Designing for Multispecies Commons

Haldrup, Michael; Samson, Kristine; Laurien, Thomas

doi:10.1145/3537797.3537801

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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Section: Integrated Human-beaver Systems As a Generative Dynamic Of E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Systems of conviviality are thereby expected to vary considerably in time and space, and not all human-animal systems promote long-term or even short-term conviviality. Convivial systems may even lay foundation to what is sometimes referred to as the ‘multispecies commons’ (Bresnihan, 2015; Centemeri, 2018; Haldrup et al, 2022; Satsuka, 2014) – a notion recently also mobilized by Woelfle-Erskine (2019) to frame human-beaver collaboration in the context of ecosystem restoration and stewardship. To what extent integrated human-beaver systems in the earlier part of the Holocene of Northern Europe may be qualified as an expression of deep-time conviviality and interspecies ‘commoning’ is an open but increasingly relevant question and will be empirically explored in the following.…”

Section: Integrated Human-beaver Systems As a Generative Dynamic Of E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human-beaver cohabitation in the Early and Mid-Holocene of Northern Europe: Re-visiting Mesolithic material culture and ecology through a multispecies lens

Hussain,

Brusgaard

2023

The Holocene

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The Eurasian beaver ( Castor fiber) was an important member of Early and Mid-Holocene landscapes and animal communities in Northern Europe. Previous zooarchaeological research has established the alimentary roles of beavers for Mesolithic societies and their importance for fur procurement. In this paper, we develop an integrated biocultural approach to human-beaver interactions, examining the position of humans and beavers in Mesolithic and Early Neolithic multispecies systems. We contextualize beaver landscape agency in hydroactive environments with human behaviour, synthesizing currently available data on mammalian assemblages, ichtyofauna and beaver-related material culture across Northern Europe. This cross-cultural, diachronic analysis reveals previously overlooked facilitations of human behaviour by beaver practices and ecological legacies. We show that long-term trajectories of human-beaver cohabitation differed between northern European regions. While in Southern Scandinavia, human-beaver intersections witnessed major re-organizations during the Mid-Holocene, beavers retained a key role for human societies across Northeastern Europe throughout much of the Holocene and played an important part at the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in the Dutch wetlands. Divergent pathways are also evidenced by Mesolithic beaver-related material culture, highlighting the cultural keystone status of Castor fiber in higher latitude European landscapes. We argue that this keystone status is grounded in the supply of human hunting, fishing, and gathering affordances by the animals, pointing to the generative commensality between Mesolithic foragers and their beaver neighbours. Taken together, our findings demonstrate the importance of the beaver in the making of Early and Mid-Holocene forager societies in Northern Europe and illustrate the fruitfulness of deploying an integrated multispecies approach.

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Section: Integrated Human-beaver Systems As a Generative Dynamic Of E...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Integrated Human-beaver Systems As a Generative Dynamic Of E...mentioning

confidence: 99%