Patterns of Ecological Succession and the Archaeology of Living Trees

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Entangled Legacies: Human, Forest, and Tree Dynamics" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Human activities have a strong influence on the species makeup of wooded landscapes. This means that the species present in a wooded area can be a useful line of evidence for understanding past land use. However, patterns of ecological succession are complex and influence by many factors, including the types of plants and animals present, growing conditions, and ongoing human activities. This paper explores how wooded landscapes can be understood in terms of past successional patterns, visible to us through the living plants on the landscape. Most wooded areas can be productively understood as a co-creation of humans, other living things, and ecological conditions, and understanding these patterns can provide new insights about archaeological landscapes. A case study will be presented from Mecklenburg County, Virginia, USA.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Entangled Legacies: Human, Forest, and Tree Dynamics   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38037.0