Foragers in Middle Atlantic Prehistory
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)
The Middle Atlantic has one of the most fertile and complicated archaeological records of human foraging societies in the United States and is arguably in a position to contribute more globally to studies of foraging culture. Yet archaeologists in the region tend to reference external forager models that do not fit the circumstances of a region so ecologically and culturally diverse. This may be due to a dearth of what has historically been recognized as prerequisite: a strong ethnographic record, well-preserved features and perishables, as well as the complex ecological zonation of the Middle Atlantic region. Nonetheless, there is a sustained history of research into foraging lifeways throughout the region that ranges from detailed synchronic site analysis to broad-scale environmental reconstructions and settlement pattern and landscape studies. This session proposes a regionally-informed frame of reference for studying foragers in prehistory. It emphasizes the unique, problem-focused approach of Middle Atlantic archaeologists to the study of foragers and highlights the wide range of evidence and approaches that regional archaeologists draw upon to address their questions.
Other Keywords
Hunter-Gatherers •
Mobility •
Foraging •
Foragers •
Territoriality •
Feasting •
Settlement archaeology •
egalitarianism •
Middle Atlantic
Geographic Keywords
North America - Mid-Atlantic
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-3 of 3)
- Documents (3)
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Settlement Archaeology and the Role of Persistent Places among Forager Societies in Eastern New York (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The settlement system used by the prehistoric populations of Eastern New York is one in which forager societies often reoccupied the same landscape creating persistent places. Evidence of this can be seen in a variety of single and multi-component occupations that span the Late Archaic and Transitional (4,000-1,500 B.C.) and Early Woodland Periods (1,000 B.C.-A.D. 200). Artifact assemblages found at these sites suggest that the site’s occupants used a diverse array of tools manufactured from...
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Topography and Territoriality in the Virginia Uplands (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The western slopes of the Virginia Blue Ridge contain limited evidence of prehistoric activity, in stark contrast to the eastern slopes where prolific sites model seasonal upland mobility patterns for the southern Middle Atlantic. Fewer than 80 prehistoric sites, the majority identified as small lithic scatters bereft of diagnostics, are documented for the 105 miles of the western slopes of Shenandoah National Park; five times that number are documented for the eastern slopes. Attributed by some...
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Trans-egalitarian Society in the Transitional Archaic (2016)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Transitional Period settlement ecology and material culture in eastern Pennsylvania indicates the emergence of a cultural complex expressive of trans-egalitarian society. This includes centralized riverine settlements characterized by large thermally altered features, concentrations of soapstone vessels, and proximity to seasonally predictable food resources, such as migratory fish and drought tolerant herbaceous plants, that could be intensively managed or cultivated. This presentation...