Middle Holocene rapid environmental changes and human adaptation in Greece

Lespez, Laurent; Glais, Arthur; López-Sáez, J. A.; Drezen, Yann Le; Tsirtsoni, Zoï; Davidson, Robert; Biree, Laetitia; Malamidou, Dimitra

doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2016.02.002

Cited by 35 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 90 publications

(137 reference statements)

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“…Human societies adopted a wide variety of strategies to adapt to environmental changes and extreme climatic events. Migration and subsistence strategy changes are two of them that have received the most attention (Kuper and Kröpelin 2006, Flohr et al 2016, Lespez et al 2016. However, along with the developing civilization, the adaptive capacity of human communities in response to the environmental pressures also developed.…”

Section: Social Resilience and Adaptive Capacity In The Context Of CLmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary shift and social hierarchy from the Proto-Shang to Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains of China

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The Proto-Shang, the Shang and the Zhou dynasties (∼2000-221 BCE: Before Common Era) are key periods in the origin and evolution of ancient civilizations in China since the periods include the processes and mechanisms of social development in the Central Plains of China during the Bronze Age. However, human-environment interactions in the context of trans-Eurasia cultural exchange during that time are not well-understood. In this study, isotopic analysis and radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones from Xinancheng cemetery in southeast Shanxi Province are reported. It was deduced that, for the period ∼1000-800 BCE, humans buried in Xinancheng cemetery relied primarily on C 4 -based foods and upper-status individuals consumed more animal protein and probably C 3 crops. Also, considering the paleoclimate and other archaeological data of the Central Plains, the human diet and subsistence strategies changed significantly with more C 3 staples such as wheat being consumed during the Eastern Zhou (770-221 BCE), as evidenced by an increased intake of wheat by lower-status individuals and the development of a mixed wheat and millet agricultural system. It is argued that the socio-economic change around the late western Zhou-early eastern Zhou Dynasty occurred as a result of the necessity to adapt to the aggravation caused by climate deterioration and population pressures, factors which profoundly influenced the economic and lifestyle patterns in ancient China. The socio-economic system of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty displayed more resilience to climate change than that of earlier periods.

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Section: Social Resilience and Adaptive Capacity In The Context Of CLmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary shift and social hierarchy from the Proto-Shang to Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains of China

Zhang

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…In contrast, there has been a rising number of human-environmental analyses over the last 5-10 years in both sub-regions, constituting an expanding body of research into social-ecological trajectories across Greece (e.g. Izdebski et al, 2016;Lespez et al, 2016;Weiberg et al, 2016).…”

Section: Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term trends of land use and demography in Greece: A comparative study

et al. 2019

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This paper offers a comparative study of land use and demographic development in northern and southern Greece from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period. Results from summed probability densities (SPD) of archaeological radiocarbon dates and settlement numbers derived from archaeological site surveys are combined with results from cluster-based analysis of published pollen core assemblages to offer an integrated view of human pressure on the Greek landscape through time. We demonstrate that SPDs offer a useful approach to outline differences between regions and a useful complement to archaeological site surveys, evaluated here especially for the onset of the Neolithic and for the Final Neolithic (FN)/Early Bronze Age (EBA) transition. Pollen analysis highlight differences in vegetation between the two sub-regions, but also several parallel changes. The comparison of land cover dynamics between two sub-regions of Greece further demonstrates the significance of the bioclimatic conditions of core locations and that apparent oppositions between regions may in fact be two sides of the same coin in terms of socio-ecological trajectories. We also assess the balance between anthropogenic and climate-related impacts on vegetation and suggest that climatic variability was as an important factor for vegetation regrowth. Finally, our evidence suggests that the impact of humans on land cover is amplified from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) onwards as more extensive herding and agricultural practices are introduced.

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“…In the Apulia region of southeastern Italy there were major changes in temperature and humidity between 8450 and 5650 cal yr BP, which, despite the frequent alteration of crops cultivated by farmers during each alternating period of wet or dry conditions, caused considerable fluctuations in population density (Fiorentino et al 2013). On the other hand, though the southeastern Balkan and Aegean region climate altered from predominantly wet (7500-6000 cal yr BP) to a drier period with three continuous droughts (6000-5000 cal yr BP) there was apparently very little actual impact on the human population as the Bronze Age developed: local agricultural and pastoral practices were adjusted sufficiently and people adapted to the change (Lespez et al 2016). To mitigate the effect of increasingly dry conditions in Canaan in the Late Bronze Age (ca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Responses to Climate Change in the Late Prehistoric Western Loess Plateau, Northwest China

et al. 2020

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In order to assess late prehistoric human responses to climate change in the Western Loess Plateau (WLP), we investigated 13,567 charred plant seeds and 19 radiocarbon (14C) dates obtained from 41 late prehistoric sites in the upper Wei River valley. Based on these new dating results as well as their cultural attributes, these sites could be confidently divided into four chronological phases (Phase 1: Late Yangshao and Majiayao culture; Phase 2: Qijia culture; Phases 3 and 4: Siwa culture) but a significant gap was identified at ca. 3600–3000 cal yr BP in this region. Comparison of this interval to high-resolution paleoclimate records from Tianchi Lake suggests it could be attributed to the dramatic drop in temperature at this time. Accordingly, archaeobotanical evidence with a refined chronology shows the adoption of cold-tolerant subsistence cereal grains such as barley on the NETP (Northeast Tibetan Plateau). Drawing from various lines of knowledge (chronology, palaeoclimate, archaeobotany, and archaeology), it is reasonable to conclude that, even when confronting a similar magnitude of climate change, local human societies could vary tremendously. Different subsistence strategies were brought in by the trans-Eurasia culture exchange of prehistoric times.

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Middle Holocene rapid environmental changes and human adaptation in Greece

Cited by 35 publications

References 90 publications

Dietary shift and social hierarchy from the Proto-Shang to Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains of China

Dietary shift and social hierarchy from the Proto-Shang to Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains of China

Long-term trends of land use and demography in Greece: A comparative study

Human Responses to Climate Change in the Late Prehistoric Western Loess Plateau, Northwest China

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