Landscape modification by Last Interglacial Neanderthals

Science Advances, vol. 7, pp. eabj5567

Abstract

Little is known about the antiquity, nature, and scale of Pleistocene hunter-gatherer impact on their ecosystems, despite the importance for studies of conservation and human evolution. Such impact is likely to be limited, mainly because of low population densities, and challenging to detect and interpret in terms of cause-effect dynamics. We present high-resolution paleoenvironmental and archaeological data from the Last Interglacial locality of Neumark-Nord (Germany). Among the factors that shaped vegetation structure and succession in this lake landscape, we identify a distinct ecological footprint of hominin activities, including fire use. We compare these data with evidence from archaeological and baseline sites from the same region. At Neumark-Nord, notably open vegetation coincides with a virtually continuous c. 2000-year-long hominin presence, and the comparative data strongly suggest that hominins were a contributing factor. With an age of c. 125,000 years, Neumark-Nord provides an early example of a hominin role in vegetation transformation.

Authors 8

1. Wil Roebroeks corresponding Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

2. Katharine MacDonald corresponding Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

3. Fulco Scherjon corresponding Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

4. C.C. Bakels Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

5. Lutz Kindler

   Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Ancient Studies, Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Schönborner Hof, Schillerstraße 11, 55116 Mainz, Germany

   MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, 56567 Neuwied, Germany

6. Anastasia V. Nikulina Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

7. Eduard Pop Aachen Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Leiden University · Naturalis Biodiversity Center

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

   Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands

8. Sabine Gaudzinski‐Windheuser

   Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Ancient Studies, Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Schönborner Hof, Schillerstraße 11, 55116 Mainz, Germany

   MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Schloss Monrepos, 56567 Neuwied, Germany