Environmental history timeline

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons – Corey Leopold
Accessed 15 October 2020
Introduction – Environmental History Timeline
Environmental history is a relatively new field of study that aims to explore the complex interactions between human societies and the environment over time. The study of environmental history seeks to understand how humans have shaped and been shaped by their natural surroundings, and how those interactions have evolved through different historical periods. By examining the ways in which environmental factors have influenced the course of human history, environmental historians can gain insights into the ways in which human societies have adapted to their environments, as well as the ways in which those societies have impacted and transformed those environments.
The roots of environmental history can be traced back to the early 20th century, when scholars began to recognize the importance of environmental factors in shaping historical events. The work of early environmental historians such as Marc Bloch, Fernand Braudel, and William H. McNeill laid the groundwork for the development of the field by highlighting the ways in which environmental factors such as climate, geography, and natural resources have influenced the course of human history. However, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that environmental history began to emerge as a distinct discipline within the broader field of history.
One of the key themes that has emerged in the study of environmental history is the concept of environmental determinism. Environmental determinism posits that the physical environment exerts a direct and deterministic influence on human societies, shaping their development and determining their fate. While early environmental historians often embraced a deterministic view of environmental history, more recent scholarship has challenged this viewpoint by emphasizing the ways in which human societies have actively shaped and transformed their environments through technology, culture, and social organization.
Another important theme in environmental history is the concept of environmental agency. Environmental agency refers to the ways in which human societies have actively shaped their environments through the use of technology, agriculture, and resource extraction. By studying the ways in which human societies have adapted to and transformed their environments, environmental historians can gain insights into the ways in which human societies have responded to environmental challenges and developed sustainable practices for managing their natural resources.
One of the key challenges facing environmental historians is the task of reconstructing past environments and understanding how those environments have changed over time. This can be a difficult and complex task, as historical records are often incomplete or unreliable, and environmental conditions can vary widely over time and space. Environmental historians must rely on a variety of sources and methods to reconstruct past environments, including archaeological evidence, historical documents, and scientific data. By combining these sources of evidence, environmental historians can gain a more comprehensive understanding of past environments and the ways in which human societies have interacted with them.
In addition to reconstructing past environments, environmental historians also seek to understand the ways in which human societies have impacted and transformed those environments. One of the key concepts in environmental history is the idea of the “Anthropocene,” a proposed geological epoch in which human activities have become the dominant force shaping the Earth’s environment. The concept of the Anthropocene highlights the ways in which human societies have transformed the planet through activities such as agriculture, urbanization, industrialization, and resource extraction. By studying the impacts of human societies on the environment, environmental historians can gain insights into the ways in which human societies have altered the Earth’s ecosystems, climate, and biodiversity.
One of the key contributions of environmental history to the broader field of history is its emphasis on the interconnectedness of human societies and their environments. By studying the ways in which human societies have adapted to and transformed their environments, environmental historians can gain insights into the ways in which human societies have shaped and been shaped by their natural surroundings. This holistic approach to history allows environmental historians to explore the ways in which environmental factors have influenced the course of human history, and the ways in which human societies have impacted and transformed their environments.
In conclusion, environmental history is a dynamic and evolving field of study that seeks to explore the complex interactions between human societies and the environment over time. By studying the ways in which human societies have adapted to and transformed their environments, environmental historians can gain insights into the ways in which human societies have shaped and been shaped by their natural surroundings. Through a combination of archival research, scientific analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration, environmental historians are able to reconstruct past environments, understand how those environments have changed over time, and explore the ways in which human societies have impacted and transformed their environments. By shedding light on the ways in which human societies have interacted with their environments in the past, environmental history provides valuable insights into the ways in which human societies can address current environmental challenges and develop sustainable practices for managing their natural resources in the future.(AI)
Billion years BP
3.8– Emergence of life
2.5 – Oxygen starts accumulating in the Earth’s atmosphere – probably a consequence of the photosynthesis of the cyanobacteria of stromatolites
2.2 – Great oxidation event, oxygen levels reach a fortieth of present-day levels
0.5 – Plant-produced oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere reaches present levels and animal-plant co-evolution gathers momentum
Million years BP
140 – Origin of flowering plants (Angiosperms) enticing insects and animals to pollinate colorful flowers and distribute seed with sweet energy-rich food sources of pollen and nectar and sweet fruits
6-7 – Emergence of grassy plains across the world
Thousand yrs BP
42,700 World’s earliest rock art at Carpenter’s Gap in the Kimberley pre-dating the 32,000 year old palaeolithic cave paintings of Western Europe by at least 10,000 years
It depicts animals, humans and yams, the first known pictorial representation of plants by Homo sapiens
12,000Emergence and domestication of einchorn fused-head wheat in Turkey
9,500 – Farming emerges in Near East
9,000 – Farming emerges in Central Mexico
8,500 – Farming emerges in South China (Yangtze)
7,900 – Farming emerges in North China (Yellow River)
7,000 – Farming emerges in Southern and Central Andes
4,500 – Farming emerges in E USA
4,000 – Farming emerges in sub-saharan Africa
Thousand yrs BP – Australia
c.55,000 ±10,000 – AD 1788 Aboriginal occupation with trade through a network of Dreaming trails; influence of hunting on the megafauna and the impact of this through the food chain; impact of firestick farming on vegetation patterns.
c. 50,000 Flightless giant emu-like Genyornis becomes extinct, possibly from human hunting
25,000-15,000 Increasing aridity, drought, vegetational stress and hunting pressure
4,000 Dingo brought to Australia
1686 Englishman John Ray provides the first biological definition of the species in his 1686 Historia Plantarum (History of plants) “… no surer criterion for determining species has occurred to me than the distinguishing features that perpetuate themselves in propagation from seed.”
1704, 1705 Engravings of Australian plants collected in Australia by William Dampier published in his travelogues
1753 • Publication of Linnaeus’s Species Plantarum which is now internationally accepted as the starting point for the modern binomial system used for plant names.
British Museum founded as the first national museum in the world.
1768 First two Australian plants described by Dutchman Nicolas Burmann under the system of binomial nomenclature and currently named Acacia truncata and Synaphea spinulosa
1770 Sydney Parkinson completes 674 drawings on Cook’s voyage of the Endeavour including the first illustrations of Australian plants in situ.
1793-1795 Publication of Englishman James Smith’s A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland illustrated by James Sowerby: the first book devoted to New Holland flora
1801-1803 Botanist Robert Brown and botanical artist Ferdinand Bauer accompany Matthew Flinders on HMS Investigator. Flinders the first man to circumnavigate both Van Dieman’s Land (Tasmania) and New Holland (Australia)
1804 – 1807 Labillardière’s Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen, effectively New Holland’s first Flora
1839 Tasmanian Society, Hobart
1855 Department of Crown Lands and Survey established in Victoria
1861 Crown Lands Alienation Act
1869 Suez Canal opened
1880 Formation of the Field Naturalists’ Club of Victoria
1883 Inauguration on 22 June in Sydney of the Geographical Society of Australasia (becoming the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia in 1886) with branches in Victoria and Queensland formed later in
1886 Aboriginal Protection Law Act amended forcing people of mixed descent off missions.
1898 Wilson’s Promontory gazetted as a National Park but does not become a permanent park until 1908
1908 National Parks Association of Victoria (like the National Trust and in 1952 becoming Victorian National Parks Association). Wilson’s Promontory permanently gazetted
1912 West Australian Native Flora Protection Act (amended 1939)
1950 West Australian Wildlife Conservation Act (amended 1976, 1979)
1952 Formation of the Victorian National Parks Association
1965 Formation of the Archaeological Society of Victoria
1967 American Roderick Nash publishes Wilderness and the American Mind, a stimulus to both the study of environmental history and the environmental movement
1968 Little Desert National Park established in Victoria
