Archaeological assessment reveals Earth’s early transformation through land use by Stephens, L, Fuller, D, Boivin, N, Rick, T, Gauthier, N, Kay, A, Marwick, B, Geralda, C, Armstrong, D, Barton, CM, Denham, T, Douglass, K, Driver, J, Janz, L, Roberts, P, Rogers, JD, Thakar, H, Altaweel, M, Johnson, AL, Vattuone, MM, Aldenderfer, M, Archila, S, Artioli, G, Bale, MT, Beach, T, Borrell, F, Braje, T, Buckland, PI, Cano, NG, Capriles, JM, Castillo, A, Çilingiroğlu, Ç, Cleary, M, Conolly, J, Coutros, PR, Covey, RA, Cremaschi, M, Crowther, A, Der, L, Di Lernia, S, Doershuk, JF, Doolittle, WE, Edwards, KJ, Erlandson, JM, Evans, D, Fairbairn, A, Faulkner, P, Feinman, G, Fernandes, R, Fitzpatrick, SM, Fyfe, R, Garcea, E, Goldstein, S, Goodman, RC, Guedes, J, Herrmann, J, Hiscock, P, Hommel, P, Horsburgh, KA, Hritz, C, Ives, JW, Junno, A, Kahn, JG, Kaufman, B, Kearns, C, Kidder, TR, Lanoë, F, Lawrence, D, Lee, G-A, Levin, MJ, Lindskoug, HB, López-Sáez, JA, Macrae, S, Marchant, R, Marston, JM, McClure, S, McCoy, MD, Miller, AV, Morrison, M, Matuzeviciute, G, Müller, J, Nayak, A, Noerwidi, S, Peres, TM, Peterson, CE, Proctor, L, Randall, AR, Renette, S, Schug, G, Ryzewski, K, Saini, R, Scheinsohn, V, Schmidt, P, Sebillaud, P, Seitsonen, O, Simpson, IA, Sołtysiak, A, Speakman, RJ, Spengler, RN, Steffen, ML, Storozum, MJ, Strickland, KM, Thompson, J, Thurston, TL, Ulm, S, Ustunkaya, MC, Welker, MH, West, C, Williams, PR, Wright, DK, Wright, N, Zahir, M, Zerboni, A, Beaudoin, E, Garcia, S, Powell, J, Thornton, A, Kaplan, JO, Gaillard, M-J, Goldewijk, K, Ellis, E

“…An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. …”