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Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory Année : 2022

Tracking Hunter-Gatherer Impact on Vegetation in Last Interglacial and Holocene Europe: Proxies and Challenges

Elena A. Pearce
Marco Davoli
Jens-Christian Svenning
Emily Vella
Marie-José Gaillard
Florence Mazier
Maria Antonia Serge
Karl-Johan Lindholm
Ralph Fyfe
Hans Renssen
Wil Roebroeks
Maria Antonia Serge
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Abstract We review palaeoenvironmental proxies and combinations of these relevant for understanding hunter-gatherer niche construction activities in pre-agricultural Europe. Our approach consists of two steps: (1) identify the possible range of hunter-gatherer impacts on landscapes based on ethnographic studies; (2) evaluate proxies possibly reflecting these impacts for both the Eemian (Last Interglacial, Middle Palaeolithic) and the Early–Middle Holocene (Mesolithic). We found these paleoenvironmental proxies were not able to unequivocally establish clear-cut differences between specific anthropogenic, climatic and megafaunal impacts for either time period in this area. We discuss case studies for both periods and show that published evidence for Mesolithic manipulation of landscapes is based on the interpretation of comparable data as available for the Last Interglacial. If one applies the ‘Mesolithic’ interpretation schemes to the Neanderthal record, three common niche construction activities can be hypothesised: vegetation burning, plant manipulation and impact on animal species presence and abundance. Our review suggests that as strong a case can be made for a Neanderthal impact on landscapes as for anthropogenic landscape changes during the Mesolithic, even though the Neanderthal evidence comes from only one high-resolution site complex. Further research should include attempts ( e.g. by means of modelling studies) to establish whether hunter-gatherer impact on landscapes played out at a local level only versus at a larger scale during both time periods, while we also need to obtain comparative data on the population sizes of Last Interglacial and Holocene hunter-gatherers, as these are usually inferred to have differed significantly.
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Dates et versions

hal-03517795 , version 1 (08-01-2022)

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Anastasia Nikulina, Katharine Macdonald, Fulco Scherjon, Elena A. Pearce, Marco Davoli, et al.. Tracking Hunter-Gatherer Impact on Vegetation in Last Interglacial and Holocene Europe: Proxies and Challenges. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2022, 29, pp.989-1033. ⟨10.1007/s10816-021-09546-2⟩. ⟨hal-03517795⟩
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