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Environment and Subsistence

Environment and Subsistence. Chronology and climate Landscape Archaeology Plants & Environment Animals & Environment. Chronology & Climate. Reconstruction on a macro-scale/global changes in water sources. Oceans Ice Sheets Coast Lines. Climate & Past Lifeways.

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Environment and Subsistence

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  1. Environment and Subsistence Chronology and climate Landscape Archaeology Plants & Environment Animals & Environment

  2. Chronology & Climate • Reconstruction on a macro-scale/global changes in water sources. • Oceans • Ice Sheets • Coast Lines

  3. Climate & Past Lifeways • Changes in climate also affected cultures. • Major differences in ice age vs. Holocene populations. • Lifeways change such as onset of settlements, population increase, domestication, etc.

  4. Ocean • Ocean floor sediments accumulate slowly. • Consist of microfossils called foraminifera (one-celled marine organisms that live in surface water and sink when they die) which are environmentally sensitive. • Deep sea cores show change through time in environment (in some cases up to 2 million years ago).

  5. Deep Sea Cores Coring Split Core http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/CORE_REPOSITORY/RHP5c.html

  6. Ice Sheets • Also use oxygen isotope samples from ice sheets. • information gathered from Greenland Ice Core Project can be applicable to archaeology.

  7. Greenland Ice Core Project Movie clip of drill and structure. http://www.glaciology.gfy.ku.dk/ngrip/billeder_eng.htm

  8. Coast Lines • Change in climate affected available land. • During last glacial maximum sea level was about 120 meters lower than at present. • Siberia and N. America where connected. • British isles and mainland also connected.

  9. Changes in coast lines • http://instaar.colorado.edu/QGISL/bering_land_bridge/downloads/beringlandbridge1m.mov • 18,000 years ago, a "land bridge" emerged as sea level fell. http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/channelform.htm#map1

  10. Landscape Archaeology • Glaciated Landscapes • Varves • Rivers • Caves • Buried Land surfaces

  11. Glaciated Landscapes • Glaciers wrought changes in northern North America, Europe. • U-shaped valleys, polished rocks (petrified sea gardens). http://nsidc.org/glaciers/gallery/Taku_tidewater.html http://www.petrifiedseagardens.org/main.htm

  12. Varves • Glacial phenomenon of layers of sediment around the edges of glacial lakes. • Thick layers of sediment represent warm years, thin layers represent cold years.

  13. Varves Varves in cross-section, note alternating clay and sandy layers; knife haft = 10cm http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/conn.river/varves.html

  14. Rivers • Changes in the course of rivers affected landscape/settlement • Nile and Tigris/Euphrates river valleys were areas of early domestication due to rich floodplains.

  15. Tigris Euphrates River Valley:Site of Ancient Mesopotamia and Modern Baghdad

  16. Caves • Sediments deposited under certain conditions-wind, water, animals, people (i.e. tracking in mud). • Soil micromorphology • microscopic study of soil components important part of excavation of any site, but particularly cave. • Info on source, soil formation, and human modified.

  17. Dust Cave, Alabama

  18. Buried Land surfaces • Volcanic eruptions • Bogs

  19. Volcanic Eruptions: Pompeii • When Vesuvius erupted on 24 August 79 AD it engulfed the two flourishing Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, as well as the many rich villas in the area.

  20. Excavations 1910-1961 Excavating through ash layers Pompeii. House of the Vettii. Paintings http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/italy_except_rome_and_sicily/pompeii/ac880908.html

  21. Pompeii-Casts of bodies http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/italy_except_rome_and_sicily/pompeii/thumbnails_contents.html

  22. Plants & Environment • Microbotanical Remains • Pollen, etc. • Macrobotanical Remains • Seeds, nuts, etc. • Environmental Sensitive • Conifers vs. Deciduous • Grassland vs. Forests

  23. Animals & Environment • Microfauna • Mice, rodents. • Macrofauna • Large mammals, fish, invertebrates. • Environmentally Sensitive • Large bodied=cold climates, Small=warm. • Certain species in certain habitats.

  24. Environment and Subsistence • Environment significantly affects human subsistence. • Foragers-Gather wild plants and animals. • Resource Catchment areas • Subsistence Variability • Domestication • Species domesticated • Reason for domestication

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