Season Of Occupation Research Articles

Where and when? Combining dental wear and death seasons to improve paleoenvironmental reconstruction through ungulate diets

Dental meso- and microwear are proxies that allow the diet to be reconstructed. Applied to herbivores, these proxies provide information on vegetation structure and composition. Several studies on fossil populations have proposed environmental reconstructions based on these methods. These studies often focus on a few selected taxa and rarely consider the total variability of ungulate diets at sites in contexts where the seasonality of occupations is often not estimated. The variability of the ungulate diet associated with a better knowledge of the moment of their death can greatly improve the quality and resolution of the environmental interpretation at the scale past hominins experienced. In this paper, we propose a new approach to dental wear to reconstruct environments. We recommend including all available ungulates according to their abundance in the faunal spectrum to consider as many habitats as possible. The combination of dental meso- and microwear allows us to address two scales of time and space–the regional scale over several years and the local scale over one season, respectively. Applied to Teixoneres Cave (Units IIIa and IIIb, Spain) and Pié Lombard (Ensemble II, France), the results confirm previous microfauna analysis and make it possible to characterize the intensity of seasonal turnover.

PALAEOLITHIC HUMAN SOCIETIES DURING THE UPPER PLENIGLACIAL THROUGHT THEIR RELATIONS WITH OTHER ANIMALS IN UKRAINIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

The first part of the Upper Pleniglacial (around 26000—20000 BP) is characterized by a deterioration in weather conditions, which reached its peak during the Last Glacial Maximum. In the East European Plain, most of its lands were dominated by a periglacial steppe-tundra with the maximum extension of ice sheet in the North and permafrost. The different animal species had to adapt to these environments, also as human groups.The recent works realized in Ukraine permit to better understand the lifestyles of the Palaeolithic human groups, particularly their subsistence activities, the modalities of settlements and the technocultural practices. We based our study on the main sites, Dorochivtsy III, Galich 1, Klussy, Korman, Molodova V, Obollonia, Oselivka, Pushkari 1 and Pogon (Pushkari 8). These sites are very important to better understand the human occupations for all the East European Plain. Here we particularly focus on the zooarchaeological remains, which permitted to better determine the taphonomic conditions, the human activities, the seasonality of occupations and the human and other animal relationships. The main species present in archaeological sites are Mammoth, Reindeer, Horse, Fox and Wolf, who have important implication on the territory modification and the food resource for humans. Moreover the animal eco-ethology involvement of their acquisition-exploitation by nomadic hunter-gatherers, permits to highlight the potential human behavioral strategies. They show the continuous occupation of the territories by humans, in any seasons, with the persistence of organized activities, innovations and varied behaviors. This period corresponds to the changes between middle Gravettian and late Gravettian, then first Epigravettian features. The end of the Last Glacial Maximum peak marks the disappearance of Late Gravettian and of human populations between 19—16000 BP, followed by a hiatus until 16000 BP.

Population mobility and lithic tool diversity in the Late Gravettian – The case study of Lubná VI (Bohemian Massif)

This paper presents the results of excavations conducted at the Late Gravettian site of Lubná VI in 2012 and 2018. This site is an exceptional example of a short-term Late Gravettian campsite, occupied between 27.5 and 27.1 ka cal BP. Due to the specific location of this site, in an area situated far from lithic raw material sources, the archaeological remains offer a rare possibility to understand the subsistence strategy of highly mobile hunter-gatherers in the Late Pleistocene. The knapped lithic assemblage is composed of erratic Cretaceous flint imported over long distances, and the tool inventory is typical of Late Gravettian assemblages from Central Europe, with a dominance of burins and backed implements. However, the lack of chert and flint raw material in the vicinity of the site inspired the occupants to use bladelet blanks to make hunting weaponry from burin spalls. This specific behaviour is unique among Gravettian inventories known from the western Carpathians. Reindeer dominate the faunal assemblage over other species. The season of occupation at Lubná VI was probably early autumn, and may be associated with the maximum use of environmental resources by the hunter-gatherers. The small campsite was located at a convenient spot for processing reindeer carcasses, where some hearth stone constructions were arranged. Because there was no woody vegetation in the closest vicinity of the site, reindeer bones and fat were used as fuel in hearths. Given the lack of nearby flint raw materials, the accessibility of large numbers of reindeer near Lubná, probably present on a seasonal basis, explains the occurrence of Late Gravettian occupation in this micro-region.

Fishing for “lucky stones”: Symbolic uses of otoliths in Brazilian shell sites

Otoliths are concretions of aragonite located in fish neurocrania, also popularly known as “lucky stones”. These elements are commonly found in Brazilian shell mounds and middens, and have long been regarded as a by-product of food processing and consumption. Zooarchaeologists commonly use them to identify species, estimate age, quantify fish, and to discuss capture methods and seasonality of occupation, among other aspects of fish and human populations. My research at Jabuticabeira II, a cemetery site with large quantities of otoliths closely associated with burials, explores alternative uses of otoliths by past coastal populations that inhabited the southern Brazilian coast. I reviewed ethnographic and historical accounts of the use of otoliths to check distinct uses of these fish elements. I analyzed 9258 otoliths and 76,990 fish bones from Jabuticabeira II to identify patterns of fragmentation, thermal alteration, element representation and distribution across contexts. The results indicate that otoliths were deliberately placed in burials, pointing to the symbolic value of otoliths. This research reinforces the need to consider the non-economic uses of fish by pre-historic populations.

Environment, seasonality and hunting strategies as influences on Natufian food procurement: The faunal remains from Shubayqa 1

Analysis of the faunal assemblage from Shubayqa 1 allows detailed discussion of food procurement through the sequence of occupation spanning the Early and Late Natufian. The influence of climate, season of occupation and hunting techniques on the subsistence economy is discussed. It is argued that targeted prey varied throughout the year, with mass hunting methods providing a large proportion of the meat. In the Late Natufian a decrease in passage migrant birds is interpreted as evidence for gradual drying of the environment, or less reliable rainfall from year-to-year. Availability of resources varied between the two phases of occupation, which, despite preceding the Younger Dryas, suggests that environmental conditions were changing. However, subsistence strategies were easily amended to maintain a plentiful supply of food.

The Mas del Pepet experimental programme for the study of prehistoric livestock practices: Preliminary data from dung burning

The research for referential data on current livestock contexts is essential for correctly interpreting archaeological records documented in prehistoric livestock spaces. Experimental programmes such as the one begun in 2014 in the Mas del Pepet pen (Rojals, Tarragona) has permitted an understanding, among other matters, of fold characteristics according to the type of livestock, the seasonality of occupations and herd management. This study also contributes to the identification of taphonomic processes that have taken place and to determine the representativeness of the botanical content in the deposit, in relation to the environment and pasture areas. Finally, the dung burning experiments conducted have provided data that will help to reveal the way manure was treated in prehistoric fold caves.

Season of bison mortality in TD10.2 bone bed at Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca): Integrating tooth eruption, wear, and microwear methods

The middle Pleistocene assemblage of Gran Dolina TD10.2 bone bed level (Atapuerca, Spain) is composed primarily by bison remains (Bison sp.) belonging to a minimal number of individuals of 60. The mortality and taphonomical features suggest an anthropogenic origin product of mass predation. The large number of mandibles and mandibular teeth of a single species has allowed us to explore the nature of kill events and seasonality of occupations through two methods: eruption and wear-pattern and tooth microwear. Here we combine data obtained on young individuals from tooth eruption and wear and on prime and old adults from tooth microwear. Integrating the results from the two independent and non-destructive methods permits to combine data from the entire population found in the assemblage increasing the sample size. This approach permits to evaluate the seasonality to confirm if the seasonal pattern is similar in young and adults. The integration of the two methods has allowed the identification of two main periods of occupation rejecting a single kill scenario but also permitting to observe phases with low number of individuals which certainly correspond to moments of the year when the site was not occupied. Tooth wear and eruption patterns moreover permit to establish the time of the year when the principal events occurred — one in late spring/early summer and other in early fall. The preliminary results indicate a seasonal mortality pattern on TD10.2 bone bed bison population and a seasonal use of the Gran Dolina site for anthropogenic occupations.

The Incidence of Potential Insolation on Settlement Dynamics and Site Location Preferences: A Case Study From the Cantabrian Late Palaeolithic

This paper proposes a specific methodology for calculating the potential insolation received by a set of Late Palaeolithic (Upper Magdalenian and Azilian) sites in western Cantabria (northern Iberia). The goal of this study is to test whether insolation is linked to the mobility strategies of foraging communities, and if insolation is a conditioning factor when choosing settlement areas or the season in which they are occupied. The potential insolation at the sites is then compared to the available archaeological evidence in order to test if a correspondence exists between the sites' season of occupation and the insolation they each receive during the year.

Plant-food preparation on two consecutive floors at Upper Paleolithic Ohalo II, Israel

The Ohalo II Upper Paleolithic site was inundated for ca. 23,000 years. A unique and diverse assemblage of seeds and fruit was thus excellently preserved on its brush huts floors. Three successive floors were identified in Brush Hut 1; about 55,000 seeds and fruits were found on its lower floor, Floor III. Food preparation features were found on two of these floors: a hearth in the center of Floor III and a grinding stone in the north of Floor II. Here we analyze the spatial distribution of fourteen prominent plant taxa recovered from Floor III, and compare the results with previously published spatial distribution of the same taxa on Floor II. We describe here the plant remains' distribution around food preparation features – grinding stone (floor II) and a central hearth (floor III), and the groups of taxa which appear on both floors. The similarity in taxa as well as their concentrations on both floors indicates similar activities. We also raise the possibility that the two floors represent two different seasons of occupation – Floor III in winter and Floor II in summer.

Influence of Grazing Management on Plant Diversity of Highland Sourveld Grassland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Commercial livestock production offers one of the main opportunities for mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation in the grassland biome of South Africa. Grazing management is expected to influence success. With the uses of three long-term grazing trials, effects of stocking rate and cattle-to-sheep ratio on the plant composition and diversity of Highland Sourveld grassland in KwaZulu-Natal were examined. Plant diversity was sampled with the use of modified Whittaker plots. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to test the effects of treatments on compositional variation, and general linear models were used to test individual species’ responses. In a biennial rotation, burned/grazed plots supported lower species richness of forbs and all plants than unburned/ungrazed plots, attributed to the impact of grazing during the season of occupation. A high stocking rate resulted in a long-term decrease of forb richness in one experiment, but an increase in another. An increasing proportion of sheep to cattle resulted in a long-term decrease of the richness of forbs and of total species richness. The three trials identified nongrass species that behaved as increasers or decreasers in response to an increase in stocking rate, and a set of species that behaved as decreasers in response to an increasing proportion of sheep to cattle. Constraints on using long-term trials for identifying the effects of livestock management on plant diversity include lack of baseline data, limited replication, pre-experimental impacts on the study site, and the difficulty of assessing uncommon species. La producción ganadera comercial ofrece una de las principales oportunidades para canalizar la conservación de la biodiversidad en los pastizales de Sudáfrica. Se espera que el manejo del pastoreo influya en tener éxito. Con este fin, se evaluó el uso de tres ensayos de pastoreo a largo plazo, el efecto de la carga animal y la relación de ganado-ovejas en la composición y diversidad de los pastizales en Highland Sourveld grassland KwaZulu-en Natal. La diversidad de plantas fue muestreada utilizando la técnica modificada de las parcelas de Whittaker. Análisis de correspondencia canónica fueron utilizados para probar los efectos de los tratamientos sobre la variación de la composición, y los modelos lineares generales fueron usados para probar la respuesta individual de las especies. En una rotación bienal las parcelas quemadas/pastoreadas presentaron el menor número de especies de herbáceas y de todo tipo de plantas, comparadas con las parcelas sin quema y/o pastoreo. Esto se atribuyó al impacto de la actividad de pastoreo durante la época en que se llevó a cabo. Una mayor carga animal dio como resultado una disminución a largo plazo de la riqueza de herbáceas en un experimento pero se incrementó en otro. Al incrementarse la proporción de ovejas sobre el ganado hubo una disminución a largo plazo sobre el número de herbáceas, así como una disminución en el número total. Durante los tres estudios se identificaron especies no gramíneas cuyo comportamiento fue de incremento o disminución en respuesta al aumento en la carga animal. Asimismo, se observó un grupo de plantas que disminuyeron en respuesta al incremento en la proporción de ovinos sobre bovinos. Las restricciones sobre el uso de ensayos a largo plazo para la identificación del efecto del manejo del ganado en la diversidad de las plantas incluyen la carencia de datos iniciales, limitación en las repeticiones, impacto pre-experimentales del sitio de estudio, y la dificultad de evaluar especies pocos comunes.

Oakes Bay 1: A Preliminary Reconstruction of a Labrador Inuit Seal Hunting Economy in the Context of Climate Change

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):245–259, 2010 This paper presents results of recent archaeological research at the site of Oakes Bay 1 (HeCg-08), on Dog Island, Labrador, dated from the late 17th to late 18th century. Analyses of faunal remains provide a means of reconstructing the site's subsistence economy. The site's inhabitants practiced a very consistent mode of hunting throughout this time period, depending heavily on adult ringed seals taken on the fast ice in winter and spring. Juvenile ringed seals, taken at the ice edge in the spring were a secondary resource. A lack of evidence for the hunting of harp seals in the fall and of ringed seal pups in late spring suggests that the site had a relatively short season of occupation. The consistent pattern of hunting through time suggests that the impacts of climatic variability on Inuit subsistence in the Nain region were relatively limited, moderated by their capacity for mobility on the sea ice rather than by whole scale changes in hunting practices and species choice. The Oakes Bay 1 site presents an example of a different subsistence economy than that seen at other recently examined sites in Labrador, suggesting that the impacts of the so-called Little Ice Age were not global or uniform.

STANDING FALL HOUSE: AN EARLY PUEBLOAN STORAGE AND REDISTRIBUTION CENTER IN NORTHEASTERN ARIZONA

Standing Fall House is a 55-room cliff ruin located on the north end of Black Mesa in northeastern Arizona. The ruin has been analyzed in terms of functional room categories, chronology and building sequences, artifactual and nonartifactual remains, and duration and seasonality of occupation. All data were gathered by surface collection and mapping; no excavation took place. All analyses suggest, independently, that Standing Fall House was not used primarily as a year-round habitation site. It is hypothesized that the site was the seasonal locus for a system of storage and redistribution of maize involving an integrated network of otherwise spatially distinct communities. Further, this economic network apparently existed during Pueblo I and continued until early Pueblo II at the site.

The Milnesand Site: Site Formation Study of a Paleoindian Bison Bonebed in Eastern New Mexico

In 1953, E. H Sellards directed excavations at the Milnesand site in Roosevelt County, New Mexico. Sellards and later researchers have taken a multidisciplinary interest in the Milnesand site, examining geomorphological, paleontological, and lithic artifact databases. Unfortunately, the analysis of the faunal remains from the site has been minimal. The present study is based on a 199 3 examination of the bison remains from the Milnesand site. While there are many "problems" with the faunal assemblagesuch as poor faunal preservation and biased collection methods-an attribute-based taphonomic analysis can contribute important information on skeletal element frequencies, herd composition, seasonality of occupation, and site formation processes. Analysis shows that the Milnesand bonebed represents a winter and/or spring kill site involving numerous animals that were incompletely butchered following the kill. A gradual burial of the bonebed, interrupted by numerous periods of exposure, resulted in extensive dispersal of the carcasses and the relatively poor condition of the faunal remains.

The Loco Hills Bifacial Core Cache From Southeastern New Mexico

Caches of stone artifacts are a common phenomenon on and around the margins ofthe Llano Estacado of eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. Since caches can provide important clues about population movements, seasonality of occupation, and competition for resource areas, special effort should be made to record and describe them. Dating caches is a major problem which must be overcome in order to make maximum use of this cultural information. This report describes eight bifacial cores recently recovered from southeastern New Mexico.

Season and Reason: The Case for a Regional Interpretation of Mesolithic Settlement Patterns

Danish early and late Mesolithic lakeside settlements are examined. Season of occupation is examined through tooth eruption and bone growth of wild boar (Sus scrofa); the early Mesolithic sites were all occupied in summer (including Holmegaard V, previously believed to be a winter settlement), whereas late Mesolithic Ringkloster was occupied in winter and spring. Skeletal element frequency indicates that Ringkloster was a hunting camp and the early Mesolithic sites were not. There were considerable differences between sites of the two periods, despite their very similar locations, because of their different settlement systems. It is therefore argued that Mesolithic settlements cannot be understood by studying individual site location; the settlement system of which each site was a part exerts a crucial influence.

Sinclair Site: Use of Space at an Early Archaic Period Housepit Site, South-Central Wyoming

Block excavations at the Sinclair site yielded the remains of a housepit and exterior features with radiocarbon age estimates of 5770 and 5540 years ago. The housepit is a shallow, unprepared basin that is approximately 5.6 m in diameter. It has five interior pits with oxidized sides, a posthole, a fire-affected rock concentration, and an alignment of sandstone rocks. The examination of site structure indicates that the excavated portion of the site contains two domestic work areas; one within the housepit and another outside. The site probably represents a short-term residential camp of foragers occupied during the late summer and fall. Comparisons with other Early Archaic period housepit sites in Wyoming suggest that these sites may be divided into two groups which may represent different seasons of occupation.

Current Perspectives On Stone Ring Structures in Northeastern Colorado

Stone ring structures include almost all of the currently identified prehistoric architectural manifestations in northeastern Colorado. Rings are found singly or in groups, in or near the short-grass prairie that vegetates the area. Data are included for 32 stone ring sites in the Livermore, Keota, and Ft. Morgan areas of Colorado and the nearby Point of Rocks area in western Nebraska. Ring diameters usually range from 2.5 to 5 m. It is suggested, but not proven, that occasional sites with consistently larger rings reflect horse transport mechanisms. Most ring sites have small surface collections that typically lack the projectile points, sherds, or other artifacts that would provide typological chronological placement. The excavated T-W-Diamond site (5LR200) yielded radiocarbon dates of A.D. 1020±230 and A.D. 1170±270 in association with side-notched projectile points and plain ceramics. Collections from some other ring sites in the area include similar artifacts and may be contemporaneous. Future research plans include (1) re-collection of known sites to increase the size of surface collections and their potential for typological dating, (2) detailed mapping of surface features on surveyed sites, and (3) excavation of selected stone ring sites to increase knowledge about subsurface remains. Particular attention will be focused on research goals as identified by Adams in Alberta. Additional problems to be addressed include vegetable food resources available, season of occupation, and social implications of numbers of rings per site.

Fish and crayfish from the Washpool Midden site, New Zealand: Their use in determining season of occupation and prehistoric fishing methods

Abstract A method is suggested whereby modern ecological information on fish behaviour and distribution, together with commercial catch figures, may be used to assess season of occupation of archaeological sites. Monthly catch probabilities for each species are scaled by minimum numbers from prehistoric osteological assemblages to yield an overall likelihood of the fish being caught at different months of the year. A test case on two assemblages from Palliser Bay, New Zealand, suggested year-round habitation, and this was consistent with individual qualitative seasonal markers. The fishbone evidence can also be used to comment on aspects of prehistoric technology connected with marine foods, such as the use of canoes, baited traps, long line hauling, rock fishing and seine netting. In addition, the fish information substantiated subtle environmental changes which are believed to have taken place in this region.

The seasonal factor in prehistoric New Zealand

Abstract Accounts of the first European explorers of New Zealand emphasize the strong relationship between Maori subsistence activities and the season of the year. Any attempt to trace the economic development during the prehistoric period must involve a valid seasonal dating technique. Although certain bird and fish species were available on a seasonal basis, they may well have been preserved and traded, thereby ruling out any estimate of the season during which a given site was occupied. Attention has therefore been given to analysing the growth characteristics of the cockle (Chione stutchburyi). The presence of daily growth rings in these bivalves permits the season of occupation of coastal sites to be ascertained. The implications of this technique are discussed in the light of a number of southern New Zealand archaeological sites.