Onset of the Paleoanthropocene in the Lower Great Lakes Region of North America: An Archaeological and Paleoecological Synthesis (original) (raw)

2021

Abstract

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...

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