Prehistoric Human Societies Research Articles

Exploring inbreeding dynamics by considering reproductive bound and polygyny

Inbreeding is a clinically significant measure of a population dependent on human social structures including the population size or the cultural traits. Here, we propose an expanded and elaborate model to analyze the inbreeding within a population where explicit polygyny and inbreeding bounds are taken into account. Unlike the models presented so far, we implemented biologically realistic assumptions that there is the disproportionate probability of males to reproduce (polygyny) and female reproduction is bounded. Using the proposed model equations, we changed the parameters that represent the polygyny degree, the female reproductive bound correlated to the mutation rate, and the total population size. The disappearance of the polygyny that numerous human societies experienced results in the long-lasting effect of the decreasing inbreeding coefficient. Decreased female reproductive bound correlated with a higher mutation rate reveals similar results. After the effect of each factor is analyzed, we modeled the dynamics of the inbreeding coefficient throughout an imaginary human population where polygyny disappears and late marriage becomes prevalent. In this group, the population size gradually and exponentially increases reflecting the traits of prehistoric human society and rising agricultural productivity. To observe how late and less marriage, the feature of the modern developed society, affects the inbreeding dynamics, the female reproductive bound and the population size were assumed to decrease after the population upsurge. The model can explain the decreasing trend of the prehistoric inbreeding coefficient of the actual human population and predict how the trend will be shifted when traits of modern societies continue.

Climatic change and climatic variability: An objective decomposition

Over the past 25 years research concerning the effects of climatic fluctuations on past human societies has shifted focus considerably, with most recent hypotheses emphasizing shorter-term variability over longer-term change. Definitions of change and variability, however, remain subjective and vary considerably between researchers. It is suggested that white noise, due to its inherent unpredictability, provides a theoretically robust model of variability that accords with perceptions of variability conveyed by the existing literature. The use of white noise as a model for variability enables the development of an algorithm that objectively decomposes an empirical climatic signal into change and variability components. The algorithm, which combines singular spectrum analysis and Fourier methods, is validated via an extensive series of simulations and applied via two empirical case studies. It is shown that the algorithm has the potential to produce genuine advances by isolating features of interest and facilitating more rigorous hypothesis testing. Its use will therefore aid researchers studying palaeoclimatic effects on prehistoric human societies as well as those studying the nature and effects of contemporary climate change.

Zooarchaeology, taphonomy and palaeoenvironments: small mammal remains from an intermountain valley of the southern Andean cordillera (Mendoza, Argentina)

The present study analyzes zooarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental trends from an assemblage of small mammals recovered from Agua de la Tinaja (AT), an archaeological site from an intermountain valley of the Andean cordillera (northern Mendoza, Argentina). Small mammal remains recovered from AT, chronologically associated with 900–600 years BP, showed taphonomic traces corresponding to the action of owls and humans. Such results were included and compared within the framework of a resource intensification process suggested for Prehistoric human societies from northern Mendoza in Central Western Argentina. The small mammal assemblage from AT is composed by typical species from highland areas (Abrothrix andina, Microcavia australis, Phyllotis xanthopygus) mixed with some species from the Monte Desert (Calomys musculinus, Ctenomys sp., Eligmodontia sp., Thylamys pallidior) and Abrocoma sp. The co-occurrence of some species with modern allopatric distributions could support a scenario of greater environmental heterogeneity during the late Holocene than in the present. A situation like this could be consistent with a more dense vegetation cover and larger availability of patch resources.

Use of fungi for tinder at the Early Neolithic settlement of La Draga (NE Iberia)

The purpose of this work is to contribute to the knowledge of the role of fungi in prehistoric human societies and, in particular, to determine their use as tinder in fire-lighting technologies. The case of La Draga (Banyoles, NE Spain), an Early Neolithic site with extraordinary conservation of organic materials, is presented. At this site, a well preserved and abundant assemblage of fruiting bodies of fungi has been recovered in a waterlogged environment. The comparison of the taxa identified with evidence of fungal spores is analysed in order to provide a better understanding of the process of fungi incorporation into the archaeological site. Finds at La Draga demonstrate that the gathering of bracket fungi was a frequent practice during the Early Neolithic occupation. A total of 86 fruiting bodies have been studied and six different taxa have been identified: Ganoderma adspersum, Daldinia concentrica, Daedalea quercina, Lenzites warnieri, Coriolopsis gallica, and Skeletocutis nivea. The taxa identified in the fruiting bodies have not been identified among the fungal spores from the soil sediments. Comparison of the presence of fungal spores and fruiting bodies provides additional arguments to support the hypothesis that bracket fungi were gathered, dried and stored to be used by the inhabitants of La Draga.

Sediment Records Indicate Outburst Events of Gega Dammed Lake at Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibetan Plateau

Outburst floods from glacial-dammed lakes are the main source of megafloods on earth (Baker, 2013). Outburst floods not only cut deep gorges, but also heavily impacted prehistoric human society deeply because they were the main sources of the great floods described in many legends(Baker, 2009). Outburst floods have even caused global climate change by changing ocean circulation after flowing into the sea (Clarke et al.,2003). The Gega paleo-dammed lake is, located at the entrance of the Yarlung Tsangpo gorge, and is the only paleo-glacial dammed lake found in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. However, no detailed analyses of its outburst floods have been carried out (Liu et al., 2015; Montgomery et al., 2004). The sediments from outburst floods, such as gravel dunes and slack-water deposits, were stored in limited amounts because downstream of the dam often consisted of gorges. In addition to forming downstream deposits, outburst floods can also cause a sudden decline in the dammed lake’s water levels, or even cause the lake to dry up. The sediment from dammed lakes can therefore be used to reconstruct the outburst events (Liu et al., 2014), as has been done for the Missoula dammed lake (Hanson et al., 2012). In previous work, we studied the feasibility of using lacustrine sediment from the Gega paleo-lake to reconstruct outburst events (Liu et al., 2018; Liu et al.,2014). In the present study, we selected the 28.5 m Guoruo (GR) lacustrine section of the Gega paleo-dammed lake for detailed analysis. We carried out detailed multiple proxy analysis and investigated the sand layers that indicated three outburst events.

Past human influences on Amazonian forest

Tropical Forest The marks of prehistoric human societies on tropical forests can still be detected today. Levis et al. performed a basin-wide comparison of plant distributions, archaeological sites, and environmental data. Plants domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples are much more likely to be

Earliest direct evidence of monument building at the archaeological site of Nan Madol (Pohnpei, Micronesia) identified using 230Th/U coral dating and geochemical sourcing of megalithic architectural stone

Archaeologists commonly use the onset of the construction of large burial monuments as a material indicator of a fundamental shift in authority in prehistoric human societies during the Holocene. High- quality direct evidence of this transition is rare. We report new interdisciplinary research at the archaeological site of Nan Madol that allows us to specify where and when people began to construct monumental architecture in the remote islands of the Pacific. Nan Madol is an ancient administrative and mortuary center and the former capital of the island of Pohnpei. It was constructed over 83 ha of lagoon with artificial islets and other architecture built using columnar basalt and coral. We employed geochemical sourcing of basalt used as architectural stone and high-precision uranium-thorium series dates (230Th/U) on coral from the tomb of the first chief of the entire island to identify the beginning of monument building at Nan Madol in AD 1180–1200. Over the next several centuries (AD 1300–1600) monument building began on other islands across Oceania. Future research should be aimed at resolving the causes of these social transformations through higher quality data on monument building.

Handicap, compassion et soin : les sources préhistoriques et polémiques d’une question toujours actuelle

Over the end of the last century, an increasing number of paleopathological reports pretend to present clues in favor of the existence of caring and “compassionate” behaviors toward disabled individuals in prehistoric human societies. Despite the arguments put forward by paleopathologists, this claim raises important questions, not only within the sciences of prehistory but also from the field of the disability studies wherein the notion of “compassion” has been extensively criticized. After a short introduction to paleopathology and to two case studies considered as major references in the scientific literature, this article outlines the main issues which are at stake in the debate that originates in conflicting interpretations with regard to empiric data in the paleopathological literature from 1970 to nowadays.

The Aftermath of Megafaunal Extinction: Ecosystem Transformation in Pleistocene Australia

Giant vertebrates dominated many Pleistocene ecosystems. Many were herbivores, and their sudden extinction in prehistory could have had large ecological impacts. We used a high-resolution 130,000-year environmental record to help resolve the cause and reconstruct the ecological consequences of extinction of Australia's megafauna. Our results suggest that human arrival rather than climate caused megafaunal extinction, which then triggered replacement of mixed rainforest by sclerophyll vegetation through a combination of direct effects on vegetation of relaxed herbivore pressure and increased fire in the landscape. This ecosystem shift was as large as any effect of climate change over the last glacial cycle, and indicates the magnitude of changes that may have followed megafaunal extinction elsewhere in the world.

The cost of cultivation

There were probably many reasons for the adoption of agriculture by prehistoric human societies. A fresh perspective comes from a quantitative estimate of the relative productivity of farming and foraging.

Human cultures and environmental changes in the Pleistocene–Holocene transition in the Japanese Archipelago

The accumulated archaeological records have shown that hunter-gatherer societies turned from mobile to sedentary ways of life through the transition from the terminal Pleistocene to the initial Holocene (ca. 15–8 ka) in Japanese Archipelago. This paper discusses the historical processes seen among prehistoric human cultures, societies, subsistence and environmental changes in this transitional period, namely the shift to the ‘Jomon’ culture. After the AT eruption, which is a huge volcanic eruption in Southern Kyushu in ca. 25000 14C BP, population contraction of large mammals as well as a rapid shift to cold/dry condition and expansion of coniferous forest pushed hunter-gatherers to change their hunting target from large mammals by broad foraging to middle to small mammals in small areas, and formed ‘matured’ regional societies. The ‘Jomon’ culture is thought to have stemmed from these societies, but is more varied, regional, and sophisticated than the Palaeolithic one resulting from the complex environmental change of the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. The emergence of oceanic climate and fine-grained ecological settings shaped the unique culture. For example, the spread of broadleaf forests supplied plentiful nuts, and continental shelves formed through coastal transgression furnished ample marine resources. Because these new ecological settings were formed, the ‘Jomon’ population could have become dependent on gathering and fishing, and shifted to a sedentary subsistence strategy. Furthermore, increase of precipitation and diverse rainfall patterns encouraged diverse ecological settings, leading to the formation of various regional Jomon cultures. This paper presents such complex trajectories for the ‘Jomon’ culture.

Accent Trumps Race in Guiding Children's Social Preferences

A series of experiments investigated the effect of speakers' language, accent, and race on children's social preferences. When presented with photographs and voice recordings of novel children, 5-year-old children chose to be friends with native speakers of their native language rather than foreign-language or foreign-accented speakers. These preferences were not exclusively due to the intelligibility of the speech, as children found the accented speech to be comprehensible, and did not make social distinctions between foreign-accented and foreign-language speakers. Finally, children chose same-race children as friends when the target children were silent, but they chose other-race children with a native accent when accent was pitted against race. A control experiment provided evidence that children's privileging of accent over race was not due to the relative familiarity of each dimension. The results, discussed in an evolutionary framework, suggest that children preferentially evaluate others along dimensions that distinguished social groups in prehistoric human societies.

Biomolecular Catalysis: Nanoscale Science and Technology

Archaeologists commonly use the onset of the construction of large burial monuments as a material indicator of a fundamental shift in authority in prehistoric human societies during the Holocene. High- quality direct evidence of this transition is rare. We report new interdisciplinary research at the archaeological site of Nan Madol that allows us to specify where and when people began to construct monumental architecture in the remote islands of the Pacific. Nan Madol is an ancient administrative and mortuary center and the former capital of the island of Pohnpei. It was constructed over 83 ha of lagoon with artificial islets and other architecture built using columnar basalt and coral. We employed geochemical sourcing of basalt used as architectural stone and high-precision uranium-thorium series dates (230Th/U) on coral from the tomb of the first chief of the entire island to identify the beginning of monument building at Nan Madol in AD 1180–1200. Over the next several centuries (AD 1300–1600) monument building began on other islands across Oceania. Future research should be aimed at resolving the causes of these social transformations through higher quality data on monument building.

Tsunamis, hurricanes, the demise of coral reefs and shifts in prehistoric human populations in the Caribbean

A review of extreme natural events and their impact on coral reefs and prehistoric human society for the wider Caribbean is presented. As a biological and geological archive of hurricane or tsunami chronology, onshore coarse coral deposits were used. The influence of natural disturbances on coral reefs is extremely complex and the relatively short time span of historical records does not provide sufficient long-term information on extreme natural events such as tropical hurricanes or tsunami variability. The sedimentary record of extreme natural events, such as tsunamis and tropical storms, and their impacts on coral reefs are present in the form of coarse onshore reef debris. These coarse sediments provide information on, for example, spatial and temporal variability of extreme events. The short-term impact of tropical hurricanes on coral reefs is well documented and has been studied in great detail, but the impact of tsunamis on coral reefs was rather neglected until the recent past, when the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004 caused the greatest tsunami catastrophe in human history. This contribution focuses on natural extreme events, such as tsunamis and hurricanes and presents evidence and case studies of modern and ancient tropical examples, the problem of distinguishing deposits from these two different wave events, and the significance of the deposits for reef evolution studies within the Caribbean region. A better understanding of coral reef morphologies/structures or disconformities and their origins can be gained by incorporating long-term (multi-century to millennial) records captured in coarse depositional units. The extreme wave event records also provide explanations to prehistoric human dynamics.

Controversy over the great flood hypotheses in the Black Sea in light of geological, paleontological, and archaeological evidence

Legends describing a Great Flood are found in the narratives of several world religions, and the biblical account of Noah's Flood is the surviving heir to several versions of the ancient Mesopotamian Flood Myth. Recently, the story of the biblical deluge was connected to the Black Sea, together with the suggestion that the story's pre-Mesopotamian origins might be found in the Pontic basin [Ryan, W.B.F., Pitman, III, W.C., 1998. Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event That Changed History. Simon and Schuster, New York]. Based on the significance of this flood epic in the Judeo-Christian tradition, popular interest surged following publication of the idea.Currently, two Great Flood scenarios have been proposed for the Black Sea: (1) an Early Holocene event caused by catastrophic Mediterranean inflow at 7.2kyBP (initial hypothesis of [Ryan et al., 1997. An abrupt drowning of the Black Sea shelf. Marine Geology 138, 119–126]) or 8.4ky BP (modified hypothesis of [Ryan et al., 2003. Catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 31, 525–554.); and (2) a Late Pleistocene event brought on by Caspian influx between 16 and 13kyBP [Chepalyga, A.L., 2003. Late glacial Great Flood in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. GSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, 2–5 November 2003, Seattle, USA, p. 460]. Both hypotheses claim that the massive inundations of the Black Sea basin and ensuing large-scale environmental changes had a profound impact on prehistoric human societies of the surrounding areas, and both propose that the event formed the basis for the biblical Great Flood legend.This paper attempts to determine whether the preponderance of existing evidence sustains support for these Great Floods in the evolution of the Black Sea. Based upon established geological and paleontological data, it finds that the Late Pleistocene inundation was intense and substantial whereas the Early Holocene sea-level rise was not. Between 16 and 13ky BP, the Late Neoeuxinian lake (the Late Pleistocene water body in the Pontic basin pre-dating the Black Sea) increased rapidly from ∼−14 to −50m (below the present level of the Black Sea), then rose gradually to ∼−20m by about 11kyBP. At 11–10kyBP (the Younger Dryas), it dropped to ∼−50m. When the Black Sea re-connected with the Sea of Marmara at about 9.5kyBP, inflowing Mediterranean water increased the Black Sea level very gradually up to ∼−20m, and in so doing, it raised the salinity of the basin and brought in the first wave of Mediterranean immigrants. These data indicate no major drawdown of the Black Sea after the Younger Dryas, and they do not provide evidence for any catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea in the Early Holocene.In addition, available archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence from the Pontic region reveal no recognizable changes in population dynamics between 14 and 6kyBP that could be linked to an inundation of large magnitude [Dolukhanov, P., Shilik, K., 2006. Environment, sea-level changes, and human migrations in the northern Pontic area during late Pleistocene and Holocene times. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 297–318; Stanko, V.N., 2006. Fluctuations in the level of the Black Sea and Mesolithic settlement of the northern Pontic area. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 371–385]. More specifically, Mesolithic and early Neolithic archaeological data in southeastern Europe and Ukraine give no indications of shifts in human subsistence or other behavior at the time of the proposed catastrophic flood in the Early Holocene [Anthony, D., 2006. Pontic-Caspian Mesolithic and Early Neolithic societies at the time of the Black Sea Flood: A small audience and small effects. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 345–370; Dergachev and Dolukhanov, 2006. The Neolithization of the North Pontic area and the Balkans in the context of the Black Sea Floods. In: Yanko-Hombach, V., Gilbert, A.S., Panin, N., Dolukhanov, P.M. (Eds.), The Black Sea Flood Question: Changes in Coastline, Climate, and Human Settlement. Springer, Dordrecht, pp. 489–514].

Woodland biodiversity, palaeo‐human ecology and some implications for conservation management

SummaryThis paper appraises the role of prehistoric human societies in modifying the natural woodland biodiversity of several regions throughout Scotland. It draws attention to the likelihood that, contrary to popular belief, biodiversity was enhanced by interactions between agricultural communities and woodlands. The possible purposefulness of such interactions is discussed.Mindful of the present concern to re‐establish ‘native’ woodlands in many parts of northern Britain, we then review three approaches to the identification of native tree types in Scotland, and conclude that insufficient attention in reafforestation schemes is being paid to (a) the palaeoecological record as a record of native woodland or (b) the likely former high taxonomic diversity of woodlands. Both these failings will lead to the creation of new woodlands lacking in species diversity.

Field research on baboons, drills, and geladas: An historical, geographical, and bibliographical listing.

A dramatic rise in the field study of primate behavior and ecology has occurred since the early 1950s. A considerable portion of the research effort and time expended during these past 20 years has been directed at the cercopithecines of Asia and Africa, with particular emphasis upon macaque populations (Macaca spp.) and baboon populations (Papio spp.) occupying many habitat types. The concentrated attention upon the African "ground-dwelling" primates appears to have originated with an early interest in the social organization of these populations as potential models for prehistoric human society; but practical issues, such as the relative ease of observing primates in sparse versus dense vegetation, probably played a major selective role as well. Consequently, a large volume of ecological, biological, and behavioral data has accumulated in recent years on the baboons, and secondarily on geladas and drills. But this basic field information has become internationally dispersed throughout a wide variety of literature sources, which does not facilitate collation of the materials. With attention focusing increasingly upon comparative topics, such as how social organization or reproduction may be influenced by ecotypes or climates, there is a growing need to bring these data together, or to at least ease the problem of tracing down the basic publications. In order to promote awareness of the currently available mass of data and results from field projects on baboons, drills, and geladas, a table of surveys, short term studies, and long term studies was compiled in February 1972, based on literature sources and personal communication. This table is broken down according to the major geographical subregions of Africa, with country and site names for each study, as well as the year(s) in which the project occurred, the population(s) under observation, and the investigator(s) involved. The table is accompanied by a map showing estimated population distributions and numbered study sites. Core references for each particular study and site are given, but this list is not comprehensive. Additional references on special topics can be obtained from the main publications on each study.