Evaluating the Impacts of Past Climate Change on Demographic and Subsistence Patterns in the Basin-Plateau Region of Western North America

Archaeological and paleoclimatological research increasingly reveal long-term impacts of past climate on human subsistence, settlement, and demography, yet positive results are debated and the underlying dynamics structuring these correlations remain questioned. Coupling a comprehensive dataset of radiocarbon dated archaeological sites with both modeled and proxy-based paleoclimatic reconstructions, here we evaluate how temporal patterning in inferred population density varies as a function of past climate change, applying novel taphonomic controls to improve the reliability of the results. Particular focus is given to 1) dynamics across the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and 2) the Late Holocene adoption, and subsequent abandonment, of maize agriculture.