Abstract

This study presents the design of an Agent-Based Model (ABM) for understanding vegetation openness during the Last Interglacial (LIG, ~ 130,000-116,000 BP) and the Early-Middle Holocene (~11,700-6,000 BP) in Europe. Modelling consist of three main steps. Firstly, input data is collected (digital elevation models, topographic features, climatic and vegetation reconstructions, megafauna distribution), and LIG and Holocene environments are reconstructed. Secondly, model parameters and interaction between three main agents (hunter-gatherers, megafauna, and climate) impacting landscapes in different ways are designed. Thirdly, after simulating the interaction between agents and vegetation for a given time period, the results (scenarios) are statistically analysed and validated against palynological and/or archaeological data sets. Finally, the most influential factors leading to vegetation openness are identified, and role of each agent in vegetation openness is clarified. Results for the LIG are compared with data for the Holocene. This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 813904.

Presenters

Anastasia Nikulina
PhD Researcher, Faculty of Archaeology, Department of World Archaeology, Human Origins Group, Leiden University, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands

Fulco Scherjon
Researcher, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, Netherlands

Details

Presentation Type

Poster Session

Theme

Economic, Social, and Cultural Context

KEYWORDS

AGENT-BASED MODELLING; HUNTER-GATHERERS; LAST INTERGLACIAL; HOLOCENE; VEGETATION OPENNESS; HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

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