Charred seeds in Mikkeli Orijärvi : A study of subsistence strategies of an Iron Age settlement in East Finland

In this study the over 350 macrofossil samples, containing over 2300 charred plant remains from an Iron Age settlement containing fossil fields in Mikkeli Orijärvi Kihlinpelto, were studied archaeobotanically. The aim was to get more information about subsistence strategies, especially agriculture and study differences in the plant combinations in the different structures and use the archaeobotanical theory to interpret these structures. The methodological question was to study the taphonomy of the charred plant material. The results gave a diverse impression of the agriculture and subsistence strategies of the settlement in Orijärvi, where barley was the most important cereal with rye, wheat and oat cultivated as minor crops. The arable weed assemblage indicates that the fields were situated in different kinds of soils and the crops were cultivated when different kind of weather conditions were prevailing. Ergot was found with the cereals, and it was growing on some of the arable crops and it also indicates wet climate. Hemp and flax were cultivated and wild plants were collected. The meadow and wetland plants found in the material derive most probably from animal fodder. Tubers of bulbous oat-grass were interesting, because they are usually found in graves. Comparison with other Iron Age settlements and graves indicates that the plant material found from the ancient field layers derives most probably from dwellings and graves, which were taken into cultivation.

Onset of Conduct Disorder, Use of Delinquent Subsistence Strategies, and Street Victimization among Homeless and Runaway Adolescents in the Midwest

This study examines the effects of childhood-onset conduct disorder on later antisocial behavior and street victimization among a group of homeless and runaway adolescents. Four hundred twenty-eight homeless and runaway youth were interviewed directly on the streets and in shelters from four Midwestern states. Key findings include the following. First, compared with those who exhibit adolescent-onset conduct disorder, youth with childhood onset are more likely to engage in a series of antisocial behaviors such as use of sexual and nonsexual survival strategies. Second, youth with childhood-onset conduct disorder are more likely to experience violent victimization; this association, however, is mostly through an intervening process such as engagement in deviant survival strategies.

Starch analysis as a method to discover subsistence strategies in prehistoric Finland and Estonia

Ancient starch analysis is a microbotanical method in which starch granules are extracted from archaeological residues and the botanical source is identified. The method is an important addition to established palaeoethnobotanical research, as it can reveal ancient microremains of starchy staples such as cereal grains and seeds. In addition, starch analysis can detect starch originating from underground storage organs, which are rarely discovered using other methods. Because starch is tolerant of acidic soils, unlike most organic matter, starch analysis can be successful in northern boreal regions. Starch analysis has potential in the study of cultivation, plant domestication, wild plant usage and tool function, as well as in locating activity areas at sites and discovering human impact on the environment. The aim of this study was to experiment with the starch analysis method in Finnish and Estonian archaeology by building a starch reference collection from cultivated and native plant species, by developing sampling, measuring and analysis protocols, by extracting starch residues from archaeological artefacts and soils, and by identifying their origin. The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the suitability of the method for the study of subsistence strategies in prehistoric Finland and Estonia. A total of 64 archaeological samples were analysed from four Late Neolithic sites in Finland and Estonia, with radiocarbon dates ranging between 2904 calBC and 1770 calBC. The samples yielded starch granules, which were compared with the starch reference collection and descriptions in the literature. Cereal-type starch was identified from the Finnish Kiukainen culture site and from the Estonian Corded Ware site. The samples from the Finnish Corded Ware site yielded underground storage organ starch, which may be the first evidence of the use of rhizomes as food in Finland. No cereal-type starch was observed. Although the sample sets were limited, the experiment confirmed that starch granules have been preserved well in the archaeological material of Finland and Estonia, and that differences between subsistence patterns, as well as evidence of cultivation and wild plant gathering, can be discovered using starch analysis. By collecting large sample sets and addressing the three most important issues – preventing contamination, collecting adequate references and understanding taphonomic processes – starch analysis can substantially contribute to research on ancient subsistence in Finland and Estonia.

Zooarchaeology at the Niah Caves, Sarawak:Context and Research Issues INTRODUCTION

Extensive archaeological excavations in the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo) over the past 50 years have produced perhaps 750 000 fragments of vertebrate bone, one of the largest faunal assemblages in the region, This paper introduces a series of research studies examining different aspects of the Niah fauna, and discusses how they are contributing to, and shaping, regional research agendas relating to prehistoric environments and societies in Island Southeast Asia. Zooarchaeology has traditionally had a rather 'Cinderella' status here, but the ongoing programme of study of the Niah Caves fauna is demonstrating the remarkable potential of this material to address questions of Pleistocene and Holocene climate and environment, biodiversity, human activities within caves, people's engagement with the landscapes they inhabited as foragers and farmers, and the nature of the transition from foraging to farming. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Faunal exploitation at the middle paleolithic site Kabazi II(Western Crimea)

Kabazi II est un site de plein air, situé sur la deuxième rangée des Monts de Crimée. Après sa découverte en 1986, les investigations archéologiques effectuées entre 1987 et le milieu des années 90 ont établi que Kabazi II avait auparavant servi de lieu de chasse et d’abattage pour les groupes néanderthaliens de la région. Les études archéozoologiques antérieures (Patou-Mathis 2003, 1999, 2005, 2006a, 2006b) ont déterminé que les stratégies de subsistance des Néanderthaliens du Kabazi II étaient très spécialisées et principalement axées sur la chasse des petits groupes de Equus hydruntinus mais aussi, à l’occasion, sur la chasse d’autres espèces. Ces comportements ont persisté malgré les changements climatiques et technologiques à travers l’histoire d’occupation du site. Cette étude présente l’analyse des assemblages fauniques encore inédits des niveaux II/1,II/2-1, II/2, II/3, II/4, II/5, II/7, II/8, II/9, II/13, II/13A de Kabazi II. Nos résultats sont en accord avec ceux obtenus parles d’études antérieures ; cependant, des différences par rapport à la fonction du site ont été constatées et un lien possible avec Kabazi V, un abri sur roche tout près de Kabazi II, a été établi. On croit que la persistance des activités de subsistance des Néanderthaliens de Kabazi II pendant presque 100 000 ans de présence est due à la polyvalence des ânes asiatiques tels que Equus hydruntinus, au contexte géographique et géologique de la région ainsi qu’aux caractéristiques du site elles-mêmes.

Grotte du Bison : deux chasseurs pour un gibier : analyse archéozoologique de la couche I-J sur le site moustérien de la Grotte du Bison, Arcy-sur-Cure (Yonne, France)

Le site moustérien de la Grotte du Bison est situé au cœur des grottes préhistoriques longeant la rivière de la Cure à Arcy-sur-Cure (Yonne, France). La couche I-J de ce gisement représente une occupation néandertalienne datant de la fin du stade isotopique 4 (MIS 4) et du début du stade 3. Face à l’instabilité du climat durant cette période, les groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs néandertaliens doivent faire des choix en matière d’acquisition des ressources alimentaires. Le mode de subsistance de ces groupes implique des choix stratégiques de comportements de chasse, de transport et de traitement des carcasses, ainsi que de mobilité de groupe. Quelles sont les stratégies d’exploitation de la faune employées par les Néandertaliens à Arcy-sur-Cure il y a un peu plus de 50 000 ans? Ce mémoire présente une analyse archéozoologique de l’assemblage faunique mis au jour durant la mission de fouilles 2014. Les résultats indiquent que les populations néandertaliennes ont occupé le site de façon saisonnière en alternance avec d’autres animaux carnivores comme l’ours des cavernes et la hyène des cavernes. Les hyènes et les Néandertaliens sont deux potentiels agents accumulateurs d’ossements dans la grotte. Un regard taphonomique sur l’assemblage faunique de la couche I-J suggère que les groupes néandertaliens ont chassé le renne et le cheval, alors que les meutes de hyènes ont accumulé des ossements de bovinés et de chevaux. Les groupes néandertaliens de la Grotte du Bison ont rapporté les carcasses entières de leurs proies sur le site. Ils en ont exploité la viande, la moelle, les peaux, ont fabriqué des outils en os et ont utilisé les plumes des rapaces, vraisemblablement à des fins symboliques.

The British Lower Palaeolithic of the early Middle Pleistocene

The archaeology of Britain during the early Middle Pleistocene (MIS 19–12) is represented by a number of key sites across eastern and southern England. These sites include Pakefield, Happisburgh 1, High Lodge, Warren Hill, Waverley Wood, Boxgrove, Kent's Cavern, and Westbury-sub-Mendip, alongside a ‘background scatter’ lithic record associated with the principal river systems (Bytham, pre-diversion Thames, and Solent) and raised beaches (Westbourne–Arundel). Hominin behaviour can be characterised in terms of: preferences for temperate or cool temperate climates and open/woodland mosaic habitats (indicated by mammalian fauna, mollusca, insects, and sediments); a biface-dominated material culture characterised by technological diversity, although with accompanying evidence for distinctive core and flake (Pakefield) and flake tool (High Lodge) assemblages; probable direct hunting-based subsistence strategies (with a focus upon large mammal fauna); and generally locally-focused spatial and landscape behaviours (principally indicated by raw material sources data), although with some evidence of dynamic, mobile and structured technological systems. The British data continues to support a ‘modified short chronology’ to the north of the Alps and the Pyrenees, with highly sporadic evidence for a hominin presence prior to 500–600 ka, although the ages of key assemblages are subject to ongoing debates regarding the chronology of the Bytham river terraces and the early Middle Pleistocene glaciations of East Anglia.

A two-stage economic succession at the inception of farming in central Portugal. Preliminary examination of possible causes and consequences

[EN]Notwithstanding their scarcity and uneven distribution, zooarchaeological and stable isotope data sets on the Early and Middle Neolithic (5500–3200 cal BC) in the region of Estremadura in Central Portugal strongly suggest that two succeeding stages in subsistence strategies took place: sheep and goat itinerant pastoralism (across large areas) and/or renewed focus on wild food sources (cervid hunting, harvesting marine and freshwater food) which replaced livestock farming within smaller areas and less specialised hunting practices. This economic shift seems to have coincided with two other dramatic changes: the 5.9 kyr cal BP climate event and the onset of megalithism. Possible correlations between these past cultural and palaeoenvironmental phenomena are herein preliminarily outlined. [ES] A pesar de su escasez y distribución desigual, el conjunto de datos arqueozoológicos y de isótopos estables para el Neolítico Antiguo y Medio de la región de Estremadura en el centro de Portugal (5500-3200 a. C. cal), sugiere con claridad dos etapas sucesivas en las estrategias de subsistencia: pastoreo itinerante de ovejas y cabras (ocupando grandes territorios) y/o un renovado interés por los recursos alimenticios silvestres (caza de cérvidos, recolección de alimentos marinos y de agua dulce), que reemplazó otras formas de ganadería más confinadas en el espacio acciones con regímenes de mantenimiento reducidos y unas prácticas de caza menos especializadas. Este cambio económico parece haber ocurrido junto con otros dos cambios dramáticos, el evento climático 5.9 k BP (cal.) y el inicio del megalitismo. Aquí se esbozan de forma preliminar las posibles correlaciones entre estos fenómenos culturales y paleoambientales del pasado.

Resilience of small-scale societies’ livelihoods: a framework for studying the transition from food gathering to food production

The origins of agriculture and the shift from hunting and gathering to committed agriculture is regarded as one of the major transitions in human history. Archeologists and anthropologists have invested significant efforts in explaining the origins of agriculture. A period of gathering intensification and experimentation and pursuing a mixed economic strategy seems the most plausible explanation for the transition to agriculture and provides an approach to study a process in which several nonlinear processes may have played a role. However, the mechanisms underlying the transition to full agriculture are not completely clear. This is partly due to the nature of the archeological record, which registers a practice only once it has become clearly established. Thus, points of transitions have limited visibility and the mechanisms involved in the process are difficult to untangle. The complexity of such transitions also implies that shifts can be distinctively different in particular environments and under varying historical and social conditions. In this paper we discuss some of the elements involved in the transition to food production within the framework of resilience theory. We propose a theoretical conceptual model in which the resilience of livelihood strategies lies at the intersection of three spheres: the environmental, economical, and social domains. Transitions occur when the rate of change, in one or more of these domains, is so elevated or its magnitude so large that the livelihood system is unable to bounce back to its original state. In this situation, the system moves to an alternative stable state, from one livelihood strategy to another.

Holocene climate change and past Irish societal response

The extent to which North Atlantic Holocene climatic perturbations influenced past human societies is an area of considerable uncertainty and fierce debate. Ireland is ideally placed to help resolve this issue, being occupied for over 9000 yr and located on the eastern Atlantic seaboard, a region dominated by westerly airflow. Irish bog and lake tree populations provide unambiguous evidence of major shifts in surface moisture through the Holocene similar to cycles recorded in the marine realm of the North Atlantic, indicating significant changes in the latitude and intensity of zonal atmospheric circulation across the region. To test for human response to these cycles we summed the probabilities of 465 radiocarbon ages obtained from Irish archaeological contexts and observe enhanced archaeological visibility during periods of sustained wet conditions. These results suggest either increasing density of human populations in key, often defensive locations, and/or the development of subsistence strategies to overcome changing conditions, the latter recently proposed as a significant factor in avoiding societal collapse. Regardless, we demonstrate environmental change is a significantly more important factor in influencing human activity in the landscape than has hitherto been acknowledged.

Iron Age Pastoral Nomadism and Agriculture in the Eastern Eurasian Steppe: Implications from Dental Palaeopathology and Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes

Iron Age societies of the eastern Eurasian steppe are traditionally viewed as nomadic pastoralists. However, recent archaeological and anthropological research in Kazakhstan has reminded us that pastoralist economies can be highly complex and involve agriculture. This paper explores the nature of the pastoralist economies in two Early Iron Age populations from the burial grounds of Ai-Dai and Aymyrlyg in Southern Siberia. These populations represent two cultural groups of the Scythian World - the Tagar Culture of the Minusinsk Basin and the Uyuk Culture of Tuva. Analysis of dental palaeopathology and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes suggests that domesticated cereals, particularly millet, and fish formed a major component of the diet of both groups. The findings contribute to the emerging picture of the nuances of Early Iron Age subsistence strategies on the eastern steppe.

The View from the Edge: The Proyecto Arqueológico Chihuahua (PAC) 1990 to 2010: An Overview

The work of the Proyecto Arqueológico Chihuahua (PAC) has played an integral role in defining the origins and characteristics of the Chihuahua culture area, also known as the Casas Grandes Regional System. PAC has developed a critical suite of radiocarbon dates for the southern zone, undertaken the first substantial investigations of the Viejo period (ca. A.D. 800textendash1200 or 1250) since the early 1960s, and added to knowledge of the southern Medio period (ca. A.D. 1250textendash1450). The project has also elucidated the chronology, settlement patterns, subsistence strategies, and technology for both periods. Results of our research indicate continuity between the Viejo period, characterized by small pithouse settlements, and the pueblo focused Medio period in the southern zone, with some poorly understood external influences from both western Mesoamerica to the south and the American Southwest to the north shaping events within the area.

Étude archéozoologique des restes fauniques des unités aurignaciennes F, G et H du site de Siuren-I, Crimée (Ukraine)

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Étude des macrorestes végétaux du site Droulers

Ce mémoire porte sur l’étude des macrorestes végétaux provenant du site villageois Droulers occupé durant la 2e moitié du XVe siècle par une communauté iroquoienne du Saint-Laurent. Il vise à vérifier les pratiques de ces habitants en ce qui a trait à la part végétale de leur alimentation à moins d’un siècle avant la fin de la préhistoire. Des vestiges découlant de la pratique de l’agriculture et de la cueillette sont présents sur différents contextes du site. L’analyse de ces derniers permet d’établir l’importance de ces activités dans la vie quotidienne des habitants du site. Ainsi, il est possible de valider l’importance du maïs dans le mode de subsistance de ce groupe par l’ubiquité de cette espèce sur le site. Le maïs est effectivement l’espèce végétale la plus présente dans les différents contextes étudiés. La présence de cette espèce jumelée à celle du haricot en quantité considérable et à celle de la courge démontre la pratique de l’agriculture des Trois Soeurs au site Droulers, une pratique documentée historiquement par les premiers chroniqueurs. Les macrorestes de fruits et de noix sont relativement bien représentés sur le site ce qui suggère la place importante de la cueillette dans la diète des habitants de Droulers. L’étude comparative synchronique et diachronique de ces macrorestes avec ceux recueillis ailleurs en Iroquoisie aide à mieux situer le degré d’importance des activités mentionnées ci-haut au site Droulers par rapport à celui sur d’autres sites plus anciens, contemporains et plus récents du même grand groupe culturel. La majorité des fruits présents sur ce site étaient également cueillis par les groupes proto-iroquoiens Glen Meyer et Princess Point et par d’autres groupes iroquoiens (préhistoriques et historiques). Le degré d’utilisation des fruits sauvages sur le site Droulers est en continuité avec celui des groupes apparentés plus anciens et plus récents. L’utilisation des cultigènes et des noix par les occupants du site Droulers est comparable à celle d’autres groupes iroquoiens.