Subsistence System, Paleoecology, and 14C Chronology at Kanmer, a Harappan Site in Gujarat, India

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (01) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj Goyal ◽  
Anil K Pokharia ◽  
Jeewan Singh Kharakwal ◽  
Pramod Joglekar ◽  
Y S Rawat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Peripheral Zone ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Indus Civilization ◽  
Subsistence Economy ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Wild Plant Gathering ◽  
Cultural Relics

This article presents the results of 4 excavation seasons in which botanical and animal remains were collected at the Harappan site of Kanmer in the Kachchh District of Gujarat, India. The findings revealed a subsistence economy consisting of food production with domesticated plants and animals, hunting, fishing, and wild plant gathering. Cultural relics and radiocarbon dating support our identification of different cultural periods at the site. This study provides new insights into the subsistence strategies during different phases of occupation and offers the potential for new subsistence models to be applied at nearby sites, particularly in this peripheral zone of the Indus civilization.

Subsistence System, Paleoecology, and 14C Chronology at Kanmer, a Harappan Site in Gujarat, India

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pankaj Goyal ◽  
Anil K Pokharia ◽  
Jeewan Singh Kharakwal ◽  
Pramod Joglekar ◽  
Y S Rawat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Peripheral Zone ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Indus Civilization ◽  
Subsistence Economy ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Wild Plant Gathering ◽  
Cultural Relics

This article presents the results of 4 excavation seasons in which botanical and animal remains were collected at the Harappan site of Kanmer in the Kachchh District of Gujarat, India. The findings revealed a subsistence economy consisting of food production with domesticated plants and animals, hunting, fishing, and wild plant gathering. Cultural relics and radiocarbon dating support our identification of different cultural periods at the site. This study provides new insights into the subsistence strategies during different phases of occupation and offers the potential for new subsistence models to be applied at nearby sites, particularly in this peripheral zone of the Indus civilization.

On the subsistence practices of the Shi’erqiao Culture: focused on zooarchaeology

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunyu He
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Chengdu Plain ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Minimum Number ◽  
Minimum Number Of Individuals ◽  
Archaeological Cultures ◽  
Number Of Individuals

AbstractThrough the analyses of the number of identified specimens (NISP), minimum number of individuals (MNI) and estimation of meat available from the animal remains unearthed from representative sites of the Chengdu Plain Type and Eastern Chongqing Type of the Shi’erqiao Culture, this paper discusses the subsistence strategy of this culture. The results show that the meat resources of the Chengdu Plain Type were mainly domesticated animals, while those of the Eastern Chongqing Type were mainly hunted animals. This paper draws the conclusion that in the early stage of human civilization, the subsistence strategies of different types of the same archaeological culture might be different, while those of different archaeological cultures might be similar; the factors influencing the subsistence strategies are mainly the natural environment, regional economic traditions, and population pressures.

scholarly journals Foraging and farming as niche construction: stable and unstable adaptations

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1566) ◽  
pp. 849-862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Rowley-Conwy ◽  
Robert Layton
Keyword(s):  
Food Production ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Niche Construction ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
History Of ◽  
Abrupt Climatic Change

All forager (or hunter–gatherer) societies construct niches, many of them actively by the concentration of wild plants into useful stands, small-scale cultivation, burning of natural vegetation to encourage useful species, and various forms of hunting, collectively termed ‘low-level food production’. Many such niches are stable and can continue indefinitely, because forager populations are usually stable. Some are unstable, but these usually transform into other foraging niches, not geographically expansive farming niches. The Epipalaeolithic (final hunter–gatherer) niche in the Near East was complex but stable, with a relatively high population density, until destabilized by an abrupt climatic change. The niche was unintentionally transformed into an agricultural one, due to chance genetic and behavioural attributes of some wild plant and animal species. The agricultural niche could be exported with modifications over much of the Old World. This was driven by massive population increase and had huge impacts on local people, animals and plants wherever the farming niche was carried. Farming niches in some areas may temporarily come close to stability, but the history of the last 11 000 years does not suggest that agriculture is an effective strategy for achieving demographic and political stability in the world's farming populations.

scholarly journals 14C Marine Reservoir Variability in Herbivores and Deposit-Feeding Gastropods from an Open Coastline, Papua New Guinea

Radiocarbon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 967-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Petchey ◽  
Sean Ulm ◽  
Bruno David ◽  
Ian J McNiven ◽  
Brit Asmussen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Subsistence Economy ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Protocol Selection ◽  
Deposit Feeding ◽  
Selection Of

Herbivorous and deposit-feeding gastropods are a major component of archaeological shell middens worldwide. They provide a wealth of information about subsistence, economy, environment, and climate, but are generally considered to be less than ideal for radiocarbon dating because they can ingest sediment while they graze, inadvertently consuming terrestrial carbon in the process. However, few studies of 14C activity in herbivores or deposit-feeding gastropods have been conducted into this diverse range of animals that inhabit many environmental niches. Here, we present results investigating 14C variability in shells belonging to the families Strombidae and Potamididae from the Bogi 1 archaeological site, Caution Bay, southern coastal Papua New Guinea (PNG). These shells make up 39.3% of the shell MNI in the excavation units studied and some of these species are the most common taxa of neighboring sites. It would therefore be advantageous to establish if there are any 14C offsets associated with such animals, and identify those that can give reliable calendar ages. Our methodology combines a high-resolution excavation protocol, selection of short-lived samples identified to species level, and a triisotope approach using 14C, δ13C, and δ18O to evaluate the source of variability in shells. Our results indicate that considerable variation exists between different species of Strombidae with some inhabiting muddier environments that act as sinks for limestone-derived sediments with depleted 14C content. The magnitude of variation is, however, overshadowed by that measured in the mudwhelk, Cerithidea largillierti, which has the largest spread in 14C of any shellfish studied so far at Caution Bay. This animal ingests sediment within the estuary that contains 14C derived from both enriched and depleted sources.

scholarly journals Isotopic and microbotanical insights into Iron Age agricultural reliance in the Central African rainforest

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine Bleasdale ◽  
Hans-Peter Wotzka ◽  
Barbara Eichhorn ◽  
Julio Mercader ◽  
Amy Styring ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Central Africa ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Dental Calculus ◽  
Subsistence Strategies ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Environmental Requirements

Abstract The emergence of agriculture in Central Africa has previously been associated with the migration of Bantu-speaking populations during an anthropogenic or climate-driven ‘opening’ of the rainforest. However, such models are based on assumptions of environmental requirements of key crops (e.g. Pennisetum glaucum) and direct insights into human dietary reliance remain absent. Here, we utilise stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N, δ18O) of human and animal remains and charred food remains, as well as plant microparticles from dental calculus, to assess the importance of incoming crops in the Congo Basin. Our data, spanning the early Iron Age to recent history, reveals variation in the adoption of cereals, with a persistent focus on forest and freshwater resources in some areas. These data provide new dietary evidence and document the longevity of mosaic subsistence strategies in the region.

scholarly journals Conceptualising the Factors that Influence the Commercialisation of Non-Timber Forest Products: The Case of Wild Plant Gathering by Organic Herb Farmers in South Tyrol (Italy)

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Schunko ◽  
Sarah Lechthaler ◽  
Christian Vogl
Keyword(s):  
Rural Development ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Plant ◽  
South Tyrol ◽  
Organic Certification ◽  
Non Timber Forest Products ◽  
Wild Plant Gathering ◽  
Support Mechanisms

The gathering and commercialisation of non-timber forest products (NTFP) in Europe has repeatedly been praised for its potential to support rural development. However, political support mechanisms explicitly targeting NTFP remain underdeveloped. In this study, we aimed to contribute to the design of support mechanisms by understanding the factors that influence the commercialisation of wild plants by organic farmers. We first developed a conceptual framework based on fifteen factors and then applied the framework to a case study in South Tyrol (Alto Adige), Italy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all fourteen members of the Vereinigung Südtiroler Kräuteranbauer (Associazione Coltivatori Sudtirolesi Piante Officinali), who commercialised wild plant species, and the data were then analysed using qualitative content analysis. Agricultural intensification, pesticide drift, limited access to gathering sites suitable for organic certification, legal restrictions, lack of consumer awareness about the additional value of organic wild plant certification, and limited product diversity were perceived as limiting factors; management techniques in organic farming, organic certification, a trend for wild, regional and healthy foods, the availability of training, and favourable cultural values and attitudes towards wild plant gathering were perceived as supportive. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of the many diverse factors that may influence wild plant commercialisation in Europe and beyond and provides guidance on how political support mechanisms could unlock the much heralded potential of wild plant commercialisation for rural development.

Crop husbandry activities and wild plant gathering, use and consumption at the EPPNB Tell Qarassa North (south Syria)

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Arranz-Otaegui ◽  
Sue Colledge ◽  
Juan José Ibañez ◽  
Lydia Zapata
Keyword(s):  
Wild Plant ◽  
Crop Husbandry ◽  
Wild Plant Gathering

scholarly journals What did grinding stones grind? New light on Early Neolithic subsistence economy in the Middle Yellow River Valley, China

Antiquity ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (325) ◽  
pp. 816-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Liu ◽  
Judith Field ◽  
Richard Fullagar ◽  
Sheahan Bestel ◽  
Xingcan Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Early Neolithic ◽  
Subsistence Economy ◽  
Yellow River Valley ◽  
Use Wear ◽  
Grinding Stones

Grinding stones have provided a convenient proxy for the arrival of agriculture in Neolithic China. Not any more. Thanks to high-precision analyses of use-wear and starch residue, the authors show that early Neolithic people were mainly using these stones to process acorns. This defines a new stage in the long transition of food production from hunter-gatherer to farmer.

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