Clues in sediments show that once humans arrived on Great Abaco Island, they hunted large reptiles to extinction and burned the old hardwoods and palms, leading to new pine- and mangrove-dominated lands.
archaeology
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Podcast: What Tree Rings Can Tell Us About the U.S. Civil War
Climate change–induced drought may have had an influence on the Civil War.
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Fire as Medicine: Learning from Native American Fire Stewardship
For centuries, Indigenous peoples have worked to live in harmony with fire. Can integrating such cultural practices into contemporary wildfire management help prevent catastrophic wildfires?
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The Difficulty of Defining the Anthropocene
Humans may be in a new geologic epoch—the Anthropocene—but different groups define its start at varied times. When should the Anthropocene have begun?
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Aerial Photographs Uncover Bogotá’s Indigenous Hydraulic System
Complex hydraulic systems built by the Muisca people helped define the vibrant urban wetlands of Colombia’s capital city.
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Sooty Layers in Stalagmites Record Human Activity in Caves
Scientists analyzing cave formations in Turkey find layers of soot and charcoal in stalagmites, revealing that humans—and their fires—occupied caves thousands of years ago.
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Drought, Not War, Felled Some Ancient Asian Civilizations
Radiocarbon dating, luminescent sand grains, and climate records point to drought as the reason for the civilizations’ demise.
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Tree Rings Reveal How Ancient Forests Were Managed
By analyzing thousands of oak timbers dating from the 4th to 21st centuries, scientists have pinpointed the advent of a forest management practice.
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When Did Archaic Humans Control Fire?
A familiar geochemical technique shines a new spotlight on early hominin use of fire.
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Earth’s Magnetic Field Holds Clues to Human History
Items burned in the sacking of ancient cities are time capsules of geomagnetic data.