Climate Change and Human Occupation in Denmark and Syria

• Published in: Quaternary International
• Main Authors: Schrøder, Niels, Jensen, Gitte, Limborg, Magnus, Siggaard, Jens
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2007
• Subjects: Dansgaard/Oescher events; Holocene; hydrologi; monsun; NAO; arkæologi; hydrology; monsoon; archaeology; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://forskning.ruc.dk/da/publications/9b26b630-e606-11dc-b321-000ea68e967b; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2007.05.004; https://hdl.handle.net/1800/9b26b630-e606-11dc-b321-000ea68e967b

Nye sedimentundersøgelser (og dateringer) fra Lejre -Roskilde området og fra Yarbrud i Syrien understøtter ideen om at ændringer i beboelsen i områderne er initieret af klimaændringer Classical sites for studies of human occupation and climatic changes in Denmark and Syria - have been re-examined. A detailed geological/geophysical mapping of selected sites and geochemical /palynological analysis of cores/profiles confirms that climate change has been the decisive factor behind the main changes in human activities in the areas. It also confirms that the climatic histories of the sites are closely correlated - with strong ties to global causes of climate change. The NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) caused contrasting rainfall conditions in Denmark and Levant. Over a period of one hundred years, an observation based climatic overview shows an inverted correlation in precipitation trends in Denmark and Cyprus. For the Holocene, it can be concluded that the Blytt-Sernander model fits well with both the climatic proxies from the Nordic countries and the rainfall history of the Levant. The changes in human occupation in Syria and in Denmark both seems to correlate with the proxies of climate change esp. the change from Atlantic to Subboreal around 4000BC, the change from Subboreal to Subatlantic around 500 BC are marked in as well the climate record and archaeological records (monsoon shifts and NAO seems main responsible agents). We have re-examined the Yarbrud site in Syria (OSL dating and pollen analysis) and it seem possible to correlate the 25 cultural layers here, from 10-110.000 BC, with the 25 Dansgaard/Oescher events of NORTHGRIP