General patterns of niche construction and the management of ‘wild’ plant and animal resources by small-scale pre-industrial societies

Abstract

Niche construction efforts by small-scale human societies that involve 'wild' species of plants and animals are organized into a set of six general categories based on the shared characteristics of the target species and similar patterns of human management and manipulation: (i) general modification of vegetation communities, (ii) broadcast sowing of wild annuals, (iii) transplantation of perennial fruit-bearing species, (iv) in-place encouragement of economically important perennials, (v) transplantation and in-place encouragement of perennial root crops, and (vi) landscape modification to increase prey abundance in specific locations. Case study examples, mostly drawn from North America, are presented for each of the six general categories of human niche construction. These empirically documented categories of ecosystem engineering form the basis for a predictive model that outlines potential general principles and commonalities in how small-scale human societies worldwide have modified and manipulated their 'natural' landscapes throughout the Holocene.

Early- and middle-Holocene wood exploitation in the Fayum basin, Egypt

“…This is in keeping with earlier arguments for low-level food production in the Fayum (Holdaway et al, 2010) and indicates the enduring importance of local ecosystem services, such as fish and riparian woodlands, rather than extensive niche construction to promote a novel agricultural system (cf. Matthews, 2016;Smith, 2011Smith, , 2014Sullivan and Forste, 2014).…”

“…The first is the presence of larger diameter pieces of wood resulting from large branches or trunks (Dufraisse, 2008(Dufraisse, , 2012. Second, increasing diversity of wood taxa characteristic of secondary successional phases suggests the clearance of primary forest communities (Scheel-Ybert et al, 2014;Smith, 2011). Third, the removal of specific plant communities located in particularly desirable agricultural soils can indicate deliberate clearance for agriculture (Marston, 2017).…”

Human Niche Construction and the Rural Environment

“…Erickson (2006Erickson ( , 2010 thus described this process as a domestication of the landscape, referring to the similarities with the domestication of wild plants and animals. However, the concept of ' domesticated landscape' is only one of the many different terms that scholars in social history have used to describe how pre-industrial human societies have intentionally modified the environment in order to promote their resource base and living conditions (Smith, 2011). Although the idea of a bi-directional and dynamic relationship between human society and the environment is thus, in a general sense, not unfamiliar, niche construction theory has the potential to unify these different terms and provide a conceptual framework founded in social history, ecology and evolutionary theory.…”

“…Riede, 2011;Smith, 2011), and the development of agricultural practices . The effects of human niche construction on the distribution of species and the composition of plant communities have been discussed in the context of Scandinavian seminatural grasslands (Eriksson, 2013).…”

“…Bliege Bird et al, 2008) or by domesticating wild plants and animals (e.g. Smith, 2011). These activities imply that humans acted as an agent in constructing their own environment, as well as influencing the environment of other species.…”