Remote Ireland community survived a millennium environmental change

According to a study published in the open-access journal, April 27, 2022, a remote community in Ireland was able to adapt to environmental change over a millennium. PLOS ONEBy Gill Plunkett, Graeme Swindles, Queen’s University Belfast (Northern Ireland), U.K.

There are many examples of societies in the past that have been severely affected by environmental change. This includes climate change, natural disasters, as well as other dramatic ecological shifts which contribute to food shortages, epidemics, or other calamities. However, it is difficult to determine the long-term impacts of environmental disturbances. The study examines changes in environmental and community conditions over a thousand year of occupation in the Antrim Plateau, north of Ireland.

This study looked at a peat core which recorded environmental changes over a millennium at Slieveanorra. The authors inferred changes in environmental and human occupation using data from microbes and natural plants. They also established fine-scale dating using ash layers, organic remains and historical accounts. Their records did not show any evidence of long-term disruptions to human occupation due to environmental changes.

These results demonstrate a community that was capable of either escaping the effects or regaining its strength quickly. The community’s remarkable resilience despite being in a remote occupation was likely due to social factors such as agricultural and trade practices, which made them adaptable and flexible. The authors point out that not all human communities react the same to environmental change. This variation is largely due to the social conditions of each individual population. Understanding this complexity is crucial to understanding the conditions that make communities vulnerable to cultural decline in the face environmental change.

The authors add that “Ireland’s Uplands Today seem barren” despite climate change and famines.