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Numerous researchers discuss of the collapse of civilizations in response to abrupt climate change in the Mediterranean region. The period between 6500 and 5000 cal yr BP is one of the least studied episodes of rapid climate change at the end of the Late Neolithic. This period is characterized by a dramatic decline in settlement and a cultural break in the Balkans. High-resolution paleoenvironmental proxy data obtained in the Lower Angitis Valley enables an examination of the societal responses to rapid climatic change in Greece. Development of a lasting fluvio-lacustrine environment followed by enhanced fluvial activity is evident from 6000 cal yr BP. Paleoecological data show a succession of dry events at 5800–5700, 5450 and 5000–4900 cal yr BP. These events correspond to incursion of cold air masses to the eastern Mediterranean, confirming the climatic instability of the middle Holocene climate transition. Two periods with farming and pastural activities (6300–5600 and 5100–4700 cal BP) are evident. The intervening period is marked by environmental changes, but the continuous occurrence of anthropogenic taxa suggests the persistence of human activities despite the absence of archaeological evidence. The environmental factors alone were not sufficient to trigger the observed societal changes., The research presented in this paper has been conducted in the framework of two research programmes. The “Balkans 4000” project (ANR-07-JCJC-072) was coordinated by Zoï Tsirtsoni. The Archeomed-Paleomex Programme is part of the INSU-INEE MISTRALS Research project and is directed by L. Carozza and L. Lespez. Funding for the present study was also obtained from the RELICTFLORA (P11RNM-7033) project, provided by the Junta de Andalucía (Spain)

Following palaeobotanical, sedimentological and archaeological research recently conducted on and around the tell of Dikili Tash (Eastern Macedonia, Greece), we present continuous palaeoenvironmental data on this multiperiod site. This study combines pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), macro-charcoal and sedimentological analyses that are compared with archaeological data from the Middle Neolithic to Antiquity period. It provides an overview of the local environment near the former Tenaghi-Philippon marsh and a comprehensive view of human impact on vegetation cover in lowlands. As early as ca. 4550 cal BCE, an initial phase of change in vegetation cover, has been recorded. This period, in the Eastern Mediterranean region, is one of intensifying human activities and social interactions into the Balkan region, which resulting in the foundation and transformation of early Late Neolithic societies. Although the palynological record does not show the crops species grown, the intensive clearance resulted in the increase of open herbaceous landscapes with anthropogenic indicators. This, as well as the increase of macro-charcoal values strongly supports a more or less continuously shaping of the landscape by human induced fires. New tree species that also became established at this time include Olea and Castanea. The presence of three main formations can be argued from the Early Neolithic to Antiquity: (1) riparian vegetation, (2) oak woodlands and (3) open vegetation in the form of wooded grasslands. Beyond the responses to climate changes, the vegetation composition reflects a regionally diversified land management system as indicated by a greater diversity in cultivated or harvested plants. The study reveals two phases of decline in land use directly on the edge of the marsh, although indicators of anthropogenic disturbance of the vegetation never entirely disappear during these periods between 3900 and 3300 cal BCE at the transition from the Late Neolithic (LNII) to the Bronze Age and from 1650 to 800 cal BCE when we observe a reorganization of the settlement on the higher slopes. In contrast, four periods are characterized by an increase in land use extension and intensification: Late Neolithic (4500–3900 cal BC); Early to Middle Bronze Age (3000–1600 cal BCE), the Iron Age (1000–800 cal BCE) and Antiquity during the Macedonian (ca. 357–148 cal BCE) and Roman periods (148 cal BCE–cal 395 CE), This study is part of the framework of the international PaleoMexINEE Research Program, itself a component of the Mediterranean Integrated Studies at Regional and Local Scales [MISTRALS] support by the INEE and INSU of the CNRS. Funding for the present study was also obtained from the RELICTFLORA (P11RNM-7033) project, provided by the Junta de Andalucía (Spain). J.A. López-Sáez is currently supported by a research grant (Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport) at Caen Normandy University and Boris Vannière is supported by the Région Franche-Comté (project GDRI HETSE - RECH-EXCEL). We express our gratitude to all of the institutions that support, directly or indirectly, the research carried out at and around Dikili Tash, in particular the Archaeological Society, the French School at Athens, the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Institute of Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP). For their assistance, we also thank the heads of the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Kavala (Ministry of Culture, Greece). Special thanks to Zoï Tsirtsoni for her comments on the archaeological data, Francisca Alba-Sánchez for their age-model advice and collaboration and Rebecca Miller for revising the original manuscript. Finally, this manuscript benefited from the stimulating comments of two anonymous reviewers