Identifying human-climate interactions in the past
How did past societies adapt to climate change? How do we best identify the main drivers of agricultural change in the past? How do we best integrate records of past climate and climate modelling data with archaeological data and paleoenvironmental evidence of human activities to interpret human-climate interactions in the past? In this workshop, scholars from a range of disciplines will present case-studies of research integrating climate, archaeological data and palaeoenvironmental evidence for human activities to stimulate dialogue on these issues. A series of presentations will be followed by small group discussions and a panel discussion. The discussions will aim to identify key methodological best practice and challenges with data integration, as well as to identify future research directions and avenues for methodological development.
This workshop is organised by Rosie R. Bishop, PI of the CAS project Climate, Crops, and Crisis?
Provisional Programme (subject to change)
09:00–09:15
Welcome & Introduction by Rosie R. Bishop
Session 1
Session chair: Kenny Brophy
09:15-09:30 Astrid Nyland (University of Stavanger, NO): Root causes for change? Investigating impact of the Storegga tsunami, changing sea level and the 8.2 climatic cold event on Mesolithic huntergatherer-fishers on the Norwegian West coast
09:30-09:45 Simon Blockley (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK): Testing the resilience of past populations to abrupt climate change through the integration of paleoclimate archives with archaeological records – examples from the Holocene of Britain
09:45-10:00 Magdalena Bunbury (James Cook University, AU): Integrating archaeological and climatic data: insights into Neolithic and early Bronze Age communities across Arctic Norway to southern Scandinavia (online presentation)
10:00-10:20 Questions for speakers
10:20-10:40 Break
Session 2
Session chair: Anne Bjune
10:40-10:55 Kari Hjelle (University of Bergen, NO): Vegetation changes in western Norway – related to climate, agricultural adaption or other human activity
10:55-11:10 Randi Frøseth (Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, NO): The climatic and environmental limitations for cereal cultivation in Norway
11:10-11:25 Ingar Mørkestøl Gundersen (University of Oslo, NO): Interlocking climate and society: climate and harvest failure in sixth-century Scandinavia
11:25-11:40 Eirik Gottschalk Ballo (University of Oslo, NO): Reconstructing climate, environment and human history in Elverum, Norway
11:40-12:00 Questions for speakers
12:00-12:50 Lunch
Session 3
Session chair: Steinar Solheim
12:50-13:05 Angela Trentacoste (British School at Rome, IT): Economy and ecodynamics: climate change and livestock production in late prehistoric and Roman Italy (online presentation)
13:05-13:20 Ralph Fyfe (University of Plymouth, UK): Reflection on linking climate, society and environment in the changing the face of the Mediterranean project. Correlation, or causation?
13:20-13:35 Anton Bonnier (Uppsala University, SE): Shifts in climate and the impact on agricultural land use in dry areas of the Greek mainland
13:35-13:55 Dan Hill (University of Leeds, UK) and Dan Lawrence (University of Durham, UK): Climate, archaeobotany and landscape change in Southwest Asia across the Holocene: reflections from the CLaSS project
13:55-14:15 Questions for speakers
14:15-14:35 Break
Session 4
Session chair: Daniel Fredh
14:35-14:50 Maria Ivanova-Bieg (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, DE), Wolfgang Traylor (Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, DE), Elena Marinova-Wolff (State Office for Cultural Heritage, DE), and Thomas Hickler (Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, DE): The first dispersals of domestic species in Europe: integrating climatic niche models and archaeological data to assess agricultural sustainability during phases of habitat expansion
14:50-15:05 Mike Church (Durham University, UK), Darren Gröcke (Durham University, UK), Rosie R. Bishop (University of Stavanger, NO), et al.: A tale of two Landnáms: adoption and adaptation of arable agriculture in Neolithic north-west Europe and the Viking North Atlantic (online presentation)
15:05-15:20 Andrew Dugmore (University of Edinburgh, UK): Evaluating climate as a driver of change in social-ecological systems; from co-incidence to causal connections
15:20-15:35 Questions for speakers
15:35-15:50 Break
Session 5
Session chair: Scott Timpany
15:50–16:30 Group discussion with all workshop participants: Connecting archaeology to past climate changes
16:30-17:15 Panel discussion with Rosie Bishop, Andrew Dugmore, Pete Langdon, and Ingrid Mainland: Connecting archaeology to past climate changes
19:00 Aperitif and dinner in the Academy