Native American Land Use Research Articles

Localized Native American impacts on past forest composition across a regional extent in north‐easternUnited States

AbstractAimResearchers have debated impacts of past Native American land use on forests including upon tree species composition in north‐eastern United States (US), with estimates of impacts ranging from local to regional extent. This study examines tree relative abundances to assess whether Native Americans influenced geographic distributions prior to Euro‐American settlement.LocationNorth‐eastern United States (approx. 420,000 km2).TaxonAsh (Fraxinusspp.), basswood (Tilia americana), beech (Fagus grandifolia), birch (Betulaspp.), cherry (Prunusspp.), chestnut (Castanea dentata), dogwood (Cornusspp.), elm (Ulmusspp.), fir (Abies balsamea), hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), hickory (Caryaspp.), ironwood (Carpinus carolinianaandOstrya virginiana), maple (Acerspp.), oak (Quercusspp.), pine (Pinusspp.), spruce (Piceaspp.), tamarack (Larix laricina) and walnut (Juglansspp.),MethodsWe used boosted regression trees to model abundance patterns and to assess the importance of distance‐based proxies of Native American land use versus environmental variables. We trained models that included and excluded distance‐based proxies. Abundance estimates from original land survey records (1650–1850 CE) were acquired for taxa at 8 km spatial resolution, and related to Native American settlement locations (1500–1800 CE) and 27 environmental variables.ResultsWhen evaluated upon test data, regional‐scale models of relative abundance that included distance‐based proxies performed only slightly better than models that excluded them, with mean improvements in RMSE of 0.1 percentage points. Models suggest that Native American land use modestly altered the relative abundance of taxa locally, extending no more than 50 km from settlement. Models also suggest slight increases near settlement of a few percentage points in relative abundance for fire‐tolerant and/or dietary taxa (e.g. oak, hickory and pine), and for early‐successional taxa (e.g. ash).Main conclusionsPast Native American land use had no detectable effect on forest composition across a regional extent, but increased the abundance of fire‐tolerant, shade‐intolerant and nut‐producing trees locally.

Disentangling the last 1,000 years of human–environment interactions along the eastern side of the southern Andes (34–52°S lat.)

Researchers have long debated the degree to which Native American land use altered landscapes in the Americas prior to European colonization. Human-environment interactions in southern South America are inferred from new pollen and charcoal data from Laguna El Sosneado and their comparison with high-resolution paleoenvironmental records and archaeological/ethnohistorical information at other sites along the eastern Andes of southern Argentina and Chile (34-52°S). The records indicate that humans, by altering ignition frequency and the availability of fuels, variously muted or amplified the effects of climate on fire regimes. For example, fire activity at the northern and southern sites was low at times when the climate and vegetation were suitable for burning but lacked an ignition source. Conversely, abundant fires set by humans and infrequent lightning ignitions occurred during periods when warm, dry climate conditions coincided with ample vegetation (i.e., fuel) at midlatitude sites. Prior to European arrival, changes in Native American demography and land use influenced vegetation and fire regimes locally, but human influences were not widely evident until the 16th century, with the introduction of nonnative species (e.g., horses), and then in the late 19th century, as Euro-Americans targeted specific resources to support local and national economies. The complex interactions between past climate variability, human activities, and ecosystem dynamics at the local scale are overlooked by approaches that infer levels of land use simply from population size or that rely on regionally composited data to detect drivers of past environmental change.

Onset of the Paleoanthropocene in the Lower Great Lakes Region of North America: An Archaeological and Paleoecological Synthesis

Beyond its centrality to debates on the definition of a global chronostratigraphic geologic unit, the Anthropocene concept has served as a useful theoretical construct with which to assess regional-scale anthropogenic impacts on prehistoric ecological systems through the recognition of earlier “Paleoanthropocene” events predating the onset of modern, industrial, global-scale effects. To this end, we present data derived from the archaeological and paleoecological records of the lower Great Lakes region of northeastern North America to evaluate the nature, magnitude, and timing of Native American land use impacts over the course of the Holocene. We identified three phases of emerging and progressively intensifying anthropogenic influence coinciding with initial human paleopopulation increase (5400–2500 BP), regional introduction of maize (Zea mays; 2500–1100 BP), and the regional adoption of maize-based agriculture (1100–300 BP). Each phase was accompanied by notable shifts in one or more proxy indicators of amplified fire regimes (increased soil charcoal deposition, higher lake sediment charcoal influx, greater percentages of fire-tolerant pollen taxa), decreased forest canopy density (increased herbaceous pollen taxa, enriched speleothem δ13C values), paleopopulation growth (increased archaeological 14C date frequencies), and dietary innovations (increased cultigen 14C date frequencies, enriched pottery residue δ13C values). Although prominent climate excursions also greatly influenced forest species composition, forest structure, and disturbance regimes, demographic and cultural factors impinging on Native American subsistence regimes and settlement patterns became increasingly important modulators of ecological processes over the course of the Holocene.

Oak Savannas in Western New York State, Circa 1795: Synthesizing Predictive Spatial Models and Historical Accounts to Understand Environmental and Native American Influences

This study models and maps oak savanna distribution ca. 1795 and determines how environmental conditions and Native American land use (NALU) shaped its distribution. Historical research has analyzed early landscape accounts to assess how Native Americans modified forests throughout the eastern United States. Predictive spatial modeling has sought to quantify anthropogenic and environmental drivers of forest conditions and to predict locations where NALU changed forest composition. Yet, studies have not rigorously synthesized these two methods. This research focused on oak savannas in western New York State (27,617 km2). We trained models of oak savanna distribution from historic vegetation data in relation to environmental predictors and NALU proxies. We then mapped historical accounts of oak savannas and NALU at European-American arrival and compared them to model predictions. Results suggest that 2 to 17 percent (depending on modeling technique) of the study area contained oak savanna, with a favored estimate of 3 to 6 percent. Synthesis of models and accounts suggests that oak savannas were attributable to NALU and dry environmental conditions but that NALU (specifically burning) was present at most oak savanna locations. Models of oak savanna distribution that considered proximity to Native American settlement had higher predictive performance and better predicted locations of historical oak savanna accounts, including those with descriptions of Native American burning. This study suggests that former oak savannas in the study area can be largely attributed to NALU. Furthermore, this study’s methodology and results contribute to a larger body of geographical literature on savanna landscapes. Key Words: anthropogenic burning, forests, modeling, Native Americans, oak savanna.

Native American Land-Use Impacts on a Temperate Forested Ecosystem, West Central New York State

Land survey records (LSRs) describing forest species composition prior to extensive European American settlement are critical sources of information on past environmental controls of forest dynamics in eastern North America. Embedded within these historical data sources is evidence of prior Native American land use. This study expands on previous LSR-based analyses of Seneca and Iroquoian populations’ impacts on the temperate forests of west central New York State. We use an enhanced array of geospatial LSR vegetation data beyond conventional bearing tree data and implement, for the first time, combined indirect ordination of vegetation data along major environmental gradients and numerical classification of discrete upland vegetation communities. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling revealed three main drivers of vegetation dynamics in the study area: (1) fire frequency (53.7 percent of total variance); (2) soil productivity (22.6 percent variance); and (3) Native American land use (15.9 percent variance). Agglomerative hierarchical clustering reinforced the primacy of these gradients by delineating two major forest types differentiated primarily by fire frequency and secondarily by soil productivity. Seneca and Iroquoian agricultural villages were preferentially concentrated within fire-tolerant dry upland forests on high-productivity soils within the interior portion of the Lake Ontario Lowland. Fire-tolerant, dry upland forests on low-productivity soils were situated on the adjacent Appalachian Plateau, which was likely used by indigenous populations for silvicultural land-use activities. Native American disturbance of temperate forested ecosystems likely varied across the diverse culture areas of eastern North America, with the Seneca and Iroquois representing an extreme end-member within a broad continuum of anthropogenic disturbance. Key Words: forest composition, land survey records, land-use history, Native Americans, vegetation disturbance.

Influences of Native American land use on the Colonial Euro-American settlement of the South Carolina Piedmont.

We test the hypothesis that prehistoric Native American land use influenced the Euro-American settlement process in a South Carolina Piedmont landscape. Long term ecological studies demonstrate that land use legacies influence processes and trajectories in complex, coupled social and ecological systems. Native American land use likely altered the ecological and evolutionary feedback and trajectories of many North American landscapes. Yet, considerable debate revolves around the scale and extent of land use legacies of prehistoric Native Americans. At the core of this debate is the question of whether or not European colonists settled a mostly “wild” landscape or an already “humanized” landscape. We use statistical event analysis to model the effects of prehistoric Native American settlement on the rate of Colonial land grants (1749–1775). Our results reveal how abandoned Native American settlements were among the first areas claimed and homesteaded by Euro-Americans. We suggest that prehistoric land use legacies served as key focal nodes in the Colonial era settlement process. As a consequence, localized prehistoric land use legacies likely helped structure the long term, landscape- to regional-level ecological inheritances that resulted from Euro-American settlement.

Native American impact on past forest composition inferred from species distribution models, Chautauqua County, New York

Little consensus surrounds the extent of Native American impacts upon tree species composition in Eastern North America, prior to European‐American settlement (presettlement). Native American land‐use practices (e.g., forest clearance and burning) likely altered forest composition, but the spatial extent of these alterations remains vaguely quantified. Previous research has attempted to quantify the spatial extent of clearance practices, but little research has addressed the more subtle alterations to tree species composition resulting from Native American land use. Research has also inadequately distinguished between environmental and anthropogenic controls upon tree species composition, leaving open the possibility that, instead of modifying forest composition, Native American societies instead settled where favored tree species were already present. This study employed species distribution models (SDMs) trained from tree species data within presettlement land survey records (PLSRs), in order to understand Native American impacts upon presettlement tree species composition in Chautauqua County, New York. Using historical and archaeological data, this study developed “Native American variables” (NAVs), which represented human accessibility to features of Iroquoian settlement. This study then modeled the distribution of tree species in relation to both environmental variables and NAVs. Notable results indicate that NAVs significantly improved the predictive performance of SDMs for mast‐bearing taxa, such as oak (Quercus spp.), chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.), and hickory (Carya spp.). Under a simulated absence of Iroquoian settlement, the amount of “suitable” area in Chautauqua County decreased by 2 to 23 percentage points for five mast‐bearing taxa, depending upon species and modeling procedure. Results imply that Iroquoian alterations to tree species composition covered a larger spatial extent, in comparison to previous estimates of the spatial extent of clearance practices in Iroquoian regions. Yet, the majority of forest compositional modifications occurred within 10 to 15 km of village sites. This study offers a novel methodology for quantifying Native American impacts upon past tree species composition, and suggests that Iroquoian land‐use practices of the early Historic era shaped forest compositional patterns at local extents in one region of presettlement Eastern North America.

A record of sustained prehistoric and historic land use from the Cahokia region, Illinois, USA

In eastern North America, large prehistoric settlements were concentrated in and along the floodplains of the midcontinent, but few sedimentary records have been examined adjacent to these sites to evaluate the impacts of Native American land use on terrestrial ecosystems. Here we report a high-resolution and multiproxy paleoecological record from Horseshoe Lake, an oxbow lake in the central Mississippi River valley that is adjacent to the Cahokia site (Illinois, USA), the largest prehistoric settlement north of Mexico. Palynological and carbon isotope data document pronounced vegetation changes over the past 1700 yr driven primarily by land use, including 900 yr (450–1350 CE) of sustained prehistoric human impacts. Rapid forest clearance was followed closely by the proliferation of indigenous seed crops of the Eastern Agricultural Complex beginning ca. 450 CE, centuries before the emergence of Cahokia at 1050 CE. Agricultural intensification that included the use of maize ( Zea mays subsp. mays ) followed this initial clearance, with peak land use intensity between 900 and 1200 CE. A large flood event ca. 1200 CE marks the onset of agricultural contraction and Cahokia’s decline. Reforestation follows the abandonment of the Cahokia region at ca. 1350 CE. The Horseshoe Lake record thus indicates that regional agricultural activity began abruptly at 450 CE and intensified over the following centuries, well before the formation of Cahokia and other large prehistoric settlements. The evidence that a major flood coincided with the onset of Cahokia’s decline is noteworthy, but will require corroboration from additional records.

Native Americans, regional drought and tree island evolution in the Florida Everglades

This study uses palynologic data to determine the effects of regional climate variability and human activity on the formation and development of tree islands during the last ~4000 years. Although prolonged periods of aridity have been invoked as one mechanism for their formation, Native American land use has also been hypothesized as a driver of tree island development. Using pollen assemblages from head and near tail sediments collected on two tree islands and documented archeological data, the relative roles of Native Americans, climate variability, and recent water-management practices in forming and structuring Everglades tree islands are examined. The timing of changes recorded in the pollen record indicates that tree islands developed from sawgrass marshes ~3800 cal. yr BP, prior to human occupation. Major tree island expansion, recorded near tail sediments, occurred ~1000 years after initial tree island formation. Comparison of the timing of pollen assemblages with other proxy records indicates that tree island expansion is related to regional and global aridity correlated with southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Local fire associated with droughts may also have influenced tree island expansion. This work suggests that Native American occupation did not significantly influence tree island formation and that the most important factors governing tree island expansion are extreme hydrologic events due to droughts and intense twentieth century water management.

Native American influences on the forest composition of the Allegheny Plateau, northwest Pennsylvania

We integrate witness tree distribution, Native American archaeological sites, and geological and topographic variables to investigate the relationships between Native American populations and pre-European settlement forest types on the Allegheny Plateau, northwest Pennsylvania. Detrended correspondence analysis of witness tree data separated the presettlement forests into oak–hickory–chestnut and beech–hemlock–maple communities. Oak, hickory, and chestnut forests were centered on Native American village sites. Using archaeological data, an index of Native American influence (NAI) was derived to reflect the intensity of Native American land use across the landscape. In a comparison among species, mean NAI value of oak, hickory, and chestnut trees was significantly higher than that of beech, maple, and hemlock. Logistic regression demonstrated that among geology type, landform, elevation, aspect, slope, and NAI, NAI was by far the most significant predictor of oak, hickory, and chestnut distribution. Although cause and effect of this relationship cannot be tested, we suggest that long-term Native American activity selected for the disturbance-adapted oak, hickory, and chestnut. We contend that Native American agriculture, burning, and resource extraction could have converted maple–beech–hemlock to oak–hickory–chestnut, or at least reinforced the dominance of this forest type.

Prehistoric Decline in Freshwater Mussels Coincident with the Advent of Maize Agriculture

Abstract: During late prehistory, high population densities and intensive agricultural practices of Native American societies had profound effects on the pre‐Columbian landscape. The degree to which Native American land use affected aquatic ecosystems is unknown. Freshwater mussels are particularly sensitive harbingers of modern‐day ecosystem deterioration. We used data from prehistoric Native American shell middens to examine prehistoric trends in abundance of freshwater mussels of the genus Epioblasma in North America during the last 5000 years. The relative abundance of Epioblasma declined steadily during this period, a result that could be explained either by an increase in human impacts to streams or by long‐term climatic changes unrelated to human activities. The rate of decline of Epioblasma increased significantly, however, after the advent of large‐scale maize agriculture in the southeastern United States about 1000 years before the present. Our results suggest that human land‐use activities in prehistory caused changes in freshwater mussel communities that were lower in magnitude but similar in direction to changes caused by recent activities.

Interpreting and conserving the openland habitats of coastal New England: insights from landscape history

Maintenance and restoration of grasslands, heathlands, and shrublands are high priorities for conservation due to their diversity of uncommon species and assemblages and their ongoing decline resulting from invasion by shrubs and trees. Much of the literature and management concerning openlands emphasizes burning to control woody growth, based on the interpretation that these habitats and their species assemblages were widespread during the pre-European period as a consequence of natural disturbance and Native American land use. By focusing on the coastal region of New England–New York, which harbors excellent examples of these habitats, is characterized by many natural disturbances (e.g. hurricanes, fire, salt spray), and supported relatively dense Native American populations, we assess the paleoecological, archaeological, historical, and modern ecological evidence supporting this perspective. We conclude that: (1) pre-European uplands, including coastal areas, were predominantly forested and that openland habitats were uncommon because natural and human disturbance was infrequent and local; (2) extensive openland vegetation developed only with widespread European forest clearance and land use; (3) assemblages occupying grasslands, shrublands, and heathlands apparently have no lengthy history and are comprised of species that combined opportunistically over recent centuries; (4) the decline of grasslands, heathlands, and shrublands is a century-old phenomena related to a decline in agricultural land use, especially grazing, mowing, plowing and burning; (5) effectively all conservation areas supporting these openland assemblages experienced intensive historical land use; and (6) the modern distribution, composition, and structure of these habitats are largely determined by European land use. Recognition that openland assemblages have cultural origins does not diminish the biological, cultural, or aesthetic value of these habitats. However, it does suggest that grasslands, heathlands and shrublands may be best managed using a combination of approaches that replicate the effects of historical land use. Conservationists should recognize that most of these landscapes have cultural origins and are inherently dynamic; that some vegetation structures and communities cannot be maintained continuously on a given site; and that management is most effective when based on historical and ecological studies leading to clearly defined objectives and rigorous long-term measurement and re-evaluation.

Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas: Rights, Principles and Practice

Resume Populations indigenes et zones protegees: droits, principes et pratiques Les populations indigenes, bannies de force, des zones protegees par La 'conservation Coloniale', ont cause des problemes sociaux graves tout en provoquant une reponse vigoureuse. Maintenant, les partisans de la conservation de l'environnement acceptent les progres de la loi internationale qui reconnaissent les droits des indigenes et ont fait changer la categorisation de zone protegee; ceci afin de permettre aux indigenes d'etre proprietaires et d'avoir un pouvoir de controle. Les principes qui reconnaissent ces droits et les Directives qui permettent de les appliquer ont ete adoptes. Des obstacles de taille sont toujours en pratique. Cependant, des exemples positifs laissent voir des solutions. Resumen Gentes indigenas y zonas protegidas: derechos, principios y practica Las poblaciones indigenas excluidas pot la fuerza de las zonas protegidas por la 'conservacion Colonial' causaron problemas sociales serios pero tambien provocaron una reaccion energica. Ahora, los conservacionistas aceptan los cambios progresistas de la ley internacional. Estos cambios reconocen los derechos indigenas y han cambiado la categorizacion de zona protegida. De este modo, se les permite a los indigenas ser propietarios y controlar estas zonas. Se han adoptado principios que reconocen estos derechos y las Lineas Directrices que los aplican. Obstaculos enormes siguen en practica mas ejemplos positivos van sugeriendo soluciones. Colonial Conservation It is easy to forget, now that conservation has become a mainstream concern of the global community and the subject of international treaties, that the idea of conserving nature through the creation of protected areas is a relatively recent invention. The idea was born in the tumultuous rush of land grabbing during the American conquest of the West, when settler families, the US cavalry, gold miners, cowboys and Indians struggled to impose their different visions of life and land use on the continent. One of the first to conceive of the idea of a 'national park' was the artist George Catlin, who ventured into the Wild West in the 1830s to capture through his oil paintings the dignified visages of the 'Plains Indians'. Musing on what he felt would be the inevitable disappearance of the their way of life he wrote: And in future what a splendid contemplation ... when one ... imagines them as they might be seen, by some great protecting policy of government preserved in their pristine beauty and wildness, in a magnificent park, where the world could see for ages to come, the native Indian in his classic attire, galloping his wild horse, with sinewy bow, and shield and lance, amid the fleeting herds of elks and buffaloes ... A nation's Park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty! (Catlin 1841: vii, emphasis in original). However, when the first such park was actually created thirty years later, it was during the disruptions of the American Civil War at a time when a devastating series of 'Indian Wars' was being waged to subdue Indian autonomy and realise the country's 'manifest destiny' (Colchester 1994: 2-6). It was this dominant vision of conquest, combined with 'wilderness preservation' (Ibid.), which defined the way the first parks were created in the USA at Yosemite in 1864 and Yellowstone in 1872. As Keller and Turek (1998: 20-22) relate, the startling landscapes of Yosemite, substantially an outcome of Native American land use systems, were proposed for conservation by the very same settlers who, twelve years previously, had waged the 'Mariposa Indian War' against the area's indigenous people--the Miwok. In this one-sided struggle, forces sanctioned by the US Government made repeated attacks on Indian settlements. Villages were burned to the ground to force the Indians out of the area and to starve or freeze them into submission. …

The Community Dynamics of Source Water Protection: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

I report here on an environmental anthropology fellowship project that examined how Native American land use issues effect the ability of local tribal communities to adopt Source Water Assessment and Protection programs. My fellowship work was sponsored by the Community Development office of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in Port Angeles, Washington. Project goals and activities were designed through a collaborative process involving the Elwha Klallam Tribe, EPA sponsors, and SfAA mentors, and included an ethnographic assessment of current Source Water Protection practices in the Elwha community, as well as a comprehensive analysis of how this local phenomena is shaped by policies and political trends at the national level. Key concerns included the status of land use planning, and how land use affects tribal and federal oversight of tribal source water protection programs.