Northern Macaronesia (7,821–6,094 BCE): Laurel Forests, Volcanic…

Northern Macaronesia (7,821–6,094 BCE): Laurel Forests, Volcanic Highlands, and the Unpeopled North Atlantic Islands.

During the Early Holocene, Northern Macaronesia comprised the Azores, Madeira, Porto Santo and the Selvagens Islands. All lay far beyond the known range of human settlement and remained entirely unpeopled. Their landscapes developed through Atlantic storms, volcanic geology, forest succession, erosion and continued postglacial sea-level rise.

The Azores formed the wettest and most oceanic part of the subregion. Young volcanic islands rose from the central North Atlantic, their lower and middle slopes extensively covered by native evergreen forest. Juniper, Morella, tree heaths, ferns and other components of the prehuman Azorean flora occupied landscapes later transformed almost beyond recognition by grazing and cultivation.

Higher terrain contained exposed volcanic ridges, wet heath, peat-forming ground and crater basins. Lakes and wetlands developed where volcanic depressions collected rainfall, while streams cut through forested slopes toward steep rocky coasts.

Volcanism remained an active geological force across the archipelago. Calderas, cones, fissures and lava-derived terrain reflected repeated eruptions through the wider Holocene, although no single securely dated eruption need define this particular age. Natural volcanic disturbance and lightning could periodically burn or bury forest without human involvement.

The islands experienced the wind, rain and storm systems of the central North Atlantic. Changes in atmospheric circulation altered precipitation and lake levels through time, but the native vegetation remained overwhelmingly governed by climate, altitude, substrate and natural disturbance.

Farther southeast, Madeira was an older and more deeply eroded volcanic island. High ridges and peaks rose above narrow valleys and spectacular ravines, while streams descended rapidly toward a coastline dominated by steep cliffs and restricted lowlands.

Laurel forest had existed on Madeira for vastly longer than the Holocene. During this age, humid windward slopes and sheltered mountain valleys supported extensive native woodland and fern-rich vegetation, while southern and lower exposures became progressively drier and more open. Forest cover remained much greater than after later human settlement.

Continued rising sea level transformed Madeira's narrow coastal margins. Toward the end of the age, around 6,250 BCE, windblown coastal sands began accumulating during a major marine transgressive phase, recording the approach of the Atlantic toward its later Holocene shoreline.

Porto Santo responded differently. Lower, older and substantially drier than Madeira, it supported more open native scrub, grasses and localized woody vegetation. Windblown sands and coastal deposits formed an especially important part of its landscape as changing sea level altered exposed marine sediment sources and shorelines.

The Selvagens lay farther south as small, exposed volcanic islands with shallow soils and limited freshwater. Sparse dry vegetation occupied sheltered ground, while salt spray, wind and wave action dominated cliffs and low coastal surfaces. Large seabird colonies could use these remote islands without human harvesting or introduced predators.

Across all four island systems, marine birds transported ocean nutrients into terrestrial ecosystems, while surrounding Atlantic waters supported rich pelagic life. Native vegetation and wildlife developed without goats, rats, rabbits, livestock or cultivated plants.

No people reached Northern Macaronesia during the age. There were no camps, boats, fires of human origin, fields or cleared ground. Even the earliest debated human activity later identified in the Azores belongs thousands of years after this period.

Legacy of the Age

By 6,094 BCE, Northern Macaronesia remained an entirely unpeopled Atlantic world whose islands had already developed strongly contrasting native ecosystems. The Azores supported wet volcanic forests, bogs and crater basins; Madeira carried ancient laurel woodland across deeply dissected mountains; Porto Santo remained lower, drier and increasingly shaped by transgressive coastal sands; and the Selvagens supported sparse vegetation on small wind-exposed islands. Volcanism, storms, natural fire, erosion and sea-level rise remained the only large-scale forces transforming these landscapes. The defining history of the age was therefore the independent development of isolated North Atlantic ecosystems entirely beyond the reach of human settlement.