Climate change and long-term human behaviour in the Neotropics: an archaeological view from the Global South

Abstract

In this paper, we argue for the inclusion of archaeology in discussions about how humans have contributed to and dealt with climate change, especially in the long term. We suggest Niche Construction Theory as a suitable framework to that end. In order to take into account both human and environmental variability, we also advocate for a situated perspective that includes the Global South as a source of knowledge production, and the Neotropics as a relevant case study to consider. To illustrate this, we review the mid-Holocene Hypsithermal period in the southern Puna and continental Patagonia, both in southern South America, by assessing the challenges posed by this climate period and the archaeological signatures of the time from a Niche Construction Theory perspective. Finally, we emphasize the importance of these considerations for policymaking. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change adaptation needs a science of culture’.

Climate change adaptation needs a science of culture

“…B 378: 20220390 livelihoods [89]. Another reason to support customary management systems is their potential impact on global outcomes: anthropogenic forests can respond differently to climate change than do unmanaged forests [88] and recognizing Indigenous territories has been shown to reduce deforestation inside their borders [90,91]; in other words, in some cases, adaptation and mitigation can be complementary.…”

“…Traditional forms of forest management offer an intriguing example. Humans have long used techniques like controlled burns and dispersing seeds to manage species in local forests [ 87 , 88 ]. Today, forests allow local communities to diversify their responses to climate risk—for example, to access alternative income streams, foods or sources of fuel (e.g.…”

“…Mitigation policies like REDD+ (Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) carbon credits, for example, can favour technocratic solutions for management that displace customary management systems; allowing some traditional management and limited harvesting can help protect people's livelihoods [ 89 ]. Another reason to support customary management systems is their potential impact on global outcomes: anthropogenic forests can respond differently to climate change than do unmanaged forests [ 88 ] and recognizing Indigenous territories has been shown to reduce deforestation inside their borders [ 90 , 91 ]; in other words, in some cases, adaptation and mitigation can be complementary.…”

“…Analysis of paleoenvironmental, archaeological and historical data provides insight into past responses to climate stress [ 88 , 93 , 94 ]. Multi-population datasets can include indicators of social instability and other variables that impact population-level responses to climate events [ 17 , 95 ], as well as cascading risks where failures in one area of the world impacted others [ 96 ].…”