Late Prehistoric Subsistence Economy on the Edwards Plateau

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (205) ◽  
pp. 59-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil Dering
Keyword(s):  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Edwards Plateau ◽  
Subsistence Economy ◽  
Prehistoric Subsistence

Stable isotope chemistry, population histories and Late Prehistoric subsistence change in the Aleutian Islands

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Byers ◽  
David R. Yesner ◽  
Jack M. Broughton ◽  
Joan Brenner Coltrain
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Aleutian Islands ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Subsistence Change ◽  
Prehistoric Subsistence

scholarly journals Evidence of size-selective evolution in the fighting conch from prehistoric subsistence harvesting

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1782) ◽  
pp. 20140159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron O'Dea ◽  
Marian Lynne Shaffer ◽  
Douglas R. Doughty ◽  
Thomas A. Wake ◽  
Felix A. Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Size At Maturity ◽  
Effective Agent ◽  
Selective Evolution ◽  
Size At Sexual Maturity ◽  
Harvesting Intensity ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
Prehistoric Subsistence

Intensive size-selective harvesting can drive evolution of sexual maturity at smaller body size. Conversely, prehistoric, low-intensity subsistence harvesting is not considered an effective agent of size-selective evolution. Uniting archaeological, palaeontological and contemporary material, we show that size at sexual maturity in the edible conch Strombus pugilis declined significantly from pre-human (approx. 7 ka) to prehistoric times (approx. 1 ka) and again to the present day. Size at maturity also fell from early- to late-prehistoric periods, synchronous with an increase in harvesting intensity as other resources became depleted. A consequence of declining size at maturity is that early prehistoric harvesters would have received two-thirds more meat per conch than contemporary harvesters. After exploring the potential effects of selection biases, demographic shifts, environmental change and habitat alteration, these observations collectively implicate prehistoric subsistence harvesting as an agent of size-selective evolution with long-term detrimental consequences. We observe that contemporary populations that are protected from harvesting are slightly larger at maturity, suggesting that halting or even reversing thousands of years of size-selective evolution may be possible.

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.

A Summary Report on Second World War Activity at Watery Lane, Church Crookham, Hampshire

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-176
Author(s):  
Matt Nichol
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Timber Structures ◽  
Summary Report ◽  
World War ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Field Boundary ◽  
Development Area ◽  
Five Phases ◽  
Second World

An archaeological excavation of four areas approximately 0.39ha in total, of land at Watery Lane, Church Crookham, Hampshire, was undertaken by Cotswold Archaeology in November and December 2016. It followed the recording of two Pill Boxes and a trial trench evaluation of a wider development area. In all four areas archaeological features were identified. The artefactual evidence indicated five phases of archaeological activity, with features dating from the late prehistoric, medieval, medieval/post-medieval, and post-medieval to modern wartime period. Several heavily truncated isolated prehistoric features were identified, as were field boundary ditches of medieval to the post-medieval date. Many undated, but presumed modern, postholes were found across the site. The postholes may have been the result of an extensive network of Second World War temporary timber structures known as tactical obstacles (including barbed wire entanglements and tank proof obstacles) erected during anti-invasion defence works. These structures were likely to have been part of the important Stop Line Defence network, Line A of the GHQ (General Headquarters) line of defences, which were planned to slow down a ground invasion.

Palaeolithic Big Game Hunting at HP766 in Wadi Umm Rahau, Northern Sudan

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achilles Gautier ◽  
Daniel Makowiecki ◽  
Henryk Paner ◽  
Wim Van Neer
Keyword(s):  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Animal Bone ◽  
Game Hunting ◽  
Big Game Hunting ◽  
Bone Remains

HP766, discovered by the Gdansk Archaeological Museum Expedition (GAME) in the region immediately upstream the Merowe Dam in North Sudan and now under water, is one of the few palaeolithic sites with animal bone remains in the country. The archaeological deposits, the large size of the site, the lithics and the radiocarbon dates indicate occupation of a silt terrace of the Nile in late MSA and perhaps LSA times. Large and very large mammals predominate markedly among the recovered bone remains and it would seem that the palaeolithic hunters focused on such game. They could corner these animals on the site which is partially surrounded by high bedrock outcrops. Moreover swampy conditions of the site after the retreat of the annual Nile flood may have rendered less mobile the prey animals. According to this scenario, HP766 would testify to the ecological skills and generational memory of late prehistoric man in Sudan.

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