Climate, culture linked in prehistoric Northeast - The Boston Globe

Though climate change seems a particularly modern predicament — one that generates alarm about the fate of the planet and how people and businesses will adapt — scientists are finding evidence that climate fluctuations influenced cultural changes among inhabitants of prehistoric New England.
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“It’s a reminder that climate has changed in the past, but it’s also a reminder that cultures either have to change or get changed, whether they like it or not, when the climate changes,’’ said Arthur Spiess, senior archeologist at the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.
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But around 11,600 years ago, the climate warmed rapidly, and pine forests encroached.