Holocene Archaeological Sites Research Articles

Shellfish and the Chumash: Marine Invertebrates and Complex Hunter-Gatherers on Late Holocene San Miguel Island, California

Marine resources played an important role in fostering high population densities and cultural complexity among North American hunter-gatherers. In California, several researchers have emphasized the relationship among increases in fishing, marine mammal hunting, the development of more efficient watercraft, and increased sociopolitical complexity. Largely absent from discussions of emergent complexity is the changing role of shellfish in human subsistence economies. Analyzing marine shell from 12 Late Holocene sites on San Miguel Island, we illustrate the importance of shellfish in island subsistence economies and the evolution of Chumash complexity. The dietary importance of shellfish protein declined through time, but the density of shellfish remains increased dramatically in Late Holocene archaeological sites, suggesting that shellfish provided an important supplement to the higher yields of finfish and helped fuel growing human populations and sociopolitical complexity.

Species composition and human exploitation of terrestrial gastropods from Taghit Haddouch, an Early Holocene archaeological site in NE Morocco

Species composition and human exploitation of terrestrial gastropods from Taghit Haddouch, an Early Holocene archaeological site in NE Morocco

Constraining the time of extinction of the South American fox Dusicyon avus (Carnivora, Canidae) during the late Holocene

A mass extinction affected South America during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, when megamammals and large mammals disappeared. Several carnivores became extinct, including the sabretooth ( Smilodon), the short-faced bear ( Arctotherium), and some large canids ( i.e., Protocyon, Canis dirus). After this mass event, virtually no carnivores became extinct in South America. The only exception is the fox Dusicyon avus, a medium-sized canid (estimated body mass between 10 and 15 kg) with a more carnivorous diet than the living South American foxes ( Lycalopex culpaeus). The last record of the species comes from middle-late Holocene archaeological sites in the Pampean Region (Argentina) and Patagonia (Argentina and Chile). During the late Pleistocene, D. avus had a wide distribution, which covered part of Uruguay, Argentina (Buenos Aires province) and southern Patagonia. Although some remains from late Holocene sites have been published, these remains are still lacking numerical dating to determine the approximate date of extinction of this fox. This paper presents several new records from the Pampean and Patagonia regions, and several taxon dates. The new records indicate that D. avus survived in the late Holocene at least until ≈ 3000 BP in the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (Patagonia) and the continent. Since at this time humans were occupying most of the Pampas and Patagonia, a revision of the causes behind the extinction of this fox is needed.

Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the Latest Pleistocene of El Portalón Site, Sierra de Atapuerca, northwestern Spain

The site of El Portalón is the entrance to the Cueva Mayor karst system, located in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain). This is an important Holocene archaeological site, which was excavated in the 1970s but from which little has been published. New excavations starting in 2000 have highlighted a deep stratigraphical sequence, with human occupations starting at the end of the Late Pleistocene. In this paper, we present for the first time, on the basis of the small-vertebrate assemblage, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions of the Latest Pleistocene of the Sierra de Atapuerca, well known for its Early to Middle Pleistocene human-bearing localities. The small vertebrates of El Portalón comprise at least 25 species: 4 amphibians ( Alytes obstetricans, Bufo bufo, Bufo calamita and Rana temporaria); 3 squamates (an indeterminate small-size lacertid, an indeterminate large colubrine and Vipera sp.); 6 insectivores ( Sorex gr. coronatus-araneus, Sorex minutus, Neomys fodiens, Neomys anomalus, Talpa europaea and Galemys pyrenaicus); 2 bats ( Myotis myotis and Myotis gr. myotis-blythi); 10 rodents ( Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis, Microtus oeconomus, Iberomys cabrerae, Chionomys nivalis, Terricola duodecimcostatus, Arvicola sapidus, Arvicola terrestris, Apodemus sylvaticus and Eliomys quercinus). These taxa, many of which are ecothermal (sensitive to temperature) show variations in their taxonomic diversity throughout the sequence. Although, with the exception of M. oeconomus, they do not differ from the extant fauna of the Iberian Peninsula, they do so in the abundance of their taxonomic assemblage. When the small vertebrates are grouped and studied in terms of vertical trends through the sequence, it is possible to follow environmental and climatic changes. Results from the small-vertebrate associations indicate that the landscape had open habitats in the vicinity of the Atapuerca caves throughout the sequence, with wet locales in the surrounding area. Woodland and water stream meadows were more developed during “warm” periods (Is5, Is6/Is7 and Is3/Is4), whereas during “cold” periods (H3 and LGM) the environment was slightly more humid in response to winter precipitation and the opening of the landscape. These results are compared with pollen analysis and marine isotopic curves, giving a scenario for the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes that occurred during the Latest Pleistocene in the Sierra de Atapuerca.

An ethnoarchaeological framework for the identification and distinction of Late Holocene archaeological sites in East Africa

One of the interpretive problems in the study of the advent of pastoralism in East Africa has been the difficulty of distinguishing archaeological sequences of local hunter-gatherers with access to domestic stock or in the early stages of the adoption of herding, from those of in-migrating pastoralists with a subsistence strategy that may have included wild animals. Lack of knowledge of how these two interacting socioeconomic groups might be distinguished archaeologically impedes our better understanding of prehistoric hunter-gatherer interactions with pastoralists and the secondary adoption of food production. In this article, I use ethnoarchaeological observations among the historic Mukogodo hunter-gatherers and the pastoral Maasai of Kenya to propose a scheme of interpretive guidelines that may be used to distinguish archaeological sequences associated with different socioeconomic adaptations during the ‘Pastoral Neolithic’ in East Africa. My analysis shows that site features and subtle patterns in faunal assemblages can be useful in the identification and distinction of relevant sites, and in addressing some of the interpretive difficulties that archaeologists have encountered in the study of late Holocene archaeological sites in the region.

Middle Holocene Bison diet and mobility in the eastern Great Plains (USA) based on δ13C, δ18O, and 87Sr/ 86Sr analyses of tooth enamel carbonate

During the Holocene, bison ( Bison bison) were key components of the Great Plains landscape. This study utilizes serial stable isotope analyses (tooth enamel carbonate) of 29 individuals from five middle Holocene (∼ 7–8.5 ka) archaeological sites to address seasonal variability in movement patterns and grazing behavior of bison populations in the eastern Great Plains. Stable carbon isotopes ( δ 13C) indicate a bison diet that is similar to the C3/C4 composition of modern tallgrass prairies, while 87Sr/ 86Sr values generally indicate very little seasonal movement (< 50 km) and relatively limited inter-annual movement (< 500 km) over the course of 4–5 yr. Analyses of variability in serial stable oxygen isotope samples ( δ 18O) further substantiate a model of localized bison herds that adhered to upland areas of the eastern Plains and prairie–forest border.

Site formation processes in caves: The Holocene sediments of the Haua Fteah, Cyrenaica, Libya

Caves have yielded some of the most globally important archaeological sequences, but often their interpretation has suffered from assumptions about cave sedimentary processes. Caves contain distinctive sedimentary environments: this has major implications for the understanding of contained archaeological materials. This paper describes and analyses the Holocene sediments in the Haua Fteah, a sequence regarded as essentially continuous by the original excavator. 50 years after it was first excavated, the Haua's Epipalaeolithic to post-Classical chronological range and rich finds make it still the key Holocene archaeological site in North Africa. The reassessment shows, however, that the sequence is strongly discontinuous and this has major implications for the reinterpretation of the site, as the highly-resolved archaeological record is thus likely to reflect a series of brief occupations, rather than continuous human activity. As with many caves, the sedimentary record in the Haua Fteah is an extremely sensitive indicator of environments and processes in the wider landscape. Secure understanding of sedimentary process, from analysis of the highly individual records found in caves, is essential for full understanding of their contained archaeology.

Early bronze in two Holocene archaeological sites in Gansu, NW China

Understanding of the origin and development of bronze technology in eastern Asia remains unresolved. Here we report on the distribution of copper and associated cations in sediments from Huoshiliang in northwestern Gansu, China, strontium and lead isotope analyses of ore and slag samples, and some artifact fragments at archaeological sites at Ganggangwa and Huoshiliang in the Black River valley. We conclude that bronze production began perhaps as early as 2135 BC and that the Baishantang modern mine site at Dingxin was a possible source of copper ore. There was at least one other, but currently unidentified, source of ore. The Bronze Age people were also farmers and planted cereals such as wheat, and they may have abandoned the region when wood was exhausted and desertification took over.

Uplift rates defined by U-series and 14C ages of serpulid-encrusted speleothems from submerged caves near Siracusa, Sicily (Italy)

We have established a plausible rate of uplift near Siracusa in southeastern Sicily (Italy) over the last glacial–interglacial cycle using U-series ages of submerged speleothem calcite and 14C ages of calcite serpulid layers that encrust the speleothems during cave submergence. The precisely determined ages of these sea level benchmarks were compared with expected relative sea level position based on glacio-hydro-isostatic modeling to assess the rate of uplift in this region. When combined with the age of various late Holocene archaeological sites that have been recently described and characterized in terms of their functional position relative to sea level these data collectively define a rate of uplift ≤0.4 mm a −1 along this portion of the Sicilian coastline. These results are consistent with an age assignment of marine isotope stage (MIS) 5.3 or 5.5 for the Akradina terrace, which in turn places temporal constraints on paleoshorelines above and below this level.

Obsidian use at the Ushki Lake complex, Kamchatka Peninsula (Northeastern Siberia): implications for terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene human migrations in Beringia

A study of the movement of people within Northeast Asia at the end of the Pleistocene is critical for understanding how and when some of the first human populations entered North America. Chemical source studies of obsidian may provide the evidence necessary to document people's migrations between these regions. Sixty two obsidian artifacts from the late Pleistocene and Holocene Ushki Lake sites in Kamchatka Peninsula were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). Data generated demonstrate that multiple obsidian sources throughout Kamchatka were exploited by the inhabitants of Ushki Lake, and allow us to document long-distance population movements during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. It is reasonable to expect that obsidian from Kamchatka might have been transported to Alaska. This is true for the Chukotka region of Northeastern Siberia; obsidian from Chukotka has been found in late Holocene archaeological sites in Alaska. Ultimately, an expanded study that includes all areas of Northeast Asia and Alaska may provide the data necessary to document the earliest movements of people in these regions.

Human influence on distribution and extinctions of the late Pleistocene Eurasian megafauna

Late Pleistocene extinctions are of interest to paleontological and anthropological research. In North America and Australia, human occupation occurred during a short period of time and overexploitation may have led to the extinction of mammalian megafauna. In northern Eurasia megafaunal extinctions are believed to have occurred over a relatively longer period of time, perhaps as a result of changing environmental conditions, but the picture is much less clear. To consider megafaunal extinction in Eurasia, we compare differences in the geographical distribution and commonness of extinct and extant species between paleontological and archaeological localities from the late middle Pleistocene to Holocene. Purely paleontological localities, as well as most extinct species, were distributed north of archaeological sites and of the extant species, suggesting that apart from possible differences in adaptations between humans and other species, humans could also have a detrimental effect on large mammal distribution. However, evidence for human overexploitation applies only to the extinct steppe bison Bison priscus. Other human-preferred species survive into the Holocene, including Rangifer tarandus, Equus ferus, Capreolus capreolus, Cervus elaphus, Equus hemionus, Saiga tatarica, and Sus scrofa. Mammuthus primigenius and Megaloceros giganteus were rare in archaeological sites. Carnivores appear little influenced by human presence, although they become rarer in Holocene archaeological sites. Overall, the data are consistent with the conclusion that humans acted as efficient hunters selecting for the most abundant species. Our study supports the idea that the late Pleistocene extinctions were environmentally driven by climatic changes that triggered habitat fragmentation, species range reduction, and population decrease, after which human interference either by direct hunting or via indirect activities probably became critical.

Propiedades tafonómicas de las asociaciones óseas de pinnípedos en la costa atlántica de la Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

A preliminary comparative study of pinniped bone assemblages from Late Holocene archaeological sites and from present day deposits on the Atlantic coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego is presented. The aim is to assess the properties distinguishing bone accumulations of these marine mammals formed by human activity and those formed by natural processes. The evidence suggests that anthropic assemblages differ from natural ones in a number of properties, such as anatomical composition and integrity and of the age profile of the individuals represented, and they look alike in other respects, such as bone specimen fragmentation.

Radiocarbon dating of thin pedogenic carbonate laminae from Holocene archaeological sites

Radiocarbon dating has been previously suggested to be applicable to pedogenic carbonate. However, until now the validity of radiocarbon dates from pedogenic carbonate remained poorly understood because of the relatively low resolution of chronological controls. In this study we compared the radiocarbon dates (a total of 21) of thin (0.2—0.3 mm in thickness) laminae of pedogenic carbonate coatings on clasts from Holocene archaeological sites in the eastern Mediterranean and south Siberia with independently estimated age-ranges for these sites. We obtained a high correlation between the oldest laminae of coatings with the site ages. The 14C ages of pedogenic carbonate were systematically younger by c. 0.3—1.6 ka (mean c. 0.75 ka) compared with archaeological sites. This finding suggests that pedogenic carbonate — despite potential complicating factors — can be dated more accurately with 14C than has been generally appreciated.

Ancient plant DNA in archaeobotany

Plant diaspores, tissues and wood are preserved in natural and anthropogenic sediments. Also, over the past centuries, plants have been collected in herbaria. These plant remains carry macroscopic and molecular information, making them a rich source for reconstructing past plant use, agriculture, diet or vegetation—they are thus proxies for past economies, ecology, migrations or trade. This article focuses on the application of ancient DNA analyses from plants excavated at Holocene archaeological sites. A short methodological section is added to illustrate possibilities and limitations of ancient DNA research in plants.

An accumulation of bone remains of two Liolaemus species (Iguanidae) in an Holocene archaeological site of the Argentine Puna

AbstractAn accumulation of iguanian bone remains was found inside a rodent burrow in an Holocene archaeological site of the Argentine southern Puna. Characters of the preserved bones suggest that a minimum of two species of the Liolaemus genus is represented. One of them is undoubtedly attributed to the montanus group, probably L. poecilochromus or L. andinus. The finding of Liolaemus bone remains in the Argentine Puna Region represents the first record of this genus in an archaeological site of South America and suggests that specimens of at least two Liolaemus species exploited the same refuge simultaneously, including both adult and juvenile individuals.

Rails (Rallidae: Gallirallus) from prehistoric archaeological sites in Western Oceania

We evaluate the species-level systematics of 1336 bones of Gallirallus (Aves: Rallidae) from Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sites in the Mariana Islands (Micronesia) and the Bismarck Archipelago and Solomon Islands (Melanesia) and describe four new species. In the Marianas, sites on Rota, Aguiguan, Tinian, and Saipan have yielded 15, 219, 1047, and 16 bones, respectively, that we refer to Gallirallus. We describe the bones from three islands as the new species G. temptatus (Rota), G. pisonii (Aguiguan), and G. pendiculentus (Tinian). Each species is presumed endemic to each island and probably evolved from colonizations by extant, volant G. philippensis. They vary in the reduction of pectoral and wing elements relative to leg elements, and thus in their degree of flightlessness. The limited material from Saipan we cannot distinguish reliably from that of G. philippensis, which is widespread in Melanesia and Polynesia but occurs today in Micronesia only on Palau. Twenty-one fragmentary bones of Gallirallus from four Pleistocene cave sites on New Ireland (Bismarcks) are described as a new, possibly flightless species, G. ernstmayri. One Pleistocene cave site on Buka (Solomons) revealed 18 specimens that we refer to Gallirallus woodfordi and G. rovianae, which occur today in the Solomons. These descriptions of rail bones from Western Oceania bring the total number of fossil (prehistorically extinct) Gallirallus species to eleven.

Differentiating bamboo from stone tool cut marks in the zooarchaeological record, with a discussion on the use of bamboo knives

The archaeological record of Southeast Asia is marked by a relative lack of Acheulian assemblages compared with the rest of the Old World. Suggestions that prehistoric human populations in this area relied instead on a non-lithic technology based on bamboo have not been supported by archaeological evidence. To provide a diagnostic means of assessing prehistoric use of bamboo, cut marks were experimentally produced on bone using chert tools and bamboo knives. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination revealed morphological differences in cut marks produced by the two materials that allow identification of bamboo knife cut marks on faunal materials. Such evidence, if found in Pleistocene through early Holocene archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, would indicate early human reliance on bamboo technology.

The Holocene British and Irish ancient forest fossil beetle fauna: implications for forest history, biodiversity and faunal colonisation

This paper presents a new review of our knowledge of the ancient forest beetle fauna from Holocene archaeological and palaeoecological sites in Great Britain and Ireland. It examines the colonisation, dispersal and decline of beetle species, highlighting the scale and nature of human activities in the shaping of the landscape of the British Isles. In particular, the paper discusses effects upon the insect fauna, and examines in detail the fossil record from the Humberhead Levels, eastern England. It discusses the local extirpation of up to 40 species in Britain and 15 species in Ireland. An evaluation of the timing of extirpations is made, suggesting that many species in Britain disappear from the fossil record between ca 3000 and 1000 cal BC (ca 5000–3000 cal BP), although some taxa may well have survived until considerably later. In Ireland, there are two distinct trends, with a group of species which seem to be absent after ca 2000 cal BC (ca 4000 cal BP) and a further group which survives until at least as late as the medieval period. The final clearance of the Irish landscape over the last few hundred years was so dramatic, however, that some species which are not especially unusual in a British context were decimated. Reasons behind the extirpation of taxa are examined in detail, and include a combination of forest clearance and human activities, isolation of populations, lack of temporal continuity of habitats, edaphic and competition factors affecting distribution of host trees (particularly pine), lack of forest fires and a decline in open forest systems. The role of climate change in extirpations is also evaluated. Consideration is given to the significance of these specialised ancient forest inhabitants in Ireland in the absence of an early Holocene land-bridge which suggests that colonisation was aided by other mechanisms, such as human activities and wood rafting. Finally, the paper discusses the Continental origins of the British and Irish fauna and its hosts and the role played by European glacial refugia.

BAYESIAN ANALYSIS OF PLEISTOCENE CHRONOMETRIC METHODS*

Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates on Holocene archaeological sites has become well established. Application to Pleistocene sites dated by multiple techniques would be advantageous. This paper develops the necessary mathematical apparatus in the form of likelihoods for luminescence dating, and uranium‐series dating, and considers the possibility for amino‐acid racemization dating. Application of the new methods is illustrated using the stratigraphic sequences of dates from the sites of Saint‐Césaire and La Chaise‐de‐Vouthon. For application to amino‐acid racemization dating, fuller publication of data is found to be required.

Geochemical and petrographic approaches to chert tool provenance studies: evidence from two western USA Holocene archaeological sites

Abstract Chert (flint, jasper and agate) from a late Holocene site in Elko, northern Nevada, USA, and a Mid-Holocene site east of Seattle, Washington, USA, represents a wide range of geological source environments for microcrystalline polymorphs of quartz. Potential chert source material and lithic artefacts from these two archaeological sites are utilized to develop laboratory approaches to provenance studies. Chert paragenesis determined by petrographic analysis and geochemical cluster fingerprinting using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and ICP-mass spectrometry analyses accompanied by scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence analysis provides compelling source to artefact correlations.