TY - JOUR
T1 - Marine resource abundance drove pre-agricultural population increase in Stone Age Scandinavia
AU - Lewis, J.P.
AU - Ryves, D.B.
AU - Rasmussen, P.
AU - Olsen, J.
AU - van der Sluis, L.G.
AU - Reimer, P.J.
AU - Knudsen, K.-L.
AU - McGowan, S.
AU - Anderson, N.J.
AU - Juggins, S.
N1 - Cited By :11
Export Date: 19 October 2021
Correspondence Address: Lewis, J.P.; Geography and Environment, United Kingdom; email: [email protected]
Funding details: 21-03-0510, 25-03-0462
Funding details: Leverhulme Trust, RPG-2012-817
Funding details: Carlsbergfondet, ANS-1283/20
Funding text 1: We thank Beth Stavngaard, Kaj Strand Petersen (†), Ole Bennike, Bent Odgaard, Jan Heinemeier, Harald Krog (†) and Molten/Define members for fieldwork, analyses, data and discussions. Funding: This study was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2012-817 to D.B.R.), the Carlsberg Foundation (ANS-1283/20 to D.B.R.), the Danish Council for Independent Research-Natural Sciences and Humanities (grants 21-03-0510 and 25-03-0462 to P.R.), Loughborough University Development Fund (Ph.D. funding for J.P.L.) and through a Quaternary Research Association (QRA) New Researchers’ Award (J.P.L.). † = deceased.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - How climate and ecology affect key cultural transformations remains debated in the context of long-term socio-cultural development because of spatially and temporally disjunct climate and archaeological records. The introduction of agriculture triggered a major population increase across Europe. However, in Southern Scandinavia it was preceded by ~500 years of sustained population growth. Here we show that this growth was driven by long-term enhanced marine production conditioned by the Holocene Thermal Maximum, a time of elevated temperature, sea level and salinity across coastal waters. We identify two periods of increased marine production across trophic levels (P1 7600–7100 and P2 6400–5900 cal. yr BP) that coincide with markedly increased mollusc collection and accumulation of shell middens, indicating greater marine resource availability. Between ~7600–5900 BP, intense exploitation of a warmer, more productive marine environment by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers drove cultural development, including maritime technological innovation, and from ca. 6400–5900 BP, underpinned a ~four-fold human population growth.
AB - How climate and ecology affect key cultural transformations remains debated in the context of long-term socio-cultural development because of spatially and temporally disjunct climate and archaeological records. The introduction of agriculture triggered a major population increase across Europe. However, in Southern Scandinavia it was preceded by ~500 years of sustained population growth. Here we show that this growth was driven by long-term enhanced marine production conditioned by the Holocene Thermal Maximum, a time of elevated temperature, sea level and salinity across coastal waters. We identify two periods of increased marine production across trophic levels (P1 7600–7100 and P2 6400–5900 cal. yr BP) that coincide with markedly increased mollusc collection and accumulation of shell middens, indicating greater marine resource availability. Between ~7600–5900 BP, intense exploitation of a warmer, more productive marine environment by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers drove cultural development, including maritime technological innovation, and from ca. 6400–5900 BP, underpinned a ~four-fold human population growth.
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-020-15621-1
DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-15621-1
M3 - Article
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 11
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
IS - 1
M1 - 2006
ER -