Hindcasting faunal distributions in the holocene to understand interactions between ancient societies, biodiversity and climate

Summary:

BACKGROUND: Faced with the urgent challenge of predicting the consequences of current and future climate change, it is imperative that we seek to learn lessons about climate-animal-human relations from the long-term records available from the past. The Old World witnessed drastic changes in climate over the Holocene, with significant consequences for habitat suitability for both wild and domestic animal populations.

Given their scale, these changes have been proposed as the explanation for the collapse of several societies in Africa and Asia. Recent advances in species distribution modelling and our knowledge of palaeoclimates now offer exciting opportunities to recreate the ecological settings in which prehistorical and historical events unfolded.

OBJECTIVES: Focusing on an area within the wider North African/Middle Eastern region, you will combine data from the archaeological and paleontological records with ecological models to investigate drivers of animal population trends and subsistence change in prehistoric/ancient societies, with the option also to explore links to historical events.

Proposed objectives: (i) Identify drivers of local extinctions and colonisations of wildlife within the study area. (ii) Assess changes in the sustainability of alternative subsistence strategies over time. (iii) Investigate potential environmental drivers of historical events