Exploring the impact of climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum on the pattern of human occupation of Iberia (original) (raw)
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Archaeofaunal evidence of human adaptation to climate change in Upper Paleolithic Iberia
The rich archaeofaunal record of Upper Paleolithic Iberia has long been a productive source of information about human response to climate change in the latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene. In this article, I use the archaeozoological record from late Pleistocene Iberia to show that humans responded to late glacial climate extremes in ways specific to the macro-bioclimatic regions in which they lived. Nestedness, cluster (unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages [UPGMA]), and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analyses suggest that in Mediterranean bioclimates, which were less impacted by glacial extremes, people implemented a general broad-spectrum hunting strategy. In the colder, more climatically extreme “Euro-Siberian” region, the data suggest a diversity of hunting adaptations, likely shaped by specifics of local environments. While technological change and increasing global connectivity since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) have moderated the direct impact of climate change on humans, these analyses – and others – suggest that local management rather than global decision-making will be key to human adaptations in environments most strongly affected by modern climate change.
Quaternary International, 2020
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Rapid climate change and variability of settlement patterns in Iberia during the Late Pleistocene
Quaternary …, 2012
Due to its diverse geographic and climatic conditions, the Iberian Peninsula is well suited for studies into the relationship between climate, environment and hunter-gatherer adaptation. With focus on the archaeological record, this paper examines to what extent diachronic variations in site density on the Iberian Peninsula are related to climate variability and cultural change. Studies are based on a comprehensive record of technocomplexes that date from the late Middle Palaeolithic, early Upper Palaeolithic, Gravettian and Solutrean. The record comprises altogether 152 archaeological cave sites and rock shelters. Analysis reveals strong regional differences between Northern and Southern Iberia, both in isochronic and in diachronic perspective. This is expressed by the strongly different patterns of human presence in these regions. In particular, within both regions major cultural changes coincide with the environmental impact of North Atlantic Heinrich Events (HE). From previous studies, it is known that the human population on the Iberian Peninsula (IP) must have suffered strongly under the extremely variable climate conditions during the Late Pleistocene. Based on extensive site-mapping, the hypothesis is that during HE a major disintegration of habitats must have occurred, with various but strongly isolated patchy refugia remaining. Further, during HE, Southern Iberia could not uphold its previous function in providing a reliable refuge for humans. Not only does climatic deterioration during the different HE repeatedly lead to a near-complete breakdown of settlement patterns, but following each HE there is a major reorganization in settlement patterns on the IP.
Quaternary International, 2013
The Iberian Peninsula south of the Ebro River enjoyed one of the mildest climates of Pleistocene Europe, but still experienced significant and rapid environmental shifts caused by global climate regimes. We examine the interplay between technological, social, and land-use dynamics as culturally mediated responses to climate change outside the periglacial zone. We combine information from excavated sites across eastern and southeastern Spain with systematic survey data from an intensive study area within this larger region to examine Upper Paleolithic behavioral adaptations to the environmental shifts of the late Pleistocene (late MIS-3 through MIS-2). We define indexes that serve as proxies for land-use strategies, technological specialization, and hunting practices. Variation in these indices across space and through time provides the basis for a model of Upper Paleolithic ecodynamics. A consistent pattern of land-use, involving inland (and possibly coastal) base-camps and near-coastal hunting zones spanned the Mediterranean facade and was sufficiently flexible and resilient to environmental change to persist throughout the late Pleistocene.
Due to its diverse geographic and climatic conditions, the Iberian Peninsula is well suited for studies into the relationship between climate, environment and hunter-gatherer adaptation. With focus on the archaeological record, this paper examines to what extent diachronic variations in site density on the Iberian Peninsula are related to climate variability and cultural change. Studies are based on a comprehensive record of technocomplexes that date from the late Middle Palaeolithic, early Upper Palaeolithic, Gravettian and Solutrean. The record comprises altogether 152 archaeological cave sites and rock shelters. Analysis reveals strong regional differences between Northern and Southern Iberia, both in isochronic and in diachronic perspective. This is expressed by the strongly different patterns of human presence in these regions. In particular, within both regions major cultural changes coincide with the environmental impact of North Atlantic Heinrich Events (HE). From previous studies, it is known that the human population on the Iberian Peninsula (IP) must have suffered strongly under the extremely variable climate conditions during the Late Pleistocene. Based on extensive site-mapping, the hypothesis is that during HE a major disintegration of habitats must have occurred, with various but strongly isolated patchy refugia remaining. Further, during HE, Southern Iberia could not uphold its previous function in providing a reliable refuge for humans. Not only does climatic deterioration during the different HE repeatedly lead to a near-complete breakdown of settlement patterns, but following each HE there is a major reorganization in settlement patterns on the IP.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Successive generations of hunter–gatherers of the Late Glacial and Early Holocene in Iberia had to contend with rapidly changing environments and climatic conditions. This constrained their economic resources and capacity for demographic growth. The Atlantic façade of Iberia was occupied throughout these times and witnessed very significant environmental transformations. Archaeology offers a perspective on how past human population ecologies changed in response to this scenario. Archaeological radiocarbon data are used here to reconstruct demographics of the region over the long term. We introduce various quantitative methods that allow us to develop palaeodemographic and spatio-temporal models of population growth and density, and compare our results to independent records of palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary change, and growth rates derived from skeletal data. Our results demonstrate that late glacial population growth was stifled by the Younger Dryas stadial, but populations ...
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Late Pleistocene environmental dynamics and human occupation in Southwestern Europe
Quaternary International, 2021
This paper focuses on palaeoenvironmental conditions and climate variability during the Upper Late Pleistocene (c. 28,000-11,700 cal BP) in SW Europe (Iberian Peninsula) and their influence on human settlement patterns. All the palaeoenvironmental and archaeological sequences available for this period are analysed, together with a new palaeoenvironmental study related to a key deposit: Verdeospesoa mire (northern Iberian Peninsula). The multiproxy analysis (pollen, spores, non-pollen palynomorphs, magnetic susceptibility, organic content and macrocharcoal) of this sequence, with the support of six Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates, shows the climatic variability of that period, with some dry/cold and humid/temperate episodes. While in vast regions of central and northern Europe very few archaeological sites of this age are known, in the Iberian Peninsula no occupation gaps have been detected in all this period, supporting the idea of SW Europe as a glacial refugium for human groups during the worst periods of the Upper Late Pleistocene.
Nature Communications, 2019
Demographic change lies at the core of debates on genetic inheritance and resilience to climate change of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Here we analyze the radiocarbon record of Iberia to reconstruct long-term changes in population levels and test different models of demographic growth during the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition. Our best fitting demographic model is composed of three phases. First, we document a regime of exponential population increase during the Late Glacial warming period (c.16.6-12.9 kya). Second, we identify a phase of sustained population contraction and stagnation, beginning with the cold episode of the Younger Dryas and continuing through the first half of the Early Holocene (12.9-10.2 kya). Finally, we report a third phase of density-dependent logistic growth (10.2-8 kya), with rapid population increase followed by stabilization. Our results support a population bottleneck hypothesis during the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition, providing a demographic context to interpret major shifts of prehistoric genetic groups in southwest Europe.