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Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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Definition

A primary component of geoarchaeological research is the reconstruction of past environments at and among archaeological sites, within regions, or across regions, based on the sediments, soils, strata, and associated biological remains. This research is essential for understanding the environment before, during, and after site or regional occupations, and it may provide insights into environmental changes that influenced technology, human subsistence, site formation processes, settlement strategies, and social structure.

Introduction

According to Rapp and Hill (2006, 187), “The impact of the earth’s environmental and climatic patterns on human physical and behavioral development, and the effect of prehistoric human behavior on changing environmental landscapes, can be pursued by means of a geoarchaeological approach as part of a broader geoecological perspective.” Karl Butzer was one of the first geoarchaeologists to systematically emphasize paleoenvironmental...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Anthropology and Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Vance T. Holliday

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Rolfe D. Mandel

Authors
  1. Vance T. Holliday
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  2. Rolfe D. Mandel
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Correspondence to Vance T. Holliday .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Sociology & Anthropology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, USA

    Allan S. Gilbert

  2. University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia

    Paul Goldberg

  3. University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA

    Rolfe D. Mandel

  4. University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Vera Aldeias

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Holliday, V.T., Mandel, R.D. (2024). Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction. In: Gilbert, A.S., Goldberg, P., Mandel, R.D., Aldeias, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geoarchaeology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44600-0_191-1

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