The malacofaunas of Burgundy, France, reflect changes in climate and the activities of man during the Holocene. Statistical analyses based on the Shannon diversity index and correspondence analysis are used to describe the mollusk assemblages in a composite sequence based on three well-dated sites. The variation demonstrated by the mollusks suggests that a two-step warming took place between 10,000 and 9000 and 8000 and 6000 yr B.P. in relative agreement with the timing of the deglaciation in the tropical Atlantic Ocean proposed by Mix and Ruddiman (1985, Quaternary Science Reviews 4, 59-108). High humidity, partly associated with widespread inundations of the valleys between 10,000 and 8000 yr B.P., may be related to estimated variations in the rate of freshwater discharge to the Atlantic Ocean reported by Fairbanks (1989, Nature 342, 637-642). The increasing impact of human activities on the environment during the past 2000 yr is indicated by the low diversity of the mollusk assemblages, demonstrating the need for careful interpretation of the youngest Holocene sediments in this region.