Abstract
This paper offers a comparative study of land use and demographic development in northern and southern Greece from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period. Results from summed probability densities (SPD) of archaeological radiocarbon dates and settlement numbers derived from archaeological site surveys are combined with results from cluster-based analysis of published pollen core assemblages to offer an integrated view of human pressure on the Greek landscape through time. We demonstrate that SPDs offer a useful approach to outline differences between regions and a useful complement to archaeological site surveys, evaluated here especially for the onset of the Neolithic and for the Final Neolithic (FN)/Early Bronze Age (EBA) transition. Pollen analysis highlight differences in vegetation between the two sub-regions, but also several parallel changes. The comparison of land cover dynamics between two sub-regions of Greece further demonstrates the significance of the bioclimatic conditions of core locations and that apparent oppositions between regions may in fact be two sides of the same coin in terms of socio-ecological trajectories. We also assess the balance between anthropogenic and climate-related impacts on vegetation and suggest that climatic variability was as an important factor for vegetation regrowth. Finally, our evidence suggests that the impact of humans on land cover is amplified from the Late Bronze Age (LBA) onwards as more extensive herding and agricultural practices are introduced.
Highlights
Changing human population levels exhibit a close connection with human impacts on the landscape (Ellis et al, 2013; Hughes et al, 2018; Kok et al, 2016)
This paper offers a regional case study drawing upon three main datasets from mainland Greece: archaeological radiocarbon dates, published fossil pollen core assemblages and settlement evidence derived from archaeological field surveys (Figure 1)
The spatial distribution of the selected radiocarbon dates overlaps well with the two focal regions identified for pollen core characterization
Summary
Changing human population levels exhibit a close connection with human impacts on the landscape (Ellis et al, 2013; Hughes et al, 2018; Kok et al, 2016). This paper offers a regional case study drawing upon three main datasets from mainland Greece: archaeological radiocarbon dates, published fossil pollen core assemblages and settlement evidence derived from archaeological field surveys (Figure 1). We use this information to compare and contrast the histories of northern and southern Greece, respectively, from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period (8650‒746 BP; Table 1; all dates given as BP represent calibrated calendar years before present, where ‘present’ is defined as AD 1950). The compilation of settlement data from the Peloponnese and Macedonia provides fresh insight both about the particularities of each sub-region and about consistencies visible across Greece as a whole
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