Published: 2024-12-31 — Updated on 2024-12-31

Climate fluctuation in the 3rd century BC – 5th century AD and their impact on human-environment relations: selected examples from southern Poland

Halina Dobrzańska , Tomasz Kalicki
Archeologia Polski
Section: Studies
DOI https://doi.org/10.23858/APol69.2024.006

Abstract

Against the background of climatic fluctuations in Europe, four examples of detailed studies from southern Poland are presented, which document the very clear, multidirectional impact of climatic changes in the Roman period on the settlement and nature of the activities of the Przeworsk culture community. Local conditions also played an important role. The discussed ecumene was not uniform, which caused regional differentiation of anthropopression, recorded in settlement forms and sediments. It consisted of “centres” of non-agricultural production, i.e. metallurgical in the Świętokrzyskie region and pottery centres in the Vistula valley, east of Kraków, relatively densely populated and significantly affecting the natural environment. Between these centres, occupying a relatively small area, there were regions used for agriculture, constituting a mosaic of arable land, pastures and forest areas, which resulted in low intensity of erosion-accumulation processes. Regardless of the large migration movements of the Przeworsk culture population to the south, the heterogeneity of the ecumene could also have caused local relocations to both production centres (equivalent to contemporary “village→city” migrations). This may be illustrated by the decrease in the population density of some agricultural areas after the Roman climatic optimum (after 150 AD), for example, in the Nida valley and its left-bank, karstic part of the catchment.

Keywords:

climatic fluctuations, southern Poland, Przeworsk culture, Roman period, human-environment relationship

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Dobrzańska, H., & Kalicki, T. (2024). Climate fluctuation in the 3rd century BC – 5th century AD and their impact on human-environment relations: selected examples from southern Poland. Archeologia Polski, 69, 151–176. https://doi.org/10.23858/APol69.2024.006

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