Journal article
Authors list: Degroot, Dagomar; Anchukaitis, Kevin; Bauch, Martin; Burnham, Jakob; Carnegy, Fred; Cui, Jianxin; de Luna, Kathryn; Guzowski, Piotr; Hambrecht, George; Huhtamaa, Heli; Izdebski, Adam; Kleemann, Katrin; Moesswilde, Emma; Neupane, Naresh; Newfield, Timothy; Pei, Qing; Xoplaki, Elena; Zappia, Natale
Publication year: 2021
Pages: 539-550
Journal: Nature
Volume number: 591
Issue number: 7851
ISSN: 0028-0836
eISSN: 1476-4687
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03190-2
Publisher: Nature Research
Abstract:
A large scholarship currently holds that before the onset of anthropogenic global warming, natural climatic changes long provoked subsistence crises and, occasionally, civilizational collapses among human societies. This scholarship, which we term the 'history of climate and society' (HCS), is pursued by researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including archaeologists, economists, geneticists, geographers, historians, linguists and palaeoclimatologists. We argue that, despite the wide interest in HCS, the field suffers from numerous biases, and often does not account for the local effects and spatiotemporal heterogeneity of past climate changes or the challenges of interpreting historical sources. Here we propose an interdisciplinary framework for uncovering climate-society interactions that emphasizes the mechanics by which climate change has influenced human history, and the uncertainties inherent in discerning that influence across different spatiotemporal scales. Although we acknowledge that climate change has sometimes had destructive effects on past societies, the application of our framework to numerous case studies uncovers five pathways by which populations survived-and often thrived-in the face of climatic pressures.
Citation Styles
Harvard Citation style: Degroot, D., Anchukaitis, K., Bauch, M., Burnham, J., Carnegy, F., Cui, J., et al. (2021) Towards a rigorous understanding of societal responses to climate change, Nature, 591(7851), pp. 539-550. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03190-2
APA Citation style: Degroot, D., Anchukaitis, K., Bauch, M., Burnham, J., Carnegy, F., Cui, J., de Luna, K., Guzowski, P., Hambrecht, G., Huhtamaa, H., Izdebski, A., Kleemann, K., Moesswilde, E., Neupane, N., Newfield, T., Pei, Q., Xoplaki, E., & Zappia, N. (2021). Towards a rigorous understanding of societal responses to climate change. Nature. 591(7851), 539-550. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03190-2
Keywords
COLD PERIOD; CULTIVATION HISTORY; DROUGHT VARIABILITY; EASTERN CHINA; ICE-AGE; LARGE-SCALE; LATE-ANTIQUE; REALIZING CONSILIENCE; TEMPERATURE-VARIATIONS; VOLCANIC-ERUPTION
