19 Human Environmental Impact in the Paleolithic and Neolithic

Abstract

With increasing population size, the environmental impact of Paleolithic and Neolithic societies increased. The most apparent effect of hunters and gatherers was the disappearance of large herbivorous mammals (megafauna) soon after men appeared on a new continent (best examples are the Americas). The overkill hypothesis attributes this to increasing human population pressure and efficient hunting techniques, but also to effects of changing climate and vegetation. The loss of the Pleistocene megafauna probably led to modifications in vegetation structure, higher fire frequency, and a reduction in biodiversity. With further increasing population density, man became a food producer through the invention of agriculture and stock farming. In Mesopotamia since 6,000 years bp, the development of irrigation systems led to a considerable increase in the agricultural area, but since the fourth millennium bp large area losses due to irrigation mistakes (salinization) are reported. Generally, deforestation and erosion processes are known from several regions of the Mediterranean area since 7,000 bp.