Global processes of anthropogenesis characterise the early Anthropocene in the Japanese Islands

Abstract Although many scholars date the onset of the Anthropocene to the Industrial Revolution or the post-1945 ‘Great Acceleration’, there is growing interest in understanding earlier human impacts on the earth system. Research on the ‘Palaeoanthropocene’ has investigated the role of fire, agricul...

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Published inHumanities & social sciences communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 1 - 11
Main Authors Hudson, Mark, Uchiyama, Junzō, Lindström, Kati, Kawashima, Takamune, Reader, Ian, Kawashima, Tinka Delakorda, Martin, Danièle, Gillam, J. Christoper, Gilaizeau, Linda, Bausch, Ilona R., Hoover, Kara C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Palgrave Macmillan 01.12.2022
Springer Nature
Subjects
Archaeology
Domestication
Environmental stewardship
Exceptionalism
Farming
History
Humanities
Industrial Revolution
Museums
Proteins
Rice
Seafood
Social sciences
Trends
Urbanization
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Summary:Abstract Although many scholars date the onset of the Anthropocene to the Industrial Revolution or the post-1945 ‘Great Acceleration’, there is growing interest in understanding earlier human impacts on the earth system. Research on the ‘Palaeoanthropocene’ has investigated the role of fire, agriculture, trade, urbanisation and other anthropogenic impacts. While there is increasing consensus that such impacts were more important than previously realised, geographical variation during the Palaeoanthropocene remains poorly understood. Here, we present a preliminary comparative analysis of claims that pre-industrial anthropogenic impacts in Japan were significantly reduced by four factors: the late arrival of agriculture, an emphasis on wet-rice farming limited to alluvial plains, a reliance on seafood rather than domesticated animals as a primary source of dietary protein, and cultural ideologies of environmental stewardship. We find that none of these claims of Japanese exceptionalism can be supported by the archaeological and historical records. We make some suggestions for further research but conclude that the Japanese sequence appears consistent with global trends towards increased anthropogenic impacts over the course of the Palaeoanthropocene.
ISSN:2662-9992
2662-9992
DOI:10.1057/s41599-022-01094-8