Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics (eBook)

A Global Perspective on Mid-Holocene Transitions

David G. Anderson, Kirk Maasch, Daniel H. Sandweiss (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2011 | 1. Auflage
602 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-08-055455-6 (ISBN)

Infos

The Middle Holocene epoch (8,000 to 3,000 years ago) was a time of dramatic changes in the physical world and in human cultures. Across this span, climatic conditions changed rapidly, with cooling in the high to mid-latitudes and drying in the tropics. In many parts of the world, human groups became more complex, with early horticultural systems replaced by intensive agriculture and small-scale societies being replaced by larger, more hierarchial organizations. Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics explores the cause and effect relationship between climatic change and cultural transformations across the mid-Holocene (c. 4000 B.C.).
* Explores the role of climatic change on the development of society around the world
* Chapters detail diverse geographical regions
* Co-written by noted archaeologists and paleoclimatologists for non-specialists

Inhalt

Front cover 1
Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics 4
Copyrigh page 5
Contents 8
List of Contributors 10
List of Figures 14
List of Tables 20
Preface and Acknowledgments 22
Foreword 24
Chapter 1. Climate and culture change: exploring Holocene transitions 28
1. Introduction 28
2. Holocene climate change 30
3. Possible causes of Holocene climate change 34
4. Lessons from the past for the future 36
5. Linkages between climate and culture change 39
6. Conclusion 45
References 45
Chapter 2. Mid-Holocene climate and culture change in coastal Peru 52
1. Introduction 52
2. The Peruvian archaeological record of Holocene El Niño frequency variation 53
3. Mid-Holocene climate from natural archives 57
4. Cultural records 64
5. Conclusions 69
References 72
Chapter 3. Mid-Holocene climate and culture change in the South Central Andes 78
1. Introduction 79
2. The physiogeographical setting 82
3. Habitats for human occupation in the Atacama Desert 85
4. Mid-Holocene aridity: Hostile conditions and scarce resources around 5000 cal yr BP 89
5. Archaic settlement patterns and paleoenvironmental variability 99
Acknowledgments 131
References 131
Chapter 4. Mid-Holocene climate and cultural dynamics in Brazil and the Guianas 144
1. Introduction 144
2. The coastal strip 146
3. Amazonia 155
4. Conclusion 171
References 173
Chapter 5. Culture and climate in Mesoamerica during the Middle Holocene 184
1. Introduction 184
2. Chronology 185
3. Paleoclimate 187
4. Prehistory 194
5. Conclusions 206
Acknowledgments 208
References 208
Chapter 6. Middle Holocene environments of north and east Africa, with special emphasis on the African Sahara 216
1. Introduction 216
2. Tropical Africa 218
3. The Sahara 221
4. Discussion 244
Acknowledgement 247
References 247
Chapter 7. Influence of Holocene marine transgression and climate change on cultural evolution in southern Mesopotamia› 256
1. Introduction 256
2. Postglacial environmental change in southern Mesopotamia 258
3. State development in southern Mesopotamia 269
4. Discussion 275
5. Conclusions 280
Acknowledgments 281
References 281
Chapter 8. Mid-Holocene cultural dynamics and climatic change in the Western Pacific 292
1. Introduction 292
2. Regional climatology 295
3. Climatic and environmental change in the mid-Holocene 299
4. Cultural change in mid- to late Holocene Australia 304
5. Highland New Guinea agriculture 309
6. Some conclusions 315
Acknowledgments 317
References 317
Chapter 9. Mid-Holocene climate and cultural dynamics in eastern Central China 324
1. Introduction 324
2. Paleoclimate of the mid-Holocene in eastern Central China 325
3. Cultural dynamics in eastern Central China 332
4. Discussion: paleoclimates, paleoenvironments and cultural dynamics in the mid-Holocene in eastern Central China 345
5. Conclusions 350
References 352
Chapter 10. Mid-Holocene climatic changes and cultural dynamics in the basin of the Sea of Japan and adjacent areas 358
1. Introduction 359
2. Climatic and environmental changes 362
3. Cultural dynamics in the mid-Holocene in the basin of the Sea of Japan 389
4. Discussion and conclusions 413
Acknowledgments 417
References 418
Chapter 11. Mid-Holocene climatic and cultural dynamics in Northern Europe 434
1. Introduction 434
2. Fluctuations in the Scandinavian climate 437
3. Mid-Holocene cultural dynamics in northern Europe 441
4. Summing up 454
5. Conclusions 454
References 455
Chapter 12. Mid-Holocene cultural adaptations to central Maine 462
1. Introduction 462
2. Previous environment/culture interpretations 464
3. The cultural record 465
4. Wetland adaptations 467
5. Paleoecology 468
6. Archaeology 471
7. Culture and environment linkages 475
8. Conclusions 477
Acknowledgments 478
References 478
Chapter 13. Mid-Holocene cultural dynamics in southeastern North America 484
1. Introduction 484
2. Emergent riverine economies and cultural complexity in the midcontinent 487
3. The initiation of mound building and other monumental construction 492
4. The persistence of interriverine forager adaptations 498
5. Pond, river, and coastal settlement in Florida and adjoining areas 500
6. Population distributions 503
7. Conclusions 504
Acknowledgments 506
References 506
Chapter 14. Mid-Holocene culture and climate on the Northwest Coast of North America 518
1. Introduction 518
2. Mid-Holocene paleoclimate 521
3. Archaeological models 527
4. The archaeological record 539
5. Mid-Holocene environmental change 542
6. Recent fluctuations in climate and resources 543
Acknowledgements 548
References 548
Chapter 15. Middle Holocene climate change and human population dispersal in western North America 558
1. Introduction 558
2. Climate records 560
3. Linguistic, genetic, and archeological records 567
4. Discussion 574
5. Conclusions 575
Acknowledgments 576
References 576
Subject Index 586

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.7.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Meteorologie / Klimatologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Mineralogie / Paläontologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie ► Angewandte Physik
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Bauwesen
• ISBN-10: 0-08-055455-5 / 0080554555
• ISBN-13: 978-0-08-055455-6 / 9780080554556