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Climate change, human health, and challenges to resilience in the holocene

Climate change, human health, and challenges to resilience in the holocene
Climate change, human health, and challenges to resilience in the holocene
Climate change is a significant threat to human health, especially for societies already confronted with rising social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and a cascade of concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological data about climate and environmental change provide a source of evidence about the potential challenges we face and the long-term outcomes of different short-term adaptive strategies employed in the past. Bioarchaeologists and paleopathologists study human health in the Holocene using evidence from archaeological human skeletons and mummified remains. Our research provides a basis for understanding the health impacts of past climate and environmental change within an evolutionary and biocultural framework. Here we provide bioarchaeological case studies from the published literature and discuss their relevance to research priorities outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We discuss the impact of environmental marginalization, famine and nutritional insufficiency, infectious disease, violence, and migration in the past. Although the magnitude and the pace of current global warming exceed the parameters of climate change experienced by past societies, bioarchaeology provides valuable insights into how variation in human historical and socio-cultural circumstances shaped epidemiological patterns across the millennia. It also provides clarity on the constraints of modernity, including limits to mobility and increasingly high levels of structural inequality. By demonstrating how past human societies perceived and experimented with solutions to climate and environmental challenges, bioarchaeology contributes to current prediction, planning, and policy-making efforts for a more equitable and sustainable future.
Climate adaptation, Environmental Health, environmental migration, equitable sustainability, Environmental conflict, UN Sustainable Development Goals
0027-8424
Robbins Schug, Gwen
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Buikstra, Jane E.
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Dewitte, Sharon N.
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Baker, Brenda J.
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Berger, Elizabeth
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Buzon, Michele R.
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Davies-Barrett, Anna M.
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Goldstein, Lynne
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Grauer, Anne L.
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Gregoricka, Lesley A.
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Halcrow, Siân E.
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Knudson, Kelly J.
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Larsen, Clark Spencer
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Martin, Debra L.
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Nystrom, Kenneth C.
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Perry, Megan A.
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Roberts, Charlotte A.
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Santos, Ana Luisa
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Stojanowski, Christopher M.
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Suby, Jorge A.
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Temple, Daniel H.
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Tung, Tiffiny A.
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Vlok, Melandri
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Watson-Glen, Tatyana
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Zakrzewski, Sonia
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Robbins Schug, Gwen
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Buikstra, Jane E.
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Dewitte, Sharon N.
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Baker, Brenda J.
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Berger, Elizabeth
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Buzon, Michele R.
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Davies-Barrett, Anna M.
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Goldstein, Lynne
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Grauer, Anne L.
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Gregoricka, Lesley A.
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Halcrow, Siân E.
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Knudson, Kelly J.
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Larsen, Clark Spencer
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Martin, Debra L.
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Nystrom, Kenneth C.
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Perry, Megan A.
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Roberts, Charlotte A.
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Santos, Ana Luisa
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Stojanowski, Christopher M.
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Suby, Jorge A.
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Temple, Daniel H.
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Tung, Tiffiny A.
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Vlok, Melandri
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Watson-Glen, Tatyana
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Zakrzewski, Sonia
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Robbins Schug, Gwen, Buikstra, Jane E., Dewitte, Sharon N., Baker, Brenda J., Berger, Elizabeth, Buzon, Michele R., Davies-Barrett, Anna M., Goldstein, Lynne, Grauer, Anne L., Gregoricka, Lesley A., Halcrow, Siân E., Knudson, Kelly J., Larsen, Clark Spencer, Martin, Debra L., Nystrom, Kenneth C., Perry, Megan A., Roberts, Charlotte A., Santos, Ana Luisa, Stojanowski, Christopher M., Suby, Jorge A., Temple, Daniel H., Tung, Tiffiny A., Vlok, Melandri, Watson-Glen, Tatyana and Zakrzewski, Sonia (2022) Climate change, human health, and challenges to resilience in the holocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Submitted)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Climate change is a significant threat to human health, especially for societies already confronted with rising social inequality, political and economic uncertainty, and a cascade of concurrent environmental challenges. Archaeological data about climate and environmental change provide a source of evidence about the potential challenges we face and the long-term outcomes of different short-term adaptive strategies employed in the past. Bioarchaeologists and paleopathologists study human health in the Holocene using evidence from archaeological human skeletons and mummified remains. Our research provides a basis for understanding the health impacts of past climate and environmental change within an evolutionary and biocultural framework. Here we provide bioarchaeological case studies from the published literature and discuss their relevance to research priorities outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We discuss the impact of environmental marginalization, famine and nutritional insufficiency, infectious disease, violence, and migration in the past. Although the magnitude and the pace of current global warming exceed the parameters of climate change experienced by past societies, bioarchaeology provides valuable insights into how variation in human historical and socio-cultural circumstances shaped epidemiological patterns across the millennia. It also provides clarity on the constraints of modernity, including limits to mobility and increasingly high levels of structural inequality. By demonstrating how past human societies perceived and experimented with solutions to climate and environmental challenges, bioarchaeology contributes to current prediction, planning, and policy-making efforts for a more equitable and sustainable future.

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More information

Submitted date: 10 June 2022
Keywords: Climate adaptation, Environmental Health, environmental migration, equitable sustainability, Environmental conflict, UN Sustainable Development Goals

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 458187
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/458187
ISSN: 0027-8424
PURE UUID: 7d1c3612-d1b6-4b09-b82b-1e25a0ba3c07
ORCID for Sonia Zakrzewski: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1796-065X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 30 Jun 2022 16:40
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:57

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Contributors

Author: Gwen Robbins Schug
Author: Jane E. Buikstra
Author: Sharon N. Dewitte
Author: Brenda J. Baker
Author: Elizabeth Berger
Author: Michele R. Buzon
Author: Anna M. Davies-Barrett
Author: Lynne Goldstein
Author: Anne L. Grauer
Author: Lesley A. Gregoricka
Author: Siân E. Halcrow
Author: Kelly J. Knudson
Author: Clark Spencer Larsen
Author: Debra L. Martin
Author: Kenneth C. Nystrom
Author: Megan A. Perry
Author: Charlotte A. Roberts
Author: Ana Luisa Santos
Author: Christopher M. Stojanowski
Author: Jorge A. Suby
Author: Daniel H. Temple
Author: Tiffiny A. Tung
Author: Melandri Vlok
Author: Tatyana Watson-Glen

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