The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems
Abstract Cultural systems play an important role in shaping the interactions between humans and the environment, and are in turn shaped by these interactions. However, at present, cultural systems are poorly integrated into the models used by climate scientists to study the interaction of natural an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60450-9 |
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| _version_ | 1849334499766173696 |
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| author | Ariane Burke Matt Grove Andreas Maier Colin Wren Michelle Drapeau Timothée Poisot Olivier Moine Solène Boisard Laurent Bruxelles |
| author_facet | Ariane Burke Matt Grove Andreas Maier Colin Wren Michelle Drapeau Timothée Poisot Olivier Moine Solène Boisard Laurent Bruxelles |
| author_sort | Ariane Burke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Cultural systems play an important role in shaping the interactions between humans and the environment, and are in turn shaped by these interactions. However, at present, cultural systems are poorly integrated into the models used by climate scientists to study the interaction of natural and anthropogenic processes (i.e. Earth systems models) due to pragmatic and conceptual barriers. In this Perspective, we demonstrate how the archaeology of climate change, an interdisciplinary field that uses the archaeological record to explore human-environment interactions, is uniquely placed to overcome these barriers. We use concepts drawn from climate science and evolutionary anthropology to show how complex systems modeling that focuses on the spatial structure of the environment and its impact on demographic variables, social networks and cultural evolution, can bridge the gap between large-scale climate processes and local-scale social processes. The result is a blueprint for the design of integrative models that produce testable hypotheses about the impact of climate change on human systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fa0afdb4d4984509a92c266ebcac65fd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-fa0afdb4d4984509a92c266ebcac65fd2025-08-20T03:45:32ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-06-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-60450-9The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systemsAriane Burke0Matt Grove1Andreas Maier2Colin Wren3Michelle Drapeau4Timothée Poisot5Olivier Moine6Solène Boisard7Laurent Bruxelles8Département d’Anthropologie, Université de MontréalArchaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of LiverpoolInstitute for Prehistoric Archaeology, University of CologneDépartement d’Anthropologie, Université de MontréalDépartement d’Anthropologie, Université de MontréalDépartement de Sciences Biologiques, Université de MontréalLaboratoire de Géographie Physique: Environnements quaternaires et actuels. UMR 8591 CNRS- Paris 1-UPECDépartement d’Anthropologie, Université de MontréalTRACES, UMR 5608, CNRS, Toulouse, France & GAES, University of the WitwatersrandAbstract Cultural systems play an important role in shaping the interactions between humans and the environment, and are in turn shaped by these interactions. However, at present, cultural systems are poorly integrated into the models used by climate scientists to study the interaction of natural and anthropogenic processes (i.e. Earth systems models) due to pragmatic and conceptual barriers. In this Perspective, we demonstrate how the archaeology of climate change, an interdisciplinary field that uses the archaeological record to explore human-environment interactions, is uniquely placed to overcome these barriers. We use concepts drawn from climate science and evolutionary anthropology to show how complex systems modeling that focuses on the spatial structure of the environment and its impact on demographic variables, social networks and cultural evolution, can bridge the gap between large-scale climate processes and local-scale social processes. The result is a blueprint for the design of integrative models that produce testable hypotheses about the impact of climate change on human systems.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60450-9 |
| spellingShingle | Ariane Burke Matt Grove Andreas Maier Colin Wren Michelle Drapeau Timothée Poisot Olivier Moine Solène Boisard Laurent Bruxelles The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems Nature Communications |
| title | The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems |
| title_full | The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems |
| title_fullStr | The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems |
| title_short | The archaeology of climate change: a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems |
| title_sort | archaeology of climate change a blueprint for integrating environmental and cultural systems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60450-9 |
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