Human population dynamics in Europe over the Last Glacial Maximum

Miikka Tallavaara; Miska Luoto; Natalia Korhonen; Heikki Järvinen; Heikki Seppä

doi:10.1073/pnas.1503784112

New Research In

Edited by Jean-Pierre Bocquet-Appel, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris, France, and accepted by the Editorial Board May 21, 2015 (received for review February 25, 2015)

Significance

Despite its importance for understanding genetic, cultural, and linguistic evolution, prehistoric human population history has remained difficult to reconstruct. We show that the dynamics of the human population in Europe from 30,000 to 13,000 y ago can be simulated using ethnographic and paleoclimate data within the climate envelope modeling approach. Correspondence between the population simulation and archaeological data suggests that population dynamics were indeed driven by major climate fluctuations, with population size varying between 130,000 and 410,000 people. Although climate has been an important determinant of human population dynamics, the climatic conditions during the last glacial were not as harsh as is often presented, because even during the coldest phases, the climatically suitable area for humans covered 36% of Europe.

Abstract

The severe cooling and the expansion of the ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 27,000–19,000 y ago (27–19 ky ago) had a major impact on plant and animal populations, including humans. Changes in human population size and range have affected our genetic evolution, and recent modeling efforts have reaffirmed the importance of population dynamics in cultural and linguistic evolution, as well. However, in the absence of historical records, estimating past population levels has remained difficult. Here we show that it is possible to model spatially explicit human population dynamics from the pre-LGM at 30 ky ago through the LGM to the Late Glacial in Europe by using climate envelope modeling tools and modern ethnographic datasets to construct a population calibration model. The simulated range and size of the human population correspond significantly with spatiotemporal patterns in the archaeological data, suggesting that climate was a major driver of population dynamics 30–13 ky ago. The simulated population size declined from about 330,000 people at 30 ky ago to a minimum of 130,000 people at 23 ky ago. The Late Glacial population growth was fastest during Greenland interstadial 1, and by 13 ky ago, there were almost 410,000 people in Europe. Even during the coldest part of the LGM, the climatically suitable area for human habitation remained unfragmented and covered 36% of Europe.

Footnotes

↵¹To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: miikka.tallavaara{at}gmail.com.

Author contributions: M.T., M.L., and H.S. designed research; M.T., M.L., N.K., H.J., and H.S. performed research; M.T. and M.L. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; M.T., M.L., N.K., and H.J. analyzed data; and M.T., M.L., N.K., H.J., and H.S. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. J.-P.B.-A. is a guest editor invited by the Editorial Board.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1503784112/-/DCSupplemental.