Large-scale Socioecological Transformation: The Effects of Subsistence Change on Holocene Vegetation Across Europe

Summary

During the early and middle Holocene, the introduction of agropastoral subsistence to Europe resulted in significant social and economic transformations. For decades, researchers have recognized that early agricultural communities had an ecological impact on the surrounding landscapes. As a whole, paleoecological records indicate increases in charcoal abundance and changes in vegetation communities’ distribution or diversity related to Neolithic agricultural land clearing, burning, or pastoral activities. Yet, most research on the paleoenvironmental impact of Neolithic agropastoral systems have been limited to site-based or regional analyses—without a broader discussion of the ecological impact of Neolithic land-use across multiple ecoregions.

This study attempts to better understand the spread of Neolithic subsistence across Europe by contrasting the chronological and spatial patterning of the spread of agriculture with the palynology of Europe during this period. We utilize a database of over 5,000 radiocarbon dates from Neolithic contexts through Europe and a comprehensive pollen dataset adapted from the European Pollen Database. From these data, we construct and statistically compare chronosurfaces of Neolithic occupation and major vegetation transformations to track the pace and intensity of ecological change in Europe due to the initial shift to agropastoral land-use.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 18733