Reconsidering archaeological and environmental proxies for long term human-environment interactions in the Valley of Kashmir

Abstract

As response to climate change becomes an ever present issue, considerations of human-environment interactions in the past have moved beyond deterministic notions of climatically driven cycles of social expansion and collapse to more complex examinations of anthropogenic effects upon environments, as well as the transformative effects environmental change has upon human societies. The entanglement between these processes may be explored through a number of theoretical frameworks, including Niche Construction Theory (NCT) and other notions of human resilience. The Valley of Kashmir in the northernmost region of South Asia presents an opportunity for examining a number of these processes. This paper aims to synthesise past archaeological and Holocene palaeoclimate data, as well as review past interpretations of human responses to climate factors in Kashmir. Arguments are raised for newtheoretical and methodological approaches to understanding human-environment interactions in the valley, based on recent studies from Kashmir and adjacent regions. These approaches aim to address gaps in understanding arising from poorly resolved environmental records or uncritical integration of archaeological and palaeoclimate data. Some early conclusions may be drawn as toways in which differentiated land use patterns across the valley and adjacent mountain zones would have allowed for long term patterns of adjustment and reorganisation as a response to climate pressures. New preliminary data that has the potential for exploring some of these processes in the valley is also presented.