Diatoms are regarded as reliable bioindicators for assessing heavy metal contamination in marine ecosystem including mercury. In the present study diatoms were used as bioindicators to reconstruct changes in the concentration of total mercury and its fractions in the Middle and Late-Holocene in the southern Baltic based on a 450 cm long sediment core. The goal of the study was to reconstruct changes in the concentration of Hg tot and its fractions in relation to biodiversity of the diatom flora, climatic fluctuations occurring inferred from pollen and Pediastrum records and in relative abundance of sediment fractions. Hg tot concentration increased from 4.6 ng g −1 (6300 cal. yr BP) to 353 ng g −1 (2021). Among the analyzed fractions HgS (⩽86.6%) dominated until ca. 4200 cal. yr BP after which a gradual increase in the proportion of Hg F2 (⩽69.8%), was observed. The current study showed that over the last 6300 cal. yr BP the increase in Hg concentrations in the sediments of the Puck Bay has been influenced by human activities in addition to natural sources (atmospheric input, climatic fluctuations, storm events, diatoms productivity). About 4200–200 cal. yr BP the diatoms Schionodiscus oestrupii and Rhizosolenia hebetata f. hebetata enabled the identification eight time intervals during which climatic fluctuations influenced changes in sedimentary Hg tot concentrations. Over the last ca. 200 cal. yr BP the highest Hg concentrations were associated with intensive human activity as evidenced by the anthropogenic diatom flora present at that time ( Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana , Thalassiosira levanderi ).
The final disappearance of the aurochs ( Bos primigenius ) from Poland in the 17th century marked the culmination of a decline that had begun as early as the Atlantic period. Although human activities primarily drove its extinction, the reasons for its earlier disappearance in Scandinavia remain uncertain. This study investigates the immigration and extinction dynamics of the Scandinavian aurochs during the Holocene. Utilising phylogenetic and palaeogenetic data, we trace its postglacial colonisation from a Western European refugium, delimiting the period of connectivity with the main European population before the land bridge was severed by rising sea levels. Genetic analyses further point to inbreeding and genetic drift, exacerbated by population bottlenecks and geographical isolation, diminishing resilience over time. Population modelling indicates a classic boom-bust pattern correlated with intensified human settlement and hunting. Despite environmental conditions initially permitting persistence amidst increasing forest cover, subsequent habitat loss and human pressures accelerated demographic decline. Our integrated approach indicates that the extinction resulted from a synergistic effect of habitat fragmentation and degradation, genetic depletion, and prolonged anthropogenic pressures. These findings highlight the complex, multifactorial processes underlying species extinction and emphasise the importance of cross-disciplinary methods in palaeoecological research.
The Serteyka River Valley in the part of the Western Dvina Lakeland has been the subject of intensive geoarchaeological and palaeoecological studies for years. The past human settlement on the ancient lake shore was exposed to water level fluctuations dependent on climatic changes and the hydrological regime of the Serteyka River. This paper presents the first reconstructions of the evolution of the shore zone of the Great Serteya Palaeolake Basin based on a detailed study of subfossil remains of Coleoptera. Based on Coleoptera assemblage data, marsh conditions at the study site occurred at 4.65, 4.25, 4.14, and 4.09–4.04 ky cal BP, whereas fully aquatic conditions were recorded at 4.20 and 3.94–3.78 ky cal BP. Periods of highly variable water levels are indicated at 5.45, 5.11, 4.88–4.86, 4.61, 4.36–4.22, 4.18–4.14, 4.09, 4.05, and 3.99 ky cal BP by the co-occurrence of aquatic and terrestrial Coleoptera. Coleoptera assemblages indicate that the plant communities consisted mainly of alder–oak swamp forests, while open plant communities and human indicators were very rare. This contrasts with the results of previous studies that reveal intensive human settlement in the nearby lakeshore peatland habitat. The presented results show that Coleoptera (often neglected in multiproxy studies) are important palaeoindicators that can generate detailed information on habitat conditions in the lakeshore zone. This is the first environmental archaeological study focussed on the Neolithic in the East European Plain where Coleoptera are considered as indicators. The analysis of subfossil Coleoptera provides many results from aquatic and terrestrial environments that cannot be obtained from other palaeoecological proxies.
Investigating Late-Holocene climate variability in the Mediterranean, one of the most climatically sensitive regions, provides key insights into past environmental dynamics. The Halk El Menjel Lagoon, a key paleoenvironmental archive in the south-central Mediterranean, preserves a 4400-year sedimentary record (HK2) that reflects both regional and global climate changes. The chronology of the core is constrained by three AMS radiocarbon dates obtained specifically for this study and integrated into a Bayesian age–depth model using the rBchron package. Grain-size analysis of 750 samples from a 150 cm sediment core identified 12 subpopulations (1.2–2 to 1000–1350 µm), which were grouped through Principal Component Analysis and distribution analysis into three main transport modes: aeolian (600–1000 µm), fluvial (250–580 µm), and hydraulic runoff (1.2–2 µm). Temporal trends reveal major sedimentary shifts corresponding to well-known climatic phases. The Iron Age interval, encompassing the 2.8 ka BP event, shows pronounced variability in grain-size distributions, indicating an overall trend toward increasing aridity. The HK2 record displays a synchronous reduction in the 250–580 µm fluvial subpopulation, alongside the emergence of a finer 40–62 µm subpopulation, suggesting reduced fluvial energy and relatively humid conditions compared to other arid Mediterranean records. The Roman Humid Period appears as a phase of marked humidity (250–580 µm reaching 54.7% and 2–5.2 µm at 4.1%), punctuated by highly energetic storm events (1000–1350 µm, 1.9%) and interrupted by significant arid episodes (600–1000 µm, 36.3%), revealing alternating depositional regimes. In contrast, the Dark Age and Medieval Climate Anomaly emerge as climatically temperate phases, highlighting a regional pattern that differs from other Mediterranean records. The Modern Period is dominated by fine-grained runoff deposits (>99% 1.2–2 µm), reflecting a confined, low-energy lagoonal setting.
The Great Rann of Kachchh (GRK) Basin accumulated a huge sediment pile during the Holocene under complex climate-tectonic influences. The clay mineralogical investigations on three sediment cores, namely DS (~32 m), VK (~42 m) and KC (~37 m) show predominant illite and chlorites over the smectite and kaolinites suggest largely Himalayan derived sediment input to the GRK Basin, majorly through fluvial transport. The early Holocene clay mineral record marks predominant Himalayan sources (illite-chlorites) with substantial mixing from NW alluvial plains (Rajasthan-Haryana), Thar Desert and Aravalli ranges (smectite and kaolinite). These sediments were mainly transported through large Himalayan river/s (currently buried under Thar Desert e.g. Ghaggar-Hakra-Nara?) under developing monsoon. Later, the arid landscape of western India during mid-Holocene potentially facilitated aeolian mixing of fine-grained sediments contaminating sediment influx with relatively higher “smectite” proportions in overall clay mineral compositions. During Late-Holocene, despite choking of river channels, increased aridity, the GRK Basin continued to receive Himalayan sediments, suggests uninterrupted fluvial past of the region. Higher kaolinites and smectite during this period denoteincreased proximal source mixing and/or reduced Himalayan input to the GRK basin. The results show that the clay mineral assemblage at millennial scales was controlled by complex interactions between provenance, landscape and climatic phases, rather than the palaeoclimate alone.
A new modern pollen dataset from one of the world’s highest alpine lakes, Lake Issyk-Kul in Central Asia, is analysed for taphonomy, spatial distribution and its climate reconstruction potential. The dataset includes samples from moss polsters, terrestrial muds and the lake sediment surface. Comparison of assemblage pairs of moss and terrestrial muds and richness analysis reveal a minor taphonomy influence. A comparison of terrestrial and lacustrine samples indicates that Artemisia is widely over-represented in lacustrine sediment. It is recommended to exclude this taxon from the counting sum and to increase the sums to avoid obscuring information from other taxa. Long-distance transport is evident for Artemisia , Amaranthaceae and Ephedra ; while some taxa reflect azonal vegetation, for example, Hippophae rhamnoides, Betula, Salix and Ulmus . The dataset distinguishes three vegetation types: Picea forest, vegetation along river and lake shores and distant steppe. Elevation transects across the Picea forest belt (now >300 m above the lake) contribute specifically to reconstruct its past elevation and to highlight periods when this belt was near the shore. Pollen grain concentrations are very high in the lake sediment, especially in the centre, probably due to lake-effect precipitation with a minor contribution of fine-grained sediment focussing. Picea pollen and stomata show a good potential for palaeovegetation reconstruction and palaeoclimate quantification, especially for precipitation; while Artemisia over-representation and presence in various vegetation types, suggest that it would make a poor indicator. Our results constitute a significant data corpus for the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database for community use and suggest that the centre of the lake is the best location for obtaining a meaningful pollen palaeo-record.
Sediment rock-magnetic records from Laguna Minucua, (Oaxaca) Mexico, have been used to develop a detailed proxy environmental record of hydroclimate variability (wet/dry cycles) for the last 3000 years. Rock magnetic intensities (ARM, SIRM, CHI) estimate the clastic flux to Laguna Minucua due to variable rainfall/outwash. The rock magnetic ratio, ARM/CHI, estimates the overall clastic grain size versus time. These rock-magnetic proxies and a revised chronostratigraphy define a detailed multi-decadal/centennial scale of hydrologic cyclicity for the last 3000 years. This pattern is also noted in four other published paleoclimate records from western Mexico. This cyclicity is synchronous (<±25 years) among these five records for the entire time period of overlap. This synchrony suggests that western Mexico from Baja, California to Oaxaca, Mexico, and west of the Sierra Madre Occidental crest define a coherent regional hydroclimate pattern of variability. The multi-decadal/centennial scale cyclicity varies slowly over time from a period of less than 100 years (today) versus 150–200 years 3000 years ago. All of the regional records identify notable long (>20-yr) droughts, several of which have been noted before in other paleoclimate/archeological studies. There is also evidence for a longer alternation in wet/dry conditions, consistent among all our studied records, with four 200–400 years wet intervals, individually preceeded by a notable long drought, and followed by increasingly drought conditions for the next several 100 years.
Plant food exploitation has long been considered one of the most significant windows to understanding the process of sedentism. Two early Neolithic sites, Yumin (ca. 8,400-7,600 cal BP) and Simagou (ca. 7,500-7,000 cal BP), witnessed the earliest onset of a sedentary lifeway in the southern Mongolian Plateau (today’s south-central Inner Mongolia) of north China. The results from residue (starch and phytolith) and usewear analyses on grinding stones from these two sites yield evidence of processing and consuming Panicoideae (millet, Job’s tears), Triticeae, and multiple types of tubers, indicating a broad-spectrum subsistence practice in this region. Additionally, this study documents the earliest time phase of millet consumption during the transition to sedentism in the southern Mongolian Plateau.
The geochemical and palynological study of a well-radiocarbon-dated core from the "Les Comailles" peat bog, located in the vicinity of slag heaps in the former iron-metallurgy district of Puisaye (Bourgogne-Franche-Comt & eacute; region, France), highlights the impact of metallurgical activities on vegetation cover from 2000 cal. BC to cal. AD 1740. The physico-chemical characterization of the peat bog demonstrated its reliability to be used as a chronological archive of past environmental changes. The study recorded evidence of atmospheric emissions of several metals, including arsenic, lead, or zinc, during the Late Bronze Age, even though no archaeometallurgical sites are currently known in the Puisaye district before the Early Iron Age, revealing the possible existence of punctuated bronze metallurgy in Puisaye. Forest clearance of Quercus was evidenced during the Second Iron Age and is related to the intensification of iron-metallurgy and crop cultivation. Comparison of palynological data from the Comailles core with charcoal analyses from slag heaps in the Puisaye district, supported the selection of wood for charcoal production during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, as some species present in the landscape are absent in anthracological spectra. We hypothesize that there was a spatial separation between metallurgy and crop activities in Puisaye. Compositional Data Analysis made on 13 trace elements (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, lanthanum, nickel, lead, rubidium, antimony, tin, zinc and zirconium) also highlighted two main changes of geochemical composition of peat samples, dated to the beginning of the Late Middle Ages and Modern Times, that could be related to archeologically known changes in iron-metallurgy processes and organization of iron-smelting sites at a regional scale. As forest cover inhibits identification of past settlements, further investigation is advised to identify former rural settlements.
The disappearance of Nesophontidae represents one of the few family-wide mammalian extinctions documented in recent history. Previous radiometric studies from Hispaniola suggested that this extinction occurred during European colonization, coinciding with significant landscape transformation and the introduction of invasive species, including the black rat ( Rattus rattus ). However, direct evidence for the temporal overlap between nesophontids and invasive rats has remained elusive. Here, we present three new direct AMS radiocarbon dates from a cave assemblage in southwestern Hispaniola (Greater Antilles), including the Last Appearance Date (LAD) of Nesophontes hypomicrus , an endemic small-bodied insectivorous mammal, and two post-Columbian dates for the invasive black rat ( Rattus rattus ). Our results narrow the temporal gap between the last occurrence of Nesophontes and the introduction of invasive rats, and are consistent with a brief regional temporal overlap during the early colonial period. When considered alongside existing radiometric evidence for black rat introduction, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the invasive species introduced following European colonization may have contributed to the final decline of Hispaniolan nesophontid populations.
The Holocene Epoch has been marked by significant climatic changes on a global scale which has also impacted on the rise and fall of ancient civilizations. Understanding these past climatic changes is crucial for predicting and adapting to future climate variability and its potential impacts on human societies. Geoarchaeological evidence indicates that the main cause of “metamorphosis” or “de-urbanization” of Indus Valley Civilization-one of the world’s early and most advanced civilizations were rapid climate change and declining of Indian Summer Monsoon. The Indus population relied heavily on the agricultural system and monsoonal flooding was its lifeline that was ruined due to the climatic ravaging. This research offers a comprehensive study into the relationship between climate change and the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization during the Holocene Epoch. Records reveal aridification at approx. ~16.3 ka, with a period of enhanced accumulation of dune sand, at around ~12.0 and ~10.2, ~7.5 and ~3.8 ka followed by intervening affluent monsoonal activity at ~15.4, ~13.2, ~6.4, ~4.6 and ~1.5 ka. This climatic fluctuation was also supported by stable oxygen isotope data from bone samples (δ 18 O) w which is enriched by (+3.26‰) in Rakhigarhi cultural mound-4 aged ~7.5 ± 0.4 ka (Late Hakra period) indicating weakening of monsoon. Lowest (δ 18 O) w value of −0.41‰ was found in Rakhigarhi cultural mound-6 yielding ~6.4 ± 0.4 ka (Early Harappan time), suggesting very intense monsoon activity with active fluvial regime which supports the onset of flourishing of Harappan civilization. The (δ 18 O) w enrichment (+2.72‰) in the Kalibangan bone sample (~3.8 ± 0.2 ka, Mature Harappan) indicates a weakened monsoon aligning with the 4.1 ka global event. Combined results reveal climatic shifts linked to major droughts (~8.2 and ~4.2 ka BP), validating the Meghalayan Stage onset (~4.2 ka). This severe arid phase likely transformed the fluvial landscapes of Rakhigarhi and Kalibangan, contributing to the Harappan civilization’s final collapse.
Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of prehistoric human activities is crucial for revealing the evolutionary mechanisms of early human-environment relationships. The region encompassing the North China Plain-Loess Plateau and adjacent regions serves as an ideal context due to its continuous human occupation and pivotal role in agricultural intensification during the Neolithic period. By systematically comparing spatial modes across sub-regions and cultural affiliations, our results reveal diachronic transitions. Initially, early populations relying on broad-spectrum foraging tethered to specific ecological patches manifested as a “clustering-driven mode” characterized by isolated clusters and consistently low site density. Subsequently, the establishment of intensive agriculture largely alleviated these ecological constraints, fostering substantial demographic expansion and widespread spatial infilling that resulted in a “density-driven mode” featuring contiguous and high-density expanses. Furthermore, cross-regional comparisons during peak agricultural periods demonstrate that natural environments persistently modulated these modes. Topographic fragmentation in the Yan-Liao Region (YLR) and Upper-Middle Yellow River Region (UMYRR) likely drove higher site clustering (NNI = 0.79 and 0.77, respectively) compared to the broad plains of the Lower Yellow River Region (LYRR; NNI = 0.85). Meanwhile, regional hydrothermal limitations appear to have structurally capped the maximum carrying capacity in the YLR, resulting in substantially lower peak site density (0.53 sites per 100 km 2 ) relative to the peak densities observed in the UMYRR and LYRR (0.6–0.84 sites per 100 km 2 ). Overall, this regional-scale study demonstrates that the spatiotemporal evolution of early Chinese civilization was governed by a complex interplay between transformative agricultural innovations and enduring environmental backgrounds.
This study presents a rigorous bibliometric and methodological investigation into the evolving landscape of environmental history research from 1968 through 2025. Using a multi-stage filtration of 6557 Scopus-indexed records, the dataset was refined to 2286 peer-reviewed research articles that reflect the field’s interdisciplinarity across environmental science, the humanities, and the social sciences. Bibliometric mapping, using advanced tools such as CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and the bibliometrix package in R, reveals patterns in scholarly production, international collaboration, and thematic diversification. The field exhibits robust annual growth (7.66%), sustained citation impact (average 21.44 citations per document), and a predominance of Anglophone scholarship alongside significant contributions in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Russian. Cluster and trend analyses uncover distinct intellectual subfields – from paleoenvironmental reconstructions and historical ecology to emergent posthumanist and socio-political critiques – while thematic evolution highlights transitions from foundational environmental historiography to specialized, methodologically pluralistic, and globally resonant concerns, including climate change, biodiversity, and environmental humanities. Citation analysis identifies seminal works that shape the field’s theoretical and methodological contours, underscoring its critical engagement with ecological temporality, agency, and global socio-environmental transformations. This study advances an empirically grounded, computationally robust framework for understanding the disciplinary maturation and transnational scope of environmental history, emphasizing its pivotal role in addressing contemporary environmental challenges through historically informed interdisciplinary inquiry.
The Sahara and Arabian deserts are traditionally thought to be the source of settled dust in the Middle East. Although there have been suggestions of evidence for contributions from local sources, isotopic and clay mineral data have not yet confirmed this. The current study adds the neodymium and strontium isotopic signals as well as the mineralogical composition of the clay fraction to earlier investigations of trapped Holocene eolian sediments in archeological structures carried out in the northern Negev, Israel, and the Petra region, Jordan. Identifying the Holocene and present-day dust source areas and weighing the relative importance of local and remote resources are the objectives of the current study. Illite-smectite (IS) predominates the clay fraction in the Negev, and kaolinite (Ka) in Petra. Clay minerals of both regions form a continuous line of two populations between dust end members of about 75% IS in the Negev and about 75% Ka in Petra. Petra and the Negev have εNd values of −8.8 to −14.1 and −5.1 to −8.6 and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios between 0.7082 and 0.7119 and 0.7085 and 0.7134, respectively. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges in the Petra and Negev regions are rather similar, indicating that carbonate rocks from both local and remote sources have had a significant role. It may be inferred that the distinctive εNd values of the Petra eolian sediments must be generated from the local Paleozoic sandstone, even in the absence of information on the isotopic composition of any of the local rocks. Dust from the semi-distant Petra region, the remote Mesopotamia source area, and local sources all have an impact on Negev isotopic signals, but not the Sahara. This is because the significant contribution of coarse-grain local materials masks fine-grain materials from distant sources.
Streamflow variability is a critical component of water availability across the South Atlantic-Gulf (SAG) water resource region of the United States, yet long-term coherence among basins remains poorly understood. We developed independent May-July streamflow reconstructions for the Roanoke River (South Atlantic), Pascagoula River (southern Mississippi Basin), and St. Johns River (northern and central Florida) spanning 1100-2015 CE. Each reconstruction is highly skillful (RE = 0.39-0.62; CE = 0.39-0.62) and explains 51-63% of observed variance. Across the 916-year record, only five droughts affected all three basins simultaneously, yet three occurred since 2000 (2006, 2007, 2011). These 21st-century droughts were broader and more spatially coherent than comparable events in 1491 and 1587. Basin-to-basin comparisons reveal shared low-flow years were most frequent between the Pascagoula and St. Johns Rivers (15 events), followed by Roanoke-Pascagoula (12) and Roanoke-St. Johns (9). When the St. Johns River experienced low [high] flows, the Pascagoula River had a 40% [48%] likelihood of concurrent extremes-the highest regional coherence observed. Low-flow events for individual basins lasted 2-3 years on average, with the longest drought persisting 26 years on the St. Johns (1459 CE). For both the Pascagoula and St. Johns River, return intervals based on observational streamflow records underestimated the recurrence frequency of extreme events like the early-2000s low flow event by 100-500 years. In contrast, observationally based return intervals on the Roanoke overestimate the length of time between the driest events, indicating severe droughts are more likely to occur than previously thought. These findings illustrate the risk of multi-basin droughts in the SAG region, particularly for the closely linked Pascagoula and St. Johns basins. Future drought planning and water-resource management must account not only for drought in individual basins, but the complex effects of synchronous hydrologic drought across the region.
Kretzschmaria deusta is a wood-parasitic ascomycete affecting a range of broadleaf trees in temperate regions, including Europe, causing wood decay. Its ascospores, as an example of Non-Pollen Palynomorphs (NPPs), are preserved in Quaternary sediments, providing a rare record of past host-pathogen associations. This study synthesizes the Holocene palaeoecological record of Kretzschmaria deusta , examining its spatial and temporal distribution, host preferences, and ecological impacts. Early Holocene occurrences are sparse in Europe, whereas Middle and Late-Holocene spores indicate widespread presence, coinciding with the expansion of deciduous forests. Throughout the Holocene, Kretzschmaria deusta acts primarily as an opportunistic pathogen, exploiting trees weakened by natural and anthropogenic factors. Elevated spore abundances may reflect periods of increased tree damage rather than primary forest decline. Host responses vary among taxa. Tilia tolerates repeated infection, whereas Fagus , Abies , and Ulmus are more sensitive, with higher fungal abundances corresponding to possible host decline. Warm temperatures during the Holocene further facilitated fungal growth and infection success. The predominantly local dispersal of spores suggests that this NPP record reflects nearby woodland conditions, although episodic transport by wind or water may cause temporary increases. The Holocene findings of Kretzschmaria deusta enhances our understanding of long-term tree-fungus associations and highlights the potential role of this fungus in forest decline under future warming and intensified anthropogenic pressure.
A multiproxy modern surface sediments sample analogue including pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), Total organic carbon/Total nitrogen (TOC/TN), and stable carbon isotopes (delta 13C values) were generated from the Bakhira Lake, Central Ganga Plain (CGP) to delineate the modern climate-vegetation relationship and human-environment interactions. Pollen data reveal a dominance of non-arboreals (67.4%) over arboreals (32.6%) along the lake margins, with increased arboreal representation (e.g. Acacia, Madhuca indica, Anacardiaceae, Trewia nudiflora, Peltophorum, Arecaceae) in the lake centre. This reflects both land-use intensity and pollen production biases. The assemblage indicates a mixed deciduous forest under warm, humid conditions. The occurrence of marker pollen taxa, such as Cerealia, Alternanthera, Asteraceae, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae (Cheno/Am), Brassicaceae and NPPs along with coprophilous fungi assemblage (viz. Sordaria, Podospora, Delitschia, and Ascodesmis) shows the anthropogenic activities and intensively-grazed conditions over the sampling site. The relatively higher delta 13C values (-19.7 to -21.7 parts per thousand) indicate C3 dominated to mixed C3-C4 vegetation input to the sedimentary organic matter at the lake centre. The NW and SE flanks, together with cropland, have relatively lower delta 13C values ranging from -21.2 parts per thousand to -28.9 parts per thousand, except for the sample number S23 (-19.3 parts per thousand), indicating a higher contribution of organic matter from C3 vegetation. Ordination analysis of pollen taxa distributions in surface sediments samples revealed correlations among sampling locations, modern pollen deposition, and associated environmental factors. This multiproxy modern dataset provides a robust baseline for interpreting Holocene palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic dynamics across tropical lacustrine systems in the central Indian subcontinent.
Annually-laminated lake sediments (varves) are among the most reliable archives for high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstruction. However, the Russian Plain has remained a gap in the global distribution of varve chronologies. This preliminary study presents the first Younger Dryas Early Holocene varve chronology from Lake Kasplya (western part of the Russian Plain). A 17.3 m sediment core (Kas-17) was retrieved in 2022, of which the 9.6-15.2 m interval revealed well-preserved biochemical varves. Thin-section microscopy and diatom identification confirmed the annual nature of laminations. Independent chronologies were developed through manual varve counting, and radiocarbon dating. The results indicate a floating varve chronology of 4745 +/- 325 annual layers (with cumulative uncertainties of 6.84%), spanning ca. 12.1-7.4 ka BP. Anchoring to radiocarbon age-depth models demonstrates a high level of agreement, with discrepancies within 10%. This record from Lake Kasplya provides a high-resolution terrestrial archive for the Russian Plain and underscores the potential of similar lakes to provide varve-based reconstructions of paleoclimate.
The northern sector of the Western Pampean Dunefield (central Argentina), characterized by Late Quaternary to Late Holocene aeolian morphogenesis and sedimentation under drier conditions than present, hosts numerous shallow lakes developed in the deflation basins of blowout dunes. A multi-proxy analysis, including magnetic susceptibility, charcoal, C and N content, stable isotopes, and pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs, was performed on a sediment core from Laguna Pocitos (33 degrees 58.2'S - 65 degrees 34.3'W) to contribute to paleoenvironmental and paleoecological reconstructions of the region. The integrated evidence allows inferences about environmental variability over the past similar to 350 years (similar to 1670-2015 CE), including the impact of natural and anthropogenic forcings. The first recorded period (similar to 1670-1758 CE) reveals rising water levels under drier conditions than today, with intense fire events within a grassland-dominated landscape. Frequent water level fluctuations were inferred for the next 100 years (similar to 1760-1870 CE), accompanied by diminished grassland cover and more disturbance taxa associated with an increasing anthropogenic presence in the area. After similar to 1870 CE, a trend toward lower water levels coincides with widespread droughts that culminate in the historically and geologically recognized Pampas Dust Bowl. Since similar to 1970 CE, multiple core indicators evidence a lake expansion, consistent with remote sensing data and instrumental records. This phase was characterized by clear water conditions synchronous with an intensification of anthropogenic pressure. Overall, hydroclimatic variability inferred from the Laguna Pocitos record is coherent with historical documents and paleolimnological reconstructions from the Pampa plain, revealing the control of regional climate pattern but including distinctive local modulation which needs further studies.
This paper aims to reopen the debate concerning the emergence of cremation practices. According to the conventional understanding, the cremation of the dead is rooted in cultural traditions and shaped by local conditions. However, an analysis of early cremation practices from 19 different regions across the globe reveals a correlation between these practices and volcanic activity during the Holocene epoch. Mapping these sites alongside the timelines of volcanic eruptions suggests that exposure to volcanic fire may have influenced funerary traditions. Archeological evidence from sites such as & Ccedil;atalh & ouml;y & uuml;k and the Chauvet Cave, which include depictions of volcanic activity, points to the potential impact of volcanoes on fire-related cults and rituals. This possibility is particularly noteworthy. The idea that cremation traditions may have been triggered by environmental stimuli necessitates the inclusion of geological and anthropological data in discussions on the origins of cremation. This study, grounded in this interdisciplinary approach, seeks to shed light on the conditions that gave rise to cremation practices.
