Climate and man in the Kraków region (3rd century BC – 7th century AD)

The authors present results of interdisciplinary studies on relations between climate and farming communities in the upper Vistula basin during the La Tène and Roman periods and at the beginning of the Early Medieval period. Evidence from the research area confirms that in the period between 380 BC and 320 AD and particularly between 450 AD and 620 AD a wet and generally cold climate prevailed. It was accompanied by a clustering of catastrophic events (e.g. floods in the upper Vistula basin, landslides and debris flow in the Carpathians). Traces of similar events have also been recognized in various parts of Central and Northern Europe. Apart from discussing methodological and interpretative issues related to records of climatic changes in various environments, the authors attempt to answer the question: what was the impact of these changes and of accompanying events on human activities in the period between the c. 3rd BC and the c. 7th AD? Holocene climatic changes in Central Europe have never crossed the threshold of natural geosystems. For this reason prehistoric communities living there were not affected significantly by changes in temperature and humidity

ill. ; 24 cm

il. ; 24 cm