River Systems and the Anthropocene: A Late Pleistocene and Holocene Timeline for Human Influence
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Major Anthropogenic Influences and Their Effects
3. Methods
4. Early Hominins and Fire
5. Domestication of Plants
6. Domestication of Animals
7. River and Floodplain Modification for Surface Water and Groundwater
8. Riverine Cities and Water Supplies
9. Navigation and Trade Routes
10. Resources of Channels and Floodplains
11. Early Legacy Sediments and Geomorphic Change (Middle to Early Late Holocene)
12. Pre-Industrial and Industrial Changes (Past Millennium)
13. Stages in River Modification
14. Comparison of Stages with Models for Population Growth and Land Use
15. Implications for the Concept of the Anthropocene
16. Conclusions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Human Activity | Effects on Modern River Systems | References |
---|---|---|
Fire use | Vegetation loss promotes rapid runoff, soil erosion, and enhanced flux of sediment and charcoal to rivers. Change in soil properties enhances erosion. Fire may trigger vegetation change. | [28,29,30] |
Agriculture and deforestation | Reduced resistance of river banks and hillslopes where crops with shallow roots replace natural vegetation. Widening of channels and sediment coarsening. Slope failure, and increased sediment flux to fluvial, deltaic, and eolian systems. Change in palynomorph associations. | [17,31,32,33] |
Animals used for food, ploughing, and transport | Herds reduce vegetation cover and enhance soil erosion, gullying, and sediment flux to rivers. Trampling breaks down river banks, widens channels, and increases suspended load. Ploughing intensifies use of floodplains and hillslopes and, along with animal transport trails, enhances erosion. | [34,35,36,37,38,39,40] |
Embankments along channels | Embankments narrow channels, reduce their migration, increase flow velocity, funnel sediment to deltas, and reduce channel siltation; complex upstream feedbacks. Sediment trap** within embanked floodplains reduces inundation capacity. Embankments raise the channel base, promoting catastrophic avulsion. | [41,42,43] |
Dams and irrigation systems | Dams alter river flow regime, cause deposition in millponds and reservoirs, and increase downstream erosion. Irrigation reduces river discharge, and the use of river and groundwater promote soil waterlogging and salination. | [44,45,46,47] |
Navigation and bank structures | Riverside construction (wharves, steps, access roads, bridges) affects banks and channels. Dredging, riverbed scour, and removal of wood snags and jams to aid navigation alters river morphology. Reduced number of delta distributary channels aids year-round navigation. | [48,49] |
City water supplies | Remove river and groundwater from the hydrological system, with water pollution from sewage and waste. | [50] |
Warfare | River diversions during warfare causes catastrophic floods and floodplain aggradation. Deliberate 1938 breach of the Yellow River dikes caused death toll of >800,000. | [51,52] |
Extraction of channel and floodplain materials | Alluvial mining of channels and terraces for gold and other minerals increases aggradation and erosion rates locally. Pits on floodplains for bricks, tiles, pottery, and ochre, and on terraces for laterite remove fertile soil and aquifer media, cause soil erosion, increase suspended load, lower the water table, and cause waterlogging. | [43,53,54,55] |
Extraction of aquatic materials | Reeds, papyrus and other in-channel plants influence flow dynamics and sedimentation. Fisheries and aquatic harvesting enhance human activity along river banks. | [56] |
Cultural events | Water festivals involve large populations, with infrastructure on river banks and sand bars. Khumbha Mela festival at Allahabad, India, had 120 million attendees in 2 months in 2013. | [57] |
Crop or Animal | Data Sources | Approximate Date (years BP) | Location | References |
---|---|---|---|---|
Plant Domestication | ||||
Barley, emmer, and einkorn wheat | Varied sources, cal | c. 12,000–10,000 | Near East | [87] |
Approximate uncal date for domestic spikelets in einkorn wheat | 9250 | Near East | [85] | |
Varied sources, cal | 10,700–10,200 | Near East | [88] | |
Flax | Varied sources | 9000 | Near East | [89] |
Date palm | Varied cal and uncal sources | >6000 | Arabia | [90] |
Millet | Varied sources | 8000–7000 | China | [91] |
Rice | Varied cal sources for initiation of rice cultivation | 9000 | China | [92] |
Varied sources for domesticated rice, after 6000 cal BCE | 8000 | China | [84] | |
Varied sources | 9000–8000 | China | [93] | |
Squash | Cal date for charred or desiccated squash seed | 10,400–10,160 | Peru | [94] |
Cal dates on plant and other materials | >8700 | Mexico | [95] | |
Maize | Cal dates on plant and other materials | >8700 | Mexico | [95] |
Peanut | Cal dates for charred peanut hull | 8640–8440 | Peru | [94] |
Cotton | Cal dates for cotton boll | 6280–5950 | Peru | [94] |
Banana | Cal dates on materials that include banana phytoliths | 6950–6440 | New Guinea | [96] |
Grape and wine culture | Cal dates on pottery sherds, ca. 7000–6600 BCE | 9000 | China | [97] |
Cal dates on pottery sherds and soil, ca. 5900–5750 BCE | 8000 | Georgia | [98] | |
Animal Domestication | ||||
Cattle | Varied sources, cal date for Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic site, Syria | 10,650–10,250 | Near East | [99] |
Sheep, goats | Cal dates for Early Pre-Pottery Neolithic at Near East sites | 10,250–9500 | Near East | [100,101] |
Pigs | Intensification of relationship between humans and pigs, second half of 9th millennium BCE, sites in Turkey and Cyprus | >10,000 | Near East | [102] |
Assessment of zooarcheological data | 9000 | Near and Far East | [103] | |
Water buffalo | Varied sources suggest 3rd to 5th millennium BCE in parts of Asia and Near East; authors support origin in Indian Subcontinent | 5000 | Indian Subcontinent | [104] * |
Horses | Faunal remains, bridles and milk suggest mid-4th millennium BCE, using cal dates | 6000–5000 | Eurasian steppes | [105,106] * |
Dromedary | Varied archeological sources suggest late 2nd millennium BCE | >3000 | Arabia | [107] * |
Donkey | Varied archeological sources suggest late 5th to first half of 4th millennium BCE in Egypt | 7000–6000 | Africa | [108,109] * |
Yak | Genome model for domestication, confidence interval of 7914 to 7227 BP | 7300 | Tibetan Plateau | [110] ** |
Llama, Alpaca | Archaeozoological data at dated sites and genome models | 7000–6000 | Peruvian Andes | [111] *, [112] ** |
Location | Activity | Approximate Date (Years BP) | References |
---|---|---|---|
Irrigation and Drainage Systems | |||
Mesopotamia and uplands | Irrigation systems in existence in SW Iran by 5000 BCE, maybe by 6000 BCE, with large organised systems on Mesopotamian plains by 4500 BCE | ~8000–7000 | [129,135] |
Near East | Water raising systems: shaduf (well sweep) by 2300 BCE, with later appearance of saqia (water wheel) and Archimedes screw in Ptolemaic times | ~4300 | [133] |
New Guinea | Drainage ditches and channels, from cal dates on charcoal in ditch fills | 4350–3980 | [96] * |
China | Large-scale engineering of embankments and canals on Yellow River for flood control and irrigation, with large dike projects in first half of 7th century BCE [144] to the 1800s | ~3000 | [41,144,145] |
Peru | Irrigation canals dated at 5000 to 3750 cal BCE | ~7000 | [146] |
U.S.A. | Gila River, Arizona: large areas under irrigation by 900 BCE, and earth dam 5 km long and 7 m high with irrigation canals by 1000 CE [147]; individual irrigation systems of 10,000 hectares (100 km2), with large developments in 850–1450 CE [148]; distinction of canals from natural channels [136] | ~2900 | [136,147,148] |
Dams | |||
Near East | Weirs of brushwood, stones and earth divert water into irrigation canals [135], estimated at 8000 years ago on E flank of Mesopotamia [149] | ~8000 | [135,149] |
Mesopotamia | Nimrud Dam, probably an earth dam, diverted Tigris; dam later failed and returned the Tigris to its former course | >4000 | [133,150] |
Egypt | Sadd-el-Kafara Dam (Dam of the Pagans), 14 m high, >100 m long, with 17,000 cut stone blocks; built to aid quarrying ca. 2650 BCE | 4650 | [133] |
Near East and Europe | 45 dams built under the Roman Empire in the Near East, with irrigation canals, waterwheels, aqueducts, and qanat systems, from 63 BCE to 636 CE [151]. Earthen dams in Spain: Prosperina 12 m high and 427 m long, Cornalvo 20 m high and 194 m long with dam crest 8 m wide [133]. | 2700–1400 | [133,151] |
China | Dam at Anfeng Tan, east China, ca. 600 BCE | 2600 | [152] |
Groundwater Systems | |||
Iran | Qanat systems of slo** tunnels that bring water from water table or springs at a high elevation to fields downslope, dated to ca. 3000 years ago in Iran, introduced from Indus to Nile under Persian rule, 550–331 BCE | ~3000 | [133] |
Israel | Chamber excavated at Hazor, where water rises up the Dead Sea Fault; access to the underground water table by staircases; construction coeval with stratum dated at 9th century BCE | 2800 | [153] |
Israel | Tunnel at Siloam, Jerusalem, routes spring within walls, dated by U-Th dating of speleothems, cal radiocarbon dating, and historically to ca. 700 BCE | 2700 | [154] |
River Navigation | |||
Egypt | Models of reed and log rafts at ca. 5500 to 4000 BCE [155]. Boats preserved to >5000 years ago, with a wooden boat 43.6 m long preserved from 4th dynasty, ~2500 BCE; barge with two 350-ton obelisks towed by 27 boats with 810 oarsmen, ca. 1472 to 1458 BCE [156]. | >7500 | [155,156] |
Mesopotamia | Fleets for transport and warfare on Tigris, Euphrates, and canals; request for 600 vessels to bring grain to Ur in 3rd Dynasty [156]; channel straightening for boats, 3rd to 1st millennium BCE [135]. | ~4000 | [135,156] |
China | Grand Canal, 1800 km long, linked pre-existing canals, rivers, and lakes; connected southern and northern plains, locks across Yellow River; built by 5 million workers | 609 CE | [157] |
Activity and Location | Approximate Date (Years BP) | References | |
---|---|---|---|
Large settlements and cities | |||
Mesopotamia, Uruk period ca. 4000–3000 BCE (uncal) [166]; area of 400 ha by Early Dynastic II period, ca. 2700 BCE [167] | >6000 | [166,167] | |
Indus Civilisation, first cities in the region before 3500 BCE; >500 ha of large settlements in aggregate by late Mature phase; peak populations of 40,000 in Harappa and Mohenjodaro, and several million inhabitants in the region in the Mature phase | 5500 | [168] | |
Egypt, city of Memphis in Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom times, ca. 3000 to 2165 BCE | 5000 | [167] | |
China, Longshan times, ca. 2600 to 2000 BCE; Anyang covered 15 km2 along 6 km of the Yellow River by 1200 BCE | 4600 | [167] | |
Mesoamerican cities, lowland Maya cities from 900 to 300 BCE | 2900 | [167] | |
Urban water systems | |||
Indian Subcontinent | Indus Civilisation, with early urban phase ca. 2800 to 2600 BCE [167,169]; extensive public and private systems: wells, baths, street drains, and sewage pits during 3rd millennium BCE [133]. | ~4800 | [133,167,169] |
Crete | Minoan culture, with wells, cisterns, fountains, and aqueducts from rivers and springs, in Early Minoan period ca. 3500 to 2150 BCE | 5500–4150 | [133] |
Resources from channel and floodplain sediments | |||
Alluvial gold | Working of placer deposits in rivers in China (**a, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, ca. 2100 to 256 BCE), with advances in dredging and hydraulic methods | 4100 | [170] |
Mud bricks (sun dried) | Earliest known bricks at Jericho ca. 7500 BCE, with later Indus cultural examples in Baluchistan ca. 7000 BCE | ~ 9500 | [168] |
Structures preserved in Egypt with bricks of Nile mud and straw; buildings with reed layers, ca. 3050 to 2687 BCE | ~5050--4690 | [171] | |
Baked bricks | Indus Civilisation, widely used in Mature Phase from 2800 BCE | 4800 | [168] |
Earliest pottery | China, with other Late Pleistocene occurrences in Asia, based on calibrated dates on associated bone and charcoal [172] and assessment of dates from varied calibrated sources [173] | ~ 20,000 | [172,173] * |
Continuous pottery record | At sites in Mesopotamia and Anatolia, with initial pottery levels dated to ca. 7000 BCE | ~ 9000 on | [174] |
Earliest pottery | At sites along the Amazon in Brazil, based on cal dates and a TL date | 8000–7000 | [175] * |
Ochre | Poland, excavation of 25 acres of red floodplain clay to >1 m depth; occupied from ca. 15,500 to 11,500 years ago [176] | 15,500 | [176,177] |
Aquatic resources | |||
Reeds | Large reed buildings in Uruk period of Mesopotamia, >5000 years ago [178]; reeds used in Egyptian tombs of Old Kingdom, ca. 2686 to 2160 BCE [179] | >5000 | [178,179] |
Papyrus | Used in Egypt since at least 3000 BCE, with large-scale production probably controlled by the state; Greco-Roman factories in the Nile Delta [180]. Oldest inscribed at Wadi al-Jarf with hundreds of fragments from reign of Khufu (2589–2566 BCE) [181] | >5000, ~ 4570 | [180,181] |
Fish and other aquatic organisms | Known from Middle Palaeolithic sites on the Nile. Prominent Nile fisheries from > ca. 14,000 years ago, with salting for storage from ca. 9000 years ago; along Amazon in Brazil from ca. 11,200 years ago, Yangtze in China from ca. 10,000 years ago, and Columbia in USA from ca. 9300 years ago. Sites include molluscs, turtles, and amphibians. Based on cal and uncal dates and OSL dates [182], cal dates [183], dates from varied sources with calibration not reported [184], and calibrated dates [185] | >14,000 | [182] *, [183] *, [184] *, [185] *, [186], [187] |
Location | Legacy Sediments | References |
---|---|---|
Middle Holocene to Early Late Holocene | ||
New Guinea | From 7800 cal yr BP on, clearance of forest, expansion of herbaceous vegetation, and increased charcoal from use of fire. Aggradation in Baliem River valley. Banana and other crops in an anthropogenic landscape by 6950 to 6440 cal yr BP. Drainage ditches and channels dated at ~4350–3980 cal yr BP. Based on calibrated dates. | [81,96] |
China | Agriculture and population growth after ~7700 cal yr BP in Yellow River system, based on charcoal, pollen and sediment records, with onset of slash-and-burn [213]. Widespread effects by 7000 cal yr BP [214]. Valley alluviation and hillslope erosion from ~5300/5010 BCE through 2130/1870 BCE, in Yiluo River system; pottery, bones, charcoal, and fossil evidence for rice farming [122]. Deforestation of Loess Plateau increased Yellow River sediment load at ~ 3000 cal yr BP [216]. Based on OSL and cal dates. | [122,213,214,216] |
Spain | Aggradation and incision episodes in the Ebro Basin, with valley-floor sedimentation from ~ 8000 cal yr BP (6000 BCE), intensifying during the Bronze and Iron Ages and through the Roman period. Associated charcoal and pottery. Based on cal dates and artefacts. | [205] |
UK | Clays dated at 4440–3560 cal yr BP, during change from woodland to scrubland with cereal crops. Overlying silty sand at ~ 4100 cal yr BP in Frome River system. Linked to deforestation and expanded arable farming, with increased sedimentation rate. Based on cal and OSL dates. | [17] |
Italy | Original vegetation lost by Bronze Age ~ 3300 cal yr BP in Po River plain. Drainage ditches and irrigation channels since Early Iron Age. Widespread Roman deforestation, intensification of farming, roads and ditches after ~ 2100 cal yr BP. River courses embanked and prevented from silting. Soil erosion caused Po delta to prograde further at ca. 300 CE than in previous centuries. Based on cal dates. | [217,218] |
Mexico | Agriculture and deforestation enhanced erosion by 3450 cal yr BP, intensifying with urban development after 2350 cal yr BP. Río Verde shows increased sediment load, aggradation, and change from meandering to braided. Spread of overbank fines expanded agricultural areas. Coastal morphology modified. Based on cal dates. | [219] |
Past Millennium | ||
NW Europe | Salmon stocks declined by 90% from Early Middle Ages (~ 450–900 CE) to ~1600 CE. Decline matches watermill expansion; weirs and millponds blocked access to upstream spawning grounds. River gravel covered with silt and mill waste. | [220] |
USA | Buildup of slackwater sediment from ~1700 CE, behind tens of thousands of 17–19th century milldams in northeastern rivers. Underlying soils and gravel represent forested wetlands with anabranching channels, now mainly lost. | [204] |
China | After ~1800 CE in SW China, intense cultivation and population pressure caused soil erosion and hillslope collapse. Fluvial aggradation of 2 m/yr, channel blockages. | [221] |
U.S.A. | Release of 1.3 billion m3 from hydraulic gold mining in Sacramento River system, California after 1849 gold rush. Aggradation of 60 m of alluvium, followed in a few decades by incision. Rapid sedimentation of San Francisco Bay. | [53] |
Global | Currently >50,000 large dams >15 m high. 17 million dammed reservoirs of all sizes, with a volume >8000 km3. Severe effects on sediment transport, flow regimes, and biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems. | [20,222] |
Global | Rivers swept by waves of millions of cubic metres of toxic waste and cyanide from mine-dam failures and pipeline breaks. | [223,224] |
China | South-North Diversion Project, with capacity to deliver 25 billion m3 from Yangtze to northern China along two routes, each >1000 km long. Partially constructed. | [152] |
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Gibling, M.R. River Systems and the Anthropocene: A Late Pleistocene and Holocene Timeline for Human Influence. Quaternary 2018, 1, 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat1030021
Gibling MR. River Systems and the Anthropocene: A Late Pleistocene and Holocene Timeline for Human Influence. Quaternary. 2018; 1(3):21. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat1030021
Chicago/Turabian StyleGibling, Martin R. 2018. "River Systems and the Anthropocene: A Late Pleistocene and Holocene Timeline for Human Influence" Quaternary 1, no. 3: 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat1030021