Environmental Changes and Cultural Transitions in SW Iberia during the Early-Mid Holocene

Abstract

The SW coast of the Iberian Peninsula experiences a lack of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data. With the aim to fill this gap, we contribute with a new palynological and geochemical dataset obtained from a sediment core drilled in the continental shelf of the Algarve coast. Archaeological data have been correlated with our multi-proxy dataset to understand how human groups adapted to environmental changes during the Early-Mid Holocene, with special focus on the Mesolithic to Neolithic transition. Vegetation trends indicate warm conditions at the onset of the Holocene followed by increased moisture and forest development ca. 10–7 ka BP, after which woodlands are progressively replaced by heaths. Peaks of aridity were identified at 8.2 and 7. 5 ka BP. Compositional, textural, redox state, and weathering of source area geochemical proxies indicates abrupt palaeoceanographic modifications and gradual terrestrial changes at 8.2 ka BP, while the 7.5 ka BP event mirrors a decrease in land moisture availability. Mesolithic sites are mainly composed of seasonal camps with direct access to the coast for the exploitation of local resources. This pattern extends into the Early Neolithic, when these sites coexist with seasonal and permanent occupations located in inland areas near rivers. Changes in settlement patterns and dietary habits may be influenced by changes in coastal environments caused by the sea-level rise and the impact of the 8.2 and 7.5 ka BP climate events.

Archaeoecology. The Application of Palaeoenvironmental Sciences for the Reconstruction of Human–Environment Interactions

“…C. Val-Peón et al [12] present a palynological study in SW Iberia, providing data on vegetation trends and climate conditions for the Early and Middle Holocene (~12,000-6000 cal BP), indicating warm conditions during the Early Holocene, increased moisture in 10,000-7000 cal BP and peaks in aridity at 8200 and 7500 cal BP. In this study, multi-proxy datasets (palynological and geochemical) were correlated with archaeological data to understand how human groups adapted to environmental changes during the Early-Mid Holocene, with special focus on the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition.…”

“…Firstly, some papers remark the value of holistic interdisciplinary research based on geoarchaeological [9] and archaeoecological [10] approaches to assess environmental and social dynamics. Second, the potential of palynology in the study of landscape transformation is addressed in [11,12], whereas [13] shows the high relevance of interdisciplinary archaeobotanical research in the study of plant uses and landscape reconstruction. Third, this Special Issue shows the potential of the interdisciplinary study of dung, based on geoarchaeological and ethnographical data [14], on taphonomy of opal phytoliths and calcitic dung spherulites [15], and the potential of palaeoparasitological analyses in archaeological sites to reconstruct the health of ancient populations and the history of diseases [16].…”