We review palaeoenvironmental proxies and combinations of these relevant for understanding hunter-gatherer niche construction activities in pre-agricultural Europe. Our approach consists of two steps: (1) identify the possible range of hunter-gatherer impacts on landscapes based on ethnographic studies; (2) evaluate proxies possibly reflecting these impacts for both the Eemian (Last Interglacial, Middle Palaeolithic) and the Early–Middle Holocene (Mesolithic). We found these paleoenvironmental proxies were not able to unequivocally establish clear-cut differences between specific anthropogenic, climatic and megafaunal impacts for either time period in this area. We discuss case studies for both periods and show that published evidence for Mesolithic manipulation of landscapes is based on the interpretation of comparable data as available for the Last Interglacial. If one applies the ‘Mesolithic’ interpretation schemes to the Neanderthal record, three common niche construction activities can be hypothesised: vegetation burning, plant manipulation and impact on animal species presence and abundance. Our review suggests that as strong a case can be made for a Neanderthal impact on landscapes as for anthropogenic landscape changes during the Mesolithic, even though the Neanderthal evidence comes from only one high-resolution site complex. Further research should include attempts (e.g. by means of modelling studies) to establish whether hunter-gatherer impact on landscapes played out at a local level only versus at a larger scale during both time periods, while we also need to obtain comparative data on the population sizes of Last Interglacial and Holocene hunter-gatherers, as these are usually inferred to have differed significantly.

In addressing the current climate crisis, research into how past societies have coped with risk and ecological uncertainty can provide old solutions to new problems. Here, we examine how human niche construction can be seen as risk management in the face of uncertainty by exploring the spatial patterning of land-use activities over time. Dalarna county, an agriculturally marginal boreal forest environment, provides the opportunity for addressing change in terms of agricultural responses and other activities. C14 archaeological records complied by Dalarna Museum were the base of this analysis. The spatial and temporal components of these Boreal Forest records were analyzed in the open-source software QGIS, guided by a historical ecology framework. Human niches diversified and intensified during specific periods in the Boreal forest environment; our focus has been on how humans managed resource risk related to the ecological uncertainty within this forest environment characterized by long winters and short growing seasons. We conclude that constructed niches shaped the Boreal Forest, spanning its environmentally unique upland and lowland regions, into a more predictable environment. Tracking the diversity, multi-functionality, and intensity of these past land-use activities can provide insights for best practices in land management, not only for the Boreal Forest area, but also for elsewhere. These insights will assist in policy-making decisions, as the methodology is adaptable and replicable for various landscapes.

<p>Volcanism is one of the main natural climate forcings at annual to multi-decadal timescales. Therefore, this forcing is important to study Holocene climate variability. Our main objective is to examine the impact of volcanism on the climate in the 6<sup>th</sup> century AD within the iLOVECLIM model and analyze the results with archeological data. We hypothesize that large volcanic eruptions around 536 AD and 540 AD contributed to cooling of the climate, resulted to the adversities of Late ancient societies throughout Europe, and caused a major environmental event in Iron Age Scandinavia.</p><p>In this work, we have made three groups of simulations with the iLOVECLIM model, representing the climate of 536 AD and 540 AD. Two scenarios include high and low volcanic activity forcing, while in the third scenario, volcanic forcing is absent. We applied a model version with dynamical downscaling to reach a spatial resolution that allows for a meaningful comparison with archeological data. We compared our model results with C14-dated archaeological records from Scandinavia to analyze the spatial intensity of land use during these time periods. An evaluation of the difference between these simulations will highlight the impact of the volcanic activity on early to mid-6<sup>th</sup> century Scandinavia.</p><p>This study demonstrates the link between climate and volcanism during these periods and shows the advantage of combining the archaeological records with climate data to understand human-environment interactions. Future research that considers both climatological and archaeological data can benefit our understandings of the impact extreme natural events had on the environment, the climate and people.</p>

<p>TERRANOVA is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (H2020-MSCA-ITN) project (2019-2023) training 15 PhD students in a new learning initiative between Humanities and Science: Mapping past environments and energy regimes, rethinking human-environment interaction and designing land management tools for policy. TERRANOVA will produce an unprecedented atlas with layers of reconstructed and modelled land-use and vegetation dynamics, climate change and mega-fauna history in Europe from the Eemian (Last Interglacial) and the Holocene from the start up until the present day. This paper describes the intermediate results of two years of research into Atlas building. Communication and data exchange, as well as the process of atlas generation work flow, have been undertaken, including examples of datasets from deep history, ancient landscapes, energy regimes and climate scenarios. The atlas database implements state-of-the-art standards for increasing the interoperability of spatiotemporal datasets. It is currently formed by four main data types: Archaeological data, Climate data, Land cover data, and Megafauna (i.e. large mammals) distribution. The intermediate publication concludes with listing the next steps to stream the Terranova atlas as a tool for communicating the European history of environmental change, including support for future landscape management policies.</p>