Hunter-gatherer Adaptations Research Articles

Investigations at Tor al-Tareeq: An Epipaleolithic Site in the Wadi el-Hasa, Jordan

The Epipaleolithic site of Tor al-Tareeq (WHS 1065) was discovered in 1982 by Burton MacDonald's Wadi Hasa Survey in west-central Jordan, surface collected and tested in 1984, and partially excavated in 1992. The earliest and best represented occupation is an early Epipaleolithic industry, overlain in places by an ephemeral geometric industry identified by a higher incidence of geometric microliths. Six radiocarbon determinations span the period between 16,900 and 15,600 b.p. and confirm an early Epipaleolithic date but the subsequent geometric phase has not been dated. The site consists of a series of camps, near a collapsed rockshelter and a spring, and strung out along the shore of a mildly-alkaline, late Pleistocene lake. The permanent water and varied resource zones surely made the locale attractive in an otherwise arid landscape. Faunal remains and pollen from the site indicate diverse resources in conditions substantially different from those of today. This report examines a wide range of archaeological and paleoenvironmental data in order to understand aspects of the regional system of settlement and subsistence of which Tor al-Tareeq was a part. Continuing research in the eastern Hasa drainage seems likely to provoke a reassessment of current models of hunter-gatherer adaptation during the Epipaleolithic in the southern Levant.

Hunter–Gatherer Foraging Strategies in Tropical Grasslands: Model Building and Testing in the East African Middle and Later Stone Age

Hunter–gatherer adaptations to moist tropical grasslands are not well known from either the ethnographic or the archaeological record. This is unfortunate as grassland adaptations are clearly significant to human biological and behavioral evolution. The most effective strategy for remedying this problem is to develop models for grassland exploitation based on strong understandings of the ecological similarities and differences between cold, temperate, and tropical grasslands. Cold, temperate, and tropical grasslands are similar in that water and raw materials are often scarce and the most abundant large mammals are gregarious and mobile. Tropical grasslands differ from cold and temperate grasslands by having a greater diversity and biomass of edible above-ground plants and plants with underground storage organs, making carbohydrate availability greater and less seasonal. Large mobile mammals and resident large mammals are more diverse and have greater biomass in tropical grasslands. Overall, tropical grasslands are a richer and less seasonally punctuated environment than either cold or temperate grasslands. A comparison of ethnographic data regarding variation in foraging strategies in different cold, temperate, and tropical settings lead to the construction of three models for hunter–gatherer exploitation of tropical grasslands: a Generalized Grassland Model (no specialized tactical hunting—considered the favored model given modern African grassland conditions), a Seasonal Grassland Model (only seasonal use of specialized tactical hunting techniques—considered unlikely for Africa), and a Specialized Grassland Model (regular use of specialized tactical hunting strategies—considered highly unlikely for Africa). A preliminary test of these models shows the Athi-Kapiti Plains Holocene archaeological evidence is most consistent with the Generalized Grassland Model. The Last Glacial Maximum is most consistent with the Seasonal Grassland Model. A single MSA occupation also suggests that specialized tactical hunting strategies were used. These differences in hunting strategies were probably due to the differences in ecological conditions between the Holocene and the Last Glacial Maximum.

The Early Prehistory of the Sakçagözü Region, North Levantine Rift Valley: Report on 1995 Survey Season

As a result of its geographical location between the Old World continents, its distinctive natural resources and its innovative cultural record, the Near East is of particular interest to scholars concerned with human developments through the Pleistocene and Early Holocene. Research has focused on the nature and timing of hominid dispersals from Africa into Eurasia, the adaptations of premodern humans to Near Eastern environments, the nature of neanderthal and early modern human societies, hunter-gatherer adaptations in the later Pleistocene and the emergence of village-based farming. However, in spite of considerable concern with these phenomena, our knowledge of the early prehistory of the Near East remains geographically restricted. The best known region for the Palaeolithic is the central and southern Levant. Limited work was undertaken in the Iraqi and Iranian Zagros in the 1950s–60s, but the northern Levant and Turkey remain poorly studied. Aceramic Neolithic research has been more evenly spread, having benefited from the dam salvage projects in the Tigris-Euphrates basins and work in the central Anatolian plateau. However there are still substantial gaps in our knowledge.

Hunter-Gatherer Social Costs and the Nonviability of Submarginal Environments

A review of general principles of hunter-gatherer adaptations and their applicability in such marginal environments as arctic and desert ecosystems provides a basis for modelling behavior in submarginal environments. It is determined that submarginal environments are nonviable because it is impossible to meet both economic and social needs within the constraints imposed by extremely impoverished ecosystems.

Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations, Economic Risk and Tool Design

(1993). Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations, Economic Risk and Tool Design. Lithic Technology: Vol. 18, No. 1-2, pp. 59-86.

Archaeological research in Lesotho: a review of 120 years

Archaeological research in Lesotho over the last 120 years is reviewed. Particular emphasis is given to P. Carter's excavation and survey project in eastern Lesotho and to contract archaeology projects in other parts of the country. Current research and projects involving the study of rock art are also considered. The archaeological potential of Lesotho for addressing a number of themes is discussed. These themes include the reconstruction of prehistoric seasonal mobility patterns, hunter-gatherer adaptations at the Last Glacial Maximum and relations between hunter-gatherer and farming populations. Lesotho's geographical situation lends itself to examining these questions across two distinct ecological gradients, but the richness of its rock art also demonstrates its potential for investigating Stone Age social relations. The importance of developing a more effective national archaeological infrastructure is stressed.

Monitoring Archaeofaunal Changes During the Transition to Agriculture in the American Southwest

ABSTRACTA model for evaluating prehistoric subsistence stress and species diversity using data from faunal assemblages is developed in order to examine the transition from hunter-gatherer adaptations to agriculture in the Southwest. Most archaeofaunas from this transitional period are found to be inadequately analyzed with the exception of Ventana Cave, which follows some predictions of the model. Comparisons are made between these data and later archaeofaunas produced by Great Basin hunter-gatherers and Hohokam agriculturalists.

Storage, sedentism and the Eurasian Palaeolithic record

What is the connection between storage and sedentism in hunter-gatherer societies? What is the pattern of ethnography? What other patterns show themselves in Late Palaeolithic Eurasia, in those late hunter-gatherer adaptations that are precursors of Holocene food production? And is material storage a necessary and a sufficient condition for hunter-gatherer sedentism?

: La Riera Cave: Stone Age Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in Northern Spain . Lawrence G. Straus, Geoffrey A. Clark.

American AnthropologistVolume 90, Issue 2 p. 475-476 Archeology: La Riera Cave: Stone Age Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in Northern Spain. Lawrence G. Straus and Geoffrey A. Clark, eds Jan F. Simek, Jan F. Simek University of TennesseeSearch for more papers by this author Jan F. Simek, Jan F. Simek University of TennesseeSearch for more papers by this author First published: June 1988 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1988.90.2.02a00790AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume90, Issue2June 1988Pages 475-476 RelatedInformation

Coming into the Country: Early Paleoindian Hunting and Mobility

Hunter-gatherer adaptations to long-term fluctuations in regional resource structure require mechanisms to cope with periodic subsistence stresses. Among documented groups, a common response to such stress is temporary movement into adjacent occupied areas-moving in with "relatives" when things go wrong. However, in the case of early (ca. 12,000-10,000 B.P.) Paleoindian groups in the Americas, the availability of neighboring groups with a detailed knowledge of local resource geography could not be relied upon. Post-Pleistocene environmental changes and the low initial population of the New World are important factors conditioning a lifeway characterized by a dependence on hunting (though not exclusively of megafauna), and by high residential, logistical, and range (territorial) mobility. Early Paleoindian groups had to adopt a subsistence technology that could be employed regardless of the specific resource microstructure. In some regards, Paleoindians seem to have behaved like tropical foragers while in others like arctic collectors. Use of high quality lithic raw materials from large quarry sources, reliance on a bifacial technology, limited use of caves and rockshelters, and a low level of processing of food products for storage all may be indicative of such a subsistence technology, which would have been unlike that of any modern hunter-gatherers.

Hunter-gatherer adaptations and assemblage structure

There is a growing tendency to conceive of hunter-gatherer adaptations as points on a yardstick, with foragers at one end and collectors on the other. Such a view limits our perspective and may trap anthropologists into seeing these categories as steps in an evolutionary progression. It is more productive to think of human adaptation as an N-dimensional space, with individual cases occurring at the intersections of the various dimensions. When this viewpoint is taken, it becomes clear that a search for a single dimension in archaeological data that can be used to characterize all prehistoric adaptations is unlikely to be fruitful. This paper explores the multidimensionality of hunter-gatherer adaptive behavior and reviews those archaeological manifestations that are empirically or logically linked with various dimensions of three components of adaptation: mobility, predation, and technology. Those manifestations with the greatest potential for characterizing prehistoric hunter-gatherer adaptive strategies are identified as measures of mobility type, frequency, stability, scheduling, demography, and range; predation mode, breadth, and scheduling; and the time budgeting and storage dimensions of technology. A subset of these measures is evaluated by comparing assemblages from the late prehistoric Columbia Plateau with expectations derived from ethnographies written on the same local area.

Perinatal practices among the Efe' (Pygmies) and Walese of Zaire

To reconstruct modern human evolutionary history and identify loci that have shaped hunter-gatherer adaptation, we sequenced the whole genomes of five individuals in each of three different hunter-gatherer populations at >60× coverage: Pygmies from Cameroon and Khoesan-speaking Hadza and Sandawe from Tanzania. We identify 13.4 million variants, substantially increasing the set of known human variation. We found evidence of archaic introgression in all three populations, and the distribution of time to most recent common ancestors from these regions is similar to that observed for introgressed regions in Europeans. Additionally, we identify numerous loci that harbor signatures of local adaptation, including genes involved in immunity, metabolism, olfactory and taste perception, reproduction, and wound healing. Within the Pygmy population, we identify multiple highly differentiated loci that play a role in growth and anterior pituitary function and are associated with height.

Hunter-Gatherer Economy in Prehistory: A European Perspective.

1. Hunter-gatherer behaviour in prehistory: problems and perspectives Geoff Bailey Part I. Primary data sources: problems of theory and method: 2 Editorial 3. Time budgeting and hunter-gatherer technology Robin Torrence 4. Mortality models and the interpretation of horse population structure Marsha Levine 5. The calculation and interpretation of ungulate age profiles from dental crown heights Richard G. Klein, Kathryn Allwarden and Cornelia Wolf Part II. Spatial organization of the subsistence economy: 6. Editorial 7. Epirus revisited: seasonality and inter-site variation in the Upper Palaeolithic of north-west Greece Geoff Bailey, Pat Carter, Clive Gamble and Helen Higgs 8. Site variability and prehistoric economy in Levante Iain Davidson 9. Boreal phase settlement/subsistence models for Cantabrian Spain Geoffrey A. Clark 10 Sedentary hunters: the Ertebolle example Peter Rowley-Conway Part III. Long-term economic change: demographic and environmental factors: 11. Editorial 12. Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherer adaptations in Cantabrian Spain Geoffrey A. Clark and Lawrence G. Straus 13. Economic change in Late Pleistocene Cantabria Geoff Bailey 14. Further reflections on adaptive change in Cantabrian prehistory Lawrence G. Straus and Geoffrey A. Clark 15. Late Pleistocene economies of the French Pyrenees Paul G. Bahn Part IV. Social interaction and economic change: large-scale perspectives: 16. Editorial 17. Social network systems amongst hunter-gatherers considered within southern Norway Marcie Madden 18. Culture and society in the Upper Palaeolithic of Europe Clive Gamble 19. Palaeolithic cave art in ecological perspective Michael A. Jochim 20. Palaeolithic archaeology - some problems with form, space and time Martin Wobst.

The European Mesolithic

This brief review is intended to acquaint the reader with recent research and thought on the European Mesolithic. The period is characterized by hunter-gatherer adaptations between the close of the Pleistocene and the introduction of food production. A number of developments support an argument for a rapid intensification of human subsistence and settlement practices and organization, prior to the utilization of domesticated plants and animals.

A Reconsideration of the Role of Predation on Large Mammals in Tropical Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation

Current models of hunter-gatherer adaptive strategy indicate variability with latitude (gathering predominant in the tropics, fishing in the mid-latitudes and hunting only in the high latitudes). This article questions the adequacy of the ethnographic data on which predictions about huntergatherer subsistence behaviour in some tropical environments are based. As an alternative, the pattern of covariability between plant community structure, large mammal biomass, and rainfall in equatorial regions is employed to predict high levels of hunting in certain low latitude environments. The present distribution of animal protein-dependent pastoralists in tropical Africa supports this model. It is suggested that large mammal hunting may have been of greater significance in the adaptive strategies of prehistoric savanna hunter-gatherers than in those of ethnographically-observed tropical hunter-gatherers.

Paleoecology at La Riera (Asturias, Spain) [and Comments and Reply

Excavations were conducted at La Riera to test hypotheses concerning variability among Upper Paleolithic/Mesolithic artifact assemblages and to define and begin to explain changing hunter-gatherer adaptations to the coastal region at the end of the Wurm and the beginning of the Holocene. The 36 strata contain assemblages that can be assigned to Aurignacian(?), Solutrean, Magdalenian, Azilian, and Asturian culture-stratigraphic units. However, there is considerable nontraditional variability and great similarity between certain "Solutrean" and "Lower Magdalenian" assemblages. Shifts in raw-material procurement patterns are noted, and the variable lithic-debris fractions reflect changing tool-manufacturing activities. All these indices suggest differing uses of the cave or fundamental alterations in settlement-subsistence systems and cast doubt on the stric validity of the classic "cultural" subdivision scheme for the Stone Age of western Europe. Palynological and sedimentological analyses trace a series of major environmental fluctuations. Interlevel faunal variability may be attributed in some cases to environmental change and in others to changes in subsistence practices or the role of the site. The faunal data indicate increasingly diverse, intensive exploitation of wild food resources throughout the sequence, perhaps the result of regional demographic pressure.