The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals

The effects of the 8.2 ka cold event in the Fennoscandian Peninsula have been discussed in palaeoclimatological and archaeological studies for more than two decades. Here we present the first overview of human responses to the abrupt 1–3 °C cooling in Fennoscandia. We summarize the results of 27 arc...

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Main Authors: Mikael A. Manninen, Roope O. Kaaronen, Jussi T. Eronen, Miikka Tallavaara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Quaternary Environments and Humans
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295023652500009X
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author Mikael A. Manninen
Roope O. Kaaronen
Jussi T. Eronen
Miikka Tallavaara
author_facet Mikael A. Manninen
Roope O. Kaaronen
Jussi T. Eronen
Miikka Tallavaara
author_sort Mikael A. Manninen
collection DOAJ
description The effects of the 8.2 ka cold event in the Fennoscandian Peninsula have been discussed in palaeoclimatological and archaeological studies for more than two decades. Here we present the first overview of human responses to the abrupt 1–3 °C cooling in Fennoscandia. We summarize the results of 27 archaeological studies discussing the effects of the event on Fennoscandian foragers alongside with a survey of climatic and environmental proxy records that show changes during the event in the whole region. We argue that since forager populations, particularly in heterogenous environments like those found at the higher latitudes, were vulnerable to multi-decennial climatic downturns, they probably utilized a variety of strategies known from the archaeological and ethnographic record to mitigate unpredictable environmental variability. We further suggest that the archaeological cases indicate that such strategies were in use and that the use of these strategies, especially when put into effect simultaneously, affected foragers also in areas where the effects of the climate event were less severe. We therefore suggest that the effect of the cold event was felt throughout the forager network and that a model of metapopulation response to the 8.2 ka cold event in Fennoscandia can be presented. The model needs to be further developed and tested in future work.
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spelling doaj-art-bd0fb90b6af84cd3bd389eb9269caeb72025-08-20T02:37:01ZengElsevierQuaternary Environments and Humans2950-23652025-06-013210006510.1016/j.qeh.2025.100065The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signalsMikael A. Manninen0Roope O. Kaaronen1Jussi T. Eronen2Miikka Tallavaara3PAES Research Unit, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Corresponding author.PAES Research Unit, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandPAES Research Unit, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; BIOS Research Unit, Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandThe effects of the 8.2 ka cold event in the Fennoscandian Peninsula have been discussed in palaeoclimatological and archaeological studies for more than two decades. Here we present the first overview of human responses to the abrupt 1–3 °C cooling in Fennoscandia. We summarize the results of 27 archaeological studies discussing the effects of the event on Fennoscandian foragers alongside with a survey of climatic and environmental proxy records that show changes during the event in the whole region. We argue that since forager populations, particularly in heterogenous environments like those found at the higher latitudes, were vulnerable to multi-decennial climatic downturns, they probably utilized a variety of strategies known from the archaeological and ethnographic record to mitigate unpredictable environmental variability. We further suggest that the archaeological cases indicate that such strategies were in use and that the use of these strategies, especially when put into effect simultaneously, affected foragers also in areas where the effects of the climate event were less severe. We therefore suggest that the effect of the cold event was felt throughout the forager network and that a model of metapopulation response to the 8.2 ka cold event in Fennoscandia can be presented. The model needs to be further developed and tested in future work.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295023652500009X8.2 ka cold eventMetapopulation responseFennoscandian PeninsulaHunter-gatherersResilience
spellingShingle Mikael A. Manninen
Roope O. Kaaronen
Jussi T. Eronen
Miikka Tallavaara
The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals
Quaternary Environments and Humans
8.2 ka cold event
Metapopulation response
Fennoscandian Peninsula
Hunter-gatherers
Resilience
title The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals
title_full The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals
title_fullStr The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals
title_full_unstemmed The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals
title_short The effect of the 8.2 ka cold event on Fennoscandian hunter-gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic, environmental, and archaeological signals
title_sort effect of the 8 2 ka cold event on fennoscandian hunter gatherer metapopulation inferred from climatic environmental and archaeological signals
topic 8.2 ka cold event
Metapopulation response
Fennoscandian Peninsula
Hunter-gatherers
Resilience
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S295023652500009X
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