The chronology of abrupt climate change and Late Upper Palaeolithic human adaptation in Europe

Abstract

This paper addresses the possible connections between the onset of human expansion in Europe following the Last Glacial Maximum, and the timing of abrupt climate warming at the onset of the Lateglacial (Bö lling/Allerød) Interstadial. There are opposing views as to whether or not human populations and activities were directly 'forced' by climate change, based on different comparisons between archaeological and environmental data. We review the geochronological assumptions and approaches on which data comparisons have been attempted in the past, and argue that the uncertainties presently associated with age models based on calibrated radiocarbon dates preclude robust testing of the competing models, particularly when comparing the data to non-radiocarbonbased timescales such as the Greenland ice core records. The paper concludes with some suggestions as to the steps that will be necessary if more robust tests of the models are to be developed in the future.

The RESET project: constructing a European tephra lattice for refined synchronisation of environmental and archaeological events during the last c. 100 ka

“…Smith et al, 2005;Trinkaus, 2005;Carto et al, 2009;Hoffecker, 2009); the causes of human demographic fluctuations (e.g. Blockley et al, 2006;Blome et al, 2012;Eriksson et al, 2012) and of sudden cultural innovations (e.g. Richerson et al, 2009); the possible link between those developments and extinction of the Neanderthals (e.g.…”

Cryptotephra as a dating and correlation tool in archaeology

“…Dugmore, 1989b;Housley et al, 2010), where studies of land use go hand in hand with palaeoenvironmental investigations. More recently, novel cryptotephra investigations in archaeological sequences have successfully demonstrated the potential of looking for these non-visible, volcanic ash layers within archaeological cave and rock shelter sites as well as in palaeoenvironmental archives (Balascio et al, 2011;Blockley et al, 2006;Douka et al, 2013;Lane et al, 2011b;Lowe et al, 2012;Plunkett et al, 2009). Consequently, the technique is now being promoted to a wider, archaeological audience, most specifically at recent conference sessions (e.g.…”

Calibration Commentary

“…Higham et al 2006a) and the timing and nature of abrupt climatic changes during the last glaciation (Lowe et al 2001). Calibration of 14 C determinations is an essential part of the dating process, and the implications of calibration can lead to significant differences in the interpretation of important processes (Blockley et al 2006). Any development that enhances the accuracy, precision, or time coverage of the calibration curves is therefore to be welcomed.…”

“…One key area has been at the interface between archaeology and Quaternary paleoclimate reconstruction. Here, the aim has been to understand the timing of demographic changes evident in the archaeological record of the late Pleistocene and their relationship to the abrupt climate events also evident in numerous archives from that time (Housley et al 1997;Blockley et al 2006). The appropriate statistical methods proved crucial, as timing the onset of human movement was heavily dependent on the statistical framework adopted (Blackwell and Buck 2003).…”

“…The appropriate statistical methods proved crucial, as timing the onset of human movement was heavily dependent on the statistical framework adopted (Blackwell and Buck 2003). Ironically, embracing the fundamental uncertainties associated with these processes, however, means that we often have to accept the limitations of the science, and at the moment, even using the best available statistical methods, the exact relationship between late Quaternary climate change and human adaptation is not clear (Blockley et al 2006). Resolving such questions requires integrating 14 C information with evidence from other tools such as tephra, and here a Bayesian approach to age modeling will be ideal for such integration.…”