The Intensification of Rockshelter Use in the Late Woodland/Late Prehistoric Period

Abstract

The latest periods of prehistory in the Middle Atlantic witnessed a marked and widespread increase in the use of rockshelters. Archaeologists have noted the phenomenon but failed to provide a convincing explanation. I examine several possible reasons why Late Woodland/Late Prehistoric peoples may have spent more time at rockshelters, propose a link with the deteriorating climate of the Little Ice Age and consequent subsistence risk, and present a case study from the Mykut Rockshelter, 36Hu143, in central Pennsylvania.

Developing evolutionary anthropology in local ecosystems

“…6.1 | Foraging and cultivation HBE has demonstrated robust explanatory power in interpreting archaeological remains across a wide range of environmental and historical contexts in Appalachia, including substantial scholarship on Native Americans and the eastern agricultural complex in preindustrial Appalachia. 24,79,80 However, its application in contemporary Appalachia to date has been limited despite the continued prevalence of people foraging for wild foods such as mushrooms and ramps, [81][82][83] as well as nontimber forest products such as ginseng and goldenseal. 84,85 These foraging activities are of strong interest to regional ethnobotanists, and this area of scholarship invites collaboration with HBE to build on general models of human behavior.…”