Early Holocene Socio-Ecological Dynamics in the Iberian Peninsula: A Network Approach

Abstract

Late Glacial and Early Holocene environmental changes affected different domains of human demography, settlement, and subsistence patterns. The variable spatial patterning produced by the prehistoric hunter-gatherers’ archaeological record demands new approaches for analysing the multi-scalar nature of human-environmental interactions. In this contribution, we presented part of a long-term research programme aimed to cover this gap in the context the Iberian Peninsula from the Late Magdalenian to the end of the Late Mesolithic. PALEODEM (“Late Glacial and Postglacial Population History and Cultural Transmission in Iberia (c.15,000–8,000 cal BP)”) is a Consolidator Grant ERC project that addresses the role of human population levels and geographical distribution over the relationship between climatic events and cultural dynamics in our context of study. To do so, it will develop a three-level (micro-regional, regional, and macro-regional) analysis. In this contribution, we will focus on the macro-regional scale, which is addressed through a combination of network analysis and computational modelling.