Northern Macaronesia (6,093 – 4,366 BCE) Middle Holocene — Untouched Forest Realms

Geographic and Environmental Context

Northern Macaronesia includes the Azores, Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Selvagens Islands.

• The Azores: nine volcanic islands in the mid-North Atlantic (São Miguel, Terceira, Pico, Faial, São Jorge, Graciosa, Flores, Corvo, Santa Maria).

• Madeira Archipelago: Madeira, Porto Santo, and the uninhabited Desertas.

• Selvagens: small rocky outcrops south of Madeira.

Anchors: Azores volcanic cones and crater lakes (Furnas, Sete Cidades), Madeira’s laurisilva-clad mountains, Porto Santo’s dunes, and Selvagens’ seabird colonies.

• Islands remained isolated, forested, with rich seabird rookeries.

• Selvagens functioned as oceanic outposts with dense colonies.

Climate & Environmental Shifts

• Humid, stable.

• Minor volcanic events in the Azores reshaped local coasts.

Subsistence & Settlement

• Still no humans.

Technology & Material Culture

• N/A.

Movement & Interaction Corridors

• Ocean driftwood and pumice arrived from Caribbean and Azorean volcanic eruptions.

Cultural & Symbolic Expressions

• None.

Environmental Adaptation & Resilience

• Fauna maintained isolation adaptations — flightlessness, ground nesting.

Transition
By 4,366 BCE, ecosystems persisted in isolation and ecological equilibrium.