Archaeological assessment reveals Earth's early transformation through land use

Stephens, Lucas, Fuller, Dorian, Boivin, Nicole, Rick, Torben, Gauthier, Nicolas, Kay, Andrea, Marwick, Ben, Geralda, Chelsey, Armstrong, Denise, Barton, C. Michael, Denham, Tim, Douglass, Kristina, Driver, Jonathan, Janz, Lisa, Roberts, Patrick, Rogers, J. Daniel, Thakar, Heather, Altaweel, Mark, Johnson, Amber L., Sampietro Vattuone, Maria Marta, Aldenderfer, Mark, Archila, Sonia, Artioli, Gilberto, Bale, Martin T., Beach, Timothy, Borrell, Ferran, Braje, Todd, Buckland, Philip I., Jiménez Cano, Nayeli Guadalupe, Capriles, José M., Diez Castillo, Agustín, Çilingiroğlu, Çiler, Negus Cleary, Michelle, Conolly, James, Coutros, Peter R., Covey, R. Alan, Cremaschi, Mauro, Crowther, Alison, Der, Lindsay, di Lernia, Savino, Doershuk, John F., Doolittle, William E., Edwards, Kevin J., Erlandson, Jon M., Evans, Damian, Fairbairn, Andrew, Faulkner, Patrick, Feinman, Gary, Fernandes, Ricardo, Fitzpatrick, Scott M., Fyfe, Ralph, Garcea, Elena, Goldstein, Steve, Goodman, Reed Charles, Dalpoim Guedes, Jade, Herrmann, Jason, Hiscock, Peter, Hommel, Peter, Horsburgh, K. Ann, Hritz, Carrie, Ives, John W., Junno, Aripekka, Kahn, Jennifer G., Kaufman, Brett, Kearns, Catherine, Kidder, Tristram R., Lanoë, François, Lawrence, Dan, Lee, Gyoung-Ah, Levin, Maureece J., Lindskoug, Henrik B., López-Sáez, José Antonio, Macrae, Scott, Marchant, Rob, Marston, John M., McClure, Sarah, McCoy, Mark D., Miller, Alicia Ventresca, Morrison, Michael, Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, Giedre, Müller, Johannes, Nayak, Ayushi, Noerwidi, Sofwan, Peres, Tanya M., Peterson, Christian E., Proctor, Lucas, Randall, Asa R., Renette, Steve, Robbins Schug, Gwen, Ryzewski, Krysta, Saini, Rakesh, Scheinsohn, Vivian, Schmidt, Peter, Sebillaud, Pauline, Seitsonen, Oula, Simpson, Ian A., Sołtysiak, Arkadiusz, Speakman, Robert J., Spengler, Robert N., Steffen, Martina L., Storozum, Michael J., Strickland, Keir M., Thompson, Jessica, Thurston, T.L., Ulm, Sean, Ustunkaya, M. Cemre, Welker, Martin H., West, Catherine, Williams, Patrick Ryan, Wright, David K., Wright, Nathan, Zahir, Muhammad, Zerboni, Andrea, Beaudoin, Ella, Munevar Garcia, Santiago, Powell, Jeremy, Thornton, Alexa, Kaplan, Jed O., Gaillard, Marie-José, Klein Goldewijk, Kees, and Ellis, Erle (2019) Archaeological assessment reveals Earth's early transformation through land use. Science, 365. pp. 897-902.

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View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax1192
 
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Abstract

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 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. 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.

Item ID: 59958
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 0036-8075
Copyright Information: Authors and their institutions can use the accepted work for non-profit research purposes.Information-sharing is a key to scientific progress. Authors and their institutions therefore can use the accepted version of manuscripts for non-commercial research purposes, including sharing results with colleagues, or for replication or adaptation of the work so long as such use is not for any commercial advantage or exploitation. No further permission is needed from AAAS. Authors and their institutions cannot license the work, except to AAAS.
Funders: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Projects and Grants: NST grant no. CNS 1125210
Date Deposited: 02 Sep 2019 00:38
FoR Codes: 45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4501 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, language and history > 450101 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology @ 10%
43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430102 Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas @ 45%
43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430104 Archaeology of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Levant @ 45%
SEO Codes: 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950503 Understanding Australias Past @ 10%
95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950504 Understanding Europes Past @ 45%
95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950506 Understanding the Past of the Americas @ 45%
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