Transformative Trees: The Social and Ecological Impact of Woody Taxa in Prehistoric Southern Arabia

Summary

While trees are often integral to the ecology of certain landscapes, the propagation of specific woody taxa can also reflect significant social aspects imbued on anthropogenic spaces. Following the seminal work of Rita Wright, we are utilizing a comparative approach in this paper. We examined woody vegetation management by early food producing societies in two regions of southern Arabia: southeastern Arabia (modern-day northern Oman) and southwestern Arabia (modern-day southeast Yemen). Despite their nearby geographic position, the trajectory of food production is distinct in these two regions. Nonetheless, both agrarian landscapes are impacted and developed by certain woody taxa. Using a niche construction framework, the concept of a "keystone species" is reinvisioned by utilizing archaeological, anthracological, and ethnographic datasets. These proxies enable us to investigate the social and ecological impact of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in southeastern Arabia and the fig tree (Ficus spp L.) in southwestern Arabia. This paper explores the modern social value of each tree type, the role of these woods in the agrarian history of each respective region, and how the southern Arabian landscape has been shaped and modified by association to these trees.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21221