The 'Past’ workpackage uses palaeoecology, archaeology, anthropology, history, and ecosystem and climate modelling to characterise and understand the entangled nature of East African MtSES (Mountain Social-Ecological Systems) from 6000 years ago to the present day. AFRI-CAN will create new understandings of the impact of pre-colonial, colonial and post-independence links between people and East African mountains. This work will characterise the changing demand and supply of ecosystem services over the past 6000 years, focussing on food, water and energy, and aims to define how rapid ecosystem transitions and tipping points - driven by climate and land-use change, migration and technological transitions - have shaped mountain social-ecological systems across the region.