The domestic cat may be a far more recent arrival to Europe than previously thought, arriving roughly 2000 years ago and not because of the Paleolithic expansion of Near East farmers. The findings offer new insight into one of humanity’s most enigmatic animal companions and identify North Africa as the cradle of the modern housecat. The domestic cat has a long and complex, albeit uncertain, history. Genetic studies show that all modern cats descended from the African wildcat, which is found today in North Africa and the Near East. However, sparse archaeological remains and the difficulty of distinguishing domestic from wild felines based on bones alone have left major gaps in our understanding of the origin and spread of early domestic cats. A human-cat burial from ~7500 BCE in Cyprus suggests an early domestication in the Levant region, while later Egyptian art and animal burials point to a possible later origin in Pharaonic Egypt. Recent Genetic studies of ancient DNA have indicated that cats may have dispersed from what is now Türkiye into Europe alongside Neolithic farmers, supporting the idea that cat domestication began in the Levant during the rise of agriculture ~6,000 years ago. However, it remains unclear whether these animals were truly domesticated cats or a distinct lineage of wildcats.
To help resolve some of these mysteries, Marco de Martino and colleagues conducted paleogenomic analyses on 87 ancient and modern cat genomes. De Martino et al. generated 70 low-coverage genomes from archaeological specimens spanning more than 10,000 years (~9000 BCE to 19th Century CE) and 17 higher-coverage genomes from modern and museum wildcats from Europe, North Africa, and Anatolia. Contrary to previous studies, the authors found that domestic cats most likely originated from North African wildcats, rather than from the Levant, and that true domestic cats only appeared in Europe and southwest Asia several thousand years after the Neolithic. Earlier cats in Europe and Türkiye were genetically European wildcats and reflect ancient hybridization rather than early domestication. After being introduced, North African domestic cats spread rapidly throughout Europe, often following Roman military routes, reaching Britain by the 1st Century CE. What’s more, de Martino et al. show that Sardinian wildcats – both ancient and modern – are more closely related to North African wildcats than domestic cats, indicating that humans brought wildcats to islands where they did not naturally occur, and they are not descendants of a feral population of early domestic cats. “The study by de Martino et al. is part of an ongoing project, Project Felix, which also aims to tackle other outstanding questions concerning cat domestication,” writes Jonathan Losos in a related Perspective. “Ever sphinxlike, cats give up their secrets grudgingly.”
New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered how Incas used Andean balance scales and ancient string knot writing known as ‘khipus’, in association with sacred, animate landscapes.
Published today in the journal RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, this new research found that both balance scales and khipus (a method of writing using small knots used by the Inca and pre-Inca societies) were tied to Andean notions of wellbeing that prioritise achieving a state of balance and harmony in social, economic and moral affairs.
Achieving balance was a constant preoccupation in people’s lives.
Research suggests that certain kinds of balance scales (wooden unequal-arm balances known as ‘wipis’) were used in the precolonial Andes to support the exchange of highly prized goods between different ethnic groups: highland herder communities who produced raw wool and yarn, and lowland cultivators of coca leaf.
The new work suggests that red tassels found on some ancient khipus and balance scales could have served a ‘supernatural’ function by certifying that the information recorded or displayed on the object was trustworthy.
In Andean society, the colour red is associated with ideas of wholeness and power, where bright red hues are deemed to preserve the integrity of an object and any vital energy contained within it.
The research also emphasizes that Andean balances were not necessarily used within a context of exactitude. In many interactions, the scale achieving balance is not the central priority, but that the product being supplied or traded is deemed sufficient based on the degree of tilt and an agreement by the individuals involved.
This work reveals an intimate relationship between measuring instruments, like balance scales and khipus, and ideas of social responsibility and community.
Wipi scales appear to have been used exclusively for weighing coca leaf and wool, which tells us that in pre-Hispanic Andean society, including the Inca Era, these scales would have been used to facilitate access to highly prized goods grown outside of (and perhaps also within) a community’s lands. This new research sheds light on how pre-Hispanic equal-arm balances were used.
The study emphasizes thinking of khipus as registers that were part of dynamic interactions, where the sacred ancestors believed to own and control water were considered in the production and use of these registers.
Sarah Bennison, an interdisciplinary Andean studies researcher at The University of St Andrews who co-authored the paper, said: “The study emphasizes thinking of khipus as registers that were part of dynamic interactions, where the sacred ancestors believed to own and control water were considered in the production and use of these registers. We could cast our gaze more broadly and explore the wider context of customs geared at achieving balance, of which khipus played a part. And in turn, the study of Inca balance scales holds promise for deepening our understandings of khipus.”
This new work represents the most in-depth research into unequal-arm balances known as ‘wipis’ to date. Although wipis can be found in some museum collections today, references to these small, wooden balances seemed to fade away from the ethnographic literature in the 1980s. It wasn’t clear if wipi use had died out or not. However, paper co-author Bennison discovered them still in use as late as 2022.
These new insights unite archaeological, historical, and ethnographic research to understand the diverse uses of scales, exploring how the uses of wipis are embedded in perceptions of what it means for an individual and their community to be ‘in balance’.
With the help of newly identified bones, an enigmatic 3.4-million-year-old hominin foot found in 2009, is assigned to a species different from that of the famous fossil Lucy providing further proof that two ancient species of hominins co-existed at the same time and in the same region.
In 2009, scientists led by Arizona State University paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie, found eight bones from the foot of an ancient human ancestor within layers of 3.4-million-year-old sediments in the Afar Rift in Ethiopia. The fossil, called the Burtele Nature Foot, was found at The Woranso-Mille paleontological site and was announced in a 2012 article.
“When we found the foot in 2009 and announced it in 2012, we knew that it was different from Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis, which is widely known from that time,” said Haile-Selassie, director of the Institute of Human Origins (IHO) and a professor in the ASU School of Human Evolution and Social Change.
“However, it is not common practice in our field to name a species based on postcranial elements –elements below the neck – so we were hoping that we would find something above the neck in clear association with the foot. Crania, jaws and teeth are usually the elements used in species recognition.”
When the Burtele foot was announced, some teeth were already found from the same area, but the scientists were not convinced the teeth were from the same level of sediments. Then, in 2015, the team announced a new species, Australopithecus deyiremeda, from the same area but did not include the foot into this species even though some of the specimens were found very close to the foot, explained Haile-Selassie.
Over the past 10 years of returning to the field and finding more fossils, Haile-Selassie said they now have specimens that they can confidently associate with the Burtele foot and with the species A. deyiremeda.
What's in a name – and a foot?
The assignment of the Burtele foot to a species is just part of the story.
The site of Woranso-Mille is significant because it is the only site where scientists have clear evidence showing two related hominin species co-existed at the same time in the same area.
The Burtele foot, belonging to A. deyiremeda, is more primitive than the feet of Lucy’s species, A. afarensis. The Burtele foot retained an opposable big toe which is important for climbing. But when on the ground, A. deyiremeda walked on two legs and it most likely pushed off on its second digit rather than its big toe like we, modern humans, do today.
“The presence of an abducted big toe in Ardipithecus ramidus was a big surprise because at 4.4 million-years-ago there was still an early hominin ancestor which retained an opposable big toe, which was totally unexpected” said Haile-Selassie.
“Then 1-million-years later, at 3.4-million-years ago, we find the Burtele foot, which is even more surprising. This is a time when we see species like A. afarensis whose members were fully bipedal with an adducted big toe. What that means is that bipedality – walking on two legs – in these early human ancestors came in various forms. The whole idea of finding specimens like the Burtele foot tells you that there were many ways of walking on two legs when on the ground, there was not just one way until later.”
Teeth reveal different diets
To get insight into the diet of A. deyiremeda, Naomi Levin, a professor at the University of Michigan, sampled eight of the 25 teeth found at the Burtele localities for isotope analysis. The process involves cleaning the teeth, making sure to only sample the enamel.
“I sample the tooth with a dental drill and a very tiny (< 1mm) bit -- this equipment is the same kind that dentists use to work on your teeth,” said Levin. “With this drill I carefully remove small amounts of powder. I store that powder in a plastic vial and transport it back to our lab at the University of Michigan for isotopic analysis.”
The results were surprising.
While Lucy’s species was a mixed feeder, eating C3 (resources from trees and shrubs) and C4 plants (tropical grasses and sedges), A. deyiremeda was utilizing resources that are more on the C3 side.
“I was surprised that the carbon isotope signal was so clear and so similar to the carbon isotope data from the older hominins A. ramidus and Au. anamensis,” said Levin. “I thought the distinctions between the diet of A. deyiremeda and A. afarensis would be harder to identify but the isotope data show clearly that A. deyiremeda wasn't accessing the same range of resources as A. afarensis, which is the earliest hominin shown to make use of C4 grass-based food resources.”
Another key data analysis was carefully establishing the age of the fossils and understanding the surrounding ancient environment in which the ancient hominins lived in.
"We have done a tremendous amount of careful field work at Woranso-Mille to establish how different fossil layers relate, which is crucial to understanding when and in what settings the different species lived,” said Beverly Saylor, professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Case Western Reserve University. Saylor led the geological work that established the stratigraphic association between the foot and Au. deyiermeda.
A juvenile jaw
Along with the 25 teeth found at Burtele, Haile-Selassie’s team also found the jaw of a juvenile that based on the anatomy of the teeth clearly belonged to A. deyiremeda. This jaw had a full set of baby teeth already in position, but also had a lot of adult teeth developing deep down within the bony mandible, explained Gary Schwartz, IHO research scientist and professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.
The team used CT scanning technology to look at all the developing teeth because there is a close connection between both the pattern and pace of tooth development with a species’ overall growth biology. This allowed the scientists to estimate that this jaw belonged to a hominin that was around 4.5 years old when it died.
“For a juvenile hominin of this age, we were able to see clear traces of a disconnect in growth between the front teeth (incisors) and the back chewing teeth (molars), much like is seen in living apes and in other early australopiths, like Lucy’s species,” said Schwartz.
“I think the biggest surprise was despite our growing awareness of how diverse these early australopith (i.e., early hominin) species were – in their size, in their diet, in their locomotor repertoires and in their anatomy – these early australopiths seem to be remarkably similar in the manner in which they grew up.”
Ancient hominins co-existing
Knowing how these ancient ancestors moved and what they ate provides scientists with new knowledge about how species co-existed at the same time without one pushing the other to extinction.
“All of our research to understand past ecosystems from millions of years ago is not just about curiosity or figuring out where we came from, said Haile-Selassie. “It is our eagerness to learn about our present and the future as well.”
“If we don’t understand our past, we can’t fully understand the present or our future. What happened in the past, we see it happening today,” he said. “In a lot of ways, the climate change that we see today has happened so many times during the times of Lucy and A. deyiremeda. What we learn from that time could actually help us mitigate some of the worst outcomes of climate change today.”
Three-dimensional model of Rano Raraku quarry produced through Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry. This comprehensive digital documentation, derived from 11,686 UAV images, reveals the complex spatial organization of production activities distributed across multiple workshop areas.
Credit: Lipo et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
The famous statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) were carved by numerous independent groups, according to a study published November 26, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Carl Philipp Lipo of Binghamton University, New York and colleagues.
The island of Rapa Nui is famous for preserving hundreds of stone statues (moai) carved by Polynesian communities starting in the 13th century. Archaeological evidence consistently suggests that Rapa Nui society was not politically unified, consisting instead of small and independent family groups. This raises the question of whether the construction of moai was similarly decentralized.
In this study, researchers collected over 11,000 images of the primary moai quarry, Rano Raraku, to create a comprehensive 3D model of the quarry, including hundreds of moai preservedin various stages of completion. Detailed analysis of this model revealed 30 distinct centers of quarrying activity featuring a variety of carving techniques, suggesting multiple independent work areas. There is also evidence for transport of moai out of the quarry in many different directions. These patterns suggest that moai construction, like broader Rapa Nui society, was not organized by central management.
These findings challenge the common assumption that this scale of monument production requires hierarchical organization. The similarities that do exist between moai seem to reflect cultural sharing of information rather than communities actually working together to carve the figures. The quarry model created during this study also provides detailed data for future research and for cultural management of this UNESCO World Heritage site, and the data from here can be applied to carry out analysis at other sites.
The authors add: “Much of the so-called “mystery” of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) comes from the lack of openly available, detailed evidence that would allow researchers to evaluate hypotheses and construct explanations. Here, we present the first high-resolution 3D model of the moai quarry at Rano Raraku, the central quarry for nearly 1,000 statues, offering new insights into the organizational and manufacturing processes of these giant megalithic figures.”
Scientists have found wolf remains, thousands of years old, on a small, isolated island in the Baltic Sea – a place where the animalscould only have been brought by humans. The study, published in Proceedingsof the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at the Francis Crick Institute,Stockholm University, the University of Aberdeen and the University of East Anglia,suggest that grey wolves may have been managed or controlled byprehistoric societies.
The discovery of the 3,000–5,000-year-old wolf remains was made in the Stora Förvar cave on the Swedish island of Stora Karlsö, a site known for its intensive use by seal hunters and fishers during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. The island, which covers only 2.5 square kilometres, has no native land mammals, meaning that any such animals must have been brought there by people.
Genomic analysis of two canid remains confirmed they were wolves, not dogs, with no evidence of dog ancestry. However, they exhibited several traits typically associated with life alongside humans. Isotope analysis of their bones revealed a diet rich in marine protein, such as seals and fish, aligning with the diet of the humans on the island and suggesting they were provisioned. Furthermore, the wolves were smaller than typical mainland wolves, and one individual showed signs of low genetic diversity, a common result of isolation or controlled breeding.
“The discovery of these wolves on a remote island is completely unexpected,” said Dr. Linus Girdland-Flink of the University of Aberdeen, a lead author of the study. “Not only did they have ancestry indistinguishable from other Eurasian wolves, but they seemed to be living alongside humans, eating their food, and in a place they could have only have reached by boat. This paints a complex picture of the relationship between humans and wolves in the past.”
The finding challenges the conventional understanding of wolf-human dynamics and the process of dog domestication. While it remains unclear if these wolves were tamed, kept in captivity, or managed in some other way, their presence in a human-occupied, isolated environment points to a deliberate and sustained interaction.
“It was a complete surprise to see that it was a wolf and not a dog,” said Pontus Skoglund of the Ancient Genomics Laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute and senior author. “This is a provocative case that raises the possibility that in certain environments, humans were able to keep wolves in their settlements, and found value in doing so.”
Anders Bergström of the University of East Anglia and co-lead author, commented: “The genetic data is fascinating. We found that the wolf with the most complete genome had low genetic diversity, lower than any other ancient wolf we’ve seen. This is similar to what you see in isolated or bottlenecked populations, or in domesticated organisms. While we can’t rule out that these wolves had low genetic diversity for natural reasons, it suggests that humans were interacting with and managing wolves in ways we hadn’t previously considered.”
One of the wolf specimens, dated to the Bronze Age, also showed advanced pathology in a limb bone, which would have limited its mobility. This suggests it may have been cared for or was able to survive in an environment where it did not need to hunt large prey.
The combination of osteology and genetic analyses have provided unique information not available separately. “The combination of data has revealed new and very unexpected perspectives on Stone Age and Bronze Age human-animal interactions in general and specifically concerning wolves and also dogs,” says Jan Storå, Professor of Osteoarchaeology at Stockholm University.
The study suggests that human-wolf interactions in prehistory were more diverse than previously thought, extending beyond simple hunting or avoidance to include complex relations and interactions that, in this case, mirrors new aspects of domestication without leading to the canines we know as dogs today.
A multidisciplinary team of Spanish and Portuguese archaeologists and artificial intelligence experts has combined non-destructive archaeological measurement techniques, machine learning and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) tools to develop an AI system applicable to archaeological research. In this specific case, to investigate the provenance of archaeological samples of variscite, a mineral with a characteristic green colour highly appreciated in Prehistory and distributed by extensive exchange networks throughout Western Europe between the sixth and second millennium BC. It was used to make necklaces, bracelets, rings... Items of personal adornment in general.
This group of researchers has been collaborating for years to find out where variscite comes from in the different archaeological sites of the Iberian Peninsula. To do this, they compare current geological samples of variscite with samples found in archaeological excavations. They analyze the mineral, record its elements, and then compare the small chemical variations they present. Based on the similarities, it is possible to determine from which place it has been extracted.
The study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, is led by the University of Lisbon and has the participation of the Milá y Fontanals Institution for Research in the Humanities (IMF-CSIC), the University of Seville, the University of Alcalá and the the CIPAG (a Spanish acronym that stands for “Collective for the Research of Prehistory and Archaeology of Garraf-Ordal”).
A unique geochemical footprint in each mine
The innovation of this study lies in the use of AI to analyze the results of the chemical composition. "Our model learns to recognize the unique geochemical footprint of each mine. It is able to identify where a prehistoric bead comes from, even thousands of years after it was manufactured," explains Daniel Sánchez-Gómez, a researcher at the University of Lisbon and lead author of the study. Thanks to this pioneering approach, they have been able to predict with 95% accuracy the geological origin of archaeological objects made with variscite.
In this way, the team has built the most extensive compositional database created to date, with more than 1,800 geological samples and 571 archaeological accounts, which have been analyzed using portable X-ray fluorescence.
To process the data, they used a random forest algorithm, which is very commonly used in Machine Learning, which has allowed them to achieve unprecedented precision. In addition, explains Ferrán Borrell, an archaeologist at the IMF-CSIC, "something very remarkable about this project is that the information has been uploaded to Zenodo [an open repository developed under the European OpenAIRE program and operated by CERN], so that other researchers can use that data and make their own interpretations. It is working with open science." Ferran Borrell directs the excavation project of the prehistoric variscite mines in Gavà (Spain), from which part of the samples studied come from.
The results have made it possible to reinterpret prehistoric trade routes. Now, the researchers explain, we can know that the mines of Gavà (Barcelona, Spain) and Aliste (Zamora, Spain) were the main production and distribution centres; that the traditionally cited source of Encinasola (Huelva, Spain) would have been of lesser importance; and that the materials found in Brittany (France) probably come from the north of the Iberian Peninsula, suggesting trans-Pyrenean land routes, rather than the maritime ones proposed so far.
"We have used explainable artificial intelligence techniques, which allow AI models, especially the most complex ones, to explain in a clear and understandable way how they make their decisions. In the case of our research, this means that it not only accurately predicts, but also shows us which chemical elements were decisive in each classification, bringing transparency and rigor to archaeological interpretation," adds Carlos Odriozola, professor at the University of Seville and PI of the project. This methodological framework, called VORTEX (Variscite Origin Recognition Technology X-ray based), opens up new possibilities for the study of the provenance of other archaeological materials, such as amber, and constitutes a milestone in the application of artificial intelligence to cultural heritage.
Now, according to Manuel Edo Benaiges, co-author of the article, we must try to address the following questions: What was the reason for the expansion phenomenon of the green stone? How did this expansion through Western Europe occur over time? Where did it start? The interpretations are many, always with the common goal of knowing more about the past. "It's not just about green beads: it's about using artificial intelligence to tell the human stories of prehistory," concludes Sánchez-Gómez.
For more than a century, building archaeologists have believed that the art of brick building in Denmark was imported directly from Lombardy in northern Italy in the mid-12th century. But a new scientific study reveals that the story is far more complex.
“Our analyses show that there is no evidence for a direct transfer of brickmaking technology from Italy to Denmark in the 1100s,” says professor emeritus Kaare Lund Rasmussen from the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark. He specializes in archaeometric analyses—chemical investigations of cultural heritage objects.
Instead, the evidence points to knowledge spreading through the Cistercian monastic network, likely making a stop in Germany before reaching Denmark.
The study was conducted in collaboration with colleagues from the National Museum of Denmark, Over Byen Architects, Cranfield University in England, the Institute of Heritage Science and the University of Pisa in Italy, as well as Universidad Nacional de Catamarca in Argentina. It was published in npj Heritage Science and supported by the AP Møller Foundation and the Augustinus Foundation.
When King Valdemar the Great and Bishop Absalon built the Danish monastery churches in Ringsted and Sorø in the 1160s, it marked a turning point in Danish building culture. For the first time, large red brick churches rose in a country where buildings had previously been constructed in wood or natural stone.
Bricks quickly became a symbol of prestige and power. King Valdemar even expanded the Danevirke fortification with a kilometer-long brick wall—one of the largest construction projects of medieval Denmark.
305 Brick Samples Under the Microscope
The research team analyzed 305 brick samples from two Danish churches in Ringsted and Sorø and two Italian churches: Chiaravalle Milanese and Abbadia Cerreto in Lombardy, south of Milan. Using advanced methods such as thermoluminescence dating, X-ray diffraction, and color measurements, they determined age, raw materials, and production techniques.
The results show no trace of Italian craftsmanship in the Danish bricks—no “fingerprints” of Lombard builders.
“If Italian craftsmen had been involved, we would expect to see certain technical details—specific mortar mixtures, characteristic firing techniques, or decorative elements—replicated in Denmark. But the Danish churches lack these features,” explains Kaare Lund Rasmussen. As one example, he notes that mortar joints in Italian churches are only a few millimeters wide, while in Denmark they can be several centimeters.
According to study co-author Thomas Bertelsen, a building archaeologist and restoration expert at Over Byen Architects in Copenhagen, cultural historians have traditionally dated the Italian churches on the Po Valley to the 12th century, making them nearly contemporary with the Danish ones.
“That was one of the reasons people thought Denmark might have received brick technology directly from Lombardy,” he says.
But chemical analyses revealed that Chiaravalle is significantly younger than previously assumed, while Cerreto is older. This means Cerreto’s bricks were fired decades—perhaps even a century—before the Danish churches were built.
Chiaravalle, on the other hand, turned out to be about 75 years younger than the Danish churches, ruling out its builders as a source of Danish brickmaking knowledge.
“It simply cannot have been the same master builders and craftsmen who constructed both Cerreto and the Danish churches. They would have been too old—or even dead—by the time work began in Denmark,” says Kaare Lund Rasmussen.
Thomas Bertelsen adds that the craftsmanship differs so greatly between the Danish and Italian churches that it seems highly unlikely the same people built them. In Italy, surface treatments were more refined, joints narrower, and stones carefully shaped for use in columns.
“That level of care is not recognizable in Denmark. These are entirely different builders. We have demonstrated that it was not North Italians who came to Denmark to construct the churches,” Bertelsen emphasizes.
Instead of a direct link between Lombardy and Denmark, the researchers suggest an indirect spread of knowledge. The Cistercian order, renowned for its international monastic network, likely played a central role.
At the same time, brick construction was developing in northern Germany around Lübeck in the late 12th century.
“It’s a good example of how technology and architecture in the Middle Ages could spread gradually through networks of monks, craftsmen, and trade routes—not just through kings and wars,” explains Kaare Lund Rasmussen.
Charter from the Abbey Archives of St. Gall. Dated March 9th, 736. Describes the donation of property in Eigeltingen and Neuhausen, near Lake Constance. Archived documents like this reveal the social, economic, and agricultural practices prevailing in the Lake Constance region during the early medieval period.
Credit: St. Gallen, Stiftsarchiv, IV 345 (Private charter)
One of the major realizations of the Anthropocene era has been the importance of biodiversity for the functioning of the earth system, as well as for human societies. Recent trends show that human activities are driving biodiversity loss around the globe, but previous research has also shown an increase in biodiversity in Holocene Europe, showing that human societies can in fact support the health and resilience of their environments. The cultural phenomena that accompanied the increase in biodiversity, however, are less understood.
Now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences integrates data from interdisciplinary datasets to examine the drivers of biodiversity change around Lake Constance in southwest Germany, then part of the Carolingian Empire. Researchers found a significant, sustained increase in plant diversity starting around 500 CE, culminating in a 4000-year “plant diversity optimum” around1000 CE. This increase, data shows, was driven by cultural innovations in agriculture, land management and trade in the formative period of medieval Europe.
“Our findings document a success story in human-environment interactions,” says Adam Izdebski of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. “Human communities can support biodiverse landscapes, and have done so for long periods of time in the past.”
“This study offers lessons for policy makers and conservationists,” adds Adam Spitzig of Stanford University. “Our data suggest that High Nature Value (HNV) farming systems and intermediate-disturbance, agro-ecological mosaics can effectively enhance plant diversity while simultaneously sustaining food production.”
To reach these findings, the researchers used palaeoecological and historical datasets from the Lake Constance region, a uniquely well-documented area. Analysis of fossil pollen from six sediment cores, combined with archaeobotanical evidence from hundreds of sites, allowed researchers to reconstruct the changes in plant diversity over the past 4000 years. By combining this data with historical documents from regional archives, including the Abbey Archives of St. Gall, they could uncover the agricultural, trade, and land management practices that enabled the increase in plant diversity.
As society progresses into the Anthropocene, the human era, stories of positive human-earth system interactions are increasingly important, reminding us that our societies can support biodiversity and healthy landscapes too. The researchers hope that future studies will continue to integrate long-term biodiversity estimates with detailed cultural contextualization, so that policy makers can implement the most effective biodiversity management policies.
