OYSTER DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE CREATION OF COASTAL MONUMENTS AT ROBERTS ISLAND MOUND COMPLEX,FLORIDA

Abstract

Anthropogenic coastal landscapes often incorporate shell, a durable remnant of subsistence activity. Collection, consumption, and even feasting can thus contribute to histories of site formation and mound construction. This research assesses how oyster consumption related to the creation of Mound A, a shell mound at the Roberts Island Shell Mound Complex in Citrus County, Florida, is differentiated from the instances of oyster consumption that resulted in the midden constituting the rest of the island. I compare the size of shell remains from mound and off-mound midden contexts to assess variation in the sizes represented across the samples, stratigraphic variation within each context, and evidence for directional change indicative of over-exploitation. I identify a relationship of dependence between shell size and stratigraphic depth in off-mound samples that does not appear in mound samples, suggesting a relatively short period of time for the accumulation of mound deposit oyster shells. The findings of this study point to mound construction at Roberts Island Shell Mound Complex as a distinct and deliberate activity, with the construction event likely sharing importance with the community aggregation and consumption that facilitated it.     

The Middle Holocene Shell Mound of El Gouna on the Red Sea (Egypt)

Abstract

In the El Gouna (Hurghada) area on the Red Sea of Egypt, a Middle Holocene shell mound from around 5800 B.P. (uncalibrated radiocarbon years before A.D. 1950) has been tested by a restricted excavation. Collection of shellfish on the Red Sea shore provided subsistence opportunities for Middle Holocene groups coeval with the Early Predynastic Tasian of the Nile Valley. The El Gouna site demonstrates for the first time that prehistoric shell mounds exist near the Egyptian Red Sea shore.     

Development of the Bronze Age landscape in the southeastern Arabian Gulf: new evidence from a buried shell midden in the eastern extremity of the Rub' al-Khali desert, Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, U.A.E.

Recent sand quarrying operations for building and construction work in the eastern extremity of the Rub' al-Khali sand sea has revealed sediment exposures through a number of coastal and inland dunes. In the al-Daith district of Ras al-Khaimah (U.A.E.) a Holocene shell midden was exposed 2.8 m below the present dune surface interstratified between phases of Late Pleistocene and late Holocene dune sands. C¹⁴ and OSL ages constrain the site giving an insight into phases of landscape instability, dune formation, rates of sediment accretion, and a period of stability and human occupation. To date, Hafit period sites (5200–4500 cal BP) have been recorded in large numbers in the mountains and gravel plains of the Oman mountains. Coastal shell middens have not, as yet, been ascribed to the Hafit period from this part of the region and the study presents the first radiocarbon age from such a site. This study indicates the potential that many other sites exist elsewhere buried under late Holocene dune sediments and these provide an important insight into the development of the coastal landscape of this region.     

Prioritising Heritage Resources in a Time of Loss: Sea Level Rise and Archaeological Resources of the Middle Atlantic Region,US

ABSTRACT

The US Middle Atlantic region, known for its rich archaeological record and diverse topographic settings, is experiencing a range of climate change impacts, most notably: sea level rise and coastal erosion in its tidal zones. Documented palaeostratigraphic and palynological studies throughout the region provide a record of late Pleistocene/Holocene environmental response to changing climate, confirming observations from other disciplines that the magnitude of modern impacts exceeds past temporal and spatial patterns. The corresponding impact on archaeological resources is great, requiring a renewed effort to document threatened sites while also working with local and state governments to develop mitigation strategies. The Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference (MAAC) created the Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Committee to promote regional partnerships in site impact assessment and mitigation strategies. The network highlights the predicament of archaeology in this time of climate change: accelerated research and discovery in the face of catastrophic loss.     

Focused,intense and long-term: evidence for granular ark (Anadara granosa) exploitation from late Holocene shell mounds of Blue Mud Bay,northern Australia

Explanatory frameworks relating to the appearance of shell mounds and the exploitation of molluscs (particularly the sand/mudflat bivalve Anadara granosa) during the late Holocene have tended to emphasise stasis and continuity. Very few analyses have adequately investigated the intensity of human predation during the mound period and the potential effects on the particular prey species. To this end, the biological and ecological characteristics of A. granosa, the dominant molluscan species for much of the known period of occupation in the region, are considered in detail, in combination with assessing the potential for human impact through predation via the measurement of 9106 A. granosa valves from three shell mounds. In explaining long-term economic change in this region of northern Australia, the focus has been placed on the analysis of relative changes and trends through time in prehistoric resource exploitation.     

Daily risks: A biocultural approach to acute trauma in pre‐colonial coastal populations from Brazil

Brazilian coastal pre‐colonial skeletal series were examined for accidental fractures, which were grouped according to biomechanical interpretation of the causative events, and results were interpreted based on cultural and environmental aspects. More than 19% of the shell mound builders and 27% of the fisher–hunter–gatherers presented healed fractures. Both series presented balanced values between male and female (18.7 and 20%, respectively, for shell mound builders; 28.1 and 25.6%, respectively, for fisher‐hunter‐gatherers), and more than the double that proportion of the individuals (69.6% for shell mound builder and 88.5% for fisher–hunter–gatherers) had localised lesions, associated with only one traumatic event. The most common type of fractures were those caused by falls blocked by lower limbs (47.8% for shell mound builders and 46.1% for fisher–hunter–gatherers), interpreted as a result of moving along the rocky coastal cliffs. Despite these similarities, both series presented particular aspects which were related mainly to differences in subsistence strategies. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shellfish Exploitation in the Western Canary Islands Over the Last Two Millennia

ABSTRACT

The residents of the Canary Archipelago consumed limpets since the arrival of humans ～2500 yrs. ago, and these harvested gastropods were deposited in large coastal shell middens. This work preliminarily explores shell margin oxygen isotope composition (δ¹⁸O) and body size of the black limpet (Patella candei d’Orbigny, 1840) from archaeological sites in the Canary Islands to assess possible seasonal variability and intensity of shellfish collection throughout the late Holocene. The shell margin δ¹⁸O values of 100 shells (radiocarbon dated between ～500 and ～1800 cal. yr BP) were analysed to estimate sea surface temperature (SST) at time of death. Paleotemperature estimates suggest shellfish harvesting was not year-round, and was avoided in the cooler months (when SST?<?20°C). This pattern differs from most higher latitude Mesolithic and Neolithic human groups, which gathered shellfish year-round, targeting winter more heavily. Preliminary body-size measurements suggest shell sizes have experienced a decline from aboriginal times to the present, which possibly resulted from increasing anthropogenic pressures. During aboriginal inhabitation, maximum adult shell size remained stable, suggesting that present-day harvesting practices are more intense than harvesting from aboriginal human groups. This intensive collection has likely diminished the average adult size of limpet populations in the islands by ～27%.     

Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Movements in Southern Kyushu, Japan

From the late Pleistocene to early Holocene in Japan, subtropical and temperate forest elements moved northwards. This affected human choices and access to food sources. More settled patterns of living spread northwards gradually, and northern hunting-gathering-fishing people began cultivating vegetables and cereal crops. This poster reports the presence of ancient starch residues on stone artefacts in Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Kyushu. The oldest residues recovered are dated by context to about 30,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. If such residues can be identified, it may be possible to detect a hypothesized early phase of tropical plant movement northwards during warmer climate peaks in the late terminal Pleistocene, as well as during the long period of Holocene warming that followed. As an initial step towards identification, the morphological characteristics and condition of the starch granules are described and compared to those of other sites in early Japan.     

Ground-Penetrating Radar as a Cultural Resource Management Tool for Assessment of Eroding Shell Middens

ABSTRACT

With an increasing rate of sea level rise inherently linked to climate change, numerous coastal archaeological resources are under threat. In Maine, virtually all 2000+ coastal aboriginal shell middens are eroding. Given limited time and resources, an efficient method for making informed cultural resource management decisions is critical. Herein, we describe a six-step protocol for a minimally invasive and cost-effective ground-penetrating radar delineation of shell midden size and morphology. Benefits of the survey methodology outlined in this study include the efficiency of data collection, the non-destructive aspect of the technique, continuous records of site stratigraphy, and the lower cost as compared to large-scale excavation. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the advantages and challenges associated with this method.     

From the Piedmont to the Coast: LA-ICP-MS 87Sr/86Sr evidence for short-term,long-distance mobility in the American Southeast

Mounting evidence suggests that the Archaic Southeast shell mound builders had large-scale trade networks and engaged in social aggregations. Here, incremental ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values were measured by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) in third molar enamel samples of 11 individuals interred in the Middle Archaic Harris Creek shell burial mound in St. John's River Valley (SJRV), Florida. Results reveal that SJRV residents engaged in short-term, long-distance mobility up to the Piedmont margin and excursions into coastal areas, consistent with direct trading and social gatherings. Two individuals are interpreted as migrants from central Tennessee, suggesting a link to the Ohio River Valley shell mound builders.     

The Shellfishers of St. Catherines Island: Hardscrabble Foragers or Farming Beachcombers?

ABSTRACT

St. Catherines Island (Georgia, USA) was separated from the mainland at about 3000 BC, creating massive estuarine tidal marshes, which aboriginal foragers began exploiting almost immediately. Correlative optimal foraging modeling and four decades of archaeological fieldwork demonstrate how this baseline shellfishing economy evolved and persisted, with some local impacts on estuarine resource patches, but no detectable changes in diet breadth over several millennia. The first St. Catherines islanders were likely tribal-level, egalitarian societies living in economically self-sufficient, virtually sedentary, and politically autonomous villages. They made the earliest pottery in North America. Shortly after AD 800, early Mississippian populations developed into chiefdoms characterized by ranked, inherited social hierarchies, ascribing social status and wealth at birth. This significant shift took place wholly in the context of their long-standing shellfishing economy. In the face of dramatically increasing populations, St. Catherines islanders gradually intensified their shellfishing and, at about AD 1400, they began cultivating maize and other domesticates. Shellfishing offers generally higher return rates than corn farming, so the adoption of a maize-based economy was likely driven by political, social, and perhaps adaptive changes in the Mississippian world rather than strictly provisioning strategies.     

TESTING FOR EVIDENCE OF PALEOINDIAN RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES DURING THE YOUNGER DRYAS CHRONOZONE IN GEORGIA

Abstract

For the Southeast, it has been proposed that climate changes during the Younger Dryas period triggered a human population decline and/or substantial reorganization. We use the Georgia point record in the Paleoindian Database of the Americas to test for evidence of changes in landscape use through the Paleoindian period and consider these changes in the context of the Georgia paleoenvironmental record spanning the Younger Dryas. Based on differences in point frequencies, distributions, raw material types, and transport distances and directions, we conclude that significant changes in landscape use occurred during the Paleoindian period, and these correspond to destabilization of the immediate coastal zone due to fluctuations in sea level.     

DETERMINING THE SEASON OF MISSISSIPPIAN HOUSE CONSTRUCTION FROM PLANT IMPRESSIONS IN DAUB

Abstract

It has been suggested that Mississippian farmsteads in some parts of the Southeast were abandoned in the late fall/early winter, with concomitant population concentration in large, palisaded villages. This assertion is contradicted by published data on plant impressions in daub which indicate farmstead house construction during the fall. Missing from this debate has been information on the season of house construction at mound centers. Plant impressions in daub from a structure at the Lyon’s Bluff site (22OK520) in Mississippi indicate that house construction took place during early to midspring. When coupled with other data, year-round construction at this mound and village complex is suggested. Although these results do not solve the question of the season of house construction at farmsteads, they do suggest that house construction at mound sites was not confined to any particular season of the year, as might be expected with seasonal influxes of farmstead inhabitants.     

香港地区史前考古与生态环境的研究

香港地区的史前考古一经起步就十分注重环境考古的研究;从本世纪三十年代初开始至今,学者们不断地探讨着不同地貌与遗址的关系,并就香港新生代晚期以来的环境、气候、海平面升降变迁等作出了系统科学的结论。考古学家进一步从贝丘遗址中贝类软体动物遗存的变化,推断出先民们从新石器时代到青铜时代、甚至汉代的生产和生活方式的演进历程。     

A new perspective on Late Holocene social interaction in Northwest Alaska: results of a preliminary ceramic sourcing study

This research examines the evidence for prehistoric ceramic exchange networks over the last 2000 years in northwest Alaska through the use of neutron activation analysis of ceramic artifacts. Results from ceramic analysis on eight coastal and inland archaeological sites identified three source macrogroups and three associated subgroups. Clay source diversity and shared source macrogroups between geographically distant sites suggest the use of multiple sources and/or the movement of pots between production locales, mirroring related patterns in pottery stylistic data. Although additional analytical work is needed to fully understand the changing character of clay procurement and ceramic distribution across this time period, this study provides exploratory data on past ceramic production and distribution that hints at changes in exchange and territoriality in northwest Alaska during the late Holocene.     

New insights about the construction and use of shell mounds from the geochemical analysis of mollusks: an example from the greater San Francisco Bay

A new method developed by Schweikhardt et al. (2011) for the geochemical analysis of bay mussels is applicable (when combined with radiocarbon assessments) for examining the seasonal construction patterns and growth cycles of coastal mound sites over time. Ideally suited for the analysis of mollusk fragments in museum collections, this method allows archaeologists to evaluate divergent models about the functions of mound sites, as well as the mobility practices and social organizations of the mound builders. In this case study, the method is employed to examine two adjacent mounds (Ellis Landing, Brooks Island) in the San Francisco Bay Area, California to assess whether their occupants may have participated in a broader multi-site community dating to the Late Period (1100–250 BP).     

Identifying palaeo-environments and changes in Aboriginal subsistence from dual-patterned faunal assemblages,south-western Australia

Palaeo-environments and past human subsistence patterns are difficult to determine from dual-patterned faunal assemblages where human and non-human predators have accumulated and intensively modified animal bones. This paper examines such records in the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Region of south-western Australia, where a thin belt of coastal limestone contains caves and rock shelters with rich faunal deposits. The Late Pleistocene and Holocene part of this record derives from four archaeological sites: Devil's Lair, Tunnel Cave, Witchcliffe Rock Shelter and Rainbow Cave. Correspondence analysis combined with cluster analysis enables a preliminary assessment of habitat changes using simple species abundances in the faunal assemblages and comparison with indices of past human activity in the sites and the species’ present habitat preferences. These inferred changes, consistent with previous analyses of faunal remains and tree charcoal, suggest that late Holocene sites document Aboriginal occupation in coastal heath, scrub and woodland. Late Pleistocene deposits record hinterland occupation at times of low sea-level when the coast was up to 30 km seawards of its present position and the surrounding vegetation was open-forest or woodland. As rainfall increased and vegetation changed in the Holocene, species foraging in open-woodland declined or became locally extinct, while species requiring closed canopy habitats increased. Rank-order correlations of taxa and archaeological remains from depositional sequences before and after the environmental change indicate that the occupiers of late Holocene sites favoured the same generalist species that occupiers of Late Pleistocene sites had favoured, which were available at all times. Prey habitats, foraging behaviours and historic records of ethnographic hunting and settlement pattern suggest that this local continuity is consistent with maintenance of a “dispersive mode” subsistence pattern in the region.     

Shellfishing and the Colonization of Sahul: A Multivariate Model Evaluating the Dynamic Effects of Prey Utility,Transport Considerations and Life-History on Foraging Patterns and Midden Composition

ABSTRACT

Archaeological evidence of shellfish exploitation along the coast of Sahul (Pleistocene Australia-New Guinea) points to an apparent paradox. While the continental record as a whole suggests that human populations were very low from initial colonization through early Holocene, coastal and peri-coastal sites dating to that time are dominated by small, low-ranked, littoral taxa to the near-complete exclusion of large, higher ranked, sub-littoral species, precisely the opposite of theory-based expectations, if human populations and predation rates were indeed as low as other data suggest. We present a model of shellfish exploitation combining information on species utility, transport considerations, and prey life-history that might account for this apparent mismatch, and then assess it with ethnographic and archaeological data. Findings suggest either that high-ranked taxa were uncommon along the Pleistocene coastlines of Sahul, or that abundant and commonly taken high-ranked prey are under-represented in middens relative to their role in human diets largely as a function of human processing and transport practices. If the latter reading is correct, archaeological evidence of early shellfishing may be mainly the product of subsistence activities by children and their mothers.     

Geochemical methods for inferring seasonal occupation of an estuarine shellmound: a case study from San Francisco Bay

Seasonal patterns of Native American residence and use of shell mounds of the San Francisco Bay area, California are of great interest. This work investigates seasonal occupation by means of a new method for interpretation of geochemical data from Mytilus trossulus specimens recovered from one of these structures, the Ellis Landing Shell Mound (CA-CCO-295). The approach, which is suitable for relatively small shell fragments from a variety of archaeological contexts, is used to infer the environmental conditions (temperature and salinity of ambient water) at harvest time, compared with average conditions for the period, and thus estimate the season during which the shells were harvested. This information, in turn, is employed to evaluate current models about the growth and construction of prehistoric shell mounds in San Francisco Bay. The method was applied to seven different lenses in the shell mound ranging in age from ∼240 cal yr BP to ∼3510 cal yr BP. We found that, although seasonal occupation varied over time, it generally was confined to summer through late fall, with little indication of winter gathering. Our findings suggest that California shell mounds, such as Ellis Landing, were constructed in a very different manner than some other mounded places used by contemporaneous hunter-gatherers elsewhere in North America.