The Holocene: An Environmental History

Technical boxes viiiPreface to the third edition ixAcknowledgements xiAbout the companion website xii1 Introduction 1Sources of information on past environments 2Nature and society 5The significance of the Holocene 6References 72 Reconstructing Holocene environments 10Dating the past 10Historical and archaeological dating 11Radiometric dating methods 13Dendrochronology and radiocarbon calibration 19Other dating methods 25Conclusion 28Palaeoecological techniques 32Pollen analysis 33Plant remains 40Creatures great and small 44Freshwater and marine organisms 46Geological techniques 47Ice and ocean 51Stable isotope analysis 53Geomorphology and climate 55Geo-archaeology 59Modelling the past 61Models of environmental reconstruction 61Computer model simulations 64Conclusion 66References 663 The Pleistocene prelude (>11 700 Cal. yr bp) 83Ice Age environments 83The glacial-interglacial cycle 83Understanding the causes of long-term climatic change 88The Last Glacial Maximum and after 92The terminal Pleistocene (15 000-11 700 Cal. yr bp) 96The Late Glacial in the North Atlantic region 96Terminal Pleistocene climatic oscillation: a globally synchronous event? 102Adjustment of geomorphic systems 105Human ecology at the end of the Pleistocene 107Megafaunal extinctions 110References 1154 Early Holocene adaptations (11 700-6000 Cal. yr bp) 128Changes in the physical environment 128Ice sheets and sea levels 128Human adaptations to coastal environments 131Lake ontogeny and soil development 135The return of the forests 140Europe 140Eastern North America 142Dry Mediterranean woodland 144Tropical forests 145Factors affecting forest re-advance 146The ecology of Mesolithic Europe 151The early Holocene in the tropics 154Saharan palaeoecology 155Early Holocene climates: Pattern and process 158Conclusion 165References 1675 The first farmers 178Agricultural origins 178Southwest Asia 179China and South Asia 184Mesoamerica 186Tropical domesticates 190Independent innovation or diffusion? 193The role of environmental change in early agriculture 194Early agricultural impacts 199European agricultural dispersals 201Ecological consequences of early European agriculture 204Conclusion 207References 2086 The taming of nature (6000-1000 Cal. yr bp) 217Introduction 217Changes in the natural environment 219Climate and vegetation 219The origin and development of blanket mires 228Coasts and rivers 232Cultural evolution 235Hydraulic civilisation in Mesopotamia 236Environmental impact in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica 239Pastoral nomadism 241Mediterranean ecosystems 242The making of the landscape: The British Isles 249The primaeval forest 250Shaugh Moor - a Bronze Age landscape 254The environmental impact of permanent agricultural clearance 256Conclusion 261References 2627 The impact of modern times (1000-0 Cal. yr bp) 277Introduction 277Climatic changes in historical times 280Climate history and global warming 282Consequences of medieval and Little Ice Age climate change 288Expansion at the periphery 291Conquest of the Northlands 291The Pacific 295Ecological imperialism 300Land-use history and soil erosion 303Pollution histories 312Eutrophication: natural or cultural? 312Acidification and atmospheric pollution 318References 3238 The environmental future: A Holocene perspective 336Holocene environmental crises 340Environmental conservation and Holocene Environmental history 343References 347Appendix: Calibration table for radiocarbon ages 352Glossary 353Index 358