Abstract
The impact of rapid climate change on contemporary human populations is of global concern. To contextualize our understanding of human responses to rapid climate change it is necessary to examine the archeological record during past climate transitions. One episode of abrupt climate change has been correlated with societal collapse at the end of the northwestern European Bronze Age. We apply new methods to interrogate archeological and paleoclimate data for this transition in Ireland at a higher level of precision than has previously been possible. We analyze archeological (14)C dates to demonstrate dramatic population collapse and present high-precision proxy climate data, analyzed through Bayesian methods, to provide evidence for a rapid climatic transition at ca. 750 calibrated years B.C. Our results demonstrate that this climatic downturn did not initiate population collapse and highlight the nondeterministic nature of human responses to past climate change.
Highlights
The impact of rapid climate change on contemporary human populations is of global concern
In northwestern Europe, the eighth century calibrated years B.C. sees the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age
Whereas evidence for Late Bronze Age settlement and craft production is widespread, it is notoriously elusive for Early Iron Age communities in many parts of northwestern Europe [5, 9,10,11], suggesting a reduction in population levels
Summary
The impact of rapid climate change on contemporary human populations is of global concern. Recent paleoenvironmental studies have identified a major climate shift across much of northwestern Europe toward the end of the Bronze Age [3, 4]. Ireland forms an important study region for examining the relationships between human populations and past climate change.
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