Introduction
This book project is aimed at documenting new evidence of the environmental history and human-ecology (human-environmental history and interactions) in Africa using a suite of traditional and complementary novel approaches. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the knowledge of long-term Pleistocene-Holocene environmental (vegetation and climate) histories in the African continent. However, in the last 300ka yrs BP, the period during which modern humans evolved, the environment in Africa and many parts of the tropics was characterised by episodes of climatic variabilities. These historical events have had short to long-term impact on the Earth systems particularly the human and non-human components. However, the scope and magnitudes of some of these events have not been well understood, neither have their effects on human evolution and migration been properly elucidated. Similarly, the nature and dynamics of some of these environmental events in Africa and their impact on humans have not received attention comparable to those in Asia and South America. This is despite the continent’s position and role in human evolution, her floristic and geographic diversity as well as having contained major centers of plant and animal domestication and agricultural expansion in the Holocene. Understanding the environmental history of Africa’s past, and elucidating records of human responses to past environmental changes are critical to the adoption of appropriate mitigation measures for addressing current and future challenges of climate change, global food production and security, the management of non-renewable resources and the formulation of relevant and knowledge-driven policies. The magnitude and impact of changes in the Earth are usually archived in natural sedimentary deposits (such as those found in oceans, lakes, and peats) as well as in biota including insects, arthropods and mollusks. Often times, changes in the environment are represented in artefacts, domestic spaces and industrial sites, which are a reflection of human-environmental interactions, behaviour and choices and palynological tools can be used to elucidate these interactions.
Palynology is a global science that entails the study of fossil and extant palynomorphs (pollen grains and spores) with application in several facets of human endeavor. It offers invaluable evidence including environmental history and palaeoecology, climate variability, environmental quality monitoring, biostratigraphy, plant taxonomy, honey quality assessment and human-ecology interactions. Palynology is a Science in approach; however its application in understanding the complex interactions between humans and their social, economic or natural environment—human ecology--situates its relevance within the humanities. There is still a wide gap in knowledge regarding human impacts on tropical rainforests, with human subsistence and land use decisions elsewhere demonstrated to have major impacts on forest structure and extent in Africa. To understand current environmental dynamics, and future trajectories of change, knowledge of the historic roles humans play in ecological process in Africa is essential.
We invite students, early career, senior and established researchers whose works address topics such as (i) environmental history of landscapes in Africa from the Quaternary to present, (ii) the response(s) of vegetation communities to past natural and anthropogenically induced environmental changes, (iii) the impact of such environmental fluctuations on human culture, behaviour, food production, technological innovations and societal (in)stability, and (iv) the role of artificial intelligence, and machine learning in understanding and exploring the dynamics of the environment and their impact on humans of Africa. We welcome proxy data from innovative and traditional sources including but not limited to palaeo evidence from artefacts, rocks and sediments such as plants (fossil pollen and spores, seeds, charcoal, wood and parenchyma fragments), animal and insect-based sources, isotope and leaf-wax isotope analyses, geochemistry and SedDNA, in the broadest sense.