Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

Thompson, Victor D.; Rick, Torben C.; Garland, Carey J.; Thomas, David Hurst; Smith, Karen Y.; Bergh, Sarah; Sanger, Matthew C.; Tucker, Bryan; Lulewicz, Isabelle; Semon, Anna M.; Schalles, John F.; Hladik, Christine M.; Alexander, Clark; Ritchison, Brandon T.

doi:10.1126/sciadv.aba9652

Cited by 35 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Moreover, recent research shows that Native American communities along the South Atlantic coast sustainably harvested oysters for thousands of years, evidenced by an increase in oyster size from the Late Archaic through Mississippian periods (5000–370 cal. BP) [ 20 ]. This stands in contrast to an argument that changes in oyster sizes may reflect unsustainable human management practices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eastern oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ), hereby simply referred to as oyster(s), were an important part of larger economic resources on the Georgia coast, and recent research shows that they were sustainably harvested by Native American communities for thousands of years [ 19 , 20 ]. Oysters were integral to other aspects of life as well, including their use in mound construction and shell ring formation, which can be seen at the Sapelo Shell Rings and later platform mounds along the Georgia coast, such as the Mississippian Period (1150–370 cal.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A multi-proxy assessment of the impact of environmental instability on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

et al. 2022

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Circular shell rings along the South Atlantic Coast of North America are the remnants of some of the earliest villages that emerged during the Late Archaic (5000–3000 BP). Many of these villages, however, were abandoned during the Terminal Late Archaic (ca 3800–3000 BP). We combine Bayesian chronological modeling with mollusk shell geochemistry and oyster paleobiology to understand the nature and timing of environmental change associated with the emergence and abandonment of circular shell ring villages on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Our Bayesian models indicate that Native Americans occupied the three Sapelo shell rings at varying times with some generational overlap. By the end of the complex’s occupation, only Ring III was occupied before abandonment ca. 3845 BP. Ring III also consists of statistically smaller oysters harvested from less saline estuaries compared to earlier occupations. Integrating shell biochemical and paleobiological data with recent tree ring analyses shows a clear pattern of environmental fluctuations throughout the period in which the rings were occupied. We argue that as the environment became unstable around 4300 BP, aggregation at villages provided a way to effectively manage fisheries that are highly sensitive to environmental change. However, with the eventual collapse of oyster fisheries and subsequent rebound in environmental conditions ca. post-3800 BP, people dispersed from shell rings, and shifted to non-marine subsistence economies and other types of settlements. This study provides the most comprehensive evidence for correlations between large-scale environmental change and societal transformations on the Georgia coast during the Late Archaic period.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multi-proxy assessment of the impact of environmental instability on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

et al. 2022

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“…Moreover, recent research shows that Native American communities along the South Atlantic coast sustainably harvested oysters for thousands of years, evidenced by an increase in oyster size from the Late Archaic through Mississippian periods (5000 – 370 cal. BP) [17]. This stands in contrast to an argument that changes in oyster sizes may reflect unsustainable human management practices.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Eastern oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ), hereby simply referred to as oyster(s), were an important part of larger economic resources on the Georgia coast, and recent research shows that they were sustainably harvested by Native American communities for thousands of years [16, 17]. Oysters were integral to other aspects of life as well, including their use in mound construction and shell ring formation, which can be seen at the Sapelo Shell Rings and later platform mounds along the Georgia coast, such as the Mississippian Period (1150 – 370 cal.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-proxy assessment of the impact of climate change on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

Garland

Thompson

Sanger

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Circular shell rings along the Atlantic Coast of southeastern North America are the remnants of some of the earliest villages that emerged during the Late Archaic Period (5000 – 3000 BP). Many of these villages, however, were abandoned during the Terminal Late Archaic Period (ca 3800 – 3000 BP). Here, we combine Bayesian chronological modeling with multiple environmental proxies to understand the nature and timing of environmental change associated with the emergence and abandonment of shell ring villages on Sapleo Island, Georgia. Our Bayesian models indicate that Native Americans occupied the three Sapelo shell rings at varying times with some generational overlap. By the end of the complex’s occupation, only Ring III was occupied before abandonment ca. 3845 BP. Ring III also consists of statistically smaller oysters ( Crassostrea virginica ) that people harvested from less saline estuaries compared to earlier occupations. These data, when integrated with recent tree ring analyses, show a clear pattern of environmental instability throughout the period in which the rings were occupied. We argue that as the climate became unstable around 4300 BP, aggregation at shell ring villages provided a way to effectively manage fisheries that are highly sensitive to environmental change. However, with the eventual collapse of oyster fisheries and subsequent rebound in environmental conditions ca. 3800 BP, people dispersed from shell rings, and shifted to non-marine subsistence economies and other types of settlements. This study provides the most comprehensive evidence correlations between large-scale environmental change and societal transformations on the Georgia coast during the Late Archaic period.

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“…Habitat stewardship and species husbandry have been conducted by indigenous peoples for millennia [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. To achieve a sustainable future, these will need to be incorporated as a central tenet of the Anthropocene together with a radical change in environmental hygiene in general.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Urban River Syndrome: Achieving Sustainability Against a Backdrop of Accelerating Change

Richardson

Soloviev

2021

IJERPH

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Human activities have been affecting rivers and other natural systems for millennia. Anthropogenic changes to rivers over the last few centuries led to the accelerating state of decline of coastal and estuarine regions globally. Urban rivers are parts of larger catchment ecosystems, which in turn form parts of wider nested, interconnected systems. Accurate modelling of urban rivers may not be possible because of the complex multisystem interactions operating concurrently and over different spatial and temporal scales. This paper overviews urban river syndrome, the accelerating deterioration of urban river ecology, and outlines growing conservation challenges of river restoration projects. This paper also reviews the river Thames, which is a typical urban river that suffers from growing anthropogenic effects and thus represents all urban rivers of similar type. A particular emphasis is made on ecosystem adaptation, widespread extinctions and the proliferation of non-native species in the urban Thames. This research emphasizes the need for a holistic systems approach to urban river restoration.

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Ecosystem stability and Native American oyster harvesting along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

Cited by 35 publications

References 32 publications

A multi-proxy assessment of the impact of environmental instability on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

A multi-proxy assessment of the impact of environmental instability on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

A Multi-proxy assessment of the impact of climate change on Late Holocene (4500-3800 BP) Native American villages of the Georgia coast

The Urban River Syndrome: Achieving Sustainability Against a Backdrop of Accelerating Change

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