Defining Suitability in Mixed Agropastoral Societies: A Case Study from Bactria in Northern Afghanistan

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of suitability within applications of Ideal Distribution Models (IDMs). Specifically, we investigate the effectiveness of single measures of suitability in contexts where diverse local populations practiced a range of subsistence strategies with different environmental requirements and sociocultural consequences. To do so, we draw on legacy survey data from northern Afghanistan, within the historic region of Bactria. This region of Central Asia has a rich history of nomadic pastoralism as well as dense urban settlement, with these two lifeways often occurring concurrently with complex social and economic interdependencies developing between pastoral and agricultural societies. Conceptually, we predict that such diversity should be difficult to model by conventional IDMs, as what may be defined as a low ranked habitat by one definition of suitability may be highly ranked in another. On the other hand, identifying strong deviations from IDMs may in fact indicate shifts in subsistence strategies and settlement patterns occurring across various periods of sociopolitical and cultural change. Based on our analysis, we conclude that single measures of suitability do not sufficiently model settlement patterns as predicted by IDMs but do in fact help highlight long-term processes of ecological engineering and inheritance.

Integrating Point Process Models, Evolutionary Ecology and Traditional Knowledge Improves Landscape Archaeology—A Case from Southwest Madagascar

“…This could also be evidence of resource control by certain populations, forcing larger communities into less suitable locations (e.g., IDD [61][62][63]). Additionally, it has been suggested that where subsistence strategies change, environmental proxies for habitat suitability will require modification [30,98]. This is because the variables associated with "suitability" (and their relative importance) change as subsistence strategies shift (e.g., fishing communities will value marine resources more than pastoralists living inland [e.g.…”

Linking Past and Present Land-Use Histories in Southern Amazonas, Peru

“…That is, land-use patterns in the region should not be assumed to be wholly structured by these environmental variables. Perceptions of agricultural suitability may also vary depending on subsistence practices or sociocultural contexts and can themselves be altered through landscape interventions and modifications [73,74]. Given the marked topographic diversity of the region, we expect then that the analysis of elevation and slope should reveal differing and not necessarily overlapping land-use patterns between the past and present.…”