Before Farming: the archaeology and anthropology of hunter-gatherers

ref: Before Farming 2008/3 article 1

Household and sacred landscapes among Holocene hunter-gatherers of Patagonia’s Central Plateau, Argentina

Laura Miotti
División Arqueología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata and CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas), Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
lmiotti@museo.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar

Keywords: Landscape archaeology, Patagonia, middle Holocene, hunter-gatherers, space use

Abstract

The construction of social landscapes by middle Holocene hunter-gatherers in Patagonia is inferred from the integration of spatial patterning in the selection and circulation of rocks/minerals, the distribution of rock art, camp sites and the relationship between landforms and archaeological sites. These observations allow us to suggest that environmental factors were not the only reason for behavioural changes taking place among southern Patagonian hunter-gatherers at this time. Several changes in the spatial patterning of settlements and resource use were recorded in the Central Plateau by our team, and by colleagues in other adjacent regions, that cannot be attributed wholly to climate change. Archaeological signals of changing human settlement patterns strengthen by the end of the middle Holocene and the beginning of the late Holocene. The central idea presented is that domestic and sacred spaces were not exclusive because minerals, rocks, fresh water sources, landforms, plants, animals, and landscapes meant more than simple utilitarian items or features in this landscape. This article presents evidence to support the argument that decision-making about mobility, use of space and resources, as well communicating with the other communities was influenced by considerations of the symbolic realm as well as pressures resulting from climate change.

ref: Before Farming 2008/3 article 2

Dietary plant use by middle Holocene foragers in the Bonneville Basin, western North America

David Rhode
Desert Research Institute, Reno NV 89512 USA
dave@dri.edu

Keywords: Great Basin, Bonneville Basin, plant foods, middle Holocene, Danger Cave, Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, Camels Back Cave

Abstract

Middle Holocene foragers in the Bonneville basin, western North America, developed a subsistence strategy that differed in emphasis and orientation compared with their early Holocene predecessors. This paper examines one aspect of this changing middle Holocene subsistence orientation, the increasing dietary use of plants such as small hard-coated seeds (including iodinebush, pepperweed, goosefoot, and others), bulrush rhizomes, cactus pads and fruits, and to a lesser degree a few upland plant foods (pine nuts and various fruits). Middle Holocene archaeobotanical assemblages are reviewed for four sites: Danger Cave, Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, Camels Back Cave, and Hogup Cave. The middle Holocene shift toward extensive use of small seeds and plant foods from varied upland and desert environments reflects intensified use and processing of low-ranked plant resources, focusing on resource reliability, in the context of widespread regional aridification.

ref: Before Farming 2008/3 article 3

Human occupation, environmental structure and the archaeofaunal record during the mid-Holocene in west-central Argentina

Adolfo Gil
CONICET-Museo de Historia Natural de San Rafael.
Parque Mariano Moreno (5600) San Rafael, Mza. Argentina.
adolfogil@arqueologiamendoza.com

Alejandra Guerci
CONICET-Museo de Historia Natural de San Rafael.
Parque Mariano Moreno (5600) San Rafael, Mza. Argentina.
aleguerci@yahoo.com

Gustavo Neme
CONICET-Museo de Historia Natural de San Rafael.
Parque Mariano Moreno (5600) San Rafael, Mza. Argentina.
gustavoneme@arqueologiamendoza.com

Keywords: Mid-Holocene, South America, west-central Argentina

Abstract

The archaeological record of the South American mid-Holocene is currently a topic of debate among researchers studying human responses to climate change (Nuñez & Grosjean 1994; Grosjean et al 2007; Gil et al 2005). Discussion centres on the behavioural significance of a diminished or absent archaeological record across large areas of the continent at this time. Among existing hypotheses that attempt to explain this phenomenon, the most widely accepted are those that link demographic changes to climate change and its impact on regional food resources. The palaeoenvironmental record for the period between 9000 to 4000 years ago shows a marked decline in rainfall which corresponds to a decrease in archaeological site visibility generally. In this paper we use palaeoenvironmental information, as well as radiocarbon and archaeofaunal data to explore the likely ecological stresses faced by hunter-gatherer populations and to generate some ideas about the human behavioural response to increasing aridity. The data suggest differing human response between ecological zones (mountain versus lowland) in terms of occupation intensity but, surprisingly, no major changes occurred in diet breadth and faunal procurement patterns in contrast to expectations derived from optimal foraging theory. We argue that reduced demographic pressures enabled hunter-gatherers to maintain their use of large prey in the form of guanacos.