Matching Items (22)
Description
This research addresses human adaptive decisions made at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition - the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the climate regime in which humankind now lives - in the Mediterranean region of southeast Spain. Although on a geological time scale the Pleistocene-Holocene transition is the latest in a series of widespread environmental transformations due to glacial-interglacial cycles, it is the only one for which we have a record of the response by modern humans. Mediterranean Spain lay outside the refugium areas of late Pleistocene Europe, in which advancing ice sheets limited the land available for subsistence and caused relative demographic packing of hunter-gatherers. Therefore, the archaeological records of Mediterranean Spain contain more generally applicable states of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, making it a natural laboratory for research on human adaptation to an environmental transformation. Foragers in Mediterranean Spain appear to have primarily adapted to macroclimatic change by extending their social networks to access new subsistence resources and by changing the mix of traditional relationships. Comparing faunal records from two cave sites near the Mediterranean coast with Geographic Information System (GIS) reconstructions of the coastal littoral plain from the LGM to the Holocene indicates the loss of the large ungulate species (mainly Bos primigenius and Equus) at one site coincided with the associated littoral disappearing due to sea level rise in the late Upper Paleolithic. Farther north, where portions of the associated littoral remained due to a larger initial mass and a more favorable topography, the species represented in the faunal record were constant through time. Social boundary defense definitions of territory require arranging social relationships in order to access even this lightly populated new hunting area on the interior plain. That the values of the least-cost-paths fit the parameters of two models equating varying degrees of social alliance with direct travel distances also helps support the hypothesis that foragers in Mediterranean Spain adapted to the consequences of macroclimatic change by extending their social networks to gain access to new subsistence resources Keeping these relationships stable and reliable was a mitigating factor in the mobility patterns of foragers during this period from direct travel to more distant down-the-line exchange. Information about changing conditions and new circumstances flowed along these same networks of social relationships. The consequences of climate-induced environmental changes are already a concern in the world, and human decisions in regard to future conditions are built upon past precedents. As the response to environmental risk centers on increasing the resilience of vulnerable smallholders, archaeology has an opportunity to apply its long-term perspective in the search for answers
ContributorsSchmich, Steven A (Author) / Clark, Geoffrey A. (Thesis advisor) / Barton, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Bearat, Hamdallah (Committee member) / Jochim, Michael A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Modern primate diet is well-studied because of its considerable influence on multiple aspects of morphology, including the shape of the facial skeleton and teeth. It is well-established that differences in craniofacial form influence feeding abilities by altering the nature of bite force production. Tooth morphology, likewise, has been shown to vary with diet across primates, particularly in the details of occlusal form. It has also been suggested that tooth form (e.g., tooth root size and shape and crown size) reflects, in part, the demands of resisting the stresses generated during feeding. However, while they are central to our efforts to infer diet in past species, the relationships between bite force production, craniofacial morphology and tooth form are not well-established. The current study is separated into two parts. In Part I, the hypothesis that crown size and root surface area are adapted to resist masticatory stress is evaluated by testing whether these features show correlated variation along the tooth row in a taxonomically diverse sample of primates. To further explore the adaptive nature of this correlation, pair-wise comparisons between primates with mechanically resistant diets and closely-related species consuming less resistant foods are performed. If crown size and root surface area covary along the tooth row, past research suggests they may be related to bite force. To test this hypothesis, Part II examines the variation of these dental characteristics in comparison to theoretically-derived bite force patterns along the tooth row. Results suggest that patterns of maximum bite force magnitude along the tooth row are variable both within and between species, underscoring the importance of individual craniofacial variation on masticatory force production. Furthermore, it is suggested that some adaptations traditionally associated with high bite force production (i.e., facial orthognathy) may increase anterior biting force at the expense of posterior biting force. Taken together, results from the current study reveal that both tooth root and crown size vary in conjunction with the mechanical properties of diet and with bite force patterns along the tooth row in anthropoids.
ContributorsLucas, Lynn (Author) / Spencer, Mark (Thesis advisor) / Schwartz, Gary (Committee member) / Kimbel, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The recent emergence of global ‘megafires’ has made it imperative to better understand the role of humans in altering the size, distribution, and seasonality of fires. The dynamic relationship between humans and fire is not a recent phenomenon; rather, fire has deep roots in our biological and cultural evolution. Because of its long-term perspective, archaeology is uniquely positioned to investigate the social and ecological drivers behind anthropogenic fire. However, the field faces challenges in creating solution-oriented research for managing fire in the future. In this dissertation, I originate new methods and approaches to archaeological data that enable us to interpret humans’ long-term influences on fire regimes. I weave together human niche construction theory and ecological resilience, creating connections between archaeology, paleoecology, and fire ecology. Three, stand-alone studies illustrate the usefulness of these methods and theories for charting changes in land-use, fire-regimes, and vegetation communities during the Neolithic Transition (7600 - 3800 cal. BP) in eastern Spain. In the first study (Ch. II), I analyze archaeological survey data using Bayesian methods to extract land-use intensities from mixed surface assemblages from a case study in the Canal de Navarrés. The second study (Ch. III) builds on the archaeological data collected computational model of landscape fire, charcoal dispersion, and deposition to test how multiple models of natural and anthropogenic fire activity contributed to the formation a single sedimentary charcoal dataset from the Canal de Navarrés. Finally, the third study (Ch. IV) incorporates the modeling and data generated in the previous chapters into sampling and analysis of sedimentary charcoal data from alluvial contexts in three study areas throughout eastern Spain. Results indicate that anthropogenic fire played a significant role in the creation of agricultural landscapes during the Neolithic period, but sustained, low-intensity burning after the late Neolithic period maintained the human created niche for millennia beyond the arrival of agro-pastoral land-use. With global fire activity on the rise, it is vital to incorporate perspectives on the origins, development, and maintenance of human-fire relationships to effectively manage fire in today’s coupled social-ecological landscapes.
ContributorsSnitker, Grant (Author) / Barton, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Morehart, Christopher (Committee member) / Franklin, Janet (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
As the junction between the head and the trunk, the neck functions in providing head stability during behaviors like feeding to facilitating head mobility during behavior like grooming and predator vigilance. Despite its importance to these vital behaviors, its form and function remain poorly understood. Fossil hominin cervical vertebrae preserve a striking diversity in form despite the commitment to orthograde bipedality. Do these differences in cervical vertebral form correspond to functional variations among our recent ancestors? This dissertation attempts to understand 1) how does the neck function in head stability and mobility 2) how do these functions relate to cervical vertebral form. Kinematic and passive range of motion studies were conducted in several species of primate to obtain measures of function which were subsequently related to skeletal form.
Results show that cervical vertebral morphology does not significantly covary with differences in joint mobility. Rather, they implicate the critical role of ligaments and muscles in facilitating head mobility. Results of the kinematics study show that the neck plays a role in maintaining head stability during locomotion. However, the kinematic data do not significantly correlate with morphological variation among primate species. Given the negative results of the extant morphological analyses, it is difficult to apply them to the fossil record. As such, the functional significance of the disparate morphologies found in the hominin fossil record remain ambiguous.
Results show that cervical vertebral morphology does not significantly covary with differences in joint mobility. Rather, they implicate the critical role of ligaments and muscles in facilitating head mobility. Results of the kinematics study show that the neck plays a role in maintaining head stability during locomotion. However, the kinematic data do not significantly correlate with morphological variation among primate species. Given the negative results of the extant morphological analyses, it is difficult to apply them to the fossil record. As such, the functional significance of the disparate morphologies found in the hominin fossil record remain ambiguous.
ContributorsGrider-Potter, Neysa (Author) / Kimbel, William (Thesis advisor) / Raichlen, David (Committee member) / Schwartz, Gary (Committee member) / Ward, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Previous studies have demonstrated that cranial base anatomy is influenced primarily by three different characteristics: brain shape, positional behavior, and facial growth (Lieberman et al. 2000). Although the timing of cranial base growth is not fully understood, features of the cranial base are frequently used to interpret the hominin fossil record (Guy et al. 2005; White et al. 1994; Brunet et al. 2002). While specific aspects of cranial base morphology may be species-specific, there is sparse information on the developmental mechanisms driving these adult morphologies. The aim of this study is to 1) examine changes in the human cranial base form throughout ontogeny and 2) determine their relationship to the development of positional behavior and brain growth. This research asks: to what extent does human cranial base morphology vary before and after adult positional behavior is acquired? The null hypothesis is that there is no relationship between features of the cranial base and the development of positional behavior. Data are collected using 3D landmarks on n=35 human crania and analyzed with both Morphologika (O'Higgins and Jones 1999) and MorphoJ (Klingenberg 2011) to identify age related changes in shape. Results of this study demonstrate that most of the changes in cranial base form occur between dental eruption stages N and NJ1 between 0 and 2 years of age. These changes consist of a relative shortening of the anterior-posterior cranial base length, a more posterior positioning of the foramen magnum, and a more anterior position of the occipital condyles and separate the N and NJ1 dental development groups from other groups. This change coincides with the transition to upright posture in human children (Abitbol 1993), a significant period of brain growth (Neubauer 2009) and has implications for reconstructing positional behavior in fossil hominins. Despite new insights into the development of cranial base morphology, the utility of the cranial base in assigning hominin taxonomy remains inconclusive.
ContributorsMcgechie, Faye Rachele (Author) / Kimbel, William (Thesis director) / Schwartz, Gary (Committee member) / Hill, Cheryl (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Scalping has been practiced by the Native Americans since pre-Columbian times in North America and is observed as cut-marks in the form of a rough circle on the superior aspect of the cranium of the individual. For this study, there are 7 crania with cut-marks evident of scalping from the Southwest population of Chavez Pass. These crania were excavated from the site of Nuvakwewtaqa located in north-central Arizona, in the middle of the Coconino National Forest. Unfortunately, the site was heavily looted through pot-hunter activity, leading to a large collection of commingle remains. The objectives of this study are summarized into three basic question words: Who? Where? And, How? More specifically: [1] whether there is a relationship between age or sex and being a victim of scalping; [2] whether there is a relationship between the burial location and having been scalped; and, [3] whether the age or sex of an individual affected the manner in which they were scalped. For this analysis of scalping, three statistical tests were used: Fisher's exact test, Chi-Square test and two-sample t-tests.
ContributorsBeyens, Anne Marie (Author) / Simon, Arleyn (Thesis director) / Stojanowski, Christopher (Committee member) / Schwartz, Gary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Many of the derived features of the human skeleton can be divided into two adaptive suites: traits related to bipedalism and traits related to encephalization. The cervical spine connects these adaptive suites and is itself unique in its marked lordosis. I approach human cervical evolution from three directions: the functional significance of cervical curvature, the identification of cervical lordosis in osteological material, and the representation of the cervical spine in the hominin fossil record.
ContributorsFatica, Lawrence Martin (Author) / Kimbel, William (Thesis director) / Reed, Kaye (Committee member) / Schwartz, Gary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This study explores how early modern humans used stone tool technology to adapt to changing climates and coastlines in the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. The MSA is associated with the earliest fossil evidence for modern humans and complex cultural behaviors during a time period of dramatic climate change. Human culture allows for the creation, use, and transmission of technological knowledge that can evolve with changing environmental conditions. Understanding the interactions between technology and the environment is essential to illuminating the role of culture during the origin of our species. This study is focused on understanding ancient tool use from the study of lithic edge damage patterns at archaeological assemblages in southern Africa by using image-based quantitative methods for analyzing stone tools. An extensive experimental program using replicated stone tools provides the comparative linkages between the archaeological artifacts and the tasks for which they were used. MSA foragers structured their tool use and discard behaviors on the landscape in several ways – by using and discarding hunting tools more frequently in the field rather than in caves/rockshelters, but similarly in coastal and interior contexts. This study provides evidence that during a significant microlithic technological shift seen in southern Africa at ~75,000 years ago, new technologies were developed alongside rather than replacing existing technologies. These results are compared with aspects of the European archaeological record at this time to identify features of early human technological behavior that may be unique to the evolutionary history of our species.
ContributorsSchoville, Benjamin J (Author) / Marean, Curtis W (Thesis advisor) / Barton, Michael (Committee member) / Hill, Kim (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Early weaning, slow somatic and dental growth, and late age at reproduction are all part of a suite of energetic trade-offs that have shaped human evolution. A similar suite of energetic trade-offs has shaped the evolution of the indriid-palaeopropithecid clade, though members of this clade exhibit extremely fast dental development and nearly vestigial deciduous teeth. The development and functional occlusion of the primary postcanine dentition (i.e., deciduous premolars and molars) coincides with several life history parameters in great apes and indriids. This dissertation explored great ape dental macrowear, molar development in indriids, and molar size in lemurs with a broader goal of improving reconstructions of life history profiles in extinct primates. To this aim, macrowear and dental development were analyzed in apes and lemurs, respectively. Occlusal casts (six great ape species; N=278) were scanned to track mandibular fourth deciduous premolar (dp4) macrowear. Utilizing dental topographic analyses, changes in occlusal gradient and terrain were quantified. A subset of the great ape data (four species; n=199) was analyzed to test if differences in dp4 wear correlate with age at weaning. Using dental histology, molar development was reconstructed for Indri indri (n=1) and Avahi laniger (n=1). Life history and molar size data were collected from the literature. The results of this dissertation demonstrate that most great apes exhibited evidence of topographic maintenance, suggesting dp4s wear in a manner that maintain functional efficiency during growth and development; however, the manner in which maintenance is achieved (e.g., preservation of relief or complexity) is species specific. Dp4 macrowear is not correlated with age at weaning in great apes and is probably unreliable to reconstruct age at weaning in hominins. The pace of molar development in members of the indriid- palaeopropithecid clade did not correlate with body or brain size, an association present in several other primates. Associations of molar size with age at weaning suggest that expanding other developmental models (e.g., the inhibitory cascade) to life history is worth consideration. The broad variation in macrowear, dental development, and size highlights how the primary dentition may correlate with different life history parameters depending on the species and ecological setting, an important consideration when using teeth to reconstruct life history profiles.
ContributorsCatlett, Kierstin Kay (Author) / Schwartz, Gary (Thesis advisor) / Barton, Michael (Committee member) / Godfrey, Laurie (Committee member) / Reed, Kaye (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This dissertation examines the various factors and processes that have been proposed as explanations for the spread of agriculture in the west Mediterranean. The expansion of the Neolithic in the west Mediterranean (the Impresso-Cardial Neolithic) is characterized by a rapid spread of agricultural subsistence and material culture from the southern portion of the Italian peninsula to the western coast of the Iberian peninsula. To address this unique case, four conceptual models of Neolithic spread have been proposed: the Wave of Advance, the Capillary Spread Model, the Maritime Pioneer Colonization Model and the Dual Model. An agent-based model, the Cardial Spread Model, was built to simulate each conceptual spread model in a spatially explicit environment for comparison with evidence from the archaeological record. Chronological information detailing the arrival of the Neolithic was used to create a map of the initial arrival of the Neolithic (a chronosurface) throughout the study area. The results of each conceptual spread model were then compared to the chronosurface in order to evaluate the relative performance of each conceptual model of spread. These experiments suggest that both the Dual and Maritime Pioneer Colonization models best fit the available chronological and spatial distribution of the Impresso-Cardial Neolithic.
For the purpose of informing agent movement and improving the fit of the conceptual spread models, a variety of paleoenvironmental maps were tested within the Cardial Spread Model. The outcome of these experiments suggests that topographic slope was an important factor in settlement location and that rivers were important vectors of transportation for early Neolithic migration. This research demonstrates the application of techniques rare to archaeological analysis, agent-based modeling and the inclusion of paleoenvironmental information, and provides a valuable tool that future researchers can utilize to further evaluate and fabricate new models of Neolithic expansion.
For the purpose of informing agent movement and improving the fit of the conceptual spread models, a variety of paleoenvironmental maps were tested within the Cardial Spread Model. The outcome of these experiments suggests that topographic slope was an important factor in settlement location and that rivers were important vectors of transportation for early Neolithic migration. This research demonstrates the application of techniques rare to archaeological analysis, agent-based modeling and the inclusion of paleoenvironmental information, and provides a valuable tool that future researchers can utilize to further evaluate and fabricate new models of Neolithic expansion.
ContributorsBergin, Sean M (Author) / Barton, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Janssen, Marco (Committee member) / Coudart, Anick (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016