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Surviving Turbulent Times : Climate Change, Cultural Connections and Shifting Adaptations in Hokkaido-Sakhalin during the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition

Jordan, Peter LU orcid ; Vasilevski, Alexander ; Kato, Hirofumi and Grishchenko, Vyacheslav (2021) 27th Annual Meeting of
the European Association of Archaeologists
Abstract
The Pleistocene-Holocene transition brought turbulent times to human societies confronted by rapid climatic fluctuations, shifts in
biogeographic zones and the flooding of continental shelves. While the disappearance of Doggerland’s inhabited landscapes under
the grey waters of the North Sea marks the culmination of these changes for European Archaeologists, our aim is this paper is to
draw parallels with Northeast Asia, where the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin once formed a major terrestrial extension of the vast
Eurasian landmass. During the LGM, this terrestrial corridor offered an “escape route” from the harsh glacial conditions of Siberia,
but as temperatures gradually warmed, prehistoric societies faced a... (More)
The Pleistocene-Holocene transition brought turbulent times to human societies confronted by rapid climatic fluctuations, shifts in
biogeographic zones and the flooding of continental shelves. While the disappearance of Doggerland’s inhabited landscapes under
the grey waters of the North Sea marks the culmination of these changes for European Archaeologists, our aim is this paper is to
draw parallels with Northeast Asia, where the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin once formed a major terrestrial extension of the vast
Eurasian landmass. During the LGM, this terrestrial corridor offered an “escape route” from the harsh glacial conditions of Siberia,
but as temperatures gradually warmed, prehistoric societies faced a growing subsistence crisis as landscapes flooded and faunal
resources declined. Our goal is to understand how these societies responded to a warming – yet frequently unstable – climate in an
ever-shrinking terrestrial world. Late Glacial warming witnessed to a brief expansion of Incipient Jōmon traditions into Hokkaido, cut
short by the Younger Dryas. As Holocene warming accelerated, a broader suite of innovations including house pits, plant use and pottery expanded across Sakhalin and Hokkaido. The onset of the 8.2 cal. BP cold event partly reversed this trend, and brought Siberian lithic traditions (Blade Arrow Culture) back down through Sakhalin and into Hokkaido, signalling the temporary return to more mobile
sub-arctic lifeways and a growing reliance on costal resources. Understanding human- and community-scale responses to these
major shifts is challenging because the region’s acidic soils mean that bone material is not preserved, other than at a few shell-midden sites in Hokkaido. At the same time, the region’s extended hunter-gatherer pottery traditions offer rich scope for undertaking biomolecular reconstruction of changing cooking practices across major cultural and environmental transitions. We report recent
results, examine remaining gaps in knowledge, and present ideas for future research.

Vasilevski, Alexander (World and Russian History, Sakhalin State University) - Kato, Hirofumi (GSI, Hokkaido University) - Grishchenko, Vyacheslav (Archaeological Museum, Sakhalin State University) (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
conference name
27th Annual Meeting of<br/>the European Association of Archaeologists<br/>
conference location
Kiel, Germany
conference dates
2021-09-06 - 2021-09-11
project
POSTGLACIAL: Comparative Perspectives on Cultural Responses to Postglacial Warming in Northern Eurasia
Maritime Networks and Emergent Identities in the North Pacific Rim
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f7c7590e-a089-4778-ab4c-aef53520d08d
alternative location
https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2021/Programme.aspx?WebsiteKey=122bcc87-037e-4265-b72a-db2092c01854&hkey=f557022c-8526-45dd-b4ad-edaeb1c77ac8&Program=3#Program
date added to LUP
2021-08-23 11:53:53
date last changed
2021-09-16 12:53:26
@misc{f7c7590e-a089-4778-ab4c-aef53520d08d,
  abstract     = {{The Pleistocene-Holocene transition brought turbulent times to human societies confronted by rapid climatic fluctuations, shifts in<br/>biogeographic zones and the flooding of continental shelves. While the disappearance of Doggerland’s inhabited landscapes under<br/>the grey waters of the North Sea marks the culmination of these changes for European Archaeologists, our aim is this paper is to<br/>draw parallels with Northeast Asia, where the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin once formed a major terrestrial extension of the vast<br/>Eurasian landmass. During the LGM, this terrestrial corridor offered an “escape route” from the harsh glacial conditions of Siberia,<br/>but as temperatures gradually warmed, prehistoric societies faced a growing subsistence crisis as landscapes flooded and faunal<br/>resources declined. Our goal is to understand how these societies responded to a warming – yet frequently unstable – climate in an<br/>ever-shrinking terrestrial world. Late Glacial warming witnessed to a brief expansion of Incipient Jōmon traditions into Hokkaido, cut<br/>short by the Younger Dryas. As Holocene warming accelerated, a broader suite of innovations including house pits, plant use and pottery expanded across Sakhalin and Hokkaido. The onset of the 8.2 cal. BP cold event partly reversed this trend, and brought Siberian lithic traditions (Blade Arrow Culture) back down through Sakhalin and into Hokkaido, signalling the temporary return to more mobile<br/>sub-arctic lifeways and a growing reliance on costal resources. Understanding human- and community-scale responses to these<br/>major shifts is challenging because the region’s acidic soils mean that bone material is not preserved, other than at a few shell-midden sites in Hokkaido. At the same time, the region’s extended hunter-gatherer pottery traditions offer rich scope for undertaking biomolecular reconstruction of changing cooking practices across major cultural and environmental transitions. We report recent<br/>results, examine remaining gaps in knowledge, and present ideas for future research.<br/><br/> Vasilevski, Alexander (World and Russian History, Sakhalin State University) - Kato, Hirofumi (GSI, Hokkaido University) - Grishchenko, Vyacheslav (Archaeological Museum, Sakhalin State University)}},
  author       = {{Jordan, Peter and Vasilevski, Alexander and Kato, Hirofumi and Grishchenko, Vyacheslav}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  title        = {{Surviving Turbulent Times : Climate Change, Cultural Connections and Shifting Adaptations in Hokkaido-Sakhalin during the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition}},
  url          = {{https://www.e-a-a.org/EAA2021/Programme.aspx?WebsiteKey=122bcc87-037e-4265-b72a-db2092c01854&hkey=f557022c-8526-45dd-b4ad-edaeb1c77ac8&Program=3#Program}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}