Climate, Environment and Food Connections – Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Societal Resilience. International Workshop 19–21 September 2023, Uppsala University

The workshop aims at interdisciplinary exchange concerning the drivers of climate and environmental change as well as the societal responses towards these changes across time and space. Through land use and food production human societies have been transforming their environments at least since the transition to agriculture (Southwest Asia/Europe ca. 9000-3500 BC). At the same time food production systems have always been vulnerable to climate and environmental change, which might alter important variables such as the availability of water, the presence of pests or other crucial ecosystem services. Understanding the causes and effects between the different factors of change, however, is far from straightforward and requires interdisciplinary research. Today, there is an unprecedented amount of data on past climate change, on human cultural evolution and human-environment interactions in different fields. Climate and environmental indicators (so called proxies) preserved in e.g., sediments, ice cores or speleothems help to trace past climate and environmental change. Archaeological data offers understandings of human behaviour and bio-cultural interactions in the deep past. Case studies and forecasts might reveal current and past vulnerabilities, mitigation strategies and adaptations to environmental change. Understanding the drivers of such dynamics and how human societies responded might help build resilient pathways for the future. The workshop seeks to address questions, such as: - What can we learn about the past climate from natural archives and what are their limitations? - How can human impact on the environment be disentangled from other drivers of environmental change? - How did and do societies react towards climate and environmental change and what helps to build resilience? - How did and does climate change affect food-systems and what can be learned from past and present examples

Ein Einzelknochen kommt selten allein. Histotaphonomische Analysen von zwei Menschenknochen aus Burgäschisee-Nord

Zum ersten Mal wurden histotaphonomische Untersuchungen an menschlichen Einzelknochen aus dem Kontext von neolithischen Feuchtbodenfundstellen vorgenommen. Es handelt sich dabei um ein Femur- (BAS 1) und ein Scapulafragment (BAS 2), die aus zwei unterschiedlichen Besiedlungshorizonten (BAS 1, 3830-3780 BC/ BAS 2, 3340-3100 calBC) der prähistorischen Fundstelle Aeschi SO, Burgäschisee-Nord stammen. Von diesen wurden zwei in Kunstharz eingegossene und zu Dünnschliffen gearbeitete Proben unter dem Mikroskop histotaphonomisch untersucht. Beide Knochen zeigen keinerlei Bioerosion. Dabei ist insbesondere das Ausbleiben von Spuren körpereigener Bakterien bedeutend, die im Zuge der Verwesung üblicherweise einen starken Befall verursachen. Das Fehlen solcher Spuren deutet auf eine perimortale Manipulation des betroffenen Körpers hin und gibt damit bisher unbekannte Einblicke in die Totenbehandlung im Neolithikum der Schweiz.For the first time, histotapohnomic analyses were carried out on human bones from the context of Neolithic wetland sites. The analysed pieces consisted of a fragment of each a femur (BAS 1) and a scapula (BAS 2). Both are dated to different chronological horizons (BAS 1, 3830-3780 BC/ BAS 2, 3340-3100 calBC) and have been found on the Neolithic site of Aeschi SO, Burgäschisee-Nord. Two samples of these bones were cast in epoxi resin and prepared into thin sections for histotaphonomic analysis under the microscope. Both samples show no signs of bioerosion. The absence of traces of endogenous bacteria is particularly significant, as these usually cause heavy infestation in the normal course of putrefaction. The absence of such traces indicates perimortal manipu-lation of the affected bodies and thus provides hitherto unknown insights into the treatment of the dead in the Neolithic of Switzerland.Pour la première fois, des analyses histotapohnomiques ont été effectuées sur des os humains provenant de sites lacustres néolithiques. Les pièces analysées étaient constituées de fragments d’un fémur (BAS 1) et d'une omoplate (BAS 2). Trouvés sur le site néolithique d’Aeschi SO, Burgäschisee-Nord, ces deux os datent de périodes différentes (BAS 1, 3830-3780 av. J.-C. / BAS 2, 3340-3100 cal BC). Deux échantillons ont été coulés dans de la résine synthétique et préparés en lames minces pour une analyse histotaphonomique au microscope. Ils ne montrent aucun signe de bioérosion. L'absence de traces de bactéries endogènes est particulièrement significative, car elles sont actives dans le cours normal de la décomposition. L'absence de telles traces indique une manipulation perimortem des corps des défunts et fournit ainsi des indications jusqu'ici inconnues sur le traitement des morts au Néolithique en Suiss