Abstract
AbstractSynchronized demographic and behavioral patterns among distinct populations is a well-known, natural phenomenon. Intriguingly, similar patterns of synchrony occur among prehistoric human populations. However, the drivers of synchronous human ecodynamics are not well understood. Addressing this issue, we review the role of environmental variability in causing human demographic and adaptive responses. As a case study, we explore human ecodynamics of coastal hunter-gatherers in Holocene northern Europe, comparing population, economic, and environmental dynamics in two separate areas (northern Norway and western Finland). Population trends are reconstructed using temporal frequency distributions of radiocarbon-dated and shoreline-dated archaeological sites. These are correlated to regional environmental proxies and proxies for maritime resource use. The results demonstrate remarkably synchronous patterns across population trajectories, marine resource exploitation, settlement pattern, and technological responses. Crucially, the population dynamics strongly correspond to significant environmental changes. We evaluate competing hypotheses and suggest that the synchrony stems from similar responses to shared environmental variability. We take this to be a prehistoric human example of the “Moran effect,” positing similar responses of geographically distinct populations to shared environmental drivers. The results imply that intensified economies and social interaction networks have limited impact on long-term hunter-gatherer population trajectories beyond what is already proscribed by environmental drivers.
Highlights
Synchronized demographic and behavioral patterns among distinct and geographically separate populations is a well-known natural phenomenon that has been demonstrated across animal and plant populations
We explore human ecodynamics of coastal hunter-gatherers in Holocene northern Europe, comparing population, economic and environmental dynamics in distributions of radiocarbon dated and shoreline dated archaeological sites
We consider the timespan from the early Holocene colonization at12.000 cal yr BP to about 2000 cal yr BP, at which point farming achieved a more permanent foothold and changes in settlement patterns and economy ensued in northern Fennoscandia
Summary
Synchronized demographic and behavioral patterns among distinct and geographically separate populations is a well-known natural phenomenon that has been demonstrated across animal and plant populations. Three primary mechanisms have been offered to explain such synchrony: (a) dispersal or migration among populations, (b) trophic interactions with populations of other species that are themselves spatially synchronous or mobile, and (c) spatially correlated environmental influences (Liebhold et al, 2004). This last phenomenon is known as the “Moran effect”, remarking upon the tendency of spatially separated populations to fluctuate in synchrony when exposed to similar environmental conditions (Moran 1953). The Moran effect is often thought to be the result of synchronous weather or climate influences acting on spatially disjunct populations (Moran, 1953; Koenig, 2002; Rosenstock et al, 2011; Kahilainen et al., 2018)
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