Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments
Abstract The Aegean hosts some of the earliest cultural centers in European antiquity. To reconstruct the evolution of early anthropogenic impact in this region, we have examined lead (Pb) contents and vegetation dynamics on well-dated environmental archives extending to the early Holocene. We show...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01921-7 |
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| _version_ | 1832571268271964160 |
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| author | Andreas Koutsodendris Joseph Maran Ulrich Kotthoff Jörg Lippold Maria Knipping Oliver Friedrich Axel Gerdes Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr André Bahr Hartmut Schulz Dimitris Sakellariou Jörg Pross |
| author_facet | Andreas Koutsodendris Joseph Maran Ulrich Kotthoff Jörg Lippold Maria Knipping Oliver Friedrich Axel Gerdes Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr André Bahr Hartmut Schulz Dimitris Sakellariou Jörg Pross |
| author_sort | Andreas Koutsodendris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Aegean hosts some of the earliest cultural centers in European antiquity. To reconstruct the evolution of early anthropogenic impact in this region, we have examined lead (Pb) contents and vegetation dynamics on well-dated environmental archives extending to the early Holocene. We show that the impact of agropastoral societies on terrestrial ecosystems was locally confined during the Bronze and Iron Ages (5200–2750 years ago), although we record an onset of Pb pollution already at 5200 cal. years BP and thus about 1200 years earlier than previous archeological evidence. Our data demonstrate a marked increase in Pb pollution at 2150 cal. years BP that left an imprint across terrestrial and marine settings of the Aegean region. This first manifestation of marine pollution coincides with maximum deforestation and agricultural expansion, signaling pervasive human impact on ecosystems connected to the advanced monetized societies during the Hellenistic and Roman periods in Ancient Greece. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cbc99ad960f34d9e95e3df438376c551 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-cbc99ad960f34d9e95e3df438376c5512025-02-02T12:44:12ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-01-016111010.1038/s43247-024-01921-7Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environmentsAndreas Koutsodendris0Joseph Maran1Ulrich Kotthoff2Jörg Lippold3Maria Knipping4Oliver Friedrich5Axel Gerdes6Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr7André Bahr8Hartmut Schulz9Dimitris Sakellariou10Jörg Pross11Institute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg UniversityInstitute for Prehistory and Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology, Heidelberg UniversityCenter for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Institute of Geology, Hamburg UniversityInstitute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Molecular Botany, Institute of Biology, University of HohenheimInstitute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Geosciences, Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University FrankfurtInstitute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg UniversityInstitute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg UniversityDepartment of Geosciences, University of TübingenHellenic Center for Marine ResearchInstitute of Earth Sciences, Heidelberg UniversityAbstract The Aegean hosts some of the earliest cultural centers in European antiquity. To reconstruct the evolution of early anthropogenic impact in this region, we have examined lead (Pb) contents and vegetation dynamics on well-dated environmental archives extending to the early Holocene. We show that the impact of agropastoral societies on terrestrial ecosystems was locally confined during the Bronze and Iron Ages (5200–2750 years ago), although we record an onset of Pb pollution already at 5200 cal. years BP and thus about 1200 years earlier than previous archeological evidence. Our data demonstrate a marked increase in Pb pollution at 2150 cal. years BP that left an imprint across terrestrial and marine settings of the Aegean region. This first manifestation of marine pollution coincides with maximum deforestation and agricultural expansion, signaling pervasive human impact on ecosystems connected to the advanced monetized societies during the Hellenistic and Roman periods in Ancient Greece.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01921-7 |
| spellingShingle | Andreas Koutsodendris Joseph Maran Ulrich Kotthoff Jörg Lippold Maria Knipping Oliver Friedrich Axel Gerdes Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr André Bahr Hartmut Schulz Dimitris Sakellariou Jörg Pross Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments |
| title_full | Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments |
| title_fullStr | Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments |
| title_short | Societal changes in Ancient Greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments |
| title_sort | societal changes in ancient greece impacted terrestrial and marine environments |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01921-7 |
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