<p>The Holocene vegetation development of the Liptov region (northern Slovakia) is determined by the high gradients of relief and climate. The aim of the study was to compare the pollen and archaeological records to identify human activities that are more difficult to detect archaeologically such as cultivation, grazing and burning or timber harvesting. We used a detailed pollen record from the Demänovská slatina calcareous fen, which documents the evolution of the landscape in this region since the Late Bronze Age (last 3000 years), with peaks of human activity in the Iron Age, Middle Ages and Modern era. In contrast, there was low human impact on the landscape during the Roman and Migration periods. This was the critical period for the survival of the open fen community, when the forest spread over the site. We found that long-term human presence conditioned the formation of the fen itself by preventing the expansion of the forest through grazing. The identification of past human activity in the pollen record in the context of archaeological settlement contributed to i) the question of the history of settlement in the study region and ii) to the elucidation of the origin and persistence of conservation-valued habitats until today.</p>