Impacts of sea-level rise on prehistoric coastal communities: land use and risk perception during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in central Mediterranean Spain

• Published in: Journal of maps Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 649 - 655
• Main Authors: Brisset, Elodie, Fernández López de Pablo, Javier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 01-01-2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Archaeological sites; Archaeology; Bathymetry; coastal archeology; Coasts; Data acquisition; digital elevation model; Digital Elevation Models; Environmental changes; Environmental impact; environmental risk; Environmental Sciences; Evolution; Fieldwork; Geographic information system; Geographic information systems; Geography; Holocene; Laboratories; Land use; Mapping; Mesolithic; Morphology; Neolithic; paleogeography; Prehistoric era; Risk perception; Sea level; Sediments; Shorelines; Spatial analysis; Stone Age; Topography; Visualization; environmental risk; coastal archeology; paleogeography; digital elevation model; Mesolithic; Geographic information system
• ISSN: 1744-5647; 1744-5647
• DOI: 10.1080/17445647.2022.2071649

Mapping methods to represent the interplay between environmental changes and prehistoric communities were investigated through a case study of the Mediterranean Iberia coastal landscape in the context of Holocene sea-level rise. We developed a four-dimension GIS-based analysis of the environmental evolution based on primary data acquisition (fieldwork, laboratory analyses) and spatial modeling of paleo-Digital Elevation Models (paleoDEMs). Five paleoDEMs were computed, representing key stages of the morphogenetic evolution between 9000 and 7000 years ago. Second, each paleoDEM was used as input in a Site-Catchment Analysis (a 1- and 2-hour walking distance from the archeological sites). Finally, we provide a bird-view visualization of the landscape evolution, centered on the perspective of an individual located at the archeological sites. By shifting the focus to the human scale, this GIS-assisted mapping allows refining assessments of the impact of environmental changes on settlement and subsistence patterns during the Mesolithic and Early Neolithic periods.