What is the impact of Holocene climatic changes on human societies? Analysis of West African Neolithic populations dietary customs

摘要

This work explores the evolution of the subsistence economy and strategies of West African Neolithic populations in relation to Holocene climatic changes, focusing on the dynamic cultural responses of Neolithic people to the desiccation of their environment. These climatic changes are diachronic within the whole of northern Africa, but followed the same general trend: onset of wet conditions during early Holocene followed by a progressive desiccation proceeding by successive short phases of aridity. Population dynamics are strongly related to this climatic context, and the archaeozoological evidence indicates that the human response to the onset of arid climate conditions is a diversification of their dietary resources, maintaining hunting and fishing when possible, and adopting cattle breeding towards the end of Holocene. Only at the Neolithic/Historic transition is the drastic reduction of wild fauna associated with significant demographic and climatic stress, leading to a profound re-structuring of diet through the intensification of pastoral activities.