scholarly journals The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition and the Chronology of the “elm decline”: A Case Study from Yorkshire and Humberside, United Kingdom

Radiocarbon ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1321-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seren Griffiths ◽  
Benjamin R Gearey
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Neolithic Transition ◽  
Domestic Plant ◽  
Key Sites ◽  
Animal Resources ◽  
Polished Stone Axes

ABSTRACTThe Neolithic in Britain saw the first appearance of domestic plant and animal resources, pottery, polished stone axes, monuments, and new house structures. With the introduction of domesticates and associated subsistence strategies, the Neolithic represents a significant change in human–environment interaction. Other changes have been observed in the palynological record of Britain in the early fourth millennium cal BC, including the elm decline, and archaeologists and paleobotanists have long discussed the degree of human involvement in this. This paper presents the first Bayesian statistical analysis of the elm decline using the case study of the east of Yorkshire and Humberside and key sites in west Yorkshire, and evidence for the last hunter-gatherer Mesolithic material culture and the first Neolithic material culture record. This region is critical because it is the only area of Britain and Ireland where we have robust and accurate published estimates for the timing of the latest Mesolithic activity and timing for the earliest Neolithic activity. Unpacking this perceived chronological correlation between the elm decline and the start of the Neolithic is critical to understanding the scale of human–environment modification at this time, and the nature of the first Neolithic societies in Britain.

scholarly journals The 4.2. ka event and the of the Maltese ‘Temple Period’

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw Groucutt ◽  
William Christopher Carleton
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
The Temple

The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the ‘Temple Period’ in Malta began ~5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ~4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful ‘priesthood’. Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. We explore archaeological and environmental data from the Maltese islands to elucidate the end of the Temple Period. The Maltese example offers a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event may have played a role in the end of the Temple Period, but that other factors seemingly played a large, and possibly predominant, role. As well as our chronological modelling indicating the decline of Temple Period society in the centuries before the 4.2 ka event, we highlight the possible significance of other factors such as a plague epidemic.

The 4.2 ka event and the end of the ‘Temple Period’ in Malta

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw S. Groucutt
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
Compact Size ◽  
Variable Precipitation ◽  
Disease Epidemics ◽  
The Temple

<p>The compact size of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago and its relatively challenging environmental conditions, with limited soil cover and variable precipitation averaging around 600 mm a year, mean that the area offers an important case study of human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the ‘Temple Period’ in Malta began from around 5.8 ka and within a few hundred years the spectacular ‘temples’ which characterize the period and are among the oldest buildings in the world began to be constructed. After over a thousand years this long-lived culture came to a seemingly abrupt end at ca. 4.4 to 4.2 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture, funerary behaviour, and architecture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful ‘priesthood’. Here, the idea that the end of the Temple Period was caused by aridity induced by the 4.2 ka event is tested. The 4.2 ka event is a classic example of an abrupt climate episode, and while it has been linked with several examples of significant societal change, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, its details and relevance have been debated. To evaluate the Maltese example, archaeological data is fused with an understanding of the geology and palaeoenvironment of Malta, as well as consideration of the wider regional situation at this time in terms of demography and material culture, as well as the possible role of factors such as disease epidemics. The Maltese example forms a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event played a significant role in the end of the Temple Period, but this has to be understood within the specific geological and societal circumstances of the Maltese islands.</p>

The Caribbean Sugar Bowl: A Case Study of “Human-Environment Interaction”

1992 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom L. Martinson
Keyword(s):  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
The Caribbean

scholarly journals The 4.2 ka Event and the End of the Maltese “Temple Period”

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huw S. Groucutt ◽  
W. Christopher Carleton ◽  
Katrin Fenech ◽  
Ritienne Gauci ◽  
Reuben Grima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Initial Phase ◽  
Societal Change ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Old Kingdom ◽  
The Temple

The small size and relatively challenging environmental conditions of the semi-isolated Maltese archipelago mean that the area offers an important case study of societal change and human-environment interactions. Following an initial phase of Neolithic settlement, the “Temple Period” in Malta began ∼5.8 thousand years ago (ka), and came to a seemingly abrupt end ∼4.3 ka, and was followed by Bronze Age societies with radically different material culture. Various ideas concerning the reasons for the end of the Temple Period have been expressed. These range from climate change, to invasion, to social conflict resulting from the development of a powerful “priesthood.” Here, we explore the idea that the end of the Temple Period relates to the 4.2 ka event. The 4.2 ka event has been linked with several examples of significant societal change around the Mediterranean, such as the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, yet its character and relevance have been debated. The Maltese example offers a fascinating case study for understanding issues such as chronological uncertainty, disentangling cause and effect when several different processes are involved, and the role of abrupt environmental change in impacting human societies. Ultimately, it is suggested that the 4.2 ka event may have played a role in the end of the Temple Period, but that other factors seemingly played a large, and possibly predominant, role. As well as our chronological modelling indicating the decline of Temple Period society in the centuries before the 4.2 ka event, we highlight the possible significance of other factors such as a plague epidemic.

Operative Ontologien – ein Versuch, einen klaren Begriff zu verunreinigen

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-192
Author(s):  
Gertrud Koch
Keyword(s):  
Motion Capture ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Visual Effects ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Ontological Question ◽  
Media And Technology ◽  
Live Action ◽  
Capture Technique

"Operative Ontologien werden in diesem Artikel als relationale kommunikative Situationen vorgestellt, in denen Medien und Technik Teil einer Praxis sind, aber nicht einfach mit dieser zusammenfallen. Die Ontologie bezieht sich auf eine temporäre Konstellation, beispielsweise eine Verknüpfung von Maschine, Körper und Bild, in der die ontologische Frage der Anthropologie perspektivisch immer wieder verschoben wird. Wie das genau zu verstehen ist, wird am Fallbeispiel der Motion-Capture-Technik deutlich, in der durch eine Verschmelzung von Live Action Movie und der animierten Welt der Visual Effects eine permanente Veränderung dessen erfolgt, was als Mensch oder menschliche Umwelt angesehen wird. This article presents operational ontologies as communicative situations in which media and technology are part of a practice, but do not simply coincide with it. Ontology refers to a temporary constellation, for example a link between machine, body and image, which shifts the ontological question of anthropology in perspective time and again. This thesis is further illustrated by a case study of the motion capture technique, whose merging of live action movie and the animated world of visual effects leads to a permanent modification of our notions of the human being and human environment. "

Human-Environment Interactions: A Plea for the Humanities

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Tuana
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
New Orleans ◽  
Global Community ◽  
Human Environment

Research on human-environment interactions often neglects the resources of the humanities. Hurricane Katrina and the resulting levee breaches in New Orleans offer a case study on the need for inclusion of the humanities in the study of human-environment interactions, particularly the resources they provide in examining ethics and value concerns. Methods from the humanities, when developed in partnership with those from the sciences and social sciences, can provide a more accurate, effective, and just response to the scientific and technological challenges we face as a global community.

Toward a just and inclusive environmental archaeology of southwest Madagascar

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Douglass ◽  
Eréndira Quintana Morales ◽  
George Manahira ◽  
Felicia Fenomanana ◽  
Roger Samba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Environmental Archaeology ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Self Evaluation ◽  
Mutual Knowledge ◽  
Equal Power

In this paper, we advocate a collaborative approach to investigating past human–environment interactions in southwest Madagascar. We do so by critically reflecting as a team on the development of the Morombe Archaeological Project, initiated in 2011 as a collaboration between an American archaeologist and the Vezo communities of the Velondriake Marine Protected Area. Our objectives are to assess our trajectory in building collaborative partnerships with diverse local, indigenous, and descendent communities and to provide concrete suggestions for the development of new collaborative projects in environmental archaeology. Through our Madagascar case study, we argue that contemporary environmental and economic challenges create an urgency to articulate and practice an inclusive environmental archaeology, and we propose that environmental archaeologists must make particular efforts to include local, indigenous, and descendent communities. Finally, we assert that full collaboration involves equal power sharing and mutual knowledge exchange and suggest an approach for critical self-evaluation of collaborative projects.

Unsustainable Capitalism

2001 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34
Author(s):  
Allan Macinnes
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Culture Change ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Important Distinction ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Individual

This paper makes an important, interdisciplinary contribution, to the ongoing debate on the transition from clanship to capitalism. Integral to this contribution is the important distinction between capitalism as an individualist ideology and capitalist societies where individualism is a widespread but not necessarily a universal ideology. His concern is not with the bipolar opposition of landlord and people which tends to dominate debates on the land issue in the Highlands. Instead, he focuses on material culture change in relation to landscape organisation, settlement patterns and morphology in order to examine how social relationships were structured during the critical period of estate re-orientation often depicted progressively as Improvement but regressively as clearance through the removal and relocation of population. His case study on Kintyre is particularly valuable. By scrutinising spatial as well as social relationships Dalglish demonstrates that clanship was based as much on daily practices of living as on an patrimonial ideology of kinship, practices which led the House of Argyll to attempt the reinvention of concepts of occupancy in order to emphasise the importance of the individual over the family through partitioned space.

Multi-agent Human-Environment Interaction Framework for the Ubiquitous Environment

2005 ◽  
pp. 217-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Kurihara ◽  
Kensuke Fukuda ◽  
Toshio Hirotsu ◽  
Shigemi Aoyagi ◽  
Toshihiro Takada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Ubiquitous Environment ◽  
Multi Agent
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