Subsistence and Foodways (Other Keyword)
176-200 (486 Records)
This is an abstract from the "Farm to Table Archaeology: The Operational Chain of Food Production" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent excavations at the early Late Woodland (A.D. 1,000-1,300) Western Basin Tradition Arkona sites have called into question our conceptualization of Algonquian food production, landscape construction, and mobility in southwestern-most Ontario. Isotopic analyses have also revealed a vast underestimation of the amount...
Foodways and Technological Transformation in the Upper Great Lakes: A Multidimensional Analysis of Woodland Pottery from the Cloudman Site (20CH6) (2018)
A novel combination of analytic methods is used to address the decades-long debate about diachronic subsistence pattern change during the Woodland period (AD 1 – 1600) in the Upper Great Lakes of North America. While some have argued for dietary continuity throughout the regional Woodland, others maintain that certain specific resources—including fish, wild starchy plants, and/or maize—were more intensively exploited over time. The Cloudman site (20CH6), located on an island off Michigan’s...
For Fiber or Fiber: Paleoarchaic Desert Plant Baking as Calories or Raw Material? (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Hearths, Earth Ovens, and the Carbohydrate Revolution: Indigenous Subsistence Strategies and Cooking during the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene in North America" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The West Texas–Big Bend region preserves some of the earliest examples of hot rock cooking in North America. These smaller early thermal features are thought to be the remnants of early plant baking subsistence events....
Forest and Farm, River and Sea: Food and Diet at Three 17th-Century Sites in Connecticut (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Recent research in Connecticut has focused on the 17th century and archaeological investigations at several significant sites are ongoing. Extensive work at three sites, an early 17th-century (ca.1615-1640) coastal Native American trading fort in Norwalk, a first period (ca. 1630-1640s) domestic site in Wethersfield, and a mid-late 17th -century (ca....
Fort Ancient Wild Turkey (*Meleagris gallopavo) Harvesting Strategies (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Birds in Archaeology: New Approaches to Understanding the Diverse Roles of Birds in the Past" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Wild turkeys (*Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) were an important component in the diet of the middle Ohio Valley’s Fort Ancient farming cultures from AD 1000 to 1750. Wild turkeys often accounted for about 4% of the meat consumed by village residents. Our research into Fort Ancient wild turkey...
The Fremont Canyonlands: Granary Architecture in Northwestern Colorado (2018)
With the introduction of horticultural practices in northwestern Colorado during the Formative era, the ruins of prehistoric masonry granaries represent a storage strategy utilized by the Fremont people to store equipment and maize near their communities. In northwestern Colorado, storage features such as granaries are primarily found in three geographic locations: Dinosaur National Monument, Skull Creek Basin, and the Canyon Pintado Historic District, all of which are located within a...
Fremont Fishing: New Data from Recent Excavations in Utah Valley (2018)
The Utah Valley, with easy access to montane, lacustrine, and riverine resources, is the location of some of the largest known Fremont habitation sites. Two of these sites have recently been excavated resulting in a wealth of new data. While many aspects of Fremont diet have been explored in depth, the role of fishing is often understudied due to poor preservation of fish remains and fishing tools. In this poster we report the analysis of the fish bones and the recovery and analysis of bone and...
Fremont Paleocuisine: Reconstructing Recipes from Rectal Remnants (2018)
The role of maize agriculture among the Fremont has been debated for decades. Archaeologists have organized dietary evidence from these widely dispersed communities, including faunal and floral debris, dental calculus studies,and experimental farming and foraging, to examine farming in the high desert. The Fremont farming/foraging frontier provides a framework to explore agriculture along the margins and the importance of diversified subsistence strategies across a network of rural communities....
From Agamemnon to the Animals: Zooarchaeological Research on Human-Animal Boundaries at Mycenae, Greece (2023)
This is an abstract from the "If Animals Could Speak: Negotiating Relational Dynamics between Humans and Animals" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. At the Late Bronze Age site Mycenae in Greece, animals have long been understood mainly in terms of records preserved on clay tablets and sealings, artistic depictions, and later references in Homeric epic echoed by Schliemann. The archaeological remains of animals record a more detailed record of complex...
From Frog to Bat: The Extraordinary Bestiary of the Pre-Columbians from the Caribbean (2019)
This is an abstract from the "The Intangible Dimensions of Food in the Caribbean Ancient and Recent Past" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Zooarchaeological studies bring information on the history of the vertebrate faunas during the last 30000 years and especially on their relationships with human activities since 5000 years in the Lesser Antilles. In such an oceanic island environment, the Pre-Columbians have mainly exploited animals from the...
From Frontier to Farm Town: Subsistence and Diet in Old Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1636-1750 (2018)
Recent excavations at the Webb-Deane-Stevens (WDS) museum in Wethersfield, CT, resulted in the discovery of deeply-buried portions of the 17th- and early 18th-century landscapes. The stratified deposits contain a rich assemblage of domestic artifacts, personal items, architectural materials, food remains, and cultural features. The preservation of these deposits is excellent and the faunal assemblages include large and medium mammal bones, as well as small mammals, birds, fish, and eggshell....
From General to Specific: Targeting Freshwater Resources in Pottery Residues Using Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis (2018)
Direct detection of resources processed in pottery by means of the chemical analysis of absorbed pottery residues is a valuable technique, but identifying specific resources in pottery residues is tricky and problematic. This is due to issues with resource mixing from multiple uses of pottery, as well as the relative rarity of biomarkers unique to specific resources. Advances in compound-specific isotope analysis permit identification of isotopically distinct resources in residues, such as C4...
From Present-Day Fields to Ancient Samples…and Back Again: Strategies for Establishing Principles of Interpretation in Plant Stable Isotope Work (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Challenges and Future Directions in Plant Stable Isotope Analysis in Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Plant stable isotope analysis presents a series of ‘middle range’ challenges for archaeologists, but also unique opportunities for reconstructing ancient agroecologies. Here we focus on the potential and limitations of modern crop studies for informing interpretation of archaeobotanical cereal and pulse...
From the First to the Last Amazonian Dark Earths: The Longue-Durée of Landscape Management at the Teotônio Site, Upper Madeira River, SW Amazonia (2018)
The Teotônio site, situated on the right bank of the Madeira river near Porto Velho, Rondônia, is a key location for understanding the deep history of human-environment interactions and landscape management in southwest Amazonia. Its archaeological record stretches back to the early-mid Holocene and includes vestiges of 6,000-year old Amazonian Dark Earths (ADE) belonging to the Massangana Phase, hypothesised as marking the beginning of widespread landscape transformations in the Upper Madeira...
From the Sea to the Smoker: A History of Sea Turtle Exploitation on St. George's Caye, Belize (2018)
Historic literature frequently mentions the exploitation of sea turtles throughout the Caribbean by indigenous populations and early settlers alike. Large and abundant, these animals provided a readily accessible protein source for European and African populations as they traveled. A review of documents held by the Belize Archives and Records Service reveals that sea turtle capture and sale was once a large contributor to Belize’s coastal economy. Commonly called "turtlers", 25% of the...
Fuel Use and Management at the Specialized Fishing Site of Bayovar-01 in Northern Coastal Peru (5th–8th Centuries AD), Contributions of Charcoal Analysis (2018)
The Sechura desert located on the extreme northern coast of Peru is one of the most arid places on the planet. Nonetheless, human settlements have been recorded from 5000 BC up to the 15th century. Recent archaeological excavations have been carried out at the site of Bayovar-01 (occupied from the 5th to 8th centuries AD). The new data provide insight into the activities and adaptations of the desert’s ancient inhabitants. The presence of two small structures, a large activity area containing a...
Fueling Earth Oven Useage: Differential Trends in the Southern and Central Plains (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Hearths, Earth Ovens, and the Carbohydrate Revolution: Indigenous Subsistence Strategies and Cooking during the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene in North America" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The work of Alston Thoms and colleagues has highlighted the importance of earth oven cooking technologies throughout the world, and especially within North America. One advantage of earth oven (heated rock) cooking is...
A Functional Study of 'jiandiping' (Pointed base) Amphorae (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Technology and Design in 4th and 3rd Millennium BCE China" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. There have been many debates on the function of jiandiping (or pointed base) amphorae of the Yangshao Culture in the Wei River valley. Although analyses of plant residue suggested that the amphorae might have been used as wine vessels, their function and the usage are still in doubt. Based on the observations of typological...
Geoarchaeology of the Basketmaker Communities Project: Informing Past and Present Agricultural Sustainability (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Adopting the Pueblo Fettle: The Breadth and Depth of the Basketmaker III Cultural Horizon" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Sustainable land-use is critical to the past, present, and future of human occupation of the desert Southwest. Our work on the Basketmaker Communities Project (BCP) and Pueblo Farming Project (PFP) demonstrates that pedogenic mineral accumulation and water stress are likely the limiting factors for...
Geophyte Exploitation in Northern Great Basin: Starch Granule Analysis of Bedrock Metates in Warner Valley, Oregon (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Hearths, Earth Ovens, and the Carbohydrate Revolution: Indigenous Subsistence Strategies and Cooking during the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene in North America" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Geophytes store starch in underground organs considered highly valued food resources across many human societies. For example, Indigenous people in the northern Great Basin plan social activities around the seasonal...
A Global Taste: Rethinking Foodways in Colonial New Mexico (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Chicanx Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. "I was a global creature before globalization became a buzzword; I am a Heinz 57, a mestizo with my taste buds on several continents" (Arellano 2014: 10). Previous research on colonial-era foodways in New Mexico has often focused on the arrival and use of Old World foods as a way to maintain a distinct Spanish identity. Yet, many of the earliest colonists, despite...
Grasping the Green Giant: The Epistemology of Ancient Maya Agriculture (2023)
This is an abstract from the "Provisioning Ancient Maya Cities: Modeling Food Production and Land Use in Tropical Urban Environments" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Agricultural production is a fundamental aspect of most societies, and research into agriculture has focused on invention, innovation, involution, intensification, and disintensification in varying forms worldwide. Generations of scholarship have accumulated knowledge and theorized...
Ground-truthing Historic European Accounts of Great Plains Indian Dog Husbandry with Stable Isotopes (2019)
This is an abstract from the "Zooarchaeology and Technology: Case Studies and Applications" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Historic journals and early ethnographic accounts have the potential to inform on Native American cultural norms, including interaction with commensals, such as dogs. However, these accounts are imperfect due to biases couched in ethnocentrism and personal interests. This research seeks to test historic accounts related to dog...
Hands-On Archaeological Pedagogy: A Case Example of Teaching Food Pathways in Ancient and Modern Times (2021)
This is an abstract from the "Broader Impacts and Teaching: Engaging with Diverse Audiences" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Active participation and hands-on analysis and activities in college-level classes can draw students with diverse interests into classes of archaeology. To move away from straight lecturing about archaeological principles, the authors developed a class on paleoethnobotany and zooarchaeology that actively involves students...
Heating Stones: An Experimental and Ethnographic Analysis of Fire Cracked Rock at Two Monongahela Sites in Southwestern PA (2019)
This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The use of heated stones in both cookery and social rituals is an important technology in the repertoire of human food and lifeways. Archaeological assemblages often contain high percentages of these heated stones, or fire cracked rock (FCR). Yet despite its relative frequency in archaeological collections, the full diagnostic potential of FCR for determining...