scholarly journals Humans, water, and the colonization of Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (41) ◽  
pp. 11477-11482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael I. Bird ◽  
Damien O’Grady ◽  
Sean Ulm

The Pleistocene global dispersal of modern humans required the transit of arid and semiarid regions where the distribution of potable water provided a primary constraint on dispersal pathways. Here, we provide a spatially explicit continental-scale assessment of the opportunities for Pleistocene human occupation of Australia, the driest inhabited continent on Earth. We establish the location and connectedness of persistent water in the landscape using the Australian Water Observations from Space dataset combined with the distribution of small permanent water bodies (springs, gnammas, native wells, waterholes, and rockholes). Results demonstrate a high degree of directed landscape connectivity during wet periods and a high density of permanent water points widely but unevenly distributed across the continental interior. A connected network representing the least-cost distance between water bodies and graded according to terrain cost shows that 84% of archaeological sites >30,000 y old are within 20 km of modern permanent water. We further show that multiple, well-watered routes into the semiarid and arid continental interior were available throughout the period of early human occupation. Depletion of high-ranked resources over time in these paleohydrological corridors potentially drove a wave of dispersal farther along well-watered routes to patches with higher foraging returns.

Radiocarbon ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Kenechukwu Chidiogo Daniel ◽  
Anselm Maduabuchi Ibeanu ◽  
Jacinta Uchenna Ikegwu ◽  
Emuobosa Akpo Orijemie

ABSTRACT This paper presents new results of radiocarbon (14C) ages from archaeological sites in northern Igboland. The study was designed to shed more light on early human occupation and activities in the study area based on sediments from cave and iron-smelting sites. The approach consisted of ethnographic, archaeological, palynological, and slag analyses; these were complemented with 14C dates. The technology adopted as well as the paleoenvironmental conditions that prevailed during the period of human settlement in both sites was revealed. These data, complemented by 14C dates, highlight the human behavioral and subsistence patterns within the region and are comparable to those from similar sites in southeastern Nigeria.


2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-371 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Mozzi ◽  
Maria Teresa Azevedo ◽  
Elizabeth Nunes ◽  
Luis Raposo

The stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Q3 middle terrace alluvial sequence in the lower Tagus river valley, Portugal, were studied near the village of Alpiarça, approximately 40 km upstream from the estuarine area. Two main stratigraphic units were recognized, separated by an important uncomformity. The Lower Gravels unit (LG) consists of intercalations of medium to coarse gravel deposits, mainly quartzitic, with coarse sandy matrix, organized in tabular bodies. The overlying Upper Sands unit (US) consists of tabular sandy channel deposits and overbank fines, the latter containing well-developed paleosols and backswamp deposits, showing a general aggrading trend, apparently with varying rates; available data indicate that deposition of the US took place under temperate climatic conditions. Within US deposits are several paleolithic archaeological sites, the lower ones in the alluvial stratigraphy being Middle Acheulian, whereas those embedded in overlying deposits are, from bottom to top, Upper Acheulian and Micoquian. Some of these sites have been recently excavated. The quartzite artifacts were apparently abandoned by early humans on the flood plain surface during deposition of the US unit and were subjected to limited reworking during their incorporation in the alluvium. TL/OSL dating of sandy-silty sediments, though imprecise, support archaeological evidence pointing to an age of 150,000 to 70,000 yr B.P. for the US unit.


2020 ◽  
pp. 239965442096524
Author(s):  
Mariska JM Bottema ◽  
Simon R Bush ◽  
Peter Oosterveer

The Thai aquaculture sector faces a range of production, market and financial risks that extend beyond the private space of farms to include public spaces and shared resources. The Thai state has attempted to manage these shared risks through its Plang Yai (or ‘Big Area’) agricultural extension program. Using the lens of territorialization, this paper investigates how, through the Plang Yai program, risk management is institutionalized through spatially explicit forms of collaboration amongst farmers and between farmers and (non-)state actors. We focus on how four key policy instruments brought together under Plang Yai delimited multiple territories of risk management over shrimp and tilapia production in Chantaburi and Chonburi provinces. Our findings demonstrate how these policy instruments address risks through dissimilar but overlapping territories that are selectively biased toward facilitating the individual management of production risks, whilst enabling both the individual and collective management of market and financial risks. This raises questions about the suitability of addressing aquaculture risks by controlling farmer behavior through state-led designation of singular, spatially explicit areas. The findings also indicate the multiple roles of the state in territorializing risk management, providing a high degree of flexibility, which is especially valuable in landscapes shared by many users, connected to (global) value chains and facing diverse risks. In doing so we demonstrate that understanding the territorialization of production landscapes in a globalizing world requires a dynamic approach recognizing the multiplicity of territories that emerge in risk management processes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Rebolledo ◽  
Philippe Béarez ◽  
Débora Zurro

Abstract The Atacama Desert coast (18–30° S) presents one of the earliest chronologies in the South America region, whose first occupations date from ~ 13,000 cal BP. Since that time, coastal and marine resources have been a common component at sites along the littoral zone. Fish species have been particularly important, as have the fishing technologies developed and used by the coastal communities. However, even though several archaeological sites have been studied, there is no systematic macro-regional analysis of early fisheries along the Atacama Desert coast. Furthermore, differences in theoretical and methodological approaches, as well as research objectives, hinder comparisons between ichthyoarchaeological assemblages. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the Atacama Desert fish data obtained from publications and gray literature from ten archaeological sites dating from the Terminal Pleistocene to the Early Holocene. Through the standardization of contextual and ichthyoarchaeological information, we compared data using NISP, MNI, and weight to calculate fish density, richness, and ubiquity, in order to identify similarities and differences between assemblages. This exploratory approach aims to contribute to studies of fish consumption in the area, as well as proposing new methodological questions and solutions regarding data heterogeneity in archaeozoology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Florindo ◽  
Fabrizio Marra ◽  
Diego E. Angelucci ◽  
Italo Biddittu ◽  
Luciano Bruni ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present the study of a composite, yet continuous sedimentary succession covering the time interval spanning 2.6–0.36 Ma in the intramontane basin of Anagni (central Italy) through a dedicated borecore, field surveys, and the review of previous data at the three palaeontological and archaeological sites of Colle Marino, Coste San Giacomo and Fontana Ranuccio. By combining the magneto- and chronostratigraphic data with sedimentologic and biostratigraphic analysis, we describe the palaeogeographic and tectonic evolution of this region during this entire interval. In this time frame, starting from 0.8 Ma, the progressive shallowing and temporary emersion of the large lacustrine basins and alluvial plains created favorable conditions for early hominin occupation of the area, as attested by abundant tool industry occurrences and fossils. This study provides new constraints to better interpret the hominin migratory dynamics and the factors that influenced the location and spatial distribution during the early occupation of this region.


2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (10-13) ◽  
pp. 1299-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludwig Zöller ◽  
Hans von Suchodoletz ◽  
Nils Küster

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 2553
Author(s):  
Pedro Michelutti Cheliz ◽  
João Carlos Moreno de Sousa ◽  
Gabriela Sartori Mingatos ◽  
Mercedes Okumura ◽  
Astolfo Gomes de Mello Araujo

Com o objetivo de ponderar conexões entre quadros naturais e a ocupação humana pré-colonial, caracterizou-se os artefatos e a contextualização geomorfológica e ambiental de quatro sítios líticos vinculados a antigos registros de grupos caçadores-coletores do sul e sudeste do Brasil, associados a três distintas indústrias líticas. Elencou-se associação dos sítios com terrenos de baixos declives e altimetrias em seus respectivos contextos (terrenos mais estáveis para fixação humana), adjacentes a córregos e próximos de faixas do terreno que registram maiores inclinações e desníveis verticais, mais propensas a apresentarem afloramentos rochosos (fontes potenciais de matérias-primas para a confecção de ferramentas lascadas). Elencou-se fontes de matérias-primas nos entornos de cada sítio e as matérias-primas associadas aos artefatos, e ponderou-se a correlação entre os dois conjuntos de dados. Analisou-se a relação dos padrões tecnológicos de artefatos líticos com a caracterização petrográfica das matérias-primas, verificando-se quais silcretes semelhantes foram usadas para produção de artefatos distintos. Ainda, verificou-se que alguns dos produtos líticos de um dos sítios analisados mostram padrões tecnológicos semelhantes, mesmo quando obtidos a partir de silcretes distintos. Caracterizou-se ausência de variação significativa dos atributos tecnológicos dos artefatos registrados em diferentes posicionamentos verticais nos perfis das unidades de escavação nas quais foram registrados, mesmo quando mostram-se associados a registros paleoambientais distintos (alternâncias entre climas mais secos que os atuais e condições caracterizadas por incrementos de umidade no intervalo de 11 a 7 mil anos atrás).Palavras chave: sítios arqueológicos líticos; Holoceno Inicial, paleoclimas, ameríndios, geoarqueologia The ancient human occupation (11-7 thousand years ago) of the Southern Brazilian Plateau: geomorphological, geological, paleoenvironmental and technological characterization of archaeological sites related to three distinct lithic industries A B S T R A C T In order to discuss connections between the natural landscapes and pre-colonial human occupation, were characterized the artifacts and the geomorphological and environmental contextualization of four lithic sites linked to ancient records of hunter-gatherer groups from the south and southeast of Brazil, associated with three distinct lithic industries. The association of sites with low slopes and altimetry in their respective contexts (more stable terrains for human settlement), adjacent to rivers and close to terrains that register greater inclinations and vertical unevenness, more likely to present rocky outcrops (potential sources of raw materials for making chipped tools) was listed. Were characterized sources of raw materials in the surroundings of each site, the raw materials associated with the artifacts, and the correlation between the two data sets was considered. The relationship between the technological standards of lithic artifacts and the petrographic characterization of the raw materials was analyzed, verifying which similar raw materials were used to produce different artifacts. Also, it was found that some of the lithic products from one of the analyzed sites show similar technological patterns, even when obtained from different raw materials. There was a lack of significant variation in the technological attributes of the artifacts recorded in different vertical positions in the profiles of the excavation units in which they were recorded, even when they are associated with different paleoenvironmental records (alternations between drier climates than current and others characterized by increments in the moisture between 11 to 7 thousand years ago).Keywords: lithic archaeological sites; Initial Holocene, paleoclimates, amerindians, geoarchaeology 


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