About this Event
Reading landscapes: tracing the nature of being human through the palaeoecology of extinction, domestication, translocation and invasion
Abstract
Humans are a geologically recent phenomenon that have had a profound influence on the global environment. The magnitude, variety and longevity of human-induced changes, including extinction, domestication, translocation and invasion have transformed the
landscapes we live in today – though often in unexpected and surprising ways. Using the science (and art) of palaeoecology we are able to read landscape history through the lens of microscopic remains preserved in sedimentary archives, opening a window into the nature of human behaviour and our interactions with the environment through time. Here I will discuss some of the most recent debates in which palaeoecology has played a significant role in challenging our understanding of the nature and timing of human impacts in our region, including (i) the causes o