human impacts on the environment

it has become increasingly apparent that human society is capable of profoundly altering natural ecosystems. although the scale of human impact on the environment has increased over the last 100 years, the present condition of the earth's ecosystems is the result of a long history of human-environmental interactions. archaeology and other historical sciences play a central role in understanding the long-term effects of our species on the earth. the course provides an opportunity to explore this topic through a discussion of the recent literature.