Climatic and cultural changes in the west Congo Basin forests over the past 5000 years
| Autor: | Richard Oslisly, Ilham Bentaleb, Jean-François Gillet, Charly Favier, Lee J. T. White, David Sebag, Michel Fontugne |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Patrimoines Locaux et Gouvernance (PALOC), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement [Gif-sur-Yvette] (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Géochrononologie Traceurs Archéométrie (GEOTRAC), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech [Gembloux], Université de Liège, Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière (M2C), Université de Caen Normandie (UNICAEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Normandie Université (NU)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rouen Normandie (UNIROUEN), Normandie Université (NU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) |
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2013 |
| Předmět: |
CONSERVATION DE LA NATURE
PREHISTOIRE FORET AGRICULTURE 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Rain PALEOENVIRONNEMENT CHANGEMENT CULTUREL History 18th Century 01 natural sciences Trees Tropical climate HOLOCENE History Ancient Holocene History 15th Century education.field_of_study palaeoenvironment Ecology MOSAIQUE FORET SAVANE History 19th Century Articles Vegetation Geography Congo History 16th Century General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Research Article 010506 paleontology [SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory Climate Change AGE DES METAUX Population Climate change Context (language use) Rainforest SAVANE SITE ARCHEOLOGIQUE FACTEUR ANTHROPIQUE General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology History 17th Century vegetation Cultural Evolution Humans education Ecosystem 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Tropical Climate Congo–Ogooué basin climatic change archaeology History 20th Century 15. Life on land History Medieval PALEOCLIMAT Iron Age CHANGEMENT CLIMATIQUE HISTOIRE DU PEUPLEMENT DEFORESTATION |
| Zdroj: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2013, 368 (1625), pp.20120304-20120304. ⟨10.1098/rstb.2012.0304⟩ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Royal Society, The, 2013, 368 (1625), pp.20120304-20120304. ⟨10.1098/rstb.2012.0304⟩ |
| ISSN: | 0962-8436 1471-2970 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rstb.2012.0304⟩ |
| Popis: | Central Africa includes the world's second largest rainforest block. The ecology of the region remains poorly understood, as does its vegetation and archaeological history. However, over the past 20 years, multidisciplinary scientific programmes have enhanced knowledge of old human presence and palaeoenvironments in the forestry block of Central Africa. This first regional synthesis documents significant cultural changes over the past five millennia and describes how they are linked to climate. It is now well documented that climatic conditions in the African tropics underwent significant changes throughout this period and here we demonstrate that corresponding shifts in human demography have had a strong influence on the forests. The most influential event was the decline of the strong African monsoon in the Late Holocene, resulting in serious disturbance of the forest block around 3500 BP. During the same period, populations from the north settled in the forest zone; they mastered new technologies such as pottery and fabrication of polished stone tools, and seem to have practised agriculture. The opening up of forests from 2500 BP favoured the arrival of metallurgist populations that impacted the forest. During this long period (2500–1400 BP), a remarkable increase of archaeological sites is an indication of a demographic explosion of metallurgist populations. Paradoxically, we have found evidence of pearl millet ( Pennisetum glaucum ) cultivation in the forest around 2200 BP, implying a more arid context. While Early Iron Age sites (prior to 1400 BP) and recent pre-colonial sites (two to eight centuries BP) are abundant, the period between 1600 and 1000 BP is characterized by a sharp decrease in human settlements, with a population crash between 1300 and 1000 BP over a large part of Central Africa. It is only in the eleventh century that new populations of metallurgists settled into the forest block. In this paper, we analyse the spatial and temporal distribution of 328 archaeological sites that have been reliably radiocarbon dated. The results allow us to piece together changes in the relationships between human populations and the environments in which they lived. On this basis, we discuss interactions between humans, climate and vegetation during the past five millennia and the implications of the absence of people from the landscape over three centuries. We go on to discuss modern vegetation patterns and African forest conservation in the light of these events. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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