title: A niche construction approach on the central Netherlands covering the last 220,000 years.
abstract: This paper shows what a niche construction theory (NCT) approach can contribute to the long-term social and environmental history of an area when applied to both sedentary and non-sedentary communities. To understand how communities create and respond to environmental change, hominin presence of the central Netherlands within the last 220,000 years is used as a case study. For this case study we studied the interrelationship between hominins, water and landscape gradients for four periods of interest within this long-term hominin presence. During each of these periods the study area had a specific environmental setting and (possible) traces of hominin presence. These periods cover the (1) Middle to Late Saalian (~220-170 ka), (2) Late Glacial (~14.7-11.7 ka, (3) Mid-Holocene (6000-5400 BP) and (4) Late Holocene (1200-8 BP). This review shows that traces of niche construction behaviour related to water and landscape gradients in the central Netherlands can be shown for both sedentary and non-sedentary communities. Furthermore, in this review it is shown that the transition from inceptive to counteractive change in ecosystem management style in the central Netherlands took place between the Mid- and Late Holocene periods.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Geo- and Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Research Institute for the heritage and history of the Cultural Landscape and Urban Environment (CLUE), Faculty of Arts, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Don F A M
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: van den Biggelaar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Geo- and Bioarchaeology, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Department of Archaeology, Ancient History of Mediterranean Studies and Near Eastern Studies, Faculty of Arts, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands ; Research Institute for the heritage and history of the Cultural Landscape and Urban Environment (CLUE), Faculty of Arts, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sjoerd J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kluiving
keywords: Central Netherlands; Environmental management strategy; Hominins; Niche construction theory; Social and environmental history