The Holocene is unique when compared to earlier geological time in that humans begin to alter
and manipulate the natural environment to their own needs. Domestication of crops and animals
and the resultant intensification of agriculture lead to profound changes in the impact humans
have on the environment. Conversely as human populations began to increase geologic and
climatic factors begin to have a greater impact on civilizations. To understand and reconstruct
the complex interplay between humans and the environment over the past ten thousand years
requires examination of multiple differing but interconnected aspects of the environment and
involves geomorphology paleoecology geoarchaeology and paleoclimatology. These Springer
Briefs volumes examine the dynamic interplay between humans and the natural environment as
reconstructed by the many and varied sub-fields of the Earth Sciences.
