The impact of the abrupt 8.2 ka cold event on the Mesolithic population of western Scotland: a Bayesian chronological analysis using ‘activity events’ as a population proxy

Wicks, Karen; Mithen, Steven

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.02.003

Cited by 83 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…The use of radiocarbon date summed probability distributions ('dates as data' (Rick, 1987)) is also a popular palaeodemographic approach (e.g. Anderson et al, 2011;Armit et al, 2013;Bocquet-Appel et al, 2005Hinz et al, 2012;Kelly et al, 2013;Martínez et al, 2013;Meeks and Anderson, 2012;Munoz et al, 2010;Shennan, 2009Shennan, , 2013Shennan and Edinborough, 2007;Tallavaara and Seppä, 2011;Tallavaara et al, 2010;Wicks and Mithen, 2014;Williams, 2012Williams, , 2013Williams et al, 2010) which has already been applied to the dataset under discussion here (French and Collins, 2015).…”

Section: Palaeodemography: How Do We Study Demography From the Archaementioning

confidence: 99%

The demography of the Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers of Southwestern France: A multi-proxy approach using archaeological data

French

2015

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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a b s t r a c tDemographic change is increasingly cited as an explanation for many of the patterns seen in the Palaeolithic archaeological record, following the assumption of a relationship between population size and material culture espoused by dual inheritance theory. However, the empirical testing of this relationship relies on the ability to extract information about past population patterns from the archaeological record. Using the extensive and well-studied record of the Upper Palaeolithic (39,500-11,500 cal BP) hunter-gatherers of Southwestern France as a case-study, this paper compares the evidence for changes in relative population size as seen in three popular archaeological proxies for demographic change (site counts, site sizes, and occupation intensity estimates). These proxies present conflicting results across the sequence; a finding which is explored through the impact of taphonomic biases and past research agendas. Numbers of sheltered sites and quantities of retouched stone tools are suggested to be the most reliable demographic proxies. The problem of equifinality of interpretation in archaeological proxies for demography is examined for the Aurignacian and Gravettian periods in the region, with changes in lithic raw material, faunal acquisition strategies, and hunter-gatherer mobility all potentially contributing to the patterns documented.

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Section: Palaeodemography: How Do We Study Demography From the Archaementioning

confidence: 99%

The demography of the Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers of Southwestern France: A multi-proxy approach using archaeological data

French

2015

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

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“…Potential effects of the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events Several studies have investigated the cultural effects of the 8.2 ka event. In western Scotland, a decrease in 'activity events' around 8200 cal BP may indicate a significant drop in population (Wicks and Mithen, 2014). In Northeastern Spain, the most arid part of the Ebro Basin was potentially abandoned around this time (Gonzalez-Samperiz et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: Early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events

Flohr

Fleitmann

Matthews

et al. 2016

Quaternary Science Reviews

137

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Available online xxxKeywords: Climate and society Southwest Asia Neolithic 8.2 ka event 9.2 ka event Resilience a b s t r a c t Climate change is often cited as a major factor in social change. The so-called 8.2 ka event was one of the most pronounced and abrupt Holocene cold and arid events. The 9.2 ka event was similar, albeit of a smaller magnitude. Both events affected the Northern Hemisphere climate and caused cooling and aridification in Southwest Asia. Yet, the impacts of the 8.2 and 9.2 ka events on early farming communities in this region are not well understood. Current hypotheses for an effect of the 8.2 ka event vary from large-scale site abandonment and migration (including the Neolithisation of Europe) to continuation of occupation and local adaptation, while impacts of the 9.2 ka have not previously been systematically studied. In this paper, we present a thorough assessment of available, quality-checked radiocarbon ( 14 C) dates for sites from Southwest Asia covering the time interval between 9500 and 7500 cal BP, which we interpret in combination with archaeological evidence. In this way, the synchronicity between changes observed in the archaeological record and the rapid climate events is tested. It is shown that there is no evidence for a simultaneous and widespread collapse, large-scale site abandonment, or migration at the time of the events. However, there are indications for local adaptation. We conclude that early farming communities were resilient to the abrupt, severe climate changes at 9250 and 8200 cal BP.

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“…Whilst summed radiocarbon probability distributions have been used extensively in archaeology to study past human population dynamics (e.g. Collard et al 2010;Shennan and Edinborough 2007;Wicks and Mithen 2014;Woodbridge et al 2014), Stevens and Fuller (2012) are amongst the first to utilise this method to analyse the changing importance of cereal cultivation through time. Though Ashmore (2004) used the same approach to document the chronological patterns associated with the radiocarbon dating of barley and hazelnuts in Scotland, he was far more circumspect with regard to interpretation, viewing gaps in the dataset as places for targeting future research, rather than definitive periods of decline in wild plant collection or cultivation in the past.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Did Late Neolithic farming fail or flourish? A Scottish perspective on the evidence for Late Neolithic arable cultivation in the British Isles

Bishop

2015

World Archaeology

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Additional information: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. (2012) and a series of alternative hypotheses are suggested to explain the nature of the current evidence. It is argued that the importance of arable agriculture probably varied on a local as well as a regional scale and that caution should be exercised when attempting to apply unitary models to complex datasets.

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The impact of the abrupt 8.2 ka cold event on the Mesolithic population of western Scotland: a Bayesian chronological analysis using ‘activity events’ as a population proxy

Cited by 83 publications

References 95 publications

The demography of the Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers of Southwestern France: A multi-proxy approach using archaeological data

The demography of the Upper Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers of Southwestern France: A multi-proxy approach using archaeological data

Evidence of resilience to past climate change in Southwest Asia: Early farming communities and the 9.2 and 8.2 ka events

Did Late Neolithic farming fail or flourish? A Scottish perspective on the evidence for Late Neolithic arable cultivation in the British Isles

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