Rockshelters and Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation to the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition

Walthall, John A.

doi:10.2307/2694695

Cited by 87 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Williams (2013) ran a series of tests using the same dataset, which indicated that while it was necessary to correct open site data, those from rockshelters were best used without such corrections, which tend to artificially flatten trends (by overinflation of earlier time periods, leading to an overall flatter curve throughout the last 35,000 years). Conversely, Ulm (2013) considered that rockshelter deposits may be prone to taphonomic impacts owing to their restricted area and often intense periods of use (see also Walthall, 1998). We therefore present both the final time-series curve with all data corrected, as well as the more widely accepted combination of corrected open site data and uncorrected data from rockshelters.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A continental narrative: Human settlement patterns and Australian climate change over the last 35,000 years

Williams

Veth

Steffen

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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, we consider the effects of climate systems on past human settlement patterns and inferred demography. We use 5,044 radiocarbon dates from ~1,750 archaeological sites to develop regional timeseries curves for different regions defined in the OZ-INTIMATE compilation as the temperate, tropics, interior and Southern Ocean sectors to explore human-climate relationships in Australia over the last 35,000 years. Correlations undertaken with improved palaeoclimatic data and archaeological records indicate that the regional time-series curves are robust, and can be used as a proxy for human behaviour. However, interrogation of the datasets is essential with artificial peaks and taphonomic over-correction being critical considerations. The time-series curves are interpreted as reflecting population growth, stasis and even decline in phase with terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene climatic fluctuations. This coupling, however, decreases during the last 5,000 years, most likely due to increased population levels, greater territoriality, technological solutions to stress, and social and ideational innovation. Curves from all sectors show exponential population growth over the last 5,000 years. We identify future research priorities, highlighting the paucity of archaeological records across several parts of Australia (<1 dated site/4,000km 2 ), especially around the fringes of the arid zone, and the need for improved taphonomic correction techniques. Finally, we discuss how these time-series curves represent a first-order framework, not dissimilar to global climate models, which researchers can continue to test and refine with local, regional and continental records. KeywordsTime-series analysis, archaeological radiocarbon data, hunter-gatherer behaviour, Aus-INTIMATE, OZ-INTIMATE, human-environment interaction, palaeoenvironment Highlights  Comparison of radiocarbon time-series techniques with other archaeological indices  We demonstrate robust relationship between radiocarbon data and demographic change  Our results suggest past demography was coupled with climate until mid-Holocene  Mid-Holocene social/technological innovation effected a de-coupling of relationship  We provide future directions for Australian archaeological and time-series research 3

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A continental narrative: Human settlement patterns and Australian climate change over the last 35,000 years

Williams

Veth

Steffen

et al. 2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

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“…The initial movement of Paleoindian groups to and throughout the Ame-ricas has been debated for over a century; common themes include the timing of initial arrival and settlement, routes, parent populations or cultural groups, mobility, and resource use, among others (e.g., Anderson and Gillam, 2000;Hoffecker et al, 1993;Kelly and Todd, 1988;Sellet, 1998;Torroni et al, 1991;Walthall, 1998). Archaeologists generally characterize Clovis as highly mobile, big-game hunters who spread throughout the Americas in relatively short period of time (Kelly and Todd, 1988) or whose technologies were widely adopted by sparse and scattered in situ pre-clovis populations (Waters and Stafford, 2007).…”

Section: Processes Of Territory Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agency and politics in hunter-gatherer territory formation

Zedeño

Anderson

2010

rsab

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Discussions of territoriality in prehistory that link ownership, exclusion, and privilege to the development of complex social systems are seldom relevant for explaining hunter-gatherer territorial organization. It is necessary, therefore, to address huntergatherer territoriality from a perspective that is uniquely tailored to their land use patterns, social networks, and political agencies. By building a model of territory formation that explicitly incorporates mobility and other key aspects of hunter-gatherer lifeways, this article demonstrates that political territoriality is present at the time of first arrival of a human group into an uninhabited area, developing and expanding through time. A brief example from the initial colonization of North America illustrates main points.Key woRDS: territory formation, hunter-gatherers, Paleoindian, agency, mobility ReSUMoDiscussões sobre territorialidade na pré-história que ligam propriedade, exclusão e privilégio ao desenvolvimento de sistemas sociais complexos são raramente relevantes para explicar a organização territorial de caçadores-coletores. Portanto, é necessário abordar a territorialidade de caçadores-coletores de uma perspectiva que é exclusivamente voltada para seus padrões de usufruto da terra, para suas redes sociais e para a agência política dos mesmos. Através da construção de um modelo de formação territorial que incorpora, de forma explicita, a mobilidade e outros elementos chaves referentes aos modos-de-vida dos caçadores-coletores, este artigo demonstrará que polí-ticas de territorialidade encontram-se presentes desde o momento da primeira chegada de um grupo humano a uma área desabitada, expandindo-se e desenvolvendo-se através do tempo. Um breve exemplo da colonização inicial da América do Norte ilustrará os pontos principais.

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“…These findings are consistent with ethnographic studies which indicate that present day use of rockshelters is limited to short-term hunting camps, refuges from inclement weather or for occasional ceremonial purposes. Rockshelters are, by and large, not long-term occupation sites where food is prepared or consumed in any quantity (Walthall 1998).…”

Section: Task Identificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roof Fall Cave, Cania Gorge: Site Report

Eales

Westcott

Lilley

et al. 1999

QAR

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This site report presents a description of archaeological investigations undertaken at Roof Fall Cave, an occupied rockshelter and art site located at Cania Gorge, eastern Central Queensland. Excavation yielded quantities of stone artefacts, bone and charcoal, along with some freshwater mussel shell and ochre with an occupational sequence spanning from up to 18,576 cal BP to the historical period. Roof Fall Cave is currently the oldest dated site in Cania Gorge and possibly in the Central Queensland region.

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Rockshelters and Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation to the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition

Cited by 87 publications

References 15 publications

A continental narrative: Human settlement patterns and Australian climate change over the last 35,000 years

A continental narrative: Human settlement patterns and Australian climate change over the last 35,000 years

Agency and politics in hunter-gatherer territory formation

Roof Fall Cave, Cania Gorge: Site Report

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