Environmental Archaeology Final Pt1

Microfauna, Botanicals, Pollen, Dendrochronology

summarize the Catalhuyok microfauna case study

Study of why there was scat within human burials: concentrations of microfauna deriving from carnivore scats which appear to have been intentionally placed (weasels as pest control)

What does the Catalhuyok case study teach us?

provides insight into unknown burial practices and animal significance in the culture

microfauna

good proxy for climate since they are sensitive to small changes in the environment: reproduce fast, specialized eco-niches, and stay close to area of birth

types of microfauna

birds, fish, rodents, insects, mollusks, diatoms

birds, fish, and rodents are indicators of what?

past temperature, precipitations, and groundcover

insects are indicators of what?

past temperature, precipitation, farming, and deforestation

mollusks are indicators of what?

fresh/saltwater, SSTs and ocean levels, and droughts

diatoms are indicators of what?

fresh/saltwater and water depth

what can we learn from microfauna?

• relative temperature and precipitation

• relative groundcover

• past water conditions and depth

• cultural activities

ER curves

show if past temperature was warmer or cooler and if past precipitation was wetter or drier

in the Tehuacan Valley, the abundance and absence of ________ reflected climate conditions changing since this species prefers _______ conditions

deer mice; cool and dry

Elands Bay, South Africa case study

when sea level was down, terrestrial animals were consumed; as sea level rose and the shoreline moved east, diet shifted to coastal species (past diet and groundcover)

East African Rift case study

diatoms used to determine lake presence and depth and found widely fluctuating climate pattern; hypothesized that years of dramatic, unstable weather selected for Hominins with larger brains

fly larvae and Vikings in Greenland

fly larvae attracted to warm, filthy places: presence of warm species of flies to indicate occupied farms and fires and absence of warm flies to indicate no occupation

why are microfauna proxies better than macrofauna proxies?

microfauna sensitive to small changes while macrofauna represents what humans exploit

microfauna complicating factors

• some identifications of species require soft tissue (doesn’t always preserve)

• difficult to determine if microfauna are contemporaneous with site or modern intrusion

• proxies based on modern environment analogs, and past environments with no analog

ubiquity

measures frequency of occurrence

diversity

consists of richness and abundance (evenness)

rich and uneven

low diversity (1)

rich and even

high diversity (0)

summarize EAC Carmody 2017 reading

modern agriculture is the greatest threat to global biodiversity, affecting health, land, and water; this reading proposes using EAC crops such as amaranth, knotweed, sunflower, goosfoot to create a sustainable food system for the world’s increasing population since perennial crops are more reliable, more resistant to natural events, and re-establish soil fertility

macrobotanicals

study of fruit, seeds, roots, cereals, and charcoal

macrobotanicals are recovered via _________

flotation

T/F: each tree species has a characteristic cellular structure

true

T/F: even when botanicals are not charred, it is easy to say if it’s cultural

false

what can we learn from botanicals?

• subsistence and seasonality

• domestication and spread of agriculture

• paleovegetation and climate

• woodland management/TEK

T/F: larger seeds have been domesticated by humans

true

What do peaches on the silk road tell us?

movement of crops

Dust Cave, Alabama case study

changes in wood charcoal from pine to deciduous to nutshell indicate environmental change from colder to moderate to warmer

Cliff Palace Pond case study

pond cores with pollen and charcoal show native history of wildfires, use of prescribed burning, and clearing for garden plots

what are the preservation considerations of botanicals?

• limited preservation conditions (charred, waterlogged, arid)

• some plants don’t preserve as well as others

• food does not inherently indicate diet

What is a comparative collection?

set of known specimens used to identify remains from sites

What information do charcoal and wood ashes provide?

past vegetation, nut processing, and reveals different crystals based on the wood

summarize the Aboriginal Collapse McGowan 2012 reading

researchers claim the disappearance and emergence of certain Aboriginal art is correlated to drought spanning 1500 years; used pollen of water vegetation, sediment analysis, and ENSO activity to track drought and monsoon activity

microbotanicals

phytoliths, starches, and pollen

phytoliths

microscopic silica that forms in plant cellular structures; morphology varies by species

starches

microscopic carbohydrates found in plant storage organs; morphology varies by species

pollen

reproductive element that transport male DNA to female part of flower

T/F: the size and shape of pollen is the same between all species

false

wind-born pollens

smooth surfaces and air “bladders” for travelling long distances

insect-born pollens

burs to adhere to insect legs

grass pollens

have an “eye” that attaches to pollen tube

arboreal/nonarboreal pollen

tree/weed, shrub, domesticate pollen

how do archaeologists use arboreal and non-arboreal data?

categorize pollen to help identify trends in forest cover or non-forests; can indicate environment change, glacial retreat, or agriculture

T/F: pollen does not preserve well in alternating wet-dry environments because it degrades its exine

true

What can we learn from pollen?

• land management

• funerary practices

Shanidar Cave Neanderthal Burial

Neanderthal burial with flower pollen - were they following ritual/religion, healing/medicinal purposes, archaeologists tracking pollen into site; determined rodents and insects were burrowing and bringing pollen

T/F: environmental archaeologists must consider post deposition factors

true

what are the limitations of pollen analysis?

• wind-blown pollen can come from hundreds of miles away

• some species produce more pollen than other

• some microclimates are distinct from surrounding areas

• some past environments have no modern analog

in years with ____ precipitation, tree rings grow faster and _______

much; thicker

_______ annual rings reflect years of lower precipitation

thinner

T/F: annual tree rings record history of the environment

true

what can we learn from tree rings?

• absolute dating/calibrating C14 dating

• precipitation/drought

• insect, fungus, fire history (leave scars)

• sourcing materials

Old Wood Effect

age of tree/wood artifact reflects when it was cut down not when it was used; tree could’ve been cut then used for years

Old Wood Effect (charcoal)

no idea if you have older or younger rings when dating wood charcoal

Lost Colony Dendrochronology case study

tree ring analysis of the Roanoke colony reveal there may have been a severe drought correlating to the years of disappearance

Limitations of dendrochronology

• comparative trees must be the same species and region

• trees may skip rings in severe droughts

• rings date the cutting of the tree and not the length of its use

summarize Viking Timber Use 2023 reading

analysis of wood taxa from Viking settlements in Greenland; focused on imported wood, driftwood, and native wood abundances; concluded that Igaliku was a high status site with means to access timber from North America and this material could’ve been a luxury since it’s no more effective than local driftwood