Exploring the role of otariids in the subsistence of hunter gatherers from Pampean archaeological sites at the Late Holocene (Argentina)

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 142-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florencia Borella ◽  
Romina Frontini ◽  
Cristina Bayón
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hunter Gatherers

Miniatures as Ritual Objects: Exploring the Role of Small-Sized Vessels among the Complex Late Holocene Hunter-Gatherers from the Paraná River Lowlands in South America

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-450
Author(s):  
Flavia Ottalagano
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Paraná River ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Parana River ◽  
Data Errors ◽  
Northeastern Argentina

This study is the first systematic approach to ceramic miniatures from the lowlands of the Paraná River (northeastern Argentina), which have received marginal attention from regional archaeology. This paper presents an analysis of 24 pottery miniatures recovered from archaeological sites generated by complex Late Holocene hunter-gatherers, dating from between 460±50 and 1056±47 years bp. Morphological and decorative data, errors of manufacture, traces of use and the context of the pieces’ deposition are recorded in order to explore aspects of their variability and functionality. The miniatures correspond to bowls, basins, cups and ‘bell’ artefacts, all of which are commonly found in the regional record. The data obtained suggest that at least some of the sample were used in the symbolic sphere, such as burial offerings.

Contextual and Nutritional Analysis of Freshwater Gastropods from Middle Archaic Deposits at the Hayes Site, Middle Tennessee

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 799-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter E. Klippel ◽  
Darcy F. Morey
Keyword(s):  
Food Resource ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Freshwater Gastropods ◽  
Food Energy ◽  
Nutritional Analysis ◽  
Middle Archaic ◽  
High Concentrations

The role of shellfish in the diet of hunter-gatherers in North America is poorly understood. Specifically, the interpretation of freshwater gastropods from archaeological sites as food remains has been a subject of professional debate. Data from the Hayes site (40ML139), a stratified Archaic midden on the Duck River in Tennessee, suggest that freshwater gastropods were procured in considerable quantities and utilized as a food resource. Evidence supporting this interpretation includes (1) quantities of gastropods in the midden, (2) stratigraphic relationship between shell-bearing strata and shell-free strata, and (3) pH analysis of associated sediments. Although gastropods provide relatively little meat and are a poor source of food energy compared to other animal species such as deer, they contain relatively high concentrations of several important vitamins and minerals. Thus, their primary value may have been nutrient content rather than food energy. This consideration, coupled with seasonal variation in their availability, suggests summer and/or fall as most likely periods of gastropod procurement.

scholarly journals Quantitative analysis of micromorphological images in edaphosedimentary sequences of the archaeological sites of Tequendama and Aguazuque, Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia

2020 ◽  
pp. 107-122
Author(s):  
Angélica Viviana Triana Vega ◽  
Santiago Vélez Bedoya ◽  
Sergey Sedov ◽  
Elizabeth Solleiro Rebolledo ◽  
Jaime Díaz
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Arid Conditions ◽  
Environmental Interactions ◽  
Archaeological Materials ◽  
Paleoenvironmental Interpretation ◽  
Ways Of Life ◽  
Important Site

The Bogotá savanna is a very important site for Colombian archeology. At this site, researchers have identified the settlements of hunter-gatherers and agricultural farmers who inhabited the territory from the late Pleistocene to the late Holocene. These archaeological studies have established the ways of life, social dynamics and environmental interactions of these groups. To clarify settlement processes, this article presents a detailed micromorphological and micromorphometric analysis of sediments collected in archeological excavations conducted at the Tequendama and Aguazuque sites in the municipality of Soacha, Cundinamarca. This analysis quantifies the contents of archaeological materials, such as bone and coal, as well as carbonate remains, which are associated with various activities. The results show differences in the abundance of bones and charcoal between settlement levels. Level 7A (dated 6,897-7,001 BP) of the Tequendama site shows the highest density of occupation and activities of all levels analyzed in this study. Furthermore, based on paleoenvironmental interpretation, the presence of secondary carbonates indicates arid conditions in the Bogotá savanna matching the regional climatic records.

scholarly journals Population Dynamics and Human Strategies in Northwestern Patagonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 2-21
Author(s):  
Gustavo Neme ◽  
Marcelo Zárate ◽  
María de la Paz Pompei ◽  
Fernando Franchetti ◽  
Adolfo Gil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Holocene

In this paper we evaluate the role of human strategies in the Andean Piedmont from northern Patagonia across the Holocene. Specifically, we present the analysis of the Early Holocene-Late Holocene archaeological record of Salamanca cave (Mendoza-Argentina). We identified technological changes that occurred during the Late Holocene and the implications of a human occupation hiatus in the Middle Holocene. We follow a multiproxy approach by the analysis of radiocarbon dates, archaeofaunal remains, ceramic, lithics and XRF obsidian sourcing. We also discuss a detailed stratigraphic sequence by geomorphological descriptions, the construction of a radiocarbon sequence model and summed probability distributions, compared with other archaeological sites in the region. We conclude that after the Middle Holocene archaeological hiatus, human populations grew while guanaco populations dropped. The imbalance between demography and resources boosted the incorporation of new technologies such as ceramics and the bow and arrow, allowing people to exploit lower-ranked resources.

The use of scanning electron microscopy in interpreting chenopodium remains from three archaeological sites in northwestern Iowa

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1112-1113
Author(s):  
Douglas William Jones
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Chenopodium Berlandieri ◽  
Seed Identification ◽  
Level 2 ◽  
Scanning Electron

Within the past 20 years, archaeobotanical research in the Eastern United States has documented an early agricultural complex before the dominance of the Mesoamerican domesticates (corn, beans, and squash) in late prehistoric and historic agricultural systems. This early agricultural complex consisted of domesticated plants such as Iva annua var.macrocarpa (Sumpweed or Marshelder), Hellanthus annuus (Sunflower) and Chenopodium berlandieri, (Goosefoot or Lasbsquarters), and heavily utilized plants such as Polygonum erectum (Erect Knotweed), Phalaris caroliniana (May grass), and Hordeum pusillum (Little Barley).Recent research involving the use of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) specifically on Chenopodium has established diagnostic traits of wild and domesticated species seeds. This is important because carbonized or uncarbonized seeds are the most commonly recovered Chenopodium material from archaeological sites. The diagnostic seed traits assist archaeobotanists in identification of Chenopodium remains and provide a basis for evaluation of Chenopodium utilization in a culture's subsistence patterns. With the aid of SEM, an analysis of Chenopodium remains from three Late Prehistoric sites in Northwest Iowa (Blood Run [Oneota culture], Brewster [Mill Creek culture], and Chan-Ya-Ta [Mill Creek culture]) has been conducted to: 1) attempt seed identification to a species level, 2) evaluate the traits of the seeds for classification as either wild or domesticated, and 3) evaluate the role of Chenopodium utilization in both the Oneota and Mill Creek cultures.

Power, security, and exchange: Impacts of a Late Holocene volcanic eruption in Subarctic North America

2021 ◽  
pp. 019769312098682
Author(s):  
Todd J Kristensen ◽  
John W Ives ◽  
Kisha Supernant
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Major Event ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Bow And Arrow

We synthesize environmental and cultural change following a volcanic eruption at A.D. 846–848 in Subarctic North America to demonstrate how social relationships shaped responses to natural disasters. Ethnohistoric accounts and archaeometric studies reveal differences in human adaptations in the Yukon and Mackenzie river basins that relate to exertions of power over contested resources versus affordances of security to intercept dispersed migrating animals. The ways that pre-contact hunter-gatherers maintained or redressed ecological imbalances influenced respective trajectories of resilience to a major event. Adaptive responses to a volcanic eruption affected the movement of bow and arrow technology and the proliferation of copper use in northwest North America.

Ethnohistorical Archaeology and the Mythscape of the Naga in the Chiang Saen Basin, Thailand

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Piyawit Moonkham
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Local People ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
The People ◽  
Divine Retribution ◽  
The Town

Abstract There is a northern Thai story that tells how the naga—a mythical serpent—came and destroyed the town known as Yonok (c. thirteenth century) after its ruler became immoral. Despite this divine retribution, the people of the town chose to rebuild it. Many archaeological sites indicate resettlement during this early historical period. Although many temple sites were constructed in accordance with the Buddhist cosmology, the building patterns vary from location to location and illustrate what this paper calls ‘nonconventional patterns,’ distinct from Theravada Buddhist concepts. These nonconventional patterns of temples seem to have been widely practiced in many early historical settlements, e.g., Yonok (what is now Wiang Nong Lom). Many local written documents and practices today reflect the influence of the naga myth on building construction. This paper will demonstrate that local communities in the Chiang Saen basin not only believe in the naga myth but have also applied the myth as a tool to interact with the surrounding landscapes. The myth is seen as a crucial, communicated element used by the local people to modify and construct physical landscapes, meaning Theravada Buddhist cosmology alone cannot explain the nonconventional patterns. As such, comprehending the role of the naga myth enables us to understand how local people, past and present, have perceived the myth as a source of knowledge to convey their communal spaces within larger cosmological concepts in order to maintain local customs and legitimise their social space.

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