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The sedimentary sequence of La Narce du Béage Basin is one of the few natural archives covering the last 18 ka cal. BP in the French Massif Central. This paper focuses on the palaeoecological reconstruction of environmental and climatic changes affecting this shallow periglacial lake from the Late-Glacial to the Early Holocene. After field surveys and geophysical mapping, two cores (cores A and D) were extracted and dated. Plant macrofossils, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) and diatom assemblages were compared within the cores to study vegetation, temperature, pH, water level and ice cover changes through time. During the Oldest Dryas (18–14.75 ka cal. BP), climatic conditions were the coldest with a short ice-free season allowing the development of periphytic diatoms only (ecologically comparable to Arctic ones). A cold and dry steppe landscape – exposed to severe erosion – comprised an herbaceous and shrub flora (e.g. Artemisia , Chenopodiaceae, Helianthemum, Ephedra, Hippophaë, Juniperus). Animal presence is suggested by coprophilous fungi. Periphytic diatoms and allochtonous pollen (Cedrus) underline windy conditions, and the possible erosion of neo-formed soils. Then, during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (14.75–12.7 ka cal. BP), the ice-free season increased and some trees/shrubs (Salix, Betula and Juniperus) established locally within open grasslands. During the Younger Dryas (12.7–11.7 ka cal. BP) cooler conditions favoured steppe taxa again (Helianthemum, Achillea, Artemisia , Caryophyllaceae, Ranunculaceae) and erosion increased. The ice cover on the lake prevailed even if the conditions were not as cold as during the Oldest Dryas. During the Preboreal (11.7–10 ka cal. BP) Isoëtes echinospora and I. lacustris developed in the eulittoral zone of the lake, which was surrounded by a swamp forest (with Betula nana and B. pubescens). Pinus sylvestris, Betula pendula, Corylus avellana and trees from the Quercetum mixtum rapidly established in the uplands. Occurrences of Gaeumannomyces and Xylomyces fungi – both phytopathogens on broadleaved trees – and decreasing herb values indirectly hint at a close forest canopy. At the beginning of the Boreal (10 ka cal. BP), aquatic and semi-aquatic taxa developed on open water due to longer ice-free seasons (diatoms, micro-algae, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Potamogeton, Typha). The final terrestrialization towards a mire occurred as a consequence of the Holocene warming and related to water chemistry changes (acidification, eutrophication). • During the last deglaciation, a very shallow lake established as demonstrated by palaeoecological data, such as epiphytic diatoms, living on rocks. • Late-Glacial steppe landscape with severe erosion, open grassland and possible mega-herbivore presence. Arctic-like conditions. • Development of shrubs or trees during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial and reduced ice-free season. • Dry and cold conditions persisted from the Younger Dryas to the Early Preboreal. Oligotrophic flora (Isoetids) established in the eulittoral zone. • During the post-glacial warming, the lake tended to acidify. Peat flora and organic matter accumulated and led to the terrestrialization of the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how significant are the ecological and climatic variables to influence the stable isotopes of guanacos. Lama guanicoe bone collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios are assumed as a macro regional average value in west Argentina, mostly as a baseline to model archaeological human diet. If stable isotopes on mammals reflex ecology and climate, we need to know how those variables influence mammals bone stable isotope ratio. This paper analyses the 13C/12C and 15 N/14N ratio on bone collagen on 122 guanacos from Northwest Patagonia during the Holocene. The results confirm significant variation in both isotopes between Monte and Andean-Patagonian specimens. Guanacos from Monte shows higher δ13C and δ15N than those from Andean-Patagonian. Temporal trends indicate variation through Holocene but this variation is not spatially homogeneous. In this paper we suggest that Medieval Climatic Anomaly had stronger effect in Monte desert than in Patagonia desert, generating driest and/or hottest conditions between 1250 and 600 years BP. Those variations need to be considered to reconstruct human diet at least during the second part of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, it has been unclear as to how the world's first cities, in southern Mesopotamia, not only arose in a fluvial environment but also how this environment changed. This paper seeks to understand the long-term fluvial history of the region around Uruk, a major early city, in relation to water-human interactions. This paper applies geomorphological, historical and archaeological approaches and reveals that the Uruk region in southern Mesopotamia had been under the influence of freshwater fluvial environment since the early Holocene. It further demonstrates how canals and long-term human activities since the mid Holocene have been superimposed on the natural river channel patterns. Fieldwork has been conducted to ground-truth features identified applying remote sensing techniques. Five sediment cores were analysed to elucidate palaeoenvironmental changes. Radiocarbon ages for organic samples suggest that the oldest sediment layers, at a depth of 12.5 m, are from the Early Holocene, while results from diatom analyses imply that the whole sediment column was deposited in a freshwater environment. Intensive networks of palaeochannels and archaeological sites within the study area have been reconstructed and these networks have been divided into four different time intervals based on changes in channel courses. The first is from the early 4th to the late 1st millennium BCE; the second is from the late 1st millennium BCE to the middle 2nd millennium CE; the third lasted from after the Islamic period until the 1980s; the fourth is from the 1980s until the present. Key results include evidence for freshwater environments and favourable settlement conditions had already formed by the 8th millennium BCE. The favourable settlement environment resulted in stable (long-lived) canals between the 4th millennium BCE and 1st millennium CE. A significant settlement and irrigation expansion occurred in the early 1st millennium CE. Major abandonment ensued in the late 1st millennium CE and lasted until the mid 2nd millennium CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most parts of the Circumpolar Arctic have only discontinuous evidence for long-term human settlement. In contrast, Northern Norway has an unbroken archaeological record that extends back to the early Holocene. Numerous high-resolution archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records have been generated by commercial excavations and surveys, offering archaeologists unique opportunities to investigate long-term human ecodynamics in an Arctic coastal setting. To date, however, deeper analysis of the new datasets has yet to be undertaken. This paper aims to present a new synthesis of early and mid Holocene archaeological and paleoenvironmental sequences for Western Finnmark (11500-2000 cal BP). This enables us to identify three major phases of culture change that broadly correlate with climatic and environmental shifts. We then present emerging results from our multi-scalar analysis of the processes driving these transformations. At supra-regional and regional scales, our palaeodemographic modelling indicates major population events centered around 6000 cal BP and 4000 cal BP. At intra-regional scales, we are identifying spatial clustering of prehistoric settlements into local socio-economic communities. At the scale of local settlements, our analysis of house-pit chronologies is clarifying the degree of simultaneous occupation and re-use. We also draw on recent research into rock art and ritual landscapes in an effort to reconstruct the relationship between settlement clusters and general interaction patterns. Integration of these diverse lines of evidence is generating a vivid picture of thriving Arctic coastal communities, with indications that the timing and pace of cultural responses to climatic and environmental changes were more complex than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeoclimatic records from southern tip of South America during the Last Holocene, indicate important climate intervals, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age, which offered new scenarios to hunter-gatherer groups who inhabited the region. The aim of this paper is to explore the social practices carried out by hunter-fisher-gatherer societies of the southern part of the Atlantic Coast of Tierra del Fuego island (53–55°S, 66–74°W) in order to deal with these environmental changes. From our perspective, foragers have played an active role in designing strategies to cope with environmental fluctuations. Consequently, we argue that in a context of ecological uncertainty, these societies would have developed flexible strategies in terms of subsistence, technology and settlement patterns. In order to test this proposal, zooarchaeological and technological analysis of different archaeological assemblages dated between the 1300 to 220 BP were undertaken. The results show that these hunter-fisher-gatherer societies exploited a broad range of faunal resources using a versatile technology which encompassed tools with low production values and high use values. Likewise, the analysis of landscape organization revealed a settlement strategy centered on the most productive habitats, which were preferentially reoccupied. We suggest that these strategies, supported by cumulative knowledge and material conditions, could have enhanced social resilience and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 8.2 ka BP event may represent the largest, most abrupt Holocene climate event. This paper examines the impact of this event on human activity in the middle Mesolithic. It produces Bayesian statistical models for the chronology of anthropogenic sites in northwest Atlantic Europe for a 1000 year time window around the event to explore evidence for human responses to climate change or resilience in the face of this climate change event. By approaching evidence for activity at sites in Denmark, Belgium, France, Ireland and Britain we explore evidence for differential temporally- and spatially-transgressive local responses to climate change in this period to move to sub-continental scales of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While mean grain size of sensitive component in muddy sediments from Chinese coastal seas was widely used as a proxy for reconstruction of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) strength, many intractable problems still remain concerning the discrepancies in different studies. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of recent researches on the reconstruction of Holocene EAWM strength using sensitive grain size (SGS) in muddy sediments from the Chinese coastal seas. In the present study, 15 time-series of SGS in sediments from six mud areas are included. These records are summarized and compared during the last 8000 years, 3000 years and 150 years, respectively. The results show that trends of SGS time-series are inconsistent at millennial, multi-centennial and decadal time scales. The inconsistencies could be partly caused by age uncertainties and chosen SGSs. More important, grain size characteristics in sediments from some mud areas could be influenced by factors other than coastal currents driven by EAWM, such as sedimentary environments, riverine runoff and storms. Thus SGS of muddy sediments should be used with caution when reconstructing winter monsoon strength, especially those in the northern Yellow Sea and near the Yangtze River estuary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses China's historical records to gather information on maritime disasters caused by tropical cyclones. Official records show that there were a total of thirteen major maritime disasters possibly caused by tropical cyclones. Maritime disaster variation trends indicate that tropical cyclones tend to strike the southern coast of China during a La Niña-like stage whereas an El Niño-like stage leads to tropical cyclones being guided northward toward the Korean Peninsula and Japan. During China's Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368) Kublai Khan tried to invade Japan twice during an El Niño-like stage and encountered intense tropical cyclones, which the Japanese called Kamikaze . During a La Niña-like stage, multiple maritime disasters occurred in the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1636–1912). Indeed, the historical record of the Qing Dynasty details maritime disasters at least 9 times. These events were also caused by tropical cyclones. In addition, statistics on the seasons of tropical cyclone genesis and their landfall locations from AD 1945–2013 in the Northwest Pacific Ocean region reveal that in summer, tropical cyclones tend to make landfall along coastal regions north of Fujian Province, eastern China; however, in autumn and winter, cyclones tend to be guided further southward to make landfall in southern China (Hainan), Vietnam, and the Philippines. This phenomenon in seasonal variation is reflected in the maritime disaster events recorded for coastal regions of southeastern China and landfall locations of tropical cyclones during the Qing Dynasty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, climatic, faunistic, and ecological changes could produce social readjustments and technological innovations in human populations that were exploring and colonizing the low southeastern plains of South America. In this paper, paleoecological and archaeological data are integrated to systematize and discuss different aspects of early human settlement in Uruguay and the south of Brazil. It is possible to recognize evidence of initial human dispersion by the region between ~14,000 and 13,100 cal BP (12,000 to 11,320 14C BP) during the late Pleistocene, when dry and cold climatic conditions prevailed in the region. Later, between 12,800 and 10,065 cal BP, a low plains Paleoamerican stemmed bifacial tradition emerged with three different techno-complexes, represented by Fishtail, Tigre, and Pay Paso projectile points. These groups were adapted to the grassland plains and characterized by the presence of wide-stemmed projectile points. The Fishtail point had been supplanted by the Tigre point, showing diversification in design of projectile points during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Approximately 12,000 to 11,200 cal BP in the middle Uruguay River, a social and technological reorganization occurred, along with the emergence of the Tigre techno-complex during post-Fishtail times. The advent of Tigre groups coincided with warmer and wetter climatic conditions, indicating the beginning of the Holocene. By 11,080-10,928 cal BP, new weaponry changes occurred in the region, including the production of the Pay Paso points, a regionally distinctive projectile-point style for the early Holocene. These aspects allow start discussions of cultural transmission, technological innovations and morphological variation in projectile point styles over the time and space. The field research developed over the past 15 years, in conjunction with the previous research conducted in southern Brazil, the relative high density of early sites with radiocarbon ages (n = 22), and the chronological base (67 radiocarbon ages), allow to formulate an archaeological and behavioral model about the initial peopling of the Uruguayan and southern Brazil plains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper comprises data from 27 case studies to assess large-scale human-vegetation interferences in the Carpathian region during the Mid-Holocene. The main focus is put on herding-related vegetation changes and climate influences are addressed. The publications reviewed are based on sediment sequences which provide C 14 -dated pollen records, charcoal and geochemical data. Based on a semi-quantitative approach pollen of secondary indicator species and arboreal pollen values were combined in a fuzzy model to assess the intensity of herding-related vegetation changes. The model was applied for 20 selected case studies. The data from the remaining seven sites as well as geochemical and charcoal data were used to validate the results of the standardized evaluation. Speleothem δ 18 O and δ 13 C records from Hungary and Romania were used as independent proxies to align Holocene climate development. The results were regionalized and trends of herding-related vegetation change are presented for the Southern Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains, for the Eastern Carpathians and for Hungary. Mean distances between included archives and prehistoric settlement sites were calculated as indicator for the marginality of the environmental archives. In all regions, absolute values for herding indication are low. Phases of changing herding impact on the landscape can be observed for the Southern Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains as well as for Hungary. In the Southern Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains increased herding activities can be traced for the Early Chalcolithic and the Late Bronze Age. The first phase is contemporary with an intensification of the use of secondary products. In Hungary herding impact is in accordance with prehistoric settlement development. Widely increased herding indications date to the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age. In the Eastern Carpathians, interference of climate influences and human impacts occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a part of the INQUA project “A Global Digital Database and Atlas of Quaternary Dune Field and Sand Seas”, 337 age records from the desert dunes of China and 20 from Mongolian dune fields have been compiled in the database. This has opened the possibility of exploring and synthesizing the Quaternary environmental changes in the Asian mid-latitudes dune fields directly from the on-site aeolian sand archives. This paper assessed the sand dune chronologies in terms of geographical distribution, data quality and their implications for late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The available ages are concentrated mainly in the last 20 ka and many are from the fields of stabilized dunes in the eastern portion of the desert belt in northern China. The number of records and the ratio between the records of stable state and the total records could act as a proxy for the palaeoenvironmental interpretation. The aeolian sand activities deciphered from the chronological data in the eastern portion of the desert belt in northern China show a reasonable correlation with the general global climatic curves at the glacial–interglacial timescales. The limited aeolian sand records from the glacial period, however, hamper the understanding of the detailed features (e.g., forms and processes) of the dune fields during glacial times. In the last two millennia, however, there has not been any meaningful correlation between aeolian dune activity and climatic variation at the centennial time scales, probably due to the complexity of the aeolian sand systems and human interventions. Extending the coverage of dune chronology both temporally and spatially is urgently needed for a full understanding of the environmental changes in the dune fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the published literature regarding the climatic and hydrological variations of the past 8000 years in the northern Xinjiang of China in hope that some of the controversies surrounding the Holocene climate history can be reconciled. Based on the well-tested premise that the overall relationship between the A/C ratios and the bioclimates in arid and semi-arid areas of China still holds, we compared the A/C ratio-based SMI (Standardized Moisture Index) of five selected lacustrine sequences. Our comparison shows that the regional average SMI had a general rising trend, and the rising trend was reasonably corroborated by other pollen proxies. The rising trend can be explained by invoking its climatic linkage with the North Atlantic Ocean, and a possible linkage with ENSO is an additional or an alternative mechanism for explaining the rising trend. The nearly parallel rising trends of seven δ 18 O-indicated SSI curves (Standardized Salinity Index) mean that the lake-water salinity has been rising since ∼8.0 cal. ka BP. The rising trend can be explained by invoking the Holocene variations in the areal extent of ice covers in the Tianshan Mountains and the Altay Mountains. That is, the persistent shrinking of the ice extent in the mountains generated less and less melting water supplies to the lakes and thus resulted in saltier and saltier waters in the lakes. The contradiction between the increasing trend of the basin-wide moisture and the increasing trend of the lake-water salinity can be reconciled as follows: the increasing trend of the precipitation accompanied by the lowering tend of the temperature might have increasingly enhanced the effective soil moisture in northern Xinjiang, but the increase in the basin-wide moisture was not enough to compensate for the decrease in the lake inflowing water resulted from the shrinkage of ice-covered areas in the mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taosi site (4300–4000 BP) in the southern Linfen basin of Shanxi province is regarded as one of the most important large settlement sites prior to the origin of Chinese civilization, but the environmental context of its formation remains unclear. In this paper, we reconstruct the Holocene environment, based on analyses of OSL dates, pollen, grain sizes, magnetic susceptibilities, and trace elements of the two loess-paleosol profiles in Linfen basin, and discuss its influence on Neolithic cultural evolution in the area, and the formation of the Taosi site. The results indicate that the climate was warm and wet ca. 9.0–4.9 ka, promoting the development of the Neolithic cultures during that period in the Linfen basin. Climate turned cool and dry after 4.9 ka, and settlements concentrated in the valleys of the large rivers resulting in greater culture development and increasing political centralization. The development of Neolithic cultures coupled with paleosol enriched in micronutrient elements in Linfen basin provided a cultural basis and material basis for the Taosi culture. The central geographic location of the Taosi culture amidst various other early Chinese cultures contributed to the flourishing of the culture and the formation of the Taosi site as a major protourban settlement that influenced further evolution of Chinese social systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new fossil pollen record from Tso Moriri (32°54′N, 78°19′E, 4512 m a.s.l.) and seeks to reconstruct changes in mean annual precipitation (MAP) during the last 12,000 years. This high-alpine lake occupies an area of 140 km 2 in a glacial-tectonic valley in the northwestern Himalaya. The region has a cold climate, with a MAP <300 mm, and open vegetation. The hydrology is controlled by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), but winter westerly-associated precipitation also affects the regional water balance. Results indicate that precipitation levels varied significantly during the Holocene. After a rapid increase in MAP, a phase of maximum humidity was reached between ca. 11 and 9.6 cal ka BP, followed by a gradual decline in MAP. This trend parallels the reduction in the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Comparison of different palaeoclimate proxy records reveal evidence for a stronger Holocene decrease in precipitation in the northern versus the southern parts of the ISM domain. The long-term trend of ISM weakening is overlaid with several short periods of greater dryness, which are broadly synchronous with the North Atlantic cold spells, suggesting reduced amounts of westerly-associated winter precipitation. Compared to the mid and late Holocene, it appears that westerlies had a greater influence on the western parts of the ISM domain during the early Holocene. During this period, the westerly-associated summer precipitation belt was positioned at Mediterranean latitudes and amplified the ISM-derived precipitation. The Tso Moriri pollen record and moisture reconstructions also suggest that changes in climatic conditions affected the ancient Harappan Civilisation, which flourished in the greater Indus Valley from approximately 5.2 to 3 cal ka BP. The prolonged Holocene trend towards aridity, punctuated by an interval of increased dryness (between ca. 4.5 and 4.3 cal ka BP), may have pushed the Mature Harappan urban settlements (between ca. 4.5 and 3.9 cal ka BP) to develop more efficient agricultural practices to deal with the increasingly acute water shortages. The amplified aridity associated with North Atlantic cooling between ca. 4 and 3.6 and around 3.2 cal ka BP further hindered local agriculture, possibly causing the deurbanisation that occurred from ca. 3.9 cal ka BP and eventual collapse of the Harappan Civilisation between ca. 3.5 and 3 cal ka BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It has been argued that the resource patchiness and predictability which fostered the classic seasonal round and agriculture were a product of the Holocene, and that the more unpredictable environments characteristic of the Pleistocene made such cultural developments impossible. But what of refugium environments, such as those hypothesized for the Iberian Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum? This paper examines evidence for resource patchiness and predictability in the late Pleistocene Iberian Peninsula, and uses archaeological site location and subsistence data to explore human mobility in different bioclimatic zones in this region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper presents new data on climatic, lake level and environmental changes in the Darhad Basin, northern Mongolia, during the Late Glacial and Early to Middle Holocene. Two cores, DN1 and DN2, from Lake Dood were investigated using the following proxies: grain size, total carbon (TC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total sulfur (TS), δ13C, δ18O and diatom. Our reconstructions indicate that dramatic climatic and environmental changes occurred several times since ca 14 ka cal BP. A cold and dry climate of the Late Glacial changed to a relatively cold and wet climate starting around 9.5 ka cal BP in response to an Early Holocene humidization. A generally warm and humid climate prevailed in the region at ca. 7.8–5.8 ka cal BP. Later on after 5.8 ka cal BP the climate became cooler and drier. The Darhad paleolake, the predecessor of Lake Dood, disappeared during the Late Glacial to Early Holocene times and started to reappear since ca. 9.5 ka cal BP. Lake Dood fluctuated considerably in response to changes in precipitation or/and in ground ice melting between 9.5 and 5.8 ka cal BP and started to decrease at 5.8 ka cal BP. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The climatic and anthropogenic control on Holocene sediment dynamics was not well constrained for the Western Mediterranean basin. The paucity of high resolution palaeoenvironmental records long hampered a detailed understanding of the human impact on erosion rates. This paper analyses Holocene sediment dynamics in the context of regional climatic conditions, land cover and human occupation based on an extended compilation of recently published high-resolution paleoenvironmental proxy data from both terrestrial and marine environments. The palaeoenvironmental reconstruction identified four main aridification episodes (A) at 5600–4700 (A4), 4100–3400 (A3), 2800–2500 (A2), and 1900–1300/1200 (A1) cal. BP. Most of the severe aridification phases were climatically induced, not human-driven and well correlated with a large dataset of paleoenvironmental records from the Western Mediterranean Basin and North Atlantic Ocean. The phases of enhanced aridity are generally associated with enhanced sediment dynamics, independent of the intensity and type of human occupation. In contrast, wet climatic conditions are found to be associated with both high and low sediment dynamics dependent on the human impact on the environment. The mid-late Phoenician, Phoenician II/Republican Rome civilizations and the Christian Reconquest are all associated with high human impact on the environment, and high erosion rates are reported for the Vera basin and NE Spain despite the improved hydrological conditions. Human occupation is not necessarily associated with geomorphic instability, as shown by the Post Argaric, Omeya and Nazarene periods that are characterized by low erosion rates and geomorphic stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental studies in the north-eastern Italian Alps have been hampered by the rarity of well-preserved high-altitude deposits and the lack of high-resolution multi-proxy records with adequate chronological control. This paper presents the first complete Late Glacial to Holocene peat succession from the Dolomites (Danta di Cadore, Belluno, Italian Alps). A 7 m core was used to evaluate the potential of the ombrotrophic Val di Ciampo peat deposit (1400 m a.s.l.) as an archive of environmental and climate change. The depth–age scale is based upon independent 14C and 210Pb dates and combined with peat stratigraphy demonstrates that the peat core covers more than 13,200 cal BP, extending to the end of the last part of the Late Glacial. Bulk density, inorganic matter content, pore water pH, conductivity, Ca/Mg ratios, and Ca, Sr and Ti trends were used to identify changes in trophic conditions through the bog. The boundary between ombrotrophic and minerotrophic conditions occurs at approximately 400 cm below the surface and demonstrates that this core is the longest Eastern Alpine ombrotrophic record yet obtained, corresponding to 7000 cal BP. The high-resolution chemical data of this peat archive improves our understanding of European Alpine Holocene climate variability and the relationship between natural climate fluctuations and anthropogenic climate change during the present interglacial in the Dolomites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the last 39.0 kyr of the central Tyrrhenian shelf are presented in this paper. Micropalaeontological, sedimentological and stable isotopic data integrated by radiocarbon dates were determined from three cores drilled in the Tiber delta sequence (TDS), which constitutes one of the most complete Late Quaternary high-frequency depositional sequences in the Mediterranean area. Short-period climate variations that induced short-period events caused changes in the Tiber run-off and increased the sediment supply and grain size in the delta system. The three cores, with different thicknesses, record all the system tracts forming the TDS. Three intervals corresponding to the Early and Late Lowstand, Transgressive and Highstand System Tracts (TST and HST) were recognised. The first is characterised by shoreface/inner shelf deposits and corresponds to a general cooling period characterised by short warmer periods (approximately 1.0 kyr), confirming the climatic variability of MIS 3/MIS 2. A very condensed deposition affected the second interval, which is characterised by a very low sedimentation rate corresponding to the TST of TDS. The third interval, corresponding to Holocene shelf deposits, shows small climatic oscillations that mark an enhanced seasonality typical of the modern Tyrrhenian regime. At the millennial scale, two warm intervals (Copper Age and Late Bronze Age/II century AC) alternating with two cold humid intervals (Bond cycle B3/RCC: 4.2–3.8 kyr BP of Mayewski events and the Little Ice Age) have been recognised. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper highlights results of a multidisciplinary and multi-analytical study of Holocene archaeological soils around Cecita Lake (Sila massif, Calabria, southern Italy), which represents a typical upland Mediterranean environment. It is focused on assessment of climatic and environmental changes that took place since late Neolithic to Roman times, trying to discriminate natural from anthropogenic signals. Based on an integration of archaeological, geomorphological, stratigraphic, pedological, volcanological and soil charcoal (pedoanthracological) data, the following paleoclimatic/environmental reconstruction is proposed: a warm and humid, seasonally contrasted climate, with an overall geomorphological stability suited for soil development, characterized the late prehistoric environment (Holocene climatic optimum), dominated by a widespread oak forest. The main pedogenetic processes consisted in organic matter accumulation, clay illuviation, phyllosilicate and short-range order mineral neogenesis from weathering of granite and volcanic ash, sourced from late Pleistocene–Holocene eruptions of the Aeolian Islands. One or more mid-Holocene episodes of climate deterioration towards drier conditions (indicated by a decrease of clay translocation processes and possible irreversible dehydration of poorly-crystalline aluminosilicates into phyllosilicate clay minerals) promoted intense land degradation. This was in turn enhanced by increasing human activities for settlement and resource exploitation (among which deforestation and ploughing for agriculture), which led to a shift of the vegetation cover towards a dominant pine forest between 3 ka BP and the Roman epoch. Humid and possibly cooler climatic conditions during the late Holocene are indicated by the decrease of clay illuviation, coupled with short-range order components prevailing over phyllosilicate clays during Roman soil formation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on three interconnected issues: lithic technology, geochronology and climate change, based on rock varnish proxies, and artifact reclamation processes. Ongoing research along the western the semiarid slope of Cumbres Calchaquies–Aconquija ranges and centered in the Amaicha del Valle archaeological locality has focused on lithic surface scatters. These are the product of multiple behavioral events, an accretion phenomena, a palimpsest, areas that were repetitively visited, used, and occupied over the long run for procurement of lithic raw material, manufacture of diverse types of artifacts, and specific activities. Research results suggest, based on typological analysis of lithic surface scatters, a multi-component occupation that may have included site-specific activities. Based on rock varnish microlaminations (VML) studies, a correlation-dating technique that is a reliable time-clock for establishing chronological control, human occupation was already in place prior to 6500–5900 years. Further, rock varnish carries a past climate signal, indicating eight regional wet events for the last 7000 years, four of which are mid-Holocene. Rock varnish differential formation on rocks and artifacts provide additional insights into the occupational dynamics and functionality of sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents stable C and O isotope data, as well as water contents and stable hydrogen isotope compositions of inclusion-hosted water of 230Th-dated stalagmites collected from the Leány and Pál-völgyi Caves of Central Hungary, within and about 50 km NW from Budapest, respectively. A good replication of contemporaneous stalagmite oxygen isotope records and their agreement with the COMNISPA record from the Eastern Alps suggest that the stalagmite oxygen isotope variation reflects past climate change. H2O contents in the Leány stalagmite indicate a relationship with the oxygen isotope compositions and hence with climate conditions, raising the possibility of its use as a climate proxy in future studies. The stalagmites show strong negative δ 18O excursions for two cold periods at about 5.4–6 and 8–9 ka, whereas the oxygen isotope data are relatively high in the period of 6–7 ka, indicating warmer conditions. The stalagmite hydrogen and d-excess series positively correlate with the COMNISPA record, interpreted as a sign of moisture source variations. High d-excess values in the periods of low δ 18O data for the Leány Cave at about 5.4–6 and 8–9 ka suggest a shift to Mediterranean moisture source domination when the COMNISPA record indicate weaker North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) activity. Lower d-excess values in the period of 6–7 ka are associated with low δ 18O values in the COMNISPA record, corresponding to NAO+ phase. The inferred moisture source changes are in accordance with published instrumental data covering the last hundred years and atmospheric circulation model results, and demonstrate that NAO activity influenced the climate conditions of the Carpathian Basin during most of the Holocene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on the reconstruction of Holocene climatic and environmental changes in two archaeological sites of southwestern and north-central Calabria (southern Italy). It is based on a comparison of geoarchaeological, pedological and pedoanthracological data from soil profiles in the coastal hilly and inland mountainous surroundings of Palmi and Cecita Lake, respectively. At the Palmi site, the representative soil profile includes settlements and artefacts ranging from late Neolithic to late early Bronze Age and undifferentiated historical epochs. The archaeological record of soils at Cecita spans from late Neolithic/early Eneolithic to Roman ages. At both sites, surface A horizons are affected by repeated plough marks. All soils display some Andisol-like features, related to some volcanic input during soil formation originating from late Pleistocene to Holocene explosive eruptions of the Aeolian Islands. The occurrence of clay coatings, their relict nature and overall dominant phyllosilicate clay minerals in the Neolithic soil horizons of both sites, suggest warm climate conditions with high moisture availability and some seasonal contrast, during the late early-middle Holocene climatic optimum. The post-Neolithic soils show comparable or more abundant amounts of short-range order minerals than phyllosilicates, and no to scarce clay coatings. These features indicate a transition towards (probably cooler) prolonged humid conditions, intercalated by one or more drought episodes. Severe land degradation is recorded between these major climatic phases, indicated by human impact (deforestation and agriculture) and soil erosion. Soil charcoal analysis from Cecita soils provide evidence of these anthropogenic environmental changes, as indicated by the dominance of deciduous oak forest in Neolithic soils, followed by a transition to a mountain pine forest recorded in the Roman soils. A deciduous oak forest characterizes the vegetation at Palmi from the Neolithic onward. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the spatial organization of two layers corresponding to the first half of the Middle Holocene from the Hornillos 2 rockshelter (Susques, Jujuy Province). Some important issues taken into account are the good preservation of the site and the sedimentary deposition processes which coincide with paleoclimate aspects. Correlation of different archaeological lines of evidence allows interpretation of the connection between several activity areas and their occupational intensity. There is a trash heap related to a short occupation period at the beginning of the Middle Holocene and a main zone of intense activity ca. 6200 yrs BP. These facts are in accordance with the archaeological expectations proposed for certain periods of the Middle Holocene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]