Project Details
Projekt
Quantified impact of Holocene climate change on Neolithic development, land use, and anthropogenic emissions with feedback on climate (GLUES-QUICC)
Applicants
Professor Dr. Klaus Fraedrich; Dr. Carsten Lemmen
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
from 2007 to 2014
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 42267548
To understand the two-way interaction between past societies and Holocene climate defines a transdisciplinary research challenge. How much did climatic (in)stabilities determine where and when agriculture appeared or cultures disappeared? When did humans start to interfere with the carbon cycle? We formulate a testable framework for human-climate interaction with the model of cultural development and technological adaptation (GLUES) and the Planet Simulator climate model; palaeovegetation reconstructions from proxies are integrated into GLUES to enhance its accuracy and realism. Our study is global with two foci on Western Eurasia and China, and covers the period 11600 to 3000 years BP. By comparing palaeovegetation and archaeological data with coupled model results, we test how reliable cultural development and (adaptive) response can be integrated into the Earth system model. Our results will identify mutual feedbacks between humans and climate. Our framework promotes hypothesis testing in the archaeological sciences and quantifies land use changes and emissions required for future Earth system model studies.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
Participating Persons
Privatdozent Dr. Richard Blender; Professor Dr. Kai Wirtz
