Theme:
4. Waterscapes: archaeology and heritage of fresh waters
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
The Climate Impact on European Neolithic Societies during the 8.2-ky BP Events near River Basins and Lakes Shores
Content:
The transition from the Early to the Middle Neolithic coincides with the 8.2-ky BP event in some areas of Europe. This climatological event, which lasted between 150 to 400 years, has received considerable interest in various scientific fields, from ecologists, climatologists and geologists to archaeologists and dendrochronologists, due to the major changes it has triggered worldwide.
The 8.2-ky BP event initiated with a rapid decline in the average temperature, which could have a major influence on the Neolithic populations as a whole: from changes in the local cultural, social and economic practices to waves of migration. According to the latest results, there might be a link between climatic and cultural changes during the Early and Middle Neolithic in Europe and the Near East. In addition to the cooling effect, the significant rise in sea levels has mainly affected river systems. The communities living in these areas were therefore under particular adaptation pressure. Also, during that time there is evidence of migration waves of Early Neolithic communities in eastern Europa and at the Mediterranean coasts. The 8.2-ky BP effects might be visible in Neolithic cultures of the Cyprus, Greece, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, Spain territories.
The paleoclimate changes could have reversed the neolithization of Europe, but they triggered innovation and adaptation processes. This is supported by the fact that around the transition from the 6th to 5th millennium BCE several communities started to produce ceramics. They also coincided with the rapid increase in water level in the Mediterranean and Black Seas and generally increased aridity.
For this session, we invite presentations dealing with the specific situation of the waterfront community in the face of the changed climatic situation and possible positive or negative consequences on settlement as well as on the innovative potential.
Keywords:
Neolithisation, 8.2-ky BP event, European Neolithic societies, Transition to the Middle Neolithic, Pottery Neolithic
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Marta Andriiovych (Switzerland) 1
Co-organisers:
Olha Demchenko (Ukraine) 2,1
Martin Hinz (Switzerland) 3
Affiliations:
1. Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern
2. Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University
3. Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern
THIS SESSION CAN NOT BE SELECTED AT THIS MOMENT