Search

Intensification in the procurement of small game, including different taxa of birds, has been proposed as one of the indicators of dietary shifts occurring in western Mediterranean regions during the Upper Palaeolithic as a consequence of both increased human hunting pressures and environmental change. In this paper, avian remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic levels of Arbreda Cave (Serinyà, northeast Iberia) are analysed. Our results evidence a high diversity of bird taxa in most levels, with the presence of a minimum of 50 species, including birds that inhabit a variety of biotopes such as cliffs, rivers and wetlands, and open grassland, along with coniferous and mixed forests. Taphonomic analysis of the bird bones from all levels indicates a mixed origin for the material, humans being one of the agents responsible for the accumulations. The results show that birds were caught for consumption. However, wing feathers and phalanges were also extracted, probably for ornamental or ceremonial purposes. A significant number of tooth/beak-marked bones and digested remains also evidence the participation of different species of raptors and, to a lesser degree, of small terrestrial carnivores in creating these assemblages. Finally, some birds died naturally and were then incorporated into the archaeological record. This study contributes to the discussion of the importance of the exploitation of birds by hunter-gatherers during the Upper Palaeolithic in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southwestern Australia has a Mediterranean-type climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters that support vegetation types ranging from tall closed forest and open woodland, to dense, low heath. At the Last Glacial Maximum, the coast was located as far as 100 km distant of its current location, after which rising post-glacial sea levels radically altered the southwestern coastline, drowning large tracts of the continental shelf, creating islands and rocky cliffs from areas of higher relief, and altering delicately balanced coastal ecosystems. For Aboriginal people living in southwestern Australia these changes would have substantially altered the availability and reliability of important plants and animals, both on the coastal plain and within littoral and estuarine environments, which raises the question of how we define and distinguish the economic strategies employed by people occupying these liminal, transitional landscapes. This paper reviews all available securely dated archaeofaunal records from 31 archaeological sites within the southwestern Australian coastal zone to develop a general economic model of Aboriginal occupation of the region's changing Holocene coastal zones. Faunal records were grouped by bioregion to investigate regional variation in environmental and cultural trends. Archaeological, palaeontological, and palaeoclimatic evidence indicates that people adapted as the coastal plain transformed during the Holocene, altering subsistence strategies and land management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Star Carr and other Mesolithic sites in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK, have seen long-standing interest from archaeologists since the 1950's, and offer a vivid picture of various aspects of post-glacial hunter–gatherers in Northwest Europe. However, answers to several important aspects of prehistoric behavior still remain unclear, particularly concerning local subsistence and settlement strategies. This paper develops a comparative approach to these questions, and draws structured analogies between the British Mesolithic and the Jomon period of Holocene hunter–gatherer archaeology in Japan, both of which occupied similar temperate/sub-boreal woodland environments. Thus the purpose of this paper is to better understand early Mesolithic socio-economic strategies in the Vale of Pickering, by: 1) re-considering the organization of subsistence at Star Carr via careful comparison with the Jomon period site of Awashimadai in Kanto District, paying renewed attention to the two main features of Star Carr, i.e. the organization woodland deer hunting and the lack of evidence for use of aquatic resources; and 2) by re-examining overall land use strategies in the Vale of Pickering by re-analysis of faunal remains first recovered from excavations conducted in the late 1970's and 1980's. The results of this comparative analysis indicate that Star Carr was a summer hunting camp organized for deer, probably occupied exclusively by people socially specialized in hunting, and that Mesolithic land-use strategies probably extended well beyond the Vale of Pickering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how and why a relatively minor, mostly native non-market economy founded on subsistence-caught Chinook salmon in Alaska has become the object of controversy and increasing regulatory pressure. Small-scale exchanges of cash for subsistence-caught fish conflict with a neoliberal emphasis on markets, profit maximization, and private property. This paper clarifies the role of neoliberal policies in shaping and even causing the controversy over these exchanges, and the consequences for management of Chinook salmon on the Yukon River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the results of archaeological research at the Late Stone Age site of Diallowali, located along the western edge of the Middle Senegal Valley, northern Senegal. As the occupation spans the period between 3100-2400 years BP, it is contemporary with few other West African sites, and therefore represents a unique – and uniquely detailed – archive. Excavations conducted between 2014–2017 revealed deeply stratified and dense deposits, yielding more than 5,000 kg of pottery and 169 kg of faunal material – the largest faunal assemblage of any site in West Africa. Thus, the present study focuses on the zooarchaeological data and their implications for shifting environmental conditions, subsistence practices, and social institutions at the site. The faunal assemblage reflects the exploitation of a remarkable diversity of wild animals, including a range of bovids, suids, carnivores, rodents, hippopotami, birds, and various aquatic resources – representing local conditions at the end of the African Humid Period. Interestingly, the consistent presence of domestic livestock, as well as Bos taurus figurines and ceramic 'arm-bands' throughout the occupation support a connection to Saharan agro-pastoral communities possibly escaping the Late Holocene aridification. Therefore, the keeping of low numbers of Bos taurus and Ovis/Capra , while maintaining a high reliance on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants, likely functioned as a risk-buffering strategy to manage against environmentally unpredictable periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper begins by reviewing the structure and evolution of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) management in Canada and in the Territory of Nunavut since the inception of the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears in the 1970s. This is followed by the paper''s main focus, the examination of the socio-economic and cultural importance of polar bears for Inuit and the success of the Agreement in supporting contemporary Inuit subsistence relations in Nunavut. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aquaculture plays a significant role in food security and provides livelihoods and employment for millions of people among coastal communities worldwide. However, the growing aquaculture sector has also created debates around its long-term ecological sustainability, economic viability, potential social inequalities and governance issues. We investigated the perceived challenges and opportunities to achieving sustainable mud crab aquaculture in tropical coastal regions by using the case study of coastal mud crab farms in Andhra Pradesh, India. Informed by perceptions and indicative financial data from a sample of stakeholders we investigated the potential economic outcomes under different scenarios representing varying yield levels, risk factors and project time periods. The main risks identified by the stakeholders were associated with the limited supply of mud crab seeds and the lack of access to governmental and non-governmental support schemes. There are no financial buffers, therefore major disease outbreaks or extreme weather conditions caused by climate change would lead to a loss of livelihoods. This paper also highlights the most critical factor determining the level of success of mud crab farming being the crab survival rate which is influenced by a variety of factors including increasing sea surface temperature. The results of this study show that small-scale mud crab farming has fewer risks and higher flexibility involved than large-scale mud crab farming. It could be an economically sustainable enterprise and serve as a tool for poverty alleviation in developing countries if microfinance support and training are available. • Small-scale mud crab aquaculture can be economically, environmentally and socially sustainable in tropical coastal regions. • The sustainability of mud crab aquaculture expansion depends on access to affordable loans, training and sustainable feed. • Ensuring a high survival rate of mud crabs, influenced by climate change and disease , is critical for aquaculture success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the Mediterranean Basin, the Late Glacial was a dramatic time in terms of demographic, cultural, and technological change. One region that illustrates this especially well is southern Greece, where Upper Paleolithic lifeways transitioned to the Mesolithic with the onset of the Holocene. Previous archaeological research in this area has documented an intensification of meat resources as foragers widened their diet breadth to include more low-return prey animals, eventually shifting their focus to the Mediterranean Sea. In this paper, we synthesize and expand on these previous analyses by combining new data from Kephalari Cave with two other published sites in the Argolid (Peloponnese), Franchthi Cave and Klissoura Cave 1. These three sites provide an ideal case study for examining changes in meat procurement strategies because they have overlapping Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic chronologies and are located within about 45 km of one another. We consider each of the sites within their local environmental contexts, including the contraction of the coastal plain and moving shorelines after the Last Glacial Maximum. Changes in the composition of ungulate prey track local environmental and ecological conditions. The use of low-return species supports an overall picture of resource intensification in the region over time. At Klissoura, the most inland of the three sites, small terrestrial prey increases over the course of the Upper Paleolithic, particularly in the Late Glacial, and until the site was abandoned in the Mesolithic. At both Franchthi and Kephalari, small game are abundant in all Upper Paleolithic layers, but there is no overall trend. However, fishing appears in the Upper Paleolithic (most likely the Gravettoid phase) of Kephalari and during the Epigravettian at Franchthi. Fishing increases dramatically in later layers at both sites. At Franchthi, this trend culminates in open-water fishing of large-bodied tunny in the Upper Mesolithic. Interestingly, the use of Klissoura declined at about the time that fishing became a critical part of the economy at Franchthi, and possibly Kephalari. These subsistence shifts reflect a combination of factors, including growing human populations on a regional level and local responses that included changes in mobility patterns and site use, and more diverse toolkits, as well as changes in Pleistocene shorelines that brought an additional ecosystem closer to two of the sites. These internal and external factors allowed foragers in southern Greece to successfully move into a new ecological niche at the end of the Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in subsistence patterns during the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic at Klissoura Cave 1 in southern Greece indicate that some shifts track local climatic changes, while others do not. Specifically, increases in ungulate species diversity correlate with wetter periods, and greater abundance of certain dry-loving small game animals (e.g., great bustard) might correspond with dry periods. Other large-scale diachronic shifts, such as the increased importance of low-return hares and partridges, occur over the occupation of the site irrespective of environmental conditions. We hypothesized previously that this relates to local human population growth over the course of the Paleolithic. New data from a nearby site, Kephalari Cave, augment this hypothesis. The site complements the Aurignacian and Gravettoid occupations at Klissoura and also contains a robust late Upper Paleolithic component. Ungulate species diversity is high at Kephalari, and there is a greater reliance on low-return small animals (including fish) than at Klissoura. In this paper, we examine changes in the faunal spectra alongside preliminary charcoal data from the two sites. These data are analyzed in the context of regional environmental change in order to determine the extent to which climatic change or population growth drove subsistence shifts in southern Greece during the Late Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Holocene tends in subsistence practices through the examination of archaeological faunal remains from the Bugul'deika II habitation site on the west shore of Lake Baikal, Russian Federation. This data indicates that the primary focus of subsistence activities at the site in almost all periods was the hunting of Baikal seals ( Phoca sibirica ). While some deer and other fauna are represented in most cultural layers, they appear to be supplementary resources throughout the Early and Middle Holocene period of site use. By ∼2900 cal. BP, domesticated ungulates appear at the site, and become increasingly more relatively abundant through time. Humans using the site during these periods also continued to use wild fauna, particularly Baikal seals. Yearlings and other juveniles were the most commonly taken seals at the site, and most were killed in the late winter or early spring when the lake was ice covered. The overall pattern of fauna use at the site is very similar to that at other sites located on the open shoreline of Lake Baikal, but contrasts sharply with fauna use at sites located along the Little Sea shoreline of the lake, which focuses of littoral fish. Finally, while Middle Holocene human cemeteries in the study area have abundant remains of deer, and stable isotope data on human remains from them indicate some dietary reliance on such herbivores, remains of deer are not found in abundance in any local habitation site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climatic shifts during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in Island Southeast Asia resulted in dramatic changes in landscape configurations which are presumed to have had greatly impacted vertebrate community composition and in turn human subsistence economies. Zooarcheological investigations in the region have provided information on how ancient foraging communities responded to these changes. However the complete picture remains to be elucidated. In this paper we present preliminary results of an ongoing analysis of faunal remains recovered from Braholo Cave in Eastern Java. We observed an overwhelming predominance of arboreal and semi-arboreal fauna, most notably the Javan langur, in the Late Pleistocene and Early-Mid Holocene deposits of the cave. In contrast earlier cave deposits were dominated by animal taxa generally associated with open environments such as bovids and cervids. This reflects forest expansion at the onset of the Holocene, albeit it also suggests deliberate targeting of specific taxa. The wide range of terrestrial, arboreal and aquatic species from various ecological niches suggests that the humans that inhabited the site subsisted on a mosaic of environments. It also hints on their intimate knowledge of these environments and the presence of different hunting technologies. Zooarchaeological parameters such as mortality profiles and body part representation allowed us to describe certain aspects of these hunting technologies. Our results provide unique insights on subsistence strategies of prehistoric foraging communities and the environment they encountered in Java during a key period in human history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The GDL1 cave belongs to the large karst network of the Adrar Gueldaman ridges (Northern Algeria). New excavations by the Centre National de Recherches Préhistoriques, Anthropologiques et Historiques (CNRPAH) since 2010 have yielded rich archaeological remains dated between 7002 cal BP and 1484 cal BP. The paper presents results of the zooarchaeological analysis of the macromammals from the Neolithic units in sectors S2 and S3. They reveal the presence of a restricted fauna, dominated by sheep and goat, goat being more frequent than sheep. Domestic cattle and pig may also be present. The age profiles of the goat/sheep finds suggest a shift in the management of the sheep/goat herds aiming first at the production of meat and later at the production of meat and secondary products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a systematic review of archaeobotanical data from Stone Age (c. 8900–1500 cal BC) sites in mainland Finland is presented for the first time and compared with ethnographical data. The data was collected from 76 archaeological sites and consists of charred and waterlogged remains from soil samples and charred hand-picked remains from archaeological excavations. The data shows that various wild plants were gathered in Finland during the Stone Age and that different opportunities for plant gathering prevailed in various parts of the country. Hazel and water chestnut were widespread and used in locales further to the north than where they grow today, but they were still confined to southern Finland. Some plants, such as bearberry and crowberry, were ubiquitous and collected throughout Finland. In the light of the data analysed, it is suggested that most of the charred plant remains derive from food processing (roasting, smoking, frying, cooking), waste management, and fuel use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed zooarchaeological study conducted on the bone assemblage from the Laguna Cabeza de Buey 2 site, located on the margins of a small shallow lake in the center of the Pampa grasslands (province of Buenos Aires, Argentina). Taxonomic structure, taphonomic information, site formation processes, and subsistence strategies for different occupation events are described and discussed. At least three events of pre-Hispanic occupation (two in the Middle Holocene [6800 and 4150 14C years BP] and one in the Late Holocene) and one in Historical moments were identified. Human occupations are developed in relation to a shallow lake under a climate more arid during the Middle Holocene, which decreased up to the current environmental conditions; humid temperate. The camelid Lama guanicoe (guanaco) was always the most important economic resource during the three events of human occupation in the Holocene, followed by Ozotoceros bezoarticus (pampean deer) and, to a lesser extent, by three species of small armadillos ( Chaetophractus sp., Zaedyus pichiy , and Tolypeutes matacus ). In Historical times, modern domestic faunal remains ( Equus caballus and Bos taurus ) were exploited. A subsistence strategy focused on artiodactyls, mainly guanaco, allows suggesting certain specialization through time in the exploitation of animal resources by hunter-gatherer groups in the center of the Pampa grasslands, strategy that contrasts with what is recorded in other areas of the Pampean region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the extent, range, and diversity of noncommercial wild ocean seafood subsistence harvests among commercial operators in Washington and California, USA and test the relationship between subsistence drivers and market behavior. Analyzing data from Pacific Fisheries Information Network between 1990 and 2010, we show that over 17 million kg of fish and shellfish were kept for personal use. We used general additive models to examine patterns in proportion of personal use versus price for the top 10 species retained over the 20-year period for each of the three population groups: Washington commercial tribal (indigenous) fishing operators, Washington commercial nontribal operators, and California commercial fishing operators. Out of the 26 species-price relationships tested, only one fits the market relationship with statistical significance and the model failed to predict personal use patterns for any of the other species. We conclude that market sensitivity is not a reliable predictor for subsistence behavior. Although a nominal figure in the overall seafood catch, the presence of subsistence practices among 21st century market-based commercial fishing operators reveals a more diverse array of economic systems than previously imagined. We suggest that alternative economies, including subsistence and associated community share systems, function to improve human wellbeing and strengthen community resilience by increasing food security and community food systems, engaging in a quality of life practice, and supporting social networks through seafood gifting and sharing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper considers the connections between the social science components of two major multidisciplinary research projects recently carried out in the Eastern Bering Sea: The Bering Ecosystem Study Program (BEST) and the Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (BSIERP). Although the primary concern of the larger Integrated Bering Sea Project was oceanographic, a significant effort was made to understand the impacts of changes in the Eastern Bering Sea on coastal communities. We describe our complementary research in Emmonak in order to put the local and traditional knowledge (LTK) survey and interview data gathered during the BSIERP study into ethnographic and historical context to show how important time depth is in the interpretation of LTK. Taking examples from salmon fishing, seal harvesting, and local understandings of place, we argue that a comprehensive ethnographic approach, including both LTK and cultural history, is essential in understanding contemporary Bering Sea coastal communities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Seasonally-specific cultivation patterns of farm crop enterprises often create periodic labor shortages. New technologies that require labor inputs during such labor-scarce seasons are less likely to be adopted. Financial ex ante assessments of technology alternatives, however, neglect the implications of seasonal labor shortages. Standard returns to labor estimates assume that the value of labor to farmers is constant despite temporary increases in demand. This paper develops an alternative measure, returns to opportunity-costed labor (RTOCL), which discerns the seasonally-changing costs of labor. RTOCL more accurately reflects farmer decision criteria and serves as a useful measure in ex ante analysis of technology interventions. A case study of a bush fallow agricultural system in the Peruvian Amazon illustrates how seasonal labor shortages lead to farm management tradeoffs that affect the prospects of technology adoption. Two improvements of a new upland rice variety are contrasted: higher yield versus early maturity. Empirical results of an agro-economic mathematical model reveal that the early maturity characteristic enables rice to become more complementary to peak-season labor demands of the agricultural system. This early maturity characteristic permits farmers to cultivate larger areas and reap greater financial benefits than a variety with a high yield characteristic. Model results support the need to address heterogeneous seasonal labor demands when developing and disseminating agricultural technologies intended to benefit resource-poor farmers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the impact of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and its aftermath on Tatitlek and Chenega Bay, two small predominantly Alu’utiq Native communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Specific topics discussed include: real and perceived contamination of traditional food resources, disruption of traditional subsistence practices, beach treatment and attempts at cleaning-up the oil, litigation of claims for spill-related damage, and oil spill restoration under the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council including habitat acquisition. The effects of the spill are contrasted with those of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake on the same communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsistence patterns during the Early Bronze Age I through the Iron Age II (3600-586 BCE) are the topic of many archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological studies. The results of these two disciplines are usually published separately, depriving us of an all-encompassing view of subsistence and agriculture during this time period since people did not solely make use of animal or plant products. In this paper, our goal is to integrate faunal and botanical lines of evidence and study developments in subsistence using multivariate statistics. By analysing individual and integrated datasets of botanical and faunal remains, we aim to better understand the role of diverse variables, such as chronology, mean annual precipitation, and elevation within the composition of our datasets. We see chronological differences, a distinction between sites at higher (400–600 mm) and lower (200–400 mm) precipitation ranges and differences between sites at different elevations (0–100 m and 500–600 m). We also highlight methodological issues intrinsic to differences in genesis and quantification of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological datasets. We conclude that to obtain a complete understanding of subsistence during the Bronze and Iron Age in the Southern Levant, archaeobotanists and zooarchaeologists need to work on integrating their data on a site-specific level. This will allow us to obtain a holistic understanding of subsistence and agricultural practices on both a site and regional level and allow us to develop a stronger framework for understanding social and political developments that occurred during these time periods. • Integration of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological data is essential. • Multivariate statistics help understand past subsistence practices. • Bronze and Iron Age diet are determined by historical processes. • Early and Middle Bronze Age diet differs from Late Bronze Age and Iron Age diet. • Precipitation and elevation play a role in past subsistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, taphonomic and zooarchaeological studies have focused on Neanderthal settlement patterns and subsistence strategies. The south-eastern margins of the Massif Central constitute one of the regions with the most abundant archaeological evidence of Neanderthal occupations in France. The faunal record of level 5 of Abri du Maras is a unique source of information for analysing Neanderthal behaviour at the end of the MIS 5. The assemblage is divided into three levels 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3, which correspond to the three main phases of human occupation of the shelter in level 5. Through the taphonomic and zooarchaeological analysis of the faunal remains, we define the characteristics of human occupation developed in the rock shelter. In this paper, we show that Neanderthal groups used the Abri du Maras as a residential campsite for long-term occupation events during a whole season, mainly summer. The intensive exploitation of the faunal resources is typical of a residential campsite, and the selective seasonal hunting strategy of medium and large ungulates, centred on prime adults, indicates different Neanderthal subsistence patterns to the upper levels of the sequence. Here, our results document the chronological changes in occupation patterns in one of the reference sites in south-eastern France and address questions related to cultural choices and environmental constraints. • Abri du Maras was used by Neanderthal as a seasonal campsite for long-term occupation events. • Occupation characterized by intensive exploitation of the faunal resources, including the use of discard bones as retouchers. • Selective seasonal hunting strategy, during summer, centred on prime adult ungulates. • Specific Neanderthal subsistence patterns, different to the upper levels of the sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial fisheries of Fiji have had mixed fortunes. The fresh fish export industry has grown rapidly in importance so that fisheries is now the third most valuable export industry; its positive effecton the economy is mainly in the increase in the purchase of goods and services, such as air freight. The present `hands off' policy by government in the fresh fish export industry should continue until the industry matures. In the longer run, ad valorem royalties should be considered as a mean of capturing resource rents. The government-ownedexport cannery has been in financial decline, and the maintenance ofthe social benefits of regional employment generated by the cannery has come at a high cost to government coffers. The future of the cannery, now leased to a private operator, is clouded by the uncertainty of the continuity of concessional access to European markets beyond the year 2000. The main task faced by government is the management of fisheries and fish stocks. The management of the inshore fisheries //vital to the needs of a large proportion of the population // needs additional resources. The capability for management of the industrialfisheries, necessary to maximise long term public benefits, would beenhanced by full cost recovery through a user pays policy. This article is based on a paper presented to the Fiji Update seminar, held atthe National Centre for Development Studies, the Australian NationalUniversity, Canberra, on 19 June 1998. The author wishes to thank MrKrishna Swamy, Senior Fisheries Officer in the Fiji Fisheries Division, and Mr Grahame Southwick, Managing Director of the Fiji Fish Company Ltd, for their generous provision of information for the preparation of this paper; and Mr Joeli Veitayaki, Coordinator of the Ocean Resources Management Programme, University of the South Pacific, for helpful comments. Any errors or omissions are the author's responsibility, however. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]