ABSTRACT. Indigenous communities have actively managed their environments for millennia using a diversity of resource use and conservation strategies. Clam gardens, ancient rock-walled intertidal beach terraces, represent one example of an early mariculture technology that may have been used to improve food security and confer resilience to coupled human-ocean systems. We surveyed a coastal landscape for evidence of past resource use and management to gain insight into ancient resource stewardship practices on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. We found that clam gardens are embedded within a diverse portfolio of resource use and management strategies and were likely one component of a larger, complex resource management system. We compared clam diversity, density, recruitment, and biomass in three clam gardens and three unmodified nonwalled beaches. Evidence suggests that butter clams (Saxidomus gigantea) had 1.96 times the biomass and 2.44 times the density in clam gardens relative to unmodified beaches. This was due to a reduction in beach slope and thus an increase in the optimal tidal range where clams grow and survive best. The most pronounced differences in butter clam density between nonwalled beaches and clam gardens were found at high tidal elevations at the top of the beach. Finally, clam recruits (0.5-2 mm in length) tended to be greater in clam gardens compared to nonwalled beaches and may be attributed to the addition of shell hash by ancient people, which remains on the landscape today. As part of a broader social-ecological system, clam garden sites were among several modifications made by humans that collectively may have conferred resilience to past communities by providing reliable and diverse access to food resources.
For many Indigenous peoples, their traditional lands are archives of their histories, from the deepest of time to recent memories and actions. These histories are written in the landscapes' geological features, contemporary plant and animal communities, and associated archaeological and paleoecological records. Some of these landscapes, recently termed "cultural keystone places" (CKPs), are iconic for these groups and have become symbols of the connections between the past and the future, and between people and place. Using an historical-ecological approach, we describe our novel methods and initial results for documenting the history of three cultural keystone places in coastal British Columbia, Canada: Hauyat, Laxgalts'ap (Old Town) and Dałk Gyilakyaw (Robin Town) (territories of Heiltsuk, Gitga'ata, and Gitsm'geelm, respectively). We combine data and knowledge from diverse disciplines and communities to tell the deep and recent histories of these cultural landscapes. Each of CKPs encompasses expansive landscapes of diverse habitats transformed by generations of people interacting with their surrounding environments. Documenting the "softer" footprints of past human-environmental interactions can be elusive and requires diverse approaches and novel techniques. [historical ecology, traditional resource management, cultural keystone Places, Northwest Coast] RESUMEN Para muchos Indígenas, sus tierras tradicionales son archivos de sus historias, desde lo más profundo del tiempo a las más recientes memorias y acciones. Estas historias están escritas en las características geológicas de los paisajes, comunidades contemporáneas de plantas y animales, y registros arqueológicos y paleo-ecológicos asociados. Algunos de estos paisajes, recientemente denominados "lugares culturales claves" (CKPs), son icónicos para estos grupos y se han convertido en símbolos de las conexiones entre el pasado y el futuro, y entre las personas y el lugar. Usando una aproximación histórica-ecológica, describimos nuestros métodos novedosos y resultados iniciales para documentar la historia de tres lugares culturales claves en la Columbia Británica costera, Canadá:Hauyat, Laxgalts'ap (Old Town), y Dalk Gyilakyaw (Robin Town) (territorios de Heiltsuk, Gitga'ata, y Gitsm'geelm, respectivamente). Combinamos datos y conocimiento de diversas disciplinas y comunidades para contar las historias profundas y recientes de estos paisajes culturales. Cada uno de los CKPs abarca paisajes expansivos de diversos hábitats transformados por generaciones de personas interactuando con los ambientes circundantes. Documentar las huellas "más frescas" de las interacciones humano-ambientales puede ser elusivo y requiere diversas aproximaciones y técnicas novedosas. [ecología histórica, manejo tradicional de recursos, lugares culturales claves, Costa Noroccidental] NOTES Acknowledgments. We acknowledge the past, present, and future generations of people who are linked to Hauyat, Laxgalts'ap, and Dałk Gyilakyaw. We are grateful to the chiefs and councils of the Heilts...
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