Hunters, Fishers and Gatherers' Archaeology

"This dissertation presents results from four recently discovered archeological sites in southcentral Alaska. The sites range from the Younger Dryas to middle Holocene in age and provide valuable contextual information for the human process of colonizing a region that was heavily glaciated during the LGM. The deglaciation and human colonization of southcentral Alaska is one of the most significant aspects of the settling phase in eastern Beringia not only for its potential to inform about the human response to post-glacial landscapes but also for what we can learn about subsequent migrations to the southern coast of Alaska.

Understanding how early foraging societies spread throughout eastern Beringia, after its initial colonization, requires new models for and approaches to the interpretation of technological variability, especially the enigmatic microblade industries that represent an essential subset of nearly all of the northern prehistoric toolkits. This work presents an ecological approach to the interpretation of assemblage variability in central and southcentral Alaska. Climate and seasonal changes had significant impacts on small-scale foraging societies and undoubtedly played a decisive role in the successes and failures of the earliest Alaskans. This was certainly the case during the transition from the Pleistocene to Holocene as major climatic oscillations were underway and foothold communities north of the Alaska Range began dispersing south into the recently deglaciated territories of southcentral Alaska."

El propósito de este trabajo es discutir la intensidad y redundancia de la ocupación humana en el sitio El Tigre durante el Holoceno tardío final a partir del estudio de los procesos de formación del sitio. En un trabajo anterior (Martínez et al. 2005) se propuso la existencia de un componente arqueológico superior (ca. 500 años AP) y se planteó la  posible existencia de uno inferior. Esta discusión es retomada en este trabajo a partir del estudio de distintas líneas de análisis. Se discuten evidencias estratigráficas, cronológicas (C14 y OCR), diagenéticas y las distribuciones y frecuencias de los restos óseos y artefactos líticos a lo largo de la secuencia estratigráfica estudiada. Se analizan diversas variables a los efectos de identificar la acción de agentes y/o procesos tafonómicos. A través de este análisis se concluyó que sólo puede proponerse la existencia del componente superior y que su cronología sería de ca. 900-500 años AP.

During the Late Holocene, important changes can be identified in the social dynamics of hunter-gatherer populations in different regions of the southern Andes. These transformations are associated with processes of demographic growth, territoriality, increased social complexity, technological innovations, and intensified exploitation of the environment. One of the technological transformations associated with these processes is the popularization of bone instruments. In this study, we discuss the functions of bone tools made by Late Holocene coastal hunters-gatherers of North-Central Chile, by carrying out a morphological characterization and identifying use-wear patterns on their surfaces. Our results show that bone technology was used for hunting, fishing, and gathering activities, from flint working to processing vegetal fibres and hide. A reduce number of artefacts had an ornamental use as well. These results suggest a varied and intensive exploitation of the surrounding space by coastal groups, where bones of land animals constituted an important part of the raw materials used in bone industry. Also, we argue that some bone artefacts were elements structuring social relations, as they participated in flows of information and social networks. We conclude by arguing that the popularization of bone industry reflects the dynamics of social complexity, as well as how bone was integrated as a productive, economic, and social resource in the process of coastal hunters and gatherers who inhabited the area.

The Eastern Subarctic has long been portrayed as a place without history. Challenging this perspective, History in the Making: The Archaeology of the Eastern Subarctic charts the complex and dynamic history of this little known archaeological region of North America. Along the way, the book explores the social processes through which native peoples “made” history in the past and archaeologists and anthropologists later wrote about it. As such, the book offers both a critical history and historiography of the Eastern Subarctic.

A compilation of known sites from the upper reaches of the Trent valley and the Gull River extending into the Haliburton Highlands indicates that throughout much of prehistory the area witnessed little, if any, human occupation. Two episodes of significant occupation are the Middle Archaic and the Late Iroquoian period. The Middle Archaic is represented by a number of early Laurentian occupation sites and later Laurentian find spots, suggesting a brief colonization of the area during the earlier period, followed by a period of less intensive use. Parallels between the Archaic and Iroquoian episodes of occupation prompt the suggestion that while climate may have been a factor in both cases, other less archaeologically tangible factors are equally likely to have been at work.

"This book provides a basic introduction to key debates in the study of hunter-gatherers, specifically from an anthropological perspective, but designed for an archaeological audience. Hunter-gatherers have been the focus of intense anthropological research and discussion over the last hundred years, and as such there is an enormous literature on communities all over the world. Yet, among the diverse range of peoples studied, there are a number of recurrent themes, including not only the way in which people make a living (hunting, gathering and fishing) but also striking similarities in other areas of life such as belief systems and social organisation. These themes are described and then explored through archaeological case-studies. The overarching theme throughout the volume is the use of ethnographic analogy, and how archaeologists should be critical in its use.

Table of contents
-Introduction: Why the Study of Modern Hunter-gatherers Can Help Us Understand the Past
-Making a Living: Hunter-gatherer Subsistence
-Moving on Up: Mobility and Settlement
-Society and Social Organisation
-Belief Systems
-Landscape
-Material Culture and Exchange
-Conclusions
Bibliography
Index"

Jackson, D., R. Seguel, C. Méndez, A. Maldonado, I. Murillo, L. Núñez 2014. Geoarqueología en ambientes costeros y paisajes patrimoniales de la costa del Choapa. Guía de campo: II Taller de Geoarqueología de América Latina, editado por: R. Seguel y D. Jackson. 125 pp. (Producto del proyecto FONDECYT 1140824).

Recent excavations (2006–2009) at the Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Vlasac in the Danube Gorges region of
the north-central Balkans have focused on a reevaluation of previous conclusions about site formation
processes, stratigraphy, chronology, and the nature of occupation. Mostly Late Mesolithic remains had
been encountered in the preserved portion of the site, but, for the first time, in a restricted zone of the
excavated area, vertical stratification of burial and occupation features yielded evidence about the use of
the site in the period that is contemporaneous with Phase I–II at Lepenski Vir, the Mesolithic-Neolithic
transition phase in this region, ca. 6200–5900 CAL B.C. Various strands of archaeological evidence show
both continuities and discontinuities in Late Mesolithic forager life- and deathways at the start of the
Neolithic in the central Balkans.

The ten thousand Islands region of southwest Florida contains extensive prehistoric shell midden sites called shell works that comprise some of the largest and most complicated prehistoric shell constructions in the world. these terraformed landscapes reflect a unique prehistoric tradition of shell-built architecture and large-scale landscape construction. traditionally, shell work sites were considered little more than large midden accumulations formed through the mundane disposal of daily shellfish meals. over the last decade an ambitious program to survey, map and test multiple shell work complexes challenges this assumption. Comparison of shell work forms throughout the region demonstrates significant spatial, temporal and morphological relationships including several recurring site forms, suggesting settlements were connected communities, sharing similar social, political and ideological characteristics that became manifested within these socially constructed shellscapes over time.

Wetlands, in their many different manifestations, have long been a significant feature in the global landscape. The term itself refers to a wide array of seasonally inundated and/or semi-terrestrial lands, including swamps, marshes, bogs, fens, estuaries and wadis that span subarctic to tropical to arid settings (Finlayson and Moser 1991, Mitsch and Gosselink 2000). The unique ecological values that wetlands possess are closely linked to their transitional state between terrestrial and aquatic systems. They thus tend to have high primary productivity levels and a dependable water supply, two of many factors that contribute to supporting an impressive variety of floral and faunal communities....

This dissertation examines changes in Haida economic adaptations during the late pre-contact and early contact periods in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia). This was primarily achieved through the analysis of faunal and artifactual assemblages recovered from archaeological excavations at eight village sites in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site (southernmost Haida Gwaii). In addition, extensive syntheses of early historic accounts, ethnographic descriptions, and previous archaeological work provide context for the interpretation of the archaeological data and complementary data on the economic responses of the Haida to European contact and the maritime fur trade.

The new archaeological data presented in this dissertation, combined with previously published results, form the basis of a detailed description of the nature of Haida economic adaptations during the late pre-contact period (ca. 500 AD to 1774 AD). Most notably, these data clarify a previously recognized shift from a more generalized, rockfish-oriented economy to a more specialised, salmon focused economy between 1,200 BP and 800 BP. These distinct economic adaptations, now widely demonstrated for southern Haida Gwaii, have been formalized as an earlier Xyuu daw Phase (ca. 2,000 BP to 1,000 BP) and a later Qayjuu Phase (ca. 1,000 BP to contact), both within the previously described late Graham Tradition.

While the maritime fur trade and the incorporation of the Haida into the European capitalist world system increased the focus of the Haida on the hunting of sea otters, altered the Haida seasonal round, and introduced new items of material culture, it had relatively little impact on the Haida subsistence economy. Salmon continued to dominate Haida subsistence, while the majority of the introduced material culture was non-utilitarian or was incorporated into existing cultural practices. In contrast, European traders were forced to adopt a degree of Haida tradition into trade practices, and in many cases were dependent on the Haida to meet their own subsistence needs. More profound changes to Haida culture, including the rise of Haida economic dependency on the world economy, arose during the subsequent period of increasing European encroachment and settlement.

This study describes a whole pot found near Little Lake, Eastern California. Whole pots are rarely found in the region, usually just the broken fragments, or sherds, are found. Following a description of the pot, we then consider caching behavior and hunter-gatherer pottery production and use in arid environments.

Originally published in UNESCO's General History of the Caribbean.  This section debates the use of continental models for hunters and gatherers in island biospheres and the subsequent pitfalls of a 'logical' progression of classifying these groups as 'marginal' societies.

The Indigenous Beothuk of Newfoundland disappeared as a cultural entity in the early nineteenth century. Prior to this, the Beothuk had few direct interactions with Europeans, and those that occurred were generally of a hostile nature. As a result, very little is known about Beothuk religious life. Drawing on available ethnohistoric records, an analysis of burial site locations and funerary objects, we offer an interpretation of Beothuk sacred cosmology that places birds at the centre of their belief system.

This paper aims to present an overview of recent research on the Mesolithic lithic scatters in the Central Pennine area. In particular, it aims to exemplify a new analytical and interpretive approach to these lithic scatters by outlining—on a broad level—the new methodology, themes and conceptual links between the artefactual evidence (including the chaînes opératoire model), and hunter-gatherer behaviour. The main conclusions are summarised including—a radically new narrative that intimately links prehistoric lithic consumption and tool use with Mesolithic mobility strategies, and settlement patterns in Northern England. In doing so, the author also hopes to highlight the need for a radically different methodological and paradigmatic approach to the recovery, study and recording of the lithic heritage of the Pennines and beyond.

Сборник содержит материалы международной конференции, приуроченной к 50-летию яркого исследователя позднего каменного века Восточной Европы В.М. Лозовского. Представленные работы объединены проблематикой изучения взаимодействия человека и окружающей среды и разным моделям адаптации в рамках первобытного хозяйства. Основное внимание уделяется роли рыбной ловли и собирательства съедобных растений, важнейших видов деятельности, однако недостаточно освещенных в археологических источниках. Материалы поздних поселений с благоприятными условиями сохранности органических материалов, а также косвенные свидетельства производства и использования рыболовных инструментов и орудий собирательства, горелые макроостатки семян и растений, данные химического состава содержимого посуды и изотопные характеристики человеческих костей, должны помочь реально оценить роль этих видов пищевых ресурсов в диете первобытного человека.

The hunting of wild animals for food, sport or for the defence of people and herds, was common in the ancient Near East, especially in early times. This paper gives a survey of hunting practices in pre-Islamic Arabia primarily from the beginning of the first millennium BCE to the eve of Islam in light of the epigraphic evidence and of rock art as well as archaeological discoveries.

Approximately forty contemporary hunter-gatherer societies survive in the increasingly deforested region of South East Asia. Despite the important place of hunter-gatherers in anthropological theory-making, detailed ethnographic information about contemporary South East Asian foraging societies can be difficult to locate. This article reviews key issues surrounding the cultural identity of South East Asian hunter-gatherers, including ethnolinguistic group identities and Eurocentric ideas of ‘pure’ foragers. The recent debates over whether ‘pure’ foragers were able to live in tropical forests is reviewed, finding that the debate’s aftermath provoked scholars to further explore the nature of prehistoric environments and to appreciate of the diversity of forager cultural adaptations to different ecological conditions. One outcome of the debates has been a shift towards exploring contemporary hunter-gatherers as ‘bricoleurs’ who flexibly shift their economic practices to accommodate changing, resource-depleted environments.

Das Duvenseer Moor gehört zu den wichtigsten mittelsteinzeitlichen Fundarealen. Neue Forschungen an den exzellent erhaltenen »Wohnplätzen« befassen sich mit der Entwicklung des Subsistenzverhaltens am Beginn unserer heutigen Warmzeit. Und führen zu überraschenden Ergebnissen, die auch ein neues Licht auf die Ursprünge unserer heutigen Ernährungsweise werfen. Hochauflösende Rekonstruktionen der Siedlungsvorgänge, Artefaktuntersuchungen und Modellierungen zeigen: die saisonalen Wohnplätze dienten einer äußerst produktiven und nachhaltigen Nusswirtschaft. Sie ist Teil neuer Wirtschaftsstrategien, die dem späteren Neolithikum bereits viele Innovationen vorweg nehmen.

How do we take indigenous animism seriously in the sense proposed by Viveiros de Castro? In this article, I pose this challenge to all the major theories of animism, stretching from Tylor and Durkheim, over Lévi-Strauss to Ingold. I then go on to draw a comparison between Žižek's depiction of the cynical milieu of advanced capitalism in which ideology as " false consciousness " has lost force and the Siberian Yukaghirs for whom ridiculing the spirits is integral to their game of hunting. Both know that, in their activity, they are following an illusion, but still they go along with it; both are ironically self-conscious about not taking the ruling ethos at face value. is makes me suggest an alternative: perhaps it is time for anthropology not to take indigenous animism too seriously.

Additional information is presented here that pertains to the Fenenga and Riddell article (this issue) documenting a
Tübatulabal weather shaman’s bundle. This paper describes additional materials that were once part of the original
bundle but were unknown to Fenenga and Riddell at the time their research was conducted. We can now reconstruct
virtually the entire assemblage and are able to present an overall interpretive synthesis. We also provide informative
material regarding the weather shamanism ritual complex present in California and the Great Basin.

En la última década, las investigaciones de las manifestaciones rupestres en América Latina revelan avances significativos tanto en la comprensión de sus significados como de las herramientas utilizadas para el registro, conservación e interpretación. Esta obra sintetiza los datos empíricos y teórico-metodológicos de los estudios presentados en el seminario "Manifestaciones rupestres en America Latina" organizado por el Instituto universitario de Estudios sobre América Latina (IEAL) de la Universidad de Sevilla. Aporta conocimientos novedosos y originales sobre las manifestaciones rupestres, las sociedades y culturas que las realizaron, cuáles fueron sus posibles significados, cómo se elaboraron, el porqué de su creación y qué podemos hacer para conservarlas. El lector encontrará diversas investigaciones desarrolladas en México, Venezuela, Colombia, Perú y Argentina, las cuales abarcan desde las épocas de grupos cazadores recolectores hasta contextos pictóricos que se fusionaron tras el contacto europeo. Los resultados obtenidos de estos estudios enriquecerán el diálogo para futuras investigaciones. Lugares rupestres: Baja California Sur, Sonora, Nuevo Léon, Puebla, Hidalgo, Aguascalientes (México); Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Nasca, Paracas y Lima (Perú). El trabajo reúne a especialistas en el arte rupestre latinoamericano: María del Pilar Casado López, Carlos Mandujano Álvarez, César Armando Quijada López, Beatriz Menéndez Iglesias, Moisés Valadez Moreno, Mario Arturo Palacio Díaz, Judith Trujillo Téllez, Leonardo Paéz, Aldo Noriega, Aïcha Bachir Bacha, Luis Alberto Martos, Christian Vitry, Bernardo Cornejo, Mariano Cornejo y Albert Rubio i Mora.

This article tries to present the most important developments within rock art research in northernmost europe during the first five years of the new millennium. During this time span more than 500 articles, reports, debates, monographs, anthologies and phd dissertations have been published. I have published a more profound regional overview of this vast material elsewhere (Goldhahn 2006, see also Bradley et al. 2001; sognnes 2003), and so i will not deal with this material here. Instead this brief outline will present some current themes and debates within this field of knowledge.