Bunbury, Magdalena Maria Elisabeth, Austvoll, Knut Ivar, Jørgensen, Erlend Kirkeng, Nielsen, Svein Vatsvåg, Kneisel, Jutta, and Weinelt, Mara (2023) Understanding climate resilience in Scandinavia during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Quaternary Science Reviews, 322. 108391.

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Abstract

Mid and late-Holocene climate shifts are considered to have profoundly shaped demographic developments and adaptive responses of communities globally. Yet their onset, duration, and impact on Neolithic and Early Nordic Bronze Age communities in the high-latitude ranges of southern and north-western Scandinavia remain a major research gap. Here, we built on an emerging body of archaeological and paleoclimate data, encompassing 20,908 anthropogenic 14C dates and 49 climate records from the Holocene. Additionally, we gathered and correlated a new archaeological dataset of 3649 houses from southern Scandinavia and southern Norway. In this study, we utilised 6268 reliable 14C dates and 2519 dwellings to generate time series and socio-economic trends from ∼4100 to 1100 BCE.

Our study revealed three key findings: (1) A distinct lateral zonation, with variations in the duration and timing of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (∼7050–2050 BCE). In Southern Scandinavia, a warmer climate may have facilitated the spread of crop cultivation (3820–3790 BCE), coinciding with significant population growth. Neolithic communities settled in permanent two-aisled houses 90–160 years later (3700–3660 BCE). (2) The 2250 BCE (4.2 ka BP) cooling trend marked the beginning of a climate regime shift with varying duration and timing (∼3450–1450 BCE). This period coincided with demographic growth, migration, crop cultivation diversity, and the development of houses with crop storage facilities (2290–2215 BCE). (3) Severe abrupt cooling periods (∼1850–1450 BCE) corresponded to short-term demographic decline including disruptions in trade networks with continental Europe. However, repopulation and redistribution of wealth (∼1450 BCE), along with the development of stable three-aisled houses (1475–1450 BCE), underscore the resilience of food-producing economies in mitigating environmental disturbances.

Item ID:	81170
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1873-457X
Keywords:	Holocene Thermal Maximum, 4.2 ka BP climate shift, Climate adaptation, Settlement archaeology, Summed probability distributions, Bayesian statistics, Aoristic patterns, Southern Scandinavia, Southern Norway, Arctic Norway
Copyright Information:	© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Funders:	Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany´s Excellence Strategy – EXC 2150 – 390870439, Australian Research Council through a Centre of Excellence grant (CE170100015)
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2023 23:45
FoR Codes:	43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430104 Archaeology of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Levant @ 50% 43 HISTORY, HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 4301 Archaeology > 430101 Archaeological science @ 25% 37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3702 Climate change science > 370201 Climate change processes @ 25%
SEO Codes:	19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1901 Adaptation to climate change > 190103 Social impacts of climate change and variability @ 50% 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1307 Understanding past societies > 130704 Understanding Europe’s past @ 50%
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