We used a high-resolution lacustrine pollen record from Étang Fer-de-Lance (45°21′21.9′N, 72°13′35.3′W), southeastern Québec, Canada, together with microcharcoal, to infer forest dynamics and human impacts over the past 2300 years. The lake is located in the eastern sugar maple-basswood forest domain of the Northern Temperate Forest of eastern North America. We found that the pollen percentages and

This article reports the results of a collaborative effort to estimate agricultural productivities in past societies using Seshat: Global History Databank. We focus on 30 Natural Geographic Areas (NGAs) distributed over 10 major world regions (Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central Eurasia, North America, South America, and Oceania). The conceptual framework

Around 4000 cal yr BP, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) suffered a widespread demise across the British Isles. This paper presents new information about P. sylvestris populations found in the Welsh Marches (western central Britain), for which the long-term history and origins are poorly known. Two new pollen records were produced from the Lin Can Moss ombrotrophic bog (LM18) and the Breidden Hill pond

Human Colonization of new lands implied historically the diffusion of new plant species and the exploitation of local plant resources and forests by human communities. Phoenician colonization in the 1st millennium BC had important consequences in Mediterranean agriculture and the exploitation of vegetation in colonized areas. Later, Roman agriculture introduced new changes. The anthracological analysis

Landslide mountain fens formed in landslide depressions are dynamic environments as their development is disturbed by a number of factors, for example, landslides, slopewash, and surface run-off. These processes lead to the accumulation of mineral material and wood in peat. Disturbed peatlands are interesting archives of past environmental changes, but they may be challenging for providing biotic proxy-based

Stable carbon isotope analysis is increasingly used in archaeology as an indicator of crop water status and/or water management regime. While the technique shows promise, robust modern baseline studies are required to inform and validate archaeological interpretations. Here, we test stable carbon isotope values as a crop water status proxy in a monsoonal climatic context for the first time. Specifically

High-resolution proxy-based paleoenvironmental records derived from peatlands provide important insights into climate changes over centennial to millennial timescales. In this study, we present a composite climatic index (CCI) for the Hani peatland from northeastern China, based on an innovative combination of pollen-spore, phytolith, and grain size data. We use the CCI to reconstruct variations of

This study illustrates the influences of sea-level on the depositional process during the last 1000 years of the southwestern delta, Bangladesh. Sediments of eight litho-sections from landward in upper delta plain to seaward in lower delta plain along the Rupsa-Pasur river were studied. Sedimentary facies, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, δ13C value, diatom assemblages, and radiocarbon dating

The first millennium AD was a transformative period when many of the medieval kingdoms of Europe began to take shape, but despite recent advances in palaeoecological and archaeological research there remains a shortage of interdisciplinary collaborative research targeting this period. For some regions we know relatively little about the societies who lived during this formative period. This current

A Late Pleistocene/Holocene paleoenvironmental record was obtained from the Rouer peatland (5°54′E, 49°45′N; 270 m a.s.l.), located in the Gutland area of southern Luxembourg. A total of six sediment samples were AMS radiocarbon-dated to obtain an age-depth model. XRF analyses and analyses of geochemical proxies of organic matter (TOC, TN, δ13C, δ15N) were conducted to identify major paleoenvironmental

The Pampas of Argentina is a large grassland ecosystem located in the oriental region southern of South America. As a study case, we present the results of the paleoclimatic analysis of the Tixi Cave site. This is a paleontological and archeological locality that shows a long chronologic sequence, with radiocarbon dates ranging from the Late Pleistocene to historical times, and one of the best records

Runoff harvesting agriculture was prevalent in ancient times across the southern Levant. In modern Israel, remnants of this agricultural adaptation strategy are widespread mostly in the semi-arid and arid Negev. Extensive literature has thoroughly described the farming systems of this region. However, runoff agriculture in the dryer, hyper-arid regions of the Arava Valley and southern Negev (excluding

The Çukurova Delta Complex, formed by the Seyhan, Ceyhan, and Berdan rivers, is the second-largest delta system in the Mediterranean. The delta complex is a major depocenter that contains sediments transported from the Taurus Mountain belt since the Miocene. Studies on the Quaternary landscape evolution of the Çukurova Delta Complex are scarce, and in particular, the Holocene evolution of the Seyhan

A better understanding of past long-term environmental changes in the subarctic region is crucial for mitigation of the possible negative effects of climate warming in this vulnerable region. This study provides a new multi-proxy reconstruction of regional vegetation changes and peatland development for north-eastern Fennoscandia (Russia) during most of the Holocene. To that purpose, we performed plant

Daily weather diaries and meteorological records from Scotland reveal complex weather patterns following the 1783–84 fissure eruption of the Laki volcano, Iceland. Four diarists in eastern and northern Scotland describe the near-simultaneous occurrence of discrete groups of days characterised by ‘foggy’, ‘gloomy’ and ‘hazy’ conditions during June and July 1783. The weather records suggest that an ash-rich

Zion National Park preserves a rich geological record of Holocene landslide-dammed canyons in its deeply incised topography, with 11 hypothesized valley-blocking deposits within the park boundaries. Despite consistent stratigraphic, tectonic, and climatic settings, the occurrence of and subsequent landscape response to these natural dams varies. As such, the region provides a unique natural laboratory

Fire histories of mid-elevation mixed-conifer forests are uncommon in the eastern Cascades, limiting our understanding of long-term fire dynamics in these environments. The purpose of this study was to reconstruct the fire and vegetation history for a moist mid-elevation mixed-conifer site, and to determine whether Holocene fire activity in this watershed was intermediate to fire regimes observed at

Fire has a long history in Australia and is a key driver of vegetation dynamics in the tropical savanna ecosystems that cover one quarter of the country. Fire reconstructions are required to understand ecosystem dynamics over the long term but these data are lacking for the extensive savannas of northern Australia. This paper presents a multiproxy palaeofire record for Marura sinkhole in eastern Arnhem

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is a major mode of interannual climate variability, but its response to external climate forcings (i.e. solar forcing, volcanic radiative forcing (VRF) and greenhouse gas (GHG) radiative forcing) remains elusive. To improve our understanding of the variability of the IOD, it is necessary to investigate the IOD’s response to external forcings through multi-model simulations

In this study we aim to investigate millennial-scale dynamics of Isoëtes, a type of macrophyte well adapted to oligotrophic and clear-water lakes. Despite its wide distribution during the Early Holocene, nowadays Isoëtes is considered as vulnerable or critically endangered in many Central European countries. Using a multi-proxy palaeoecological reconstruction involving Isoëtes micro- and megaspores

Peatlands are natural ecosystems that provide archives of the hydrological cycle, ecological processes and terrestrial carbon dynamics. In the north-central region of Quebec (eastern Canada), patterned peatlands developed in topographic depressions of the Precambrian Shield following the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat. These peatlands display characteristics similar to appa mires and other peatlands

Many of the world’s largest deltas are increasingly threatened by impact of climate change and human activities. The Changjiang (Yangtze River) is among the largest river, and its change of delta has received extensive attention. However, many studies covered smaller delta areas, which cannot reflect the changes of the entire delta region. Here, we present an assessment of the Changjiang (Yangtze River)

Coastal barriers are the first line of defense for the mainlands against the impacts of severe storms, therefore the need for better understanding how barriers evolve is arising. Spits (barriers) are the dominant landform type of the southern and south-eastern Baltic Sea coast. The aim of this paper is to gain present a better insight into problems of the Vistula Spit origin in general, and especially

In this study, we investigated the links between peat carbon accumulation and past ecological and hydrological conditions in three peatlands (Bouleau, Mista, Auassat) which developed along a South-North transect within a watershed encompassing the boreal and subarctic domain in Eastern Canada. Peatland development and long-term apparent rates of carbon accumulation (LORCA) were asynchronous in the

Trace fossils and palynomorphs are recorded for the first time in Holocene calcareous concretions from Lake Selbusjøen, Central Norway. The described trace fossils can be assigned to the Mermia ichnofacies, characterizing lake deposits with good oxygenation and low depositional energy. The predominance of simple grazing trails and shallow burrows (e.g. Cochlichnus, Helminthoidichnites and Treptichnus)

Seasonal dry tropical forest (STDF) is a widespread vegetation type in western Mexico. Generally, this type of forest develops in semihumid habitats where lacustrine basins are scarce, preventing documentation of the vegetation history and forest dynamics using a paleoecological approach. Here, we present a palynological record from the Santa Maria del Oro crater lake, located within the distribution

Quantitative reconstructions of vegetation abundance from sediment-derived pollen systems provide unique insights into past ecological conditions. Recently, the use of pollen accumulation rates (PAR, grains cm−2 year−1) has shown promise as a bioproxy for plant abundance. However, successfully reconstructing region-specific vegetation dynamics using PAR requires that accurate assessments of pollen

The southwest of Morocco is considered to be an area of refuge within the Mediterranean region, hosting the endemic tropical Argan tree. This region is presently subject to severe droughts, desertification and land degradation, and likely facing increased climate variability and socio-economic stress in the future. Here, we use the stable hydrogen and carbon isotope composition (δD and δ13C) of plant-waxes

Although Rapa Nui has been proposed as a classic example of cultural collapse, this hypothesis has been repeatedly questioned. This paper investigates cultural continuity on Rapa Nui following the onset of deforestation through a study of red ochre pits. Red ochre pigments are well-known from various contexts on Rapa Nui, but until recently its origin and the extraction process involved in their production

The specific aim of the study was to investigate how four adjacent geomorphological systems – a lake, a dune field, a small alluvial fan and a slope system – responded to the same impacts. Lake Tresssee is a shallow lake in the North of Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). During the Holocene, the lake’s water surface declined drastically, predominately as a consequence of human impact. The adjacent inland

According to a basic model, the formation of the coastal barriers in the southwestern Baltic can be divided into four evolutionary stages which are characterized by different rates of sea-level rise and varying relations between sediment supply and accommodation space. This model is tested using the example of a strandplain of the island Usedom, along with a local sea-level curve that reflects even

Peatlands store massive amounts of organic carbon, but the fate of this carbon remains unclear as global climate continues to warm. The age of peatland inception and the main drivers of peat initiation are one of the most important issues in Holocene paleoecology, especially for the numerous but under investigated peatlands in European Russia. This paper introduces new peatland initiation ages for

The natural environment and prehistoric human activity in the Holocene floodplains of the Low Volga River and in the southern Urals are important research objects in geomorphology, soil science and archaeology. The alternating sequences of soil-alluvium sequences represent a sedimentary archive with chrono-stratigraphic records of human land use, sediment accumulation and soil formation. The central

Leaves are valuable, but very rare, remains in archaeological contexts, as they can provide precise information on the landscape vegetation composition, the past climatic conditions and the use of plant resources in a settlement. La Draga (Spain) is an early Neolithic site partially waterlogged, which has allowed the preservation of organic material. During the excavation of the oldest level (7300–7000

Millenia of sustainable, low intensity land use have formed the cultural landscapes of central Europe. Studies from the Central Alps show that mountain pastures also look back onto many thousand years of land use history. In this palynological and pedoanthracological study in the border region between Germany and Austria in the Mangfall Mountains, we aim to close the knowledge gap that exists for the

The Murray Darling Basin contains 40% of Australia’s farms and is subject to multi-year droughts that put severe pressure on southeast Australia’s freshwater resources. Yet the long-term frequency, timing and potential severity of these droughts is unknown, as there are few high-resolution paleoclimate records from the basin that extend past the instrumental era. In this study, we investigate the potential

Diverse hypotheses have been proposed with the aim to explain the extinction of Late Pleistocene/Holocene mammals, including the Megafauna from America. Some authors support that human being was the direct responsible of extinction by means of intensive hunting, as proposed by the “blitzkrieg” or overkilling hypothesis. However, evidence is not conclusive. As is well known by biologists, exotic diseases

The great importance of the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) for the subsistence of the human populations of Patagonia during the Holocene has been demonstrated in numerous studies. This species is considered as the main prey of the hunter-gatherer groups of the Patagonian interior, indicating the existence of a strong ecological relationship of predator-prey type. Despite the importance of this ungulate for

Oceanographic dynamics in the Gulf of Tehuantepec (GT) are the direct consequence of climate variability, mainly influenced by the strong wind regime locally called “Tehuanos” and the interactions between the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The area is characterized by intense upwelling driven by the Tehuanos within one of the largest Oxygen Minimum Zones

The Mt. Kilimanjaro region is known for its long history of intensive agriculture, but the temporal extent of human activity and its impact on the regional ecosystem are not well known. In this study, climate-human-landscape interactions during the past ~2200 years were examined using climate and vegetation proxies extracted from the continuous and high-resolution sediment record of Lake Chala. Ancient-to-modern

Radiocarbon-date assemblages are commonly used as proxies for past human and environmental phenomena. Prominent examples of target phenomena include past population levels and sea level fluctuations. These processes are thought to have affected the amount of organic carbon deposited into the archaeological and/or palaeoenvironmental record. Time-series representing through-time fluctuations in the

This paper presents new multi-proxy records of the Holocene environmental and climatic changes in the Western Caucasus revealed from a continuous sediment sequence from mountainous Lake Khuko (Caucasus State Natural Biospheric Reserve, 1744 m a.s.l.). Palaeoecological analyses of a sediment core for grain size, magnetic susceptibility, loss on ignition, and pollen allowed us to determine five principal

Here we present a continuous palaeoclimatic record of 5980 years (7230 cal BP–1250 cal BP) from Hetapatti, a Neolithic site situated on the western fringe of the Central Ganga Plain. The region was a center of reurbanisation following the decline of the Harappan civilisation and is considered a hub of economic, political and religious evolution since the sixth millennium BC. Hetapatti contains an uninterrupted

A 3300 year-long reconstruction of paleoenvironmental moisture conditions was constructed from a sediment core from North Gate Bog (NGB) in the northern section of Range Creek Canyon within the Colorado Plateau. The methods used to analyze the record include loss on ignition (LOI), magnetic susceptibility (MS), elemental analysis with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), charcoal influx, isotopic analysis, elemental

Andronovo has been regarded as one of the most powerful cultures in Central Asia, which reflected frequent cultural interflow, people migration, and technique diffusion on the Bronze Age Eurasian steppes. In the past decade, many new discoveries in Xinjiang, such as Adunqiaolu and Jartai, have drawn broad attention to the communication of the Andronovo culture in the central Tianshan Mountains. However

Central China is one of the key regions of the world that sees the transition from early Neolithic urbanization into the social complexity of Bronze Age civilizations. Previous evidence had indicated that the diets of humans and the feeding strategies of livestock in Central China during the Longshan Period (4.5–3.8 kaBP) became more complex and diverse, including the widespread introduction of cattle

Palynological data from three radiocarbon dated peat profiles at Rishworth Moor in the Pennine hills of northern England provide a record of vegetation change and human impacts in the Late Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age periods. All three cultures have archaeological sites present in the vicinity, with Late Mesolithic sites by far the most abundant, comprising mainly very late assemblages dominated

The Yellow River floodplain represents a fertile landmass that contributes significantly to human welfare and thus has been colloquially known as the birthplace of Chinese civilization. The sediment-laden nature of the Yellow River gave rise to a super-elevated channel belt, which is prone to failure particularly in the summer months when excessive precipitation occurs, resulting in cataclysmic floods

In the context of global warming, ice patches are increasingly important foci of high-elevation archaeology. Langfonne in Jotunheimen, central southern Norway, is uniquely suited to provide a window onto site formation processes and taphonomy in this novel archaeological setting. Here the site record from systematic survey includes the largest number of arrows, bones and antlers from a single ice patch

Central Asia, with its high mountains, despite its location between Europe and eastern Asia remains a data poor area. However, mountain glaciers are strongly affected by global change and have a wide-ranging impact. A new pollen record over the last 5600 years shows the extension of a dry Artemisia steppe around Lake Issyk-Kul, with a slightly wetter period from 4.5 to 2.7 ka BP (less Ephedra). Picea

Records of century-scale climate variability in the Upper Midwest generally agree that moisture availability increased between 4000 and 3000 cal. yr BP (calendar years before present = 1950 CE), and that there were large, frequent droughts 1000–700 cal. yr BP followed by wetter/cooler conditions. Variability among regional sites, however, remains problematic. In this study we reconstruct climate on

Understanding long-term responses of subalpine forest-parklands to Holocene climate variability in local context is critical for better managing those ecosystems under future climate change. Available records suggest that western North American subalpine forest-parkland ecosystems responded to Holocene climate in various ways at different places. Here we present a Holocene record of upper montane forest-parkland

Changes in moisture conditions or precipitation in the SE Tibetan Plateau during the Holocene have been studied using various environmental archives and proxies. However, due to different interpretations of the proxies and records, the pattern of Holocene precipitation/moisture variations in the region remains unclear. A lake-sediment-based reconstruction of runoff variations, which can directly and

During the Ceramic Age (500 BCE–1500 CE), Lesser Antilles rice rats (Tribe Oryzomyini) made up a significant portion of the diet of Caribbean islanders. Archaeological excavations across the archipelago resulted to the discovery of large quantities of remains from to these now extinct taxa. It offers a unique opportunity to investigate the past biogeography of this taxon of high cultural and ecological

Peat cores from boreal bog and fen sites in the Hudson Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, Canada, were analysed to calculate Holocene carbon accumulation rates, and to show how testate amoeba taxonomic assemblages, inferred depths to water table, and four morpho-traits that may be linked to function (mixotrophy, aperture size, aperture position, and biovolume) changed since peatland initiation. Carbon

The evaluation of ancient crop production and its response to climate change is key to exploring the ancient demographic and social changes. Wheat is currently the third most widely cultivated crop worldwide and was a major component across of the agricultural systems of the ancient Eurasia. In this study, the Δ13C values of 116 charred wheat grains from 28 archaeological sites, with direct AMS 14C

Archaeological cultures are commonly defined by typologies established from ceramic assemblages at sites dated to a relatively restricted timeframe and located in specific geographic regions. It is often assumed that cultural traditions, social organizations, and other aspects of lifeways were similar throughout the established cultural areas. However, variations in pottery assemblages, burial practices

The lack of archaeological work has long impeded our understanding of prehistoric and historical human inhabitation and East-West interactions on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). In this study, we conducted a series of systematic archaeological investigations in the Nyingchi region, on the southeastern TP. We examined archaeological stratigraphies from 10 sites and collected charred seeds and

Over the past two decades, environmental studies in research on prehistoric China have been gaining popularity and importance. For Northwest China in particular, climate change, especially the so-called ~4.2k BP event has been seen as the main reason for an alleged collapse of Late Neolithic societies and a transition to pastoral-heavy economies and mobile lifeways. Yet, these explanatory models tend

In this study, we compared new testate amoeba records produced by the conventional water-based wet-sieving method to testate amoeba data from previous palynological analyses of two Holocene peat profiles from British Columbia, Canada. We used 132 paired samples from the same peat cores to compare the composition of testate amoeba assemblages between the two methods and evaluate the potential of palynological