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dc.contributor.authorBrown, Antony
dc.contributor.authorRijal, Dilli Prasad
dc.contributor.authorHeintzman, Peter D.
dc.contributor.authorClarke, Charlotte, L.
dc.contributor.authorBlankholm, Hans Peter
dc.contributor.authorHøeg, Helge I.
dc.contributor.authorLammers, Youri
dc.contributor.authorBråthen, Kari Anne
dc.contributor.authorEdwards, M E
dc.contributor.authorAlsos, Inger Greve
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-24T11:43:06Z
dc.date.available2023-02-24T11:43:06Z
dc.date.issued2022-10-07
dc.description.abstractPopulation size has increasingly been taken as the driver of past human environmental impact worldwide, and particularly in the Arctic. However, sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), pollen and archaeological data show that over the last 12,000 years, paleoeconomy and culture determined human impacts on the terrestrial ecology of Arctic Norway. The large Mortensnes site complex (Ceavccagea ¯dgi, 70◦N) has yielded the most comprehensive multiproxy record in the Arctic to date. The site saw occupation from the Pioneer period (c. 10,000 cal. years BP) with more intensive use from c. 4,200 to 2,000 cal. years BP and after 1,600 cal. years BP. Here, we combine on-site environmental archaeology with a near-site lake record of plant and animal sedaDNA. The rich animal sedaDNA data (42 taxa) and on-site faunal analyses reveal switches in human dietary composition from early-Holocene fish + marine mammals, to mixed marine + reindeer, then finally to marine + reindeer + domesticates (sheep, cattle, pigs), with highest reindeer concentrations in the last millennium. Archaeological evidence suggests these changes are not directly driven by climate or variation in population densities at the site or in the region, but rather are the result of changing socio-economic activities and culture, probably reflecting settlers’ origins. This large settlement only had discernable effects on its hinterland in the last 3,600 years (grazing) and more markedly in the last 1,000 years through reindeer keeping/herding and, possibly domestic stock. Near-site sedaDNA can be linked to and validate the faunal record from archaeological excavations, demonstrating that environmental impacts can be assessed at a landscape scale.en_US
dc.identifier.citationBrown A, Rijal DP, Heintzman PD, Clarke CL, Blankholm H.P., Høeg HI, Lammers Y, Bråthen KA, Edwards ME, Alsos IGA. Paleoeconomy more than demography determined prehistoric human impact in Arctic Norway. PNAS Nexus. 2022;1:1-11en_US
dc.identifier.cristinIDFRIDAID 2128628
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac209
dc.identifier.issn2752-6542
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10037/28608
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherOxford University Pressen_US
dc.relation.journalPNAS Nexus
dc.rights.accessRightsopenAccessen_US
dc.rights.holderCopyright 2022 The Author(s)en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)en_US
dc.titlePaleoeconomy more than demography determined prehistoric human impact in Arctic Norwayen_US
dc.type.versionpublishedVersionen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.typeTidsskriftartikkelen_US
dc.typePeer revieweden_US


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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)