Fuel for debating ancient economies. Calculating wood consumption at urban scale in Roman Imperial times

Janssen, Ellen; Poblome, Jeroen; Claeys, J. M.; Kint, Vincent; Degryse, Patrick; Marinova, Elena; Muys, Bart

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.12.029

Cited by 18 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Approaches have been developed to quantifying the wood harvest associated with archaeological settlements at specific times based on the evidence of types of wood use, household energy requirements, population size, and calorific value of the wood used (see e.g. Marston, 2009;Janssen et al, 2017). However, quantitative information on ancient technology and lifestyle is sparse, and direct estimates of the amount of wood harvest through time are likely to remain highly uncertain (Marston et al, 2017;Veal, 2017).…”

Section: Global Land Use and Livestock Mapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and testing scenarios for implementing land use and land cover changes during the Holocene in Earth system model experiments

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Anthropogenic changes in land use and land cover (LULC) during the pre-industrial Holocene could have affected regional and global climate. Existing scenarios of LULC changes during the Holocene are based on relatively simple assumptions and highly uncertain estimates of population changes through time. Archaeological and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions have the potential to refine these assumptions and estimates. The Past Global Changes (PAGES) LandCover6k initiative is working towards improved reconstructions of LULC globally. In this paper, we document the types of archaeological data that are being collated and how they will be used to improve LULC reconstructions. Given the large methodological uncertainties involved, both in reconstructing LULC from the archaeological data and in implementing these reconstructions into global scenarios of LULC, we propose a protocol to evaluate the revised scenarios using independent pollen-based reconstructions of land cover and climate. Further evaluation of the revised scenarios involves carbon cycle model simulations to determine whether the LULC reconstructions are consistent with constraints provided by ice core records of CO2 evolution and modern-day LULC. Finally, the protocol outlines how the improved LULC reconstructions will be used in palaeoclimate simulations in the Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project to quantify the magnitude of anthropogenic impacts on climate through time and ultimately to improve the realism of Holocene climate simulations.

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Section: Global Land Use and Livestock Mapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and testing scenarios for implementing land use and land cover changes during the Holocene in Earth system model experiments

et al. 2020

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“…In the Roman Empire, people produced aerosol particles by burning several types of fuel for different purposes such as cooking, residential heating, heating bath houses, iron production, glass making, pottery production, or cremation (Malanima, 2013;Veal, 2017;Mietz, 2016;Janssen et al, 2017). For iron production, high temperatures are needed, which were only achieved by burning charcoal (Janssen et al, 2017). For other purposes, also wood or agricultural waste products (e.g.…”

Section: Fuel Consumption Per Capitamentioning

confidence: 99%

Did the Roman Empire affect European climate? A new look at the effects of land use and anthropogenic aerosol emissions

Gilgen

Wilkenskjeld

Kaplan

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Abstract. As one of the first transcontinental polities that led to widespread anthropogenic modification of the environment, the influence of the Roman Empire on European climate has been studied for more than 20 years. Recent advances in our understanding of past land use and aerosol-climate interactions make it valuable to revisit the way humans may have affected the climate of the Roman Era. Here we drive the global aerosol-enabled climate model ECHAM-HAM-SALSA with land use maps and novel estimates of anthropogenic aerosol emissions from the Roman Empire at its apogee to quantify the effect of humans on regional climate. In a factorial study, we used the HYDE and KK11 anthropogenic land cover change scenarios with three estimates (low, medium, high) of aerosol emissions from fuel combustion and burning of agricultural land. Land use effects on climate varied from no influence using the HYDE scenario to a significant warming over land of 0.15 K with KK11 relative to a no-land use control. This warming is primarily caused by regional decreases in turbulent fluxes, in contrast to previous studies that emphasised changes in albedo and evapotranspiration. Aerosol emissions from agricultural burning were greater than those from fuel consumption, but on the same order of magnitude. All emissions scenarios result in an enhanced cooling effect of clouds over a no-emissions control scenario. As a consequence, the land surface temperature averaged over our entire study domain decreased significantly by 0.17 K, 0.23 K, and 0.46 K for the low, the intermediate, and the high emissions scenarios, respectively. Cooling caused by aerosol emissions is largest over Central and Eastern Europe, while warming caused by land use occurs in parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Our results suggest that the influence of Roman Era anthropogenic aerosol emissions on European climate may have been as important as that of deforestation and other forms of land use. Our model may overestimate aerosol-effective radiative forcing, however, and our results are very sensitive to the inferred seasonal timing of agricultural burning practices and natural aerosol emissions over land (wildfire emissions and biogenic emissions). Nevertheless, it is likely that human influence on land and the atmosphere affected continental-scale climate during Classical Antiquity.

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“…Woodlot is the area necessary to provide sufficient fuel for the settlement, including for metallurgy, cooking and heating, everyday use, and manufacturing of pottery vessels, as well as that required for construction projects. The quantity of wood required for heating, cooking and ceramic production is, typically, lower than that required for metallurgy, especially iron production [38,39]. The trees that compose the woodlot are assumed to be diverse, with the species suggested by locale as well as botanical and palynological evidence and could include wild fruits and nuts, which may have supplied the populace with gathered foods.…”

Section: Tree Crop and Woodlot Exploitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Land Use in Past Societies from Cultural Practice and Archaeological Data

Hughes

Weiberg

Bonnier

et al. 2018

Land

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Abstract:Quantitative reconstructions of past land use facilitate comparisons between livelihoods in space and time. However, comparison between different types of land use strategies is challenging as land use has a multitude of expressions and intensities. The quantitative method presented here facilitates the exploration and synthetization of uneven archaeological and textual evidence from past societies. The approach quantifies the area required for habitation, agriculture, arboriculture, pasturage, and fuel supply, based on a combination of archaeological, historical, ethnographic and modern evidence from the relevant geographical region. It is designed to stimulate discussion and can be used to test a wide range of hypotheses regarding local and regional economies, ancient trade and redistribution, and the resilience and/or vulnerability of past societies to environmental change. The method also helps identify where our gaps in knowledge are in understanding past human-environment interaction, the ecological footprint of past cultures and their influence on the landscape in a transparent and quantitative manner. The present article focuses especially on the impact of dietary estimates and crop yield estimates, two main elements in calculating land use in past societies due to their uncertainty as well as their significant impact on calculations. By employing archaeological data, including botanical, zoological and isotopic evidence, alongside available textual sources, this method seeks to improve land use and land cover change models by increasing their representativeness and accuracy.

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Fuel for debating ancient economies. Calculating wood consumption at urban scale in Roman Imperial times

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

Development and testing scenarios for implementing land use and land cover changes during the Holocene in Earth system model experiments

Development and testing scenarios for implementing land use and land cover changes during the Holocene in Earth system model experiments

Did the Roman Empire affect European climate? A new look at the effects of land use and anthropogenic aerosol emissions

Quantifying Land Use in Past Societies from Cultural Practice and Archaeological Data

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