Demographic Archaeology

Hassan, Fekri A.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-003101-6.50009-3

Cited by 163 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…Population expansion and population pressure remain, as always, difficult processes to demonstrate for prehistoric time periods (35)(36)(37)(38). Whereas genetics offers a new tool through which to approach the topic, neither the genetic nor archaeological records for South Asia are currently sufficient to rule on the question of Late Pleistocene population dynamics with absolute certainty.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Petraglia

Clarkson

Boivin

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

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Genetic studies of South Asia's population history have led to postulations of a significant and early population expansion in the subcontinent, dating to sometime in the Late Pleistocene. We evaluate this argument, based on new mtDNA analyses, and find evidence for significant demographic transition in the subcontinent, dating to 35-28 ka. We then examine the paleoenvironmental and, particularly, archaeological records for this time period and note that this putative demographic event coincides with a period of ecological and technological change in South Asia. We document the development of a new diminutive stone blade (microlithic) technology beginning at 35-30 ka, the first time that the precocity of this transition has been recognized across the subcontinent. We argue that the transition to microlithic technology may relate to changes in subsistence practices, as increasingly large and probably fragmented populations exploited resources in contracting favorable ecological zones just before the onset of full glacial conditions. archaeology ͉ environment ͉ genetics ͉ lithic technology

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Petraglia

Clarkson

Boivin

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

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“…The Archaeological evidence provides a record of past populations and their subsistence strategies [Hassan, 1981]. Throughout most of the early and middle Holocene populations in peninsular India (Figure la in main text) continued the hunter-gatherer traditions of the Late Pleistocene, characterized by a Mesolithic technology that focused on composite tools using a complex of microlithic artefacts [Misra, 2002;Clarkson et al, 2009].…”

Section: Hydroclimatology Of the Indian Peninsula And Bay Of Bengalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aridification of the Indian subcontinent during the Holocene : implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, carbon cycle, and human civilizations

Ponton¹

2012

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The Indian monsoon affects the livelihood of over one billion people. Despite the importance of climate to society, knowledge of long-term monsoon variability is limited. This thesis provides Holocene records of monsoon variability, using sediment cores from river-dominated margins of the Bay of Bengal (off the Godavari River) and the Arabian Sea (off the Indus River). Carbon isotopes of terrestrial plant leaf waxes (6 13 Cwax) preserved in sediment provide integrated and regionally extensive records of flora for both sites. For the Godavari River basin the 61 3 Cwax record shows a gradual increase in aridity-adapted vegetation from ~4,000 until 1,700 years ago followed by the persistence of aridity-adapted plants to the present. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera from this site indicates drought-prone conditions began as early as -3,000 years BP. The aridity record also allowed examination of relationships between hydroclimate and terrestrial carbon discharge to the ocean. Comparison of radiocarbon measurements of sedimentary plant waxes with planktonic foraminifera reveal increasing age offsets starting -4,000 yrs BP, suggesting that increased aridity slows carbon cycling and/or transport rates. At the second site, a seismic survey of the Indus River subaqueous delta describes the morphology and Holocene sedimentation of the Pakistani shelf and identified suitable coring locations for paleoclimate reconstructions. The 6 3 Cwax record shows a stable arid climate over the dry regions of the Indus plain and a terrestrial biome dominated by C 4 vegetation for the last 6,000 years. As the climate became more arid 4,000 years, sedentary agriculture took hold in central and south India while the urban Harappan civilization collapsed in the already arid Indus basin. This thesis integrates marine and continental records to create regionally extensive paleoenvironmental reconstructions that have implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, the terrestrial organic carbon cycle, and prehistoric human civilizations in the Indian subcontinent. 3 4A mi Tito y mi Sense, por haberme despertado el interes por la Ciencia. 5Creo muy poco en lo que veo. Y de lo que me cuentan... nada.-Juan Siyago 6 Acknowledgements I am indebted to my Advisors for their unconditional support and generosity with their ideas and their time. Thank you for keeping me afloat when the seas were rough and I had started to drown. I learned that persistence is key and Science is humbling. Through this journey Liviu's tenacity and strong guidance, and Tim's enthusiasm and optimistic outlook delivered me safely to shore.I will like to thank my committee members and Chair for their invaluable contributions to improve this thesis, but most importantly for their continuous support, concern and encouragement through out these years. Delia, for always being my advocate and offering your experience to suggest alternative solutions. Valier, I have learned immensely from you in the lab and our discussions have always been frui...

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“…One common method for estimating changes in human populations from archaeological data is to convert analyses of temporal frequency distributions of house or settlement size into estimates of human population (Hassan 1978, Chamberlain 2006). This method relies upon ethnographic parallels that allow past population densities to be estimated from modern or historical information concerning the relationship between house size and population density (Hassan 1981, Kolb 1985 or settlement size and population density (Wiessner 1974). An important assumption is that higher frequencies of dated sites represent higher population densities (Brantingham et al 2004, Holdaway et al 2005.…”

Section: A Population Prehistory Of Sanak Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Introduction to the Biocomplexity of Sanak Island, Western Gulf of Alaska

et al. 2009

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The Sanak Biocomplexity Project is a transdisciplinary research effort focused on a small island archipelago 50 km south of the Alaska Peninsula in the western Gulf of Alaska. This team of archaeologists, terrestrial ecologists, social anthropologists, intertidal ecologists, geologists, oceanographers, paleoecologists, and modelers is seeking to understanding the role of the ancient, historic, and modern Aleut in the structure and functioning of local and regional ecosystems. Using techniques ranging from systematic surveys to stable isotope chemistry, long-term shifts in social dynamics and ecosystem structure are present in the context of changing climatic regimes and human impacts. This paper presents a summary of a range of our preliminary findings.

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Demographic Archaeology

Cited by 163 publications

References 99 publications

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Population increase and environmental deterioration correspond with microlithic innovations in South Asia ca. 35,000 years ago

Aridification of the Indian subcontinent during the Holocene : implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, carbon cycle, and human civilizations

An Introduction to the Biocomplexity of Sanak Island, Western Gulf of Alaska

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