Early Human-Environment Dynamics on the Southwest Coast of Madagascar

Summary

This paper discusses early occupations of the southwest coast of Madagascar and the impact that human subsistence practices may have had on the highly endemic spiny forest biome. A major transformation of Madagascar’s environment post-human arrival is the extinction of a suite of mega fauna species. Ongoing work on the spread of domesticates throughout the western Indian Ocean will certainly improve our understanding of Madagascar’s settlement history, but little is known to-date about the earliest arrival of invasive species on the island and the role invasives may have played in contributing to mega fauna declines. Though not as early as forager occupations recently uncovered on the north coast of Madagascar, the sites discussed in this paper also appear to be seasonal forager camps with low artifact densities. Thus far, excavations have yielded little, if any, evidence for the presence of invasive plants and animals. Instead these sites reveal a heavy reliance on endemic wild taxa. Evidence for the exploitation of the now-extinct ratites of Madagascar indicates that foraging for ratite eggs may have contributed to population declines, but the introduction of domesticates like chicken and cattle to the area appears to be a recent phenomenon.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Islands and Invasives: The Archaeology of Plant and Animal Translocations   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage