Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 BP to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago, significantly earlier than land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by over 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked at 2000 BP and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.One Sentence Summary: A map of synthesized archaeological knowledge on land use reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers and pastoralists by 3,000 years ago.
This study presents glacio-archaeological evidence from the Miyar basin, Lahaul Himalaya, that points towards the former presence of a well settled agricultural society, within a glacier end moraine complex. Three high altitude villages (Tharang, Phundang and Patam, now in ruins) with elaborate irrigation networks thrived within the end moraine complex of Tharang glacier at 3700 m a.s.l. Evidence exists in the form of dilapidated houses which had an organised internal space, chronologically constrained by radiocarbon (14 C) dating. These settlements occupied the end moraine complex between 980 and 1840 CE, thereby encompassing the majority of Little Ice Age period (1300-1600 CE), as defined elsewhere. The existence of settlements along with an irrigation system and associate fields at $3700-3800 m a.s.l. for almost $860 years during the late 10 th to early 19 th centuries suggests more favourable climatic (warm) conditions that at present. By contrast, present habitation is restricted to areas below $3500 m a.s.l. However, the slope controlled irrigation system also suggests moisture stressed conditions during the 980-1840 CE period, similar to present. The available temperature and snowfall proxies for the region support our proposed timing, and suggest favourable climatic conditions for the survival of these settlements.
Detailed field mapping of glacial and paraglacial landforms and optical dating from these landforms are used to reconstruct the early Holocene glaciation in the semi-arid region of Miyar basin, Lahaul Himalaya. The study identifies three stages of glaciation, of decreasing magnitude and termed, from oldest to youngest, the Miyar stage (MR-I), Khanjar stage (KH-II), and Menthosa advance (M-III). The oldest glacial stage (MR-I) has been established on the basis of detailed geomorphological evidence such as U-shaped valley morphology, trimlines, and truncated spurs. It is speculated to be older than the global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM) based on the magnitude of ∆ELA (Equilibrium-Line Altitude, 606m). No evidence of glacier expansion recorded from the basin correlates with the period of the gLGM. The second stage (KH-II) is well represented by extensive depositional features such as lateral and terminal moraines, drumlins, and lacustrine fills that have been constrained within 10 ± 1 to 6.6 ± 1.0 ka (Optically stimulated luminescence-OSL-ages), dating it to the early Holocene advance following the Younger Dryas cooling event. Exceptionally young glacial records of expansion are limited within a few hundred meters of the present termini of tributary glaciers and correlates with the 18th-century cooling event. Records of this glacial advance, termed the Menthosa advance, are clearly noticed in some tributary valleys.
The present study documents the long-term trends in the temperature and precipitation of a poorly represented region, the Sikkim, eastern Himalaya using the Mann–Kendall non-parametric test and the Sen’s slope estimator. Additionally, the normal distribution curves and Cusum charts have been used to identify the shifts in extreme events and to detect the points of change in the climatic data series for robust analysis. The minimum temperatures recorded a positive trend in Gangtok (0.036 ˚C year−1 from 1961 to 2017) as well as in Tadong (0.065 ˚C year−1 from 1981 to 2010) stations, while the maximum temperatures showed no trend in Tadong station from 1981 to 2010 which is consistent with the trend in Gangtok station for the overlapped period. However, it was negative for the overall assessed period (− 0.027 ˚C year−1 from 1961 to 2017) in Gangtok. The average temperatures in Gangtok recorded no trend whereas a positive trend (0.035 ˚C year−1 from 1981 to 2010) was observed at Tadong station. A similar positive trend in the average temperatures has been detected at Gangtok also for the overlapped period. Accelerated warming was noticed during the last two decades with an increase in the probability of extreme events of temperatures (minimum, maximum, average) at the higher end. Precipitation was found to be more variable across the observed period and suggested no trend in the study area.
Abstract. Impressive glacio-archaeological evidence is described from the Miyar basin, Lahul Himalaya, India. Three ruins, namely Tharang, Phundang and Patam are identified along with evidence for past settlement and rich irrigation practices in the basin. These ruins are located in the end moraine complex of Tharang glacier, just ~ 2–3 km from the present glacier snout. Reconstruction of these ruins was undertaken based on mapping and radiocarbon (14C) dating. The radiocarbon dates (9 samples were dated) indicate that the settlement was occupied between cal AD ~ 1170 and cal AD ~ 1730, thereby encompassing the majority of Little Ice Age period. The settlement’s occupation at ~ 3700 m a.s.l. (whereas present habitation is restricted to areas below ~ 3500 m a.s.l.) for almost ~ 550 years during the 12th to 17th centuries suggest warmer conditions than today. Moreover, the study finds no evidence to suggest any noticeable glacier advance during this period.
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