Laboratory for Paleoclimatology and Climatology, Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Dec 21;107(51):22008-13. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1005764107. Epub 2010 Dec 6.
Climatic changes during the late Quaternary have resulted in substantial, often abrupt, rearrangements of terrestrial ecosystems, but the relationship between these environmental changes and prehistoric human culture and population size remains unclear. Using a database of archaeological radiocarbon dates alongside a network of paleoecological records (sedimentary pollen and charcoal) and paleoclimatic reconstructions, we show that periods of cultural and demographic change in the northeastern United States occurred at the same times as the major environmental-climatic transitions of that region. At 11.6, 8.2, 5.4, and 3.0 kyr BP (10(3) calendar years before present), changes in forest composition altered the distribution, availability, and predictability of food resources which triggered technological adjustments manifested in the archaeological record. Human population level has varied in response to these external changes in ecosystems, but the adoption of maize agriculture during the late Holocene also resulted in a substantial population increase. This study demonstrates the long-term interconnectedness of prehistoric human cultures and the ecosystems they inhabited, and provides a consolidated environmental-cultural framework from which more interdisciplinary research and discussion can develop. Moreover, it emphasizes the complex nature of human responses to environmental change in a temperate region.
末次冰期以来的气候变化导致了陆地生态系统的重大、常常是突然的重组，但这些环境变化与史前人类文化和人口规模之间的关系仍不清楚。本研究利用考古放射性碳年代数据库以及古生态学记录（沉积花粉和木炭）和古气候重建网络，表明美国东北部的文化和人口变化时期与该地区的主要环境-气候转变时期同时发生。在 11.6、8.2、5.4 和 3.0 千年前（距今 1030 年），森林组成的变化改变了食物资源的分布、可得性和可预测性，从而引发了技术调整，这些调整在考古记录中得到了体现。人类人口水平随着生态系统的这些外部变化而变化，但在全新世晚期玉米农业的采用也导致了人口的大量增加。这项研究表明了史前人类文化与他们所居住的生态系统之间的长期相互联系，并提供了一个综合的环境-文化框架，从中可以开展更多的跨学科研究和讨论。此外，它强调了在温带地区人类对环境变化的复杂反应。
