Is environmental reconstruction of any use to archaeologists?

Dr. dig responds:
Learning and knowing about environment changes over time is very important to archaeology. Archaeologists learn about past environments from such studies as pollen analysis and geological study. Pollen analysis in particular is a major source of information about past environments and about human activity. As investigations continue, it becomes increasingly apparent that many changes in vegetation were due to human activity.

Reconstructing past environments is tricky however, because so many factors - such as climate and human activity - affect it. Much remains to be explored in this field of study.