Plants and humans of the past. Modelling approaches to studying complex interactions during the Holocene

Recent developments in science, such as the emergence of big data, advancements in computation possibilities and an effective shift towards interdisciplinarity, or even transdisciplinarity, significantly transformed the current research practice. Nowadays, we can ask ourselves much more complex questions but what is more important, we can answer them. In my paper I will focus on interactions between humans and plants during the Holocene in central Europe. I will demonstrate how modelling approaches and the combination of big data from archaeology, palaeoecology and vegetation ecology can answer questions on settlement dynamics and its relation to prehistoric forests, how prehistoric human activities are or are not documented by pollen indicators and how the present plant biodiversity is rooted in the settlement patterns of prehistoric farmers.