The Holocene : An Environmental History.

Intro -- THE HOLOCENE AN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY -- Copyright -- Contents -- Technical boxes -- Preface to the third edition -- Acknowledgements -- About the companion website -- 1 Introduction -- Sources of information on past environments -- Nature and society -- The significance of the Holocene -- References -- 2 Reconstructing Holocene environments -- Dating the past -- Historical and archaeological dating -- Radiometric dating methods -- Dendrochronology and radiocarbon calibration -- Other dating methods -- Conclusion -- Palaeoecological techniques -- Pollen analysis -- Plant remains -- Creatures great and small -- Freshwater and marine organisms -- Geological techniques -- Ice and ocean -- Stable isotope analysis -- Geomorphology and climate -- Geo-archaeology -- Modelling the past -- Models of environmental reconstruction -- Computer model simulations -- Conclusion -- References -- 3 The Pleistocene prelude (&gt -- 11 700 Cal. yr bp) -- Ice Age environments -- The glacial-interglacial cycle -- Understanding the causes of long-term climatic change -- The Last Glacial Maximum and after -- The terminal Pleistocene (15 000-11 700 Cal. yr bp) -- The Late Glacial in the North Atlantic region -- Terminal Pleistocene climatic oscillation: A globally synchronous event? -- Adjustment of geomorphic systems -- Human ecology at the end of the Pleistocene -- Megafaunal extinctions -- References -- 4 Early Holocene adaptations (11 700-6000 Cal. yr bp) -- Changes in the physical environment -- Ice sheets and sea levels -- Human adaptations to coastal environments -- Lake ontogeny and soil development -- The return of the forests -- Europe -- Eastern North America -- Dry Mediterranean woodland -- Tropical forests -- Factors affecting forest re-advance -- The ecology of Mesolithic Europe -- The early Holocene in the tropics -- Saharan palaeoecology.

Early Holocene climates: Pattern and process -- Conclusion -- References -- 5 The first farmers -- Agricultural origins -- Southwest Asia -- China and South Asia -- Mesoamerica -- Tropical domesticates -- Independent innovation or diffusion? -- The role of environmental change in early agriculture -- Early agricultural impacts -- European agricultural dispersals -- Ecological consequences of early European agriculture -- Conclusion -- References -- 6 The taming of nature (6000-1000 Cal. yr bp) -- Introduction -- Changes in the natural environment -- Climate and vegetation -- The origin and development of blanket mires -- Coasts and rivers -- Cultural evolution -- Hydraulic civilisation in Mesopotamia -- Environmental impact in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica -- Pastoral nomadism -- Mediterranean ecosystems -- The making of the landscape: The british isles -- The primaeval forest -- Shaugh Moor: A Bronze Age landscape -- The environmental impact of permanent agricultural clearance -- Conclusion -- References -- 7 The impact of modern times (1000-0 Cal. yr bp) -- Introduction -- Climatic changes in historical times -- Climate history and global warming -- Consequences of Medieval and Little Ice Age climate change -- Expansion at the periphery -- Conquest of the Northlands -- The Pacific -- Ecological imperialism -- Land-use history and soil erosion -- Pollution histories -- Eutrophication: natural or cultural? -- Acidification and atmospheric pollution -- References -- 8 The environmental future: A Holocene perspective -- Holocene environmental crises -- Environmental conservation and Holocene environmental history -- References -- Appendix: Calibration table for radiocarbon ages -- Glossary -- Index.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.