scholarly journals Civilisation and Human Niche Construction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Arroyo-Kalin ◽  
David Wengrow ◽  
Dorian Q. Fuller ◽  
Chris J Stevens ◽  
Michèle Wollstonecroft
Keyword(s):  
Niche Construction ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Human Niche Construction

This short paper introduces the special section of three articles under the general heading of ‘Civilisation and the Construction of the Human Niche’, organised by the ‘Domestication, Niche Construction and the Anthropocene’ research network at the UCL Institute of Archaeology.

scholarly journals Historical Ecology of Scandinavian Infield Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 817
Author(s):  
Ove Eriksson ◽  
Matilda Arnell ◽  
Karl-Johan Lindholm
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Land Reforms ◽  
Hay Meadows ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Major Transition ◽  
The 19Th Century

Infield systems originated during the early Iron Age and existed until the 19th century, although passing many transitions and changes. The core features of infield systems were enclosed infields with hay-meadows and crop fields, and unenclosed outland mainly used for livestock grazing. We examine the transitions and changes of domesticated landscapes with infield systems using the framework of human niche construction, focusing on reciprocal causation affecting change in both culture and environment. A first major transition occurred during the early Middle Ages, as a combined effect of a growing elite society and an increased availability of iron promoted expansion of villages with partly communal infields. A second major transition occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries, due to a then recognized inefficiency of agricultural production, leading to land reforms. In outlands, there was a continuous expansion of management throughout the whole period. Even though external factors had significant impacts as well, human niche construction affected a range of cultural and environmental features regarding the management and structure of domesticated landscapes with infield systems. Thus, niche construction theory is a useful framework for understanding the historical ecology of infield systems.

scholarly journals Human niche construction in interdisciplinary focus

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1566) ◽  
pp. 785-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Kendal ◽  
Jamshid J. Tehrani ◽  
John Odling-Smee
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Causal Process ◽  
Genetic Inheritance ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Ecological Inheritance ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
The Social

Niche construction is an endogenous causal process in evolution, reciprocal to the causal process of natural selection. It works by adding ecological inheritance , comprising the inheritance of natural selection pressures previously modified by niche construction, to genetic inheritance in evolution. Human niche construction modifies selection pressures in environments in ways that affect both human evolution, and the evolution of other species. Human ecological inheritance is exceptionally potent because it includes the social transmission and inheritance of cultural knowledge, and material culture. Human genetic inheritance in combination with human cultural inheritance thus provides a basis for gene–culture coevolution, and multivariate dynamics in cultural evolution. Niche construction theory potentially integrates the biological and social aspects of the human sciences. We elaborate on these processes, and provide brief introductions to each of the papers published in this theme issue.

scholarly journals Human impacts on the environment and wildlife in California’s past: Lessons from California archaeology

2021 ◽  
Vol 107 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-319
Author(s):  
Julia Renee Prince-Buitenhuys ◽  
Colleen M. Cheverko ◽  
Eric J. Bartelink ◽  
Veronica Wunderlich ◽  
Kristina Crawford
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Central California ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Ecological Baselines

The long history of human-animal interactions in California prior to European contact is frequently not considered when setting ecological baselines and, by consequence, when planning conservation and management expectations and strategies for native species. This article reviews archaeological perspectives that explore the relationship between human niche construction, plant and wildlife populations, and human health in pre-European contact Central California, with an emphasis on the Central Valley and Delta, the surrounding foothills, and the San Francisco Bay Area. A summary of the archaeological record for Central California is provided, along with how niche construction and related evolutionary based models have been used in prehistoric California. Examples of the influences of human niche construction on flora, fauna, and human health from the archaeological and ethnographic record are then discussed. This information is tied to modern wildlife research and management practices that would serve contemporary fish and wildlife management given that human influences on species “natural” habitats and ecological baselines extends much further into the past than current ecological baselines and wildlife management strategies traditionally recognize.

From human niche construction to imperial power: long-term trends in ancient Iranian water systems

Water History ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Wilkinson ◽  
Rémy Boucharlat ◽  
Maurits W. Ertsen ◽  
Gavin Gillmore ◽  
Derek Kennet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Niche Construction ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Human Niche Construction ◽  
Imperial Power ◽  
Long Term Trends
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