Glacial to Postglacial 174-179 Flashcards
When did the Pleistocene end
Around 9600 BCE
What were the two components of the global transformation that followed the end of the Pleistocene?
- Environmental change, notably the warming of the global climate
- The human response to new opportunities provided by the warmer climate
What is the Holocene
The current interglacial
When did the Holocene begin
9600
How did Lewis Henry Morgan and Edward Tylor describe the development of human society?
As moving from Paleolithic “savagery” to the “barbarism” of early farming societies, finally culminating in the “civilization” of Mesopotamia or Egypt
Bølling/Allerød interstadial
Summer temperatures reached almost present levels
When was the Bølling/Allerød interstadial?
13,000 BCE
After the Bølling/Allerød interstadial, summer temperatures had reached almost their present levels, but deglaciation then went into dramatic reverse, introducing the …
Younger Dryas phase
After the Bølling/Allerød interstadial came?
The Younger Dryas phase
When was the Younger Dryas phase?
10,800-9600 BCE
What was probably responsible for the shift from the Bølling/Allerød interstadia to the Younger Dryas phase?
The melting of the northern ice sheets -> release of large quantities of cold meltwater into North Atlantic weakened/stopped Gulf Stream
What species died out at the end of the Ice Age?
Mammoth, woolly rhino, giant elk, saber-tooth cat
Isostatic uplift
The removal of the weight of ice causing land areas to rebound
The removal of the weight of ice causing land areas to rebound
Isostatic uplift
Why can, in most regions, the history of human coastal exploitation only be traced back to the middle/late Holocene, some 5,000 years ago?
Before, the rising sea level drowned out coast areas
In most regions the history of human coastal exploitation can be traced back only to the middle/late Holocene, some 5,000 years ago.
What regions are the exception to this?
Regions where isostatic uplift has preserved early shorelines.
One notable effect of early … sea-level rise was the creation of islands
Holocene
East Asia and North America became divided by the flooding of the … around 8500 BCE
Bering Strait
When did East Asia and North America become divided by the flooding of the Bering Strait?
Around 8500 BCE
Where did the most dramatic of alll late Pleistocene and early Holocene coastal losses occur?
In Southeast Asia, Sundaland
Which landmass resulted in the creation of the Southeast Asian islands by losing more than half of its land area to rising sea levels
Sundaland
When did Sundaland lose more than half of its land area due to rising sea levels?
Between 15,000 and 5000 BCE
Sundaland losing more than half of its land area between 15,000 and 5000 resulted in the creation of what?
The Southeast Asia islands
With the formation of what was Sumatra seperated from Malaysia?
With the formation of the Strait of Malacca
When was the Strait of Malacca formed?
6500 BCE
Around when was Britain separated from the European mainland?
6500 BCE
As sea levels rose, an area of low hills known as … became an island within the formative North Sea
Doggerland
Doggerland was submerged and became
The rich fishing grounds known as the Dogger Bank
Tasmania was separated from mainland Australia by what?
The Bass Strait
In Europe, microliths are a distinguishing feature of the …
Mesolithic
What tool type was a distinguishing feature of the Mesolithic?
Microliths
The earliest known pottery vessels were made by who?
Hunter-gatherers of East Asia
