The Palaeoenvironmental Impacts of Neolithic Colonization: Assessing Recent Palynological Data from the Mediterranean Islands

Summary

The Mediterranean islands were colonized sporadically ~12–4.5 kbp by agropastoralists practicing mixed cereal, pulse, and fruit farming augmented by husbandry of ovicaprids, pig, and cattle. While the timing of these colonization events is relatively well-understood, the palaeonenvironmental impacts of the introduction of this Neolithic package are not, particularly in terms of relative uniformity or variability. Here, we collate the available radiometrically-anchored palynological data for the major Mediterranean islands, and assess whether or not there are general post-colonization trends. In so doing, we contribute to the wider study of the nature and severity of Neolithic colonization for island ecosystems.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Sailing at the Edge of Time: Global Perspectives on Island Colonization

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15144