Beyond its centrality to debates on the definition of a global chronostratigraphic geologic unit, the Anthropocene concept has served as a useful theoretical construct with which to assess regional-scale anthropogenic impacts on prehistoric ecological systems through the recognition of earlier “Paleoanthropocene” events predating the onset of modern, industrial, global-scale effects. To this end, we present data derived from the archaeological and paleoecological records of the lower Great Lakes region of northeastern North America to evaluate the nature, magnitude, and timing of Native American land use impacts over the course of the Holocene. We identified three phases of emerging and progressively intensifying anthropogenic influence coinciding with initial human paleopopulation increase (5400–2500 BP), regional introduction of maize (Zea mays; 2500–1100 BP), and the regional adoption of maize-based agriculture (1100–300 BP). Each phase was accompanied by notable shifts in one or more proxy indicators of amplified fire regimes (increased soil charcoal deposition, higher lake sediment charcoal influx, greater percentages of fire-tolerant pollen taxa), decreased forest canopy density (increased herbaceous pollen taxa, enriched speleothem δ¹³C values), paleopopulation growth (increased archaeological ¹⁴C date frequencies), and dietary innovations (increased cultigen ¹⁴C date frequencies, enriched pottery residue δ¹³C values). Although prominent climate excursions also greatly influenced forest species composition, forest structure, and disturbance regimes, demographic and cultural factors impinging on Native American subsistence regimes and settlement patterns became increasingly important modulators of ecological processes over the course of the Holocene.

人类世概念不仅是围绕全球年代地层地质单位的定义辩论的中心，而且已成为一种有用的理论构架，通过它认识到早于发生的“古人类世”事件，就可以评估区域规模的人为因素对史前生态系统的影响。现代，工业，全球规模的影响。为此，我们提供了来自北美东北部大湖下游地区的考古和古生态记录的数据，以评估全新世过程中美洲印第安人土地利用影响的性质，大小和时间。我们确定了人为影响的新兴阶段和逐步增强的三个阶段，这与人类古种群的初始增加（5400–2500 BP），玉米的区域引进（玉米玉米; 2500–1100 BP），以及在当地采用基于玉米的农业（1100–300 BP）。每个阶段都伴随着一个或多个火势扩大指示指标的明显变化（土壤木炭沉积增加，湖泊沉积物木炭涌入量增加，耐火花粉分类单元的百分比增加），森林冠层密度降低（草本花粉分类单元增加，富集）钟乳石δ ^13个C值），paleopopulation生长（增加考古^14个C日期频率），和膳食创新（增加cultigen ¹⁴ C日期频率，富集的陶器残余δ ¹³C值）。尽管突出的气候变化也极大地影响了森林的物种组成，森林结构和扰动制度，但影响全新世代的美洲印第安人生存制度和定居方式的人口和文化因素日益成为重要的生态过程调节者。