ABSTRACT
At the terminal end of the Pleistocene there was a sharp temperature downturn that briefly reversed the general warming trends that were evident prior to the holocene. This climatic cooling event, called the Younger Dryas, has received considerable attention as of late, which is significant when one contemplates that 'no event in the climate record has received more attention than the Younger Dryas. This chapter explores a generalized, scientific framework for establishing climate and environmental change as a causal determinate of hunter-gatherer behaviour. There was great diversity of evolving hunter-gatherer adaptations between 11,000 and 10,000 BP. Determining whether or not these changes were directly in response to Younger Dryas climate and environmental change is challenging, to say the least. The chapter suggests that the systematic examination of increasingly complex 'if-then' statements may be the most robust way to support prehistoric climate-induced, culture change.
