Holocene Epoch and Prehistoric Climate

Introduction to Recent Prehistory

• Focus on the Holocene period, particularly in the Near East, where the process began earlier.
• From a global perspective, the Holocene's onset dates to around 18,000 years ago, marked by an increase in temperature and humidity.

Environmental Changes

• A temperature decline occurred between 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, known as the Younger Dryas, resulted in low temperatures and a drier climate, impacting the fauna.
• After this period, temperatures rose leading to the Holocene period from 11,700 years ago.
• The Younger Dryas: a cold period where the British Isles were connected to the continent by ice.
• Islands became distinct around 8,000 years ago due to rising sea levels, increased temperatures, and humidity.

Geological Time Scale

• Earth is 4.6 billion years old, with the Holocene within the last 10,000 years.
• The Phanerozoic Eon (542,000 years ago to present) is divided into three eras, with focus on the Cenozoic Era (65,000 years BP).
• The Quaternary Period (2.588 ma BP) is part of the Cenozoic, divided into the Pleistocene (2.588 ma - 11.784 years)

Climate Phases during the Pleistocene

• The Upper Pleistocene (0.128 ma - 11.784 years) is split into two climatic phases:
• Penultimate Interglacial (128,000 - 22,000 BP).
• Last Pleniglacial (22,000 - 11,700 BP).
• The glacial maximum occurred 18,000 years ago, marking the end of the Solutrean period.

Effects of Rising Temperatures

• Rising temperatures led to increased sea levels.
• Northern Hemisphere ice melt finished around 18,000 years ago, known as the Last Deglaciation.
• The Younger Dryas cold phase occurred between 12,000 and 11,000 years ago, caused by colder currents in the North Atlantic.

Holocene Epoch (Isotopic Stage 1)

• The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is located in a Greenland ice core at 1,492 m depth, dated to 11,784 years ago.
• The Holocene is based on climatic criteria, chemical analyses, and physical attributes.
• It's divided into stages:
• Pre-Boreal (11,784 - 10,189 BP): Increased temperature and humidity, favoring forest expansion and the regression of cold forests to the mountains.
• Boreal (10,189 - 9,004/8,776 BP): A more temperate phase with the reduction of pine trees and expansion of hazel, oak, and holm oak species; characterized by Pre-Ceramic Neolithic A cultures.
• Atlantic (9,004/8,776 - 5,728 BP): The warmest and most humid period, influencing agriculture and livestock farming; Neolithic Pre-Ceramic C and early ceramic cultures.
• Subboreal (5,728 - 2,728/2,476 BP): A colder and drier period associated with technological innovation, demonstrating human impact on the environment through agricultural activities.
• Sub-Atlantic (2.728/2.476 - present): Short periods such as the Little Ice Age of the Modern Age; the Atlantic and Subboreal are termed the Holocene Climatic Optimum, while the Subboreal and Sub-Atlantic are grouped as Neo-glaciation.
• The Holocene is split into three:
• Lower Holocene (11.7 ka cal BP - 8.2 ka cal BP): pre-boreal to boreal.
• Middle Holocene (8.2 ka cal BP - circa 2.5 ka cal BP).
• Upper Holocene (circa 2.5 ka cal BP to the present).

Natural Resources

• During the Late Glacial, increased temperatures and humidity favored the replacement of herbaceous communities with arboreal ones.
• The climate caused the disappearance of forests, resulting in a dry steppe to the south and tundra to the north.

Vegetation

• In the Holocene, forests recolonized Europe, with steppes in the continental interior and Mediterranean vegetation in the southern region.
• The Holocene's most significant impact was introducing agriculture and livestock farming, gradually degrading forests due to human activity.

Fauna

• During the Upper Pleistocene in Europe, seals were present on Mediterranean coasts.
• Cold-climate species disappeared, and Holocene faunas (ursids, canids, felids, equids) emerged with forest expansion.

Domestication

• Domesticated plants and animals evolved through a coevolutionary relationship with humans.
• Domestic animal lost ability to reproduce autonomously through a managed reproduction.
• Agriculture and livestock farming resulted in the degradation of the forest.
• Early agriculture focused on dry farming, with irrigation developed later in Mesopotamia.

Sociological Impact

• Domesticated Plant: plants lose their autonomy for reproduction, with reproduction managed by humans.
• Agriculture: Practices, techniques, and behaviors of environmental manipulation lead to the control of plant growth.
• Agriculture's Origins: The origin of agriculture has been of interested to historians, biologists and anthropologists.
• Eastern Mediterranean: early domestication of cereals (wheat and barley) and legumes (peas and lentils).
• Near East: Natural forms of crops do not exist in Europe.
• Other early domestication: rice in Thailand and corn in America.

Domestic Animals

• Domestication involves biological and genetic changes, influencing animal-human relations.
• Neolithic Europe animal domestication: Goats type of Capra aegagrus (Near East). Sheep is ovis orientalis.
• These species were part of early Neolithic subsistence and are found in Neolithic sites.
• goats adapted well to Mediterranean pastures and remained important (sheep).

Neolithic Concept

• 1865; John Lubbock, Prehistoric Times-term Neolithic is 3 concepts:
• Techno-economic Perspective: Neolithic involved polished stone and ceramics, agriculture. Hunters/gatherers had these technologies; a Neolithic society require subsistence economy based on resources.
• Period: no scientific consensus of the chronology: Orient, Peru, and China. The time interval marks the emergence of domestic species, development of metallurgy.
• Historic: Gordon Childe, Neolithic Revolution: transformations from Neolithic technology. Neolithic refers a socioeconomic system, using cultural materialism.
• biological process ends in animal/plant domestication-imply genetic changes.
• modification: changes in ideological and social patterns.

Societal Trends

• Intensification, integration, and stratification.
• Intensification in food acquisition is necessary with increased population or environmental deterioration.
• Social integration occurs in larger, complex groups.
• Three types of primary societies exist: family-level group, local group, regional political entity.
• Stratification: trend observed on a large scale, distringuishing egalitarian societies and hierarchical societies.
• Intensification; obtaining food relationship- a stratification (referred to group relationships).

Economy

• Economy is subsistence or political. -Subsistence: Within societies; based on family. Objective to all provide members can subsist. Based on reciprocity: -Generalized reciprocity; involves altruistic transactions- short term retribution. Involves mutual aide:parents -Balanced reciprocity; determined equivalency with retribution -Negative reciprocity; beneficial cost of other part (bartering and theft).
• Political Economy: exchange of service outside of family w/ reciprocity in all societies
• Redistribution: Requires center of distribution in the community

Economic Integration

• Economic Integration can be split between General and Specialized Economies.
• Generalized K & r selection resources for: Hunters/Gatherers and Fisherman.
• Specialized r or K selection resources for: Agriculturist/Livestock Farmer.

Social Types

• Social Type breakdown based on social and economic evolutions: -Bands: Family, egalitarian and located in local settings. -Groups; Tribal settings with hierarchical infrastructure but regional entities are autonomous
• Political regions form when multiple groups merge to form new social communities. The societies rely on violence for new cultural direction by conquest.

Societal Levels based on Economic Evolution:

Local Groups

• Composed 5 to 10 families as a unit and clans with a birth right
• Trade is based on reciprocity due labor productivity and distribution (Neolithic and Calcolithic).
• Natural Median: Very variable based on each region (from artic to jungles)
• Mostly more productive in the family unit.
• Resources range from seasonal to very generous.
• Population can range 0.4-1 per person per 1km (Exceptions exist).
• Specialized personal tools, communal labor work with Hunting, fishing and pastoral work (ex, nets, boats, and animals)
• Social organization with family life, cooperation in labor, risk management, war

Territorial Zones

• Violence is common by societies. Communities engage in conflicts

Politics

• Ceremonial behavior and leadership

Stratification

• Collectiveness in group engagement- wealth can be shared openly but power can discriminate among groups.

Religious practices

• Important ritual that serve as a communal setting between regions for collaboration and community.

Important to understand the different societies between the family. This is critical to the understanding in cultural development.

Tribal Structure

• Tribal structures can often clash over certain zones, often farmers can have territory clash for resources, causing increased violence.
• Groups often form lineages
• Most can be divided by populations
• In most tribes are in constant conflict
• Ritual practices often include shared ceremonies to maintain relationships
• This would have been common for the time period, where there have had not been social progress in the area.