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Geoarchaeological research captures dimensions of the past at an unprecedented level of detail and multiple spatial and temporal scales. The record of the past held by soils and sediments is an archive for past environments, climate change, resource use, settlement lifeways, and societal development and resilience over time. When the McDonald Institute was established at Cambridge, geoarchaeology was one of the priority fields for a new research and teaching environment. An opportunity to develop the legacy of Charles McBurney was bestowed upon Charles French, whose ‘geoarchaeology in action’ approach has had an enormous impact in advancing knowledge, principles and practices across academic, teaching and professional sectors. Many journeys that began at Cambridge have since proliferated into dozens of inspired geoarchaeologies worldwide. This volume presents research and reflection from across the globe by colleagues in tribute to Charly, under whose leadership the Charles McBurney Laboratory became a beacon of geoarchaeology.

This paper presents the latest model developed within Case Study 1 (hereafter CS1) of the SimulPast project: Hunter-Gatherer persistence in arid margins. The case of North Gujarat (India). The aim of this model is to test the resilience of agro-pastoralists (AP) communities in semi-arid ecosystems. We created a simple Agent Based Model in which agents relied on a pure subsistence strategy based on domesticated plants and animals. We tested our model against previously published climatic record for the area and concluded that a pure agropastoral strategy was not enough to sustain the population in conditions of high climatic variability. Further tests were performed to check the climatic conditions in which this type of subsistence strategy is self-sustained in order to extrapolate the model to areas with different specificities than the one understudy.

Research on security-related aspects of climate change is an important element of climate change impact assessments. Hamburg has become a globally recognized center of pertinent analysis of the climate-conflict-nexus. The essays in this collection present a sample of the research conducted from 2009 to 2018 within an interdisciplinary cooperation of experts from Universität Hamburg and other institutions in Hamburg related to the research group “Climate Change and Security” (CLISEC). This collection of critical assessments covers a broad understanding of security, ranging from the question of climate change as a cause of violent conflict to conditions of human security in the Anthropocene. The in-depth analyses utilize a wide array of methodological approaches, from agent-based modeling to discourse analysis.

Research on security-related aspects of climate change is an important element of climate change impact assessments. Hamburg has become a globally recognized center of pertinent analysis of the climate-conflict-nexus. The essays in this collection present a sample of the research conducted from 2009 to 2018 within an interdisciplinary cooperation of experts from Universität Hamburg and other institutions in Hamburg related to the research group “Climate Change and Security” (CLISEC). This collection of critical assessments covers a broad understanding of security, ranging from the question of climate change as a cause of violent conflict to conditions of human security in the Anthropocene. The in-depth analyses utilize a wide array of methodological approaches, from agent-based modeling to discourse analysis.

Research on security-related aspects of climate change is an important element of climate change impact assessments. Hamburg has become a globally recognized center of pertinent analysis of the climate-conflict-nexus. The essays in this collection present a sample of the research conducted from 2009 to 2018 within an interdisciplinary cooperation of experts from Universität Hamburg and other institutions in Hamburg related to the research group “Climate Change and Security” (CLISEC). This collection of critical assessments covers a broad understanding of security, ranging from the question of climate change as a cause of violent conflict to conditions of human security in the Anthropocene. The in-depth analyses utilize a wide array of methodological approaches, from agent-based modeling to discourse analysis.

This work explores the spatial distribution of monsoonal flooded areas using ENVISAT C-band Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) in the semi-arid region of N. Gujarat, India. The amplitude component of SAR Single Look Complex (SLC) images has been used to estimate the extent of surface and near-surface water dynamics using the mean amplitude (MA) of monsoonal (July to September) and post-monsoonal (October to January) seasons. The integration of SAR-derived maps (seasonal flooding maps and seasonal MA change) with archaeological data has provided new insights to understand present-day landscape dynamics affecting archaeological preservation and visibility. Furthermore, preliminary results suggest a good correlation between Mid-Holocene settlement patterns and the distribution and extension of seasonal floodable areas within river basin areas, opening interesting inroads to study settlement distribution and resource availability in past socio-ecological systems in semi-arid areas.

[cat] Aquesta tesi doctoral integra dades provinents de la geoarqueologia i de la teledetecció per contextualitzar, en una perspectiva multiescalar i multitemporal, el registre arqueològic d’ambients àrids i semiàrids amb les dinàmiques hidrològiques, geomorfològiques i socioecològiques que han modelat el paisatge fins als nostres dies. El cas d’estudi del Gujarat del Nord ofereix un escenari ideal per a l’estudi d’aquestes dinàmiques a llarg termini. Tot i ser una de les regions més àrides de l’Índia, la regió també és altament sensible a la variabilitat de les precipitacions del monsó del sud-oest. Les poblacions que ocuparen aquest territori durant l’Holocè (caçadors-recol·lectors, grups agrícoles i pastorals i comunitats en contacte amb la Civilització de la Vall de l’Indus) han deixat un registre arqueològic exposat a la superfície de dunes fòssils. Tot sovint aquestes evidències es recullen durant prospeccions d’abast local i se’n estudia la tipologia material. En moltes ocasions, però, no es consideren els actors i factors que intervenen en la formació i modificació tant del paisatge com del palimpsest d’evidències mixtes que sovint caracteritza el registre arqueològic en espais oberts. En aquest estudi s’han utilitzat imatges multiespectrals, imatges de radar SAR, mapes topogràfics i fotografies històriques CORONA en diverses escales d’anàlisi. La distribució i visibilitat del registre arqueològic s’ha contextualitzat amb la fisiografia regional, l’impacte del monsó en els recursos hídrics i els influxos antròpics que, sobretot durant els últims 50 anys, han alterat profundament el paisatge i la preservació de les evidències arqueològiques. Finalment, la recerca redueix l’escala d’observació amb una proposta de prospecció intrajaciment que permet una exploració alternativa al palimpsest arqueològic a partir de l’anàlisi espacial i la classificació de signatures fisicoquímiques preservades en el sediment superficial de dunes fòssils., [eng] This PhD dissertation integrates geoarchaeological and Earth Observation data in a multiscale and multitemporal perspective to contextualise and better understand the archaeological record of drylands in relation with the main hydrological, geomorphological and socio-ecological dynamics that have shaped the landscape to the present day. The case study of North Gujarat offers ideal settings for the study of long-term landscape dynamics. Being one of the driest regions in India, Gujarat is strongly sensitive to changes in the Indian Summer Monsoon precipitation patterns. The populations that inhabited the region through the Holocene (i.e. hunter-gatherers, agro-pastoral groups and urban groups related to the Indus Valley Civilisation) have left an archaeological record exposed on the surface of fossilised sand dunes. These evidences are collected during field explorations for further typological analyses. However, most of these studies do not evaluate the actors and factors involved in the formation and modification of both the landscape as well as the mixed archaeological palimpsest that often characterises open-air archaeology. This study includes multi-scale observations of multiespectral and radar SAR imagery, historical topographic maps and CORONA photographs. The distribution and visibility of the archaeological record is discussed in the light of regional physiographical traits, monsoonal water dynamics and the impact of present day anthropic activities and land use change. Finally, this research scales down the previous observations with a methodological approach aimed at refining survey methods for the classification of archaeological surface palimpsests by means of the spatial analysis and classification of physico-chemical proxies from surface scatters.