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Dendro-archeo-ecology in North America and Europe: Re-purposing Historical Materials to Study Ancient Human-Environment Interactions

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Dendroecology

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 231))

Abstract

The unique position of dendrochronology at the nexus of archeology, ecology, and climatology allows it to play a pivotal role in the study of past human-environment interactions. Yet, few tree-ring studies in Europe and eastern North America have been used to study pre-industrial land-use changes, forest ecology, and carbon dynamics and thus to constrain the uncertainties surrounding the Early Anthropocene hypothesis (Ruddiman Clim Chang 61:261–293, 2003; Rev Geophys 45(4):RG4001, 2007). Here, we discuss the potential of dendro-archeo-ecology—the use of dendroarcheological material in the study of forest ecology—to document past human land-use and forest alteration, which started in the Neolithic Era (∼12,000–4000 BP) in Europe and after European immigration into eastern North America in the 1620s. In this context, we focus on the dendro-archeo-ecology of (1) Neolithic pile dwellings in the Euro-Mediterranean region and (2) old-growth forest dynamics in eastern North America. We discuss recurring challenges (e.g., low sample depth, short series length) and uncertainties (e.g., species and tree size bias) related to the use of (pre)historic timbers for ecological purposes that need to be carefully addressed. We advocate for a concerted effort to move the use of dendro-archeological material from strictly archeological applications towards exploration of its ecological potential and for a close alliance of dendrochronology with related disciplines that aim to address the same subjects.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank P. Baker and A. Hessl for very constructive feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. NP thanks VT for partially subsidizing work conducted on the Hawley-Bell Collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, 1215 E Lowell Street, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Valerie Trouet & Charlotte Pearson

  2. Department of History, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain

    Marta Domínguez-Delmás

  3. Department of Botany, University of Santiago de Compostela, Rua Benigno Ledo s/n, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Marta Domínguez-Delmás

  4. Harvard Forest, Harvard University, 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA, USA

    Neil Pederson

  5. Department of Biology, Hanover College, 517 Ball Drive, Hanover, IN, USA

    Darrin Rubino

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  1. Valerie Trouet
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  3. Charlotte Pearson
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  4. Neil Pederson
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  5. Darrin Rubino
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Correspondence to Valerie Trouet .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos, Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, El Bolsón, Río Negro, Argentina

    Mariano M. Amoroso

  2. Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Lori D. Daniels

  3. School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Patrick J. Baker

  4. Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE-CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain

    J. Julio Camarero

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Trouet, V., Domínguez-Delmás, M., Pearson, C., Pederson, N., Rubino, D. (2017). Dendro-archeo-ecology in North America and Europe: Re-purposing Historical Materials to Study Ancient Human-Environment Interactions. In: Amoroso, M., Daniels, L., Baker, P., Camarero, J. (eds) Dendroecology. Ecological Studies, vol 231. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61669-8_16

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