Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction of Socio-Environmental Relationships in the Late Quaternary

Dear Colleagues,

Human–environment interaction describes the ways in which humans and their surrounding ecosystems influence each other. It can be assigned into three major types: dependence on, modification of, and adaptation to the environment. This relationship is bidirectional; humans modify their surroundings for their benefit, changing local ecosystems in the process, and, conversely, the environment shapes human behaviour and their innovations. Humans depend on the environment for basic needs such as food, water, and shelter, and this shapes the way they behave, having a significant impact on the resources they seek and maintain. These modifications can minimally impact the surrounding environment, or they can be utterly disruptive. Therefore, how can anthropogenic influences be seen in different types of records? What are the indicators that can be directly and unequivocally linked to anthropogenic activities? To what extent were changes in the environment caused by anthropogenic activity, and to what extent was it a natural process? Identifying the effects of past climate change, how past societies adapted to them (and, in the process, changed their imminent environment), and how our current actions might have similar impacts can help us adapt to increasing environmental—and, consequently, global—climate challenges.

We are therefore pleased to invite you to submit abstracts and publications to this Special Issue, titled “Reconstruction of Socio-Environmental Relationships in the Late Quaternary”. This Special Issue aims to bring together studies of past human-environment interactions during the Late Quaternary from all scientific fields, including but not restricted to geoarchaeology, environmental archaeology, paleoecology, climate change, and past human adaptations. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–500 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected]) or to the Geosciences editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Abstract submission deadline:

July 1st  2024

Notification of abstract acceptance:

August 1st 2024

Deadline of paper submissions: November 1st 2024

Dr. Sándor Gulyás
Dr. Katarina Botić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• environmental records
• past climate change and human adaptation
• human–environment relationship
• environmental archaeology
• paleoecology
• geoarchaeology