Onset of the Paleoanthropocene in the Lower Great Lakes Region of North America: An Archaeological and Paleoecological Synthesis

Beyond its centrality to debates on the definition of a global chronostratigraphic geologic unit, the Anthropocene concept has served as a useful theoretical construct with which to assess regional-scale anthropogenic impacts on prehistoric ecological systems through the recognition of earlier “Paleoanthropocene” events predating the onset of modern, industrial, global-scale effects. To this end, we present data derived from the archaeological and paleoecological records of the lower Great Lakes region of northeastern North America to evaluate the nature, magnitude, and timing of Native American land use impacts over the course of the Holocene. We identified three phases of emerging and progressively intensifying anthropogenic influence coinciding with initial human paleopopulation increase (5400–2500 BP), regional introduction of maize (Zea mays; 2500–1100 BP), and the regional adoption of maize-based agriculture (1100–300 BP). Each phase was accompanied by notable shifts in one or more proxy indicators of amplified fire regimes (increased soil charcoal deposition, higher lake sediment charcoal influx, greater percentages of fire-tolerant pollen taxa), decreased forest canopy density (increased herbaceous pollen taxa, enriched speleothem δ13C values), paleopopulation growth (increased archaeological 14C date frequencies), and dietary innovations (increased cultigen 14C date frequencies, enriched pottery residue δ13C values). Although prominent climate excursions also greatly influenced forest species composition, forest structure, and disturbance regimes, demographic and cultural factors impinging on Native American subsistence regimes and settlement patterns became increasingly important modulators of ecological processes over the course of the Holocene.