Environment and Climate (Other Keyword)
401-425 (436 Records)
This is an abstract from the "Living Landscapes: Disaster, Memory, and Change in Dynamic Environments " session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. As one of the oldest colonies in the world, Puerto Rico has developed diverse strategies to transfer knowledge about disasters and to stimulate community ties for social resilience. The impact of disasters and the memory of response are present in intangible heritage. An example of this is the song “Temporal”...
Terminal Pleistocene Climate Change and Shifting Paleoindian Landscapes in North Florida (2018)
Much of the Southeastern United States suffers from poor organic preservation. Direct dating of archaeological components is often impossible, and intact paleoenvironmental sequences are very rare, especially for the terminal Pleistocene. Inundated terrestrial sites in the Aucilla River of northwestern Florida can overcome both of these difficulties, with archaeological materials buried within directly-dateable intact strata containing well-preserved paleobotanical and faunal remains. Strata...
Testing the (Disappearing) Waters: A Preliminary Assessment of the Sedimentary Record of Lake Jackson, Florida (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent coring at the Lake Jackson Aquatic Preserve in Northwest Florida investigated the current sediment and stratigraphic integrity in order to assess the research potential of the area for exploring associated cultural events from the Mississippian Period (AD 1050 - 1500). The lake is a unique karst formation with sinkholes that cause dramatic drydown...
They’re Alright: Late Quaternary Fossil Pocket Gopher DNA Provides Nuanced View of Climate Changes at Hall’s Cave, Texas (2023)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Although considered pests to farmers and golfers alike, gophers – specifically pocket gophers (family Geomyidae) – can be excellent proxies for assessing climate change in archaeological contexts owing to their penchant for living in specific soil conditions. At the Hall’s Cave site in Kerr County, Texas, geomyids are found in most of the radiocarbon-dated...
Those Flowering Waters: Reconstructing 1,200 Years of Human Adaptation to Hydroclimatic Changes in Central Nicaragua (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Underwater and Coastal Archaeology in Latin America" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Central Nicaragua is highly susceptible to hydroclimatic variations, which are affecting the subsistence economies of local populations. To what extent hydroclimatic changes impact prehispanic adaptation strategies in the Mayales River Valley (MRV)? This presentation will show the final result of the Interdisciplinary Archaeological...
A Thousand Years of Wetland Management at Hacienda Zuleta in the Ecuadorian Andes (2023)
This is an abstract from the "2023 Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Timothy Beach Part II" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Nestled within a deeply incised valley in the eastern cordillera of the Andes, the archaeological site of Zuleta is an immensely humanized hydrologic landscape. A complex network of perennially and seasonally wet streams and canals crisscross the pastures along the valley floor carrying water from the paramo to the...
Tlaloques, Tiemperos, and Trees: Cultural Models of Nature in Central Mexico (2018)
Abundant water-related art and architecture produced by Teotihuacanos and Mexica-Aztecs in the central Mexican highlands coupled with the rhetoric of today’s farmers from the same region regarding the catastrophic impacts of changes in local seasonal rainfall patterns make it clear that access to rainwater has always been a crucial factor for agricultural success in the semi-arid highlands of central Mexico, especially in communities that lack a reliable water source for irrigation. We collect a...
Tracking Paleoaridity through Multi-isotope Analyses of Ostrich Eggshells at Spitzkloof Rockshelter A, South Africa (2021)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Stable isotopes in ratite eggshells record information about the birds’ diet during shell formation, making them valuable proxies for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Here we present the results of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen stable isotope analyses in ostrich (Struthio camelus australis) eggshell (OES) collected in excavation at Spitzkloof A, a rock...
Transdisciplinary Analysis of Marine Mammal Use in the Norse North Atlantic and Subarctic (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Celebrating Anna Kerttula's Contributions to Northern Research" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This ongoing project, funded in 2015 by Anna Kerttula and the Arctic Social Sciences Program, uses historical, literary, aDNA, ZooMS, and archaeological data to identify patterns in marine mammal exploitation across the North Atlantic and Subarctic from ca. 800 -1800 CE. With over 230 samples of archaeological whale bone...
Tree Island Life: Late Archaic Adaptations of a Northern Everglades Community (2018)
The Wedgworth Midden (8PB16175), a Late Archaic tree island site near Belle Glade, Florida, produced large quantities of faunal remains during excavations undertaken by Florida Gulf Coast University in May of 2016. Analysis of these remains allows insight into patterns of resource acquisition and reveals ways in which people adapted to the local environment. Comparison of proportions of taxa from different occupational periods allows us to trace changes in resource use and sheds light on...
Trends, Traditions, Interregnums, and Continuities: An Examination of the Cultures of the Early Holocene of the Far Northeast (2018)
This paper will examine several early Holocene archaeological complexes producing Late Paleoindian St. Anne/Varney bifaces, quartz unifaces (Early Maritime Archaic), and bifurcate-based Early Archaic bifaces across the Far Northeast. Recent examinations by the authors have raised questions about the timing and spatial extent of some of these complexes and what the patterns or lack thereof suggest about the cultural and technological origins of the Native Americans producing them, their lifeways,...
The Trouble with the Curve: Reassessing the Gulf of Mexico Sea-Level Rise Model (2018)
During last glacial episode, a massive amount of water was locked within ice sheets, resulting in a reduction in global sea-levels by 134 meters. The reintroduction of freshwater into the oceans radically changed global sea-levels and littoral landscapes. Over the last 20,000 years, approximately 15-20 million km2 of landscape has been submerged worldwide. Sea-level rise explains the rarity of glacial period coastal archaeological sites. Understanding Florida’s Paleoindians’ interactions with...
Understanding Climatic Condition, Ecosystems, Subsistence Strategies and Human Adaptation thru Micro-Botanical Analysis in Late-Holocene, Northern Mesopotamia (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The semi-arid region of Northern Mesopotamia has consistently encountered significant climatic variations. Therefore, human societies in the region developed innovations in environmental management and agricultural strategies, given the crucial role of agriculture in economy, trade, and politics all throughout history and in our modern world. Among all the...
An Urban Micromorphological Perspective on Neopalatial Environmental Changes at Bronze Age Palaikastro, Crete (2018)
Transitional phases between settlement periods on Bronze Age Crete are often associated with ‘natural’ destructive events. However, it is unclear whether these ‘natural’ destructive events and subsequent shifts in material practices were influenced by anthropogenic or environmental processes. For example, the end of the Neopalatial period on Crete occurred in the LM IB period; some researchers view LM IB destructive fires as indicative of human action during a phase of social and political...
Urban Organization and Agricultural Practices at Las Huacas, Chincha Valley (AD 1100-1570) (2024)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. In modern times the Chincha Valley is one of the most productive agricultural valleys of Peru, and its offshore islands were rich in guano — bird excrement that is a potent fertilizer — that was exploited by foreigners from the Colonial into the Republican Periods (AD 1523-1879). While the importance of the valley’s agriculture and resources is well known...
Urban-palaeoecology of Cambodia's 'Middle Period' (2018)
The transition from the sprawling Angkor kingdom with its vast, low-density urban forms, to a constellation of smaller cities on the Mekong River was accompanied by profound changes to urban ecology and to landscapes – both in the failing low-density cities, and in the burgeoning trade-based centres that replaced them. Here, we present a paleo record of urban ecology that responds, in part, to changing population dynamics across Cambodia during the 15th to 19th centuries C.E. Implications for...
Using Avifaunal Trends to Evaluate Environmental Shifts on the Eurasian Forest-Steppe with the Expansion of Agropastoralism (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Expansion of agricultural communities during the Eneolithic in Europe likely had an impact on the environment due to a need for land, wood for building houses, and agricultural practices (e.g., slash-and-burn). We focus on the Trypillians (an Eneolithic, forest-steppe group) from Southeastern Europe, and how their agropastoral lifestyles impacted their...
Using Fish Remains from Paisley Caves, Oregon to Explore Hunter-Gatherer Lifeways and Lake Level History in the Chewaucan Basin over the Past 14,000+ Calendar Years (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Paisley Caves holds some of the earliest evidence for human occupation in North America. The site’s fish remains have received only limited attention before now. Our pilot study sought to assess the potential for using a sample of the fish remains to help reconstruct lake level history, better understand regional paleoenvironments, and gain insights on forager...
Using Landscape to Unbuild Binaries: Human-Environment Relationships at Aventura, Belize (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Dividing the landscape into the categories of natural and cultural clouds an understanding of the relationship between humans and their ecological environment. Humans are not separate from or above the landscape they inhabit, and landscape archaeology is well-situated to address arbitrary binaries that reinforce problematic notions about human-environment...
Using Paleoenvironmental Data to Learn about Past Inuit Societies: A Case Study from the Rising Whale (KTZ304) Site at Cape Espenberg, Northwest Alaska (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Current Research and Challenges in Arctic and Subarctic Cultural Heritage Studies" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. To precisely contextualize and date climate variations and practices related to living spaces at the onset of the Little Ice Age, archaeoenvironmental analyses were conducted within a winter dwelling (Feature 21) at the Rising Whale site, Cape Espenberg. Two high-resolution datasets were employed: tree...
Using the City Simulator Tool to Aid in Preservation during Resiliency Planning (2018)
The SAA has held sessions on how climate change is affecting cultural resources for several years now. We began with characterizing the impacts and concerns on how to preserve or mitigate. We have discussed ongoing studies, and strategies to engage the public and local government in conservation and recordation initiatives. This year, Atkins will be presenting a newly developed tool to help planning organizations visualize physical impacts to built environment, traditional cultural properties,...
Vertebrate Response to Little Ice Age Climate Change in the Ohio River Valley (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This paper examines vertebrate species from Fort Ancient archaeological sites in the Ohio River Valley, which date to the Little Ice Age. They are compared to vertebrate species from archaeological sites, which predate the Little Ice Age and from modern contexts. The results of this comparison suggest that vertebrate species exhibited individual responses to...
Vicksburg before the Siege: Paleoenvironment, Population Expansion, and a Delayed Woodland to Mississippian Transition in the Lower Mississippi Valley (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Vicksburg Is the Key: Recent Archaeological Investigations and New Perspectives from the Gibraltar of the South" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Based on recent archaeological work at Vicksburg National Military Park, the Late Woodland to Mississippian transition in the Lower Mississippi Valley extended beyond the traditionally defined end of the Woodland period, with evidence suggesting the Coles Creek-Kings Crossing...
Water and Hydraulic Technology in the Eastern Andean Mountains: The Amarete Valley (2024)
This is an abstract from the "Water Management in the Andes: Past, Present, and Future" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Puna Apolobamba pastures played a critical role in farming, pastoralism, and agropastoralism in the Kallawaya territory. Located to the east of the Titicaca basin, the area was dotted by sunken fields, bofedales, and water qocha reservoirs supplemented with canals. In this presentation, I discuss the nature and distribution of...
The Water and the Land: How the Private Sector and Government Work Together to Plan for Climate Change Impacts to Cultural Resources (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Beyond Triage: Prioritizing Responses to Climate Change Impacts on Archaeological Resources" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Government, inclusive of the local, state, and national levels, is the largest aggregate landholder in the United States and has under its direct jurisdiction the largest array of cultural resources in the country, not to mention the cultural resources under jurisdictional oversight. As such,...