Human-environment dynamics (Other Keyword)
1-4 (4 Records)
Compared to archaeological research in other parts of the globe, the analysis of wood charcoal assemblages, or anthracology, remains an underutilized methodology for investigating aspects of the human past in Cambodia. This paper argues for the importance of anthracology as a viable scientific methodology by foregrounding its interpretive potential in addressing a diverse suite of micro- and macro-scale questions pertaining to human-environment dynamics and cultural practices over the longue...
Complexes, Colonizations, and Climates: Paleoenvironmental Perspectives on Human Biogeography (2016)
From the Desert West of the US to Asia’s Tibetan Plateau, David B. Madsen’s work focuses on better understanding the perennial anthropological and ecological problems of migration and human biogeography through robust paleoenvironmental and archaeological collaborations. An essential aspect of this body of work is challenging assumptions of homogeneity in cultural and ecological associations in order to consider how they co-evolved through space and time. Current research from the Great Basin...
Radiocarbon dating uncertainty constrains our ability to identify cyclical human-environment dynamics (2017)
Archaeologists have long been interested in cyclical human-environment dynamics. This interest is indicated by the dozens of published studies that refer to "adaptive cycles" and by the fact that one of the highest cited papers in the history of archaeology focuses on the impact of cyclical drought on the Classic Maya. Unfortunately, recent work suggests that identifying cycles in archaeological and palaeoclimatological time series data can be challenging when the observations are dated with...
The Terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene transition and settlement discontinuities in the arid Central Andes (2015)
The Central Andean region poses numerous environmental challenges, including hyper-aridity, rugged topography, strong seasonality, uneven spatial distribution of biotic resources, and high altitude, yet this area was colonized successfully in the Terminal Pleistocene. However, the archaeological record shows considerable discontinuity through the Terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene transition, with site occupation hiatuses or abandonments often interpreted as having stemmed from unfavorable...