses in Ireland are extensive, yet the yew's former distribution and abundance is largely unknown as the pollen has only recently been recognized. These qualities make it a worthy subject for cultural and paleoecological research. The tree, however, is now infrequent in Ireland. Youghal ( Eochaill in Gaelic, meaning ‘yew forest’) has relatively few yews. Paleoecological and historical methods are applied to identify the cultural and ecological factors that caused population fluctuations, and an eventual rarity, of yews in Youghal. The data reveal that yews were present in the Youghal area throughout the second half of the Holocene and that their populations have disappeared relatively recently (within the 1st millennium AD). The project contributes to the knowledge of several Holocene species declines and multidecadal scale climate reconstructions. The paleoecological changes on the Youghal landscape are cross referenced with European Holocene climate data and analyzed in terms of other arboreal pollen changes in Ireland. Paleoecological, archeological, and archival data are utilized to create a chronological history of the landscape changes that affected the yew tree over the past 5,000 years.