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A core sample from a peat bog north of Laval contained 2 m of deposits, which allowed changes in anthropic pressure in the area to be studied from the Neolithic Age until present times. The first traces of cereals were detected from the base of the pollen diagram (5035 ± 70 b.p..), indicating early human activity. During the Bronze Age, the surrounding hillsides underwent a first clearing phase, although it was not until the Second Iron Age (around 2300/2400 b.p.) that a marked development of agricultural and pastoral activities was recorded. After an absolute abandonment of agriculture in the late Empire, a marked increase in farming and herding occurred, together with drastic clearing of all the forests, which created an extremely “open” environment.