Incipient aquaculture in prehistoric California?: Long-term productivity and sustainability vs. immediate returns for the harvest of marine invertebrates

Whitaker, Adrian R.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.08.005

Cited by 75 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Campbell 2008;Faulkner 2009Faulkner , 2013Giovas et al 2010;Giovas et al 2013;Haberle and David 2004;Jerardino 1997;Jerardino et al 2008;Mannino and Thomas 2002;Milner 2013). There is also a greater emphasis on the ecology and biology of the species found in archaeological contexts Giovas et al 2010;Giovas et al 2013;Giovas et al 2016;Thakar 2011;Thakar et al 2015;Whitaker 2008). More refined and more regionally-specific palaeoclimatic data have become available.…”

Section: Changing Perspectives In Australian Coastal Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite Claassen's (1998:45) obvious lack of confidence in the applicability of the criteria in demonstrating human impact on population sizes and the alteration of demographics, some or all of them have nevertheless been generally accepted within the archaeological community more or less as benchmarks against which data can be evaluated (e.g. Allen 2012; Braje et al 2007;Faulkner 2006Faulkner , 2009Faulkner , 2013Giovas et al 2010;Giovas et al 2013;Grayson et al 2001;Jerardino 1997;Jerardino et al 1992;Mannino and Thomas 2002;Mason et al 1998;Mason et al 2000;Nagaoka 2002;Whitaker 2008). …”

Section: Molluscs As Indicators Of Human Behaviour and Environmental mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other researchers (e.g. Campbell 2008;Giovas et al 2010;Giovas et al 2013;Thakar 2011;Thakar et al 2015;Whitaker 2008) have also focussed on species ecology and biology, with some studies suggesting that, rather than depressing resources, some intensive gathering practices may increase the size of prey species, as well as maintain populations at healthy levels. Previous studies in southeast Queensland often associate 'estuarine species' with mudflats with little consideration of individual habitat preferences or requirements.…”

Section: Molluscs As Indicators Of Human Behaviour and Environmental mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An important consideration is the relationship between rejection size during gathering, and size at sexual maturity, as if the latter is smaller than the former then the population will always contain reproducing individuals (Catterall and Poiner 1987:120). Whitaker (2008) discusses the impact of two different foraging strategies, plucking and stripping, on populations of the mussel Mytilus californianus and this discussion can to some extent be extrapolated to all clustered bivalves. In stripping, the forager collects all shellfish regardless of size from sections of a mussel bed; this technique is aided by the tendency of mussels to cluster together on intertidal rocks.…”

Section: T Hirsutamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In plucking, a more selective strategy is applied and the forager theoretically takes only larger individuals from the beds. However due to the clustered nature of mussel beds where large individuals crowd out smaller individuals, those smaller individuals often attach to other mussels rather than the rocky substrate and become bycatch (Whitaker 2008(Whitaker :1116(Whitaker , 1117(Whitaker , 1120. Whitaker suggests that with regular collection the risk of losing large mussels to catastrophe or other predators is reduced, and that for long term productivity of a mussel bed, small shells are preferable.…”

Section: T Hirsutamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeological expressions of Holocene cultural and environmental change in coastal Southeast Queensland

Smith¹

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This thesis is concerned with the relationship between Holocene environmental changes and human behaviour in coastal southeast Queensland. The study region covers an area stretching from Fraser Island in the north to the border of northern New South Wales in the south, and possesses the best documented and intensively scrutinised coastal archaeological record in Australia. The archaeology of the area was a major focus from the late 1970s when the Moreton Regional Archaeological Project, a long-term multi-stage regional project, was established to coordinate archaeological investigations in southeast Queensland. The Cooloola Region Archaeological Project was established in the mid-1980s to explore the archaeology north of the Noosa River. These initial studies provided the basis for a regional chronology, as well as models of settlement and subsistence based on the exploitation of the area's rich marine resources.In the time since the original work was conducted the research foci for coastal archaeology, both in Australia and internationally, have moved toward more complex issues such as assessing the impact of humans on marine ecosystems, the identification of patterns in resource exploitation strategies, and the use of molluscs as proxy evidence in local and regional environmental reconstructions.Additionally, regionally-specific models of Holocene environmental change have been developed, in line with greater emphasis being placed on the ecology and biology of the constituent species in middens in addressing questions of spatial and chronological variations in site patterning.In view of these developments, midden deposits from five sites from differing locations in southeast Queensland were re-analysed, and a literature review of two further sites was also undertaken, with the aim of assessing human behavioural variability during the mid to late Holocene through the Publications during candidature No publications Publications included in this thesis No publications included. vi Contributions by others to the thesisNo contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degreeNone.vii Acknowledgements Researching and writing a PhD thesis is never a straightforward endeavour, although it seems to be a good idea at the time. The project has taken a long time to come to fruition, delayed by a combination of protracted and ultimately fruitless negotiations with stakeholders, illness, and bereavement. There are many people to thank for helping me to eventually get over the line. Chris was an undergraduate student in one of the University of Queensland Field Archaeology viii classes on Bribie Island in the early 1990s. Even then his knowledge of lithics was scary. Chris kindly stepped in as my principal advisor when Pat moved to Sydney. I must confess some disappointment that the artefact assemblages in my study were not more exciting for him but, as he does most things, he has calmly taken it in his stride.

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Section: Changing Perspectives In Australian Coastal Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Molluscs As Indicators Of Human Behaviour and Environmental mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Molluscs As Indicators Of Human Behaviour and Environmental mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: T Hirsutamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: T Hirsutamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeological expressions of Holocene cultural and environmental change in coastal Southeast Queensland

Smith¹

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Advances in the Archaeological Study of Invertebrate Animals and Their Products

Mannino

Thomas

2023

Handbook of Archaeological Sciences

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Morphometric analyses of Batissa violacea shells from Emo (OAC), Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea

Thangavelu

David

Barker

et al. 2011

Archaeology in Oceania

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Archaeological investigations of human predation pressures on shellfish usually rely on measurements of complete shell specimens. However, most archaeological shell assemblages consist predominantly of broken shells, limiting measurable sample sizes, and thus potentially biasing results in cases where shell fragmentation is biased towards particular size classes (due to shell size¬fragility correspondences). This paper presents a recent application of morphometric analyses on the Batissa violacea assemblage from Emo, an early ceramic site from the Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea. Our method enabled most shell valves, fragmented or not, to be accurately and comparably measured for size. The results reveal a close match between the commencement of occupation and maximum shell sizes in a sequence of occupational phases, each separated by many decades to hundreds of years of site abandonment. While each occupational phase begins with peak mean shell sizes, the later peaks never again attain the mean shell size of the initial phase. As each phase progresses, shell sizes diminish until abandonment, and then the same pattern starts again with the next phase. Identical trends were obtained from two separate excavation squares. We interpret these results to indicate that while people may have abandoned the site of Emo between the occupational phases, they did not abandon the region, continuing to exploit local shellfish beds, albeit less frequently than during the site's occupation. These results highlight the ability of local (site-specific) archaeological shell data to shed light on regional demographic and occupational trends.

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Incipient aquaculture in prehistoric California?: Long-term productivity and sustainability vs. immediate returns for the harvest of marine invertebrates

Cited by 75 publications

References 30 publications

Archaeological expressions of Holocene cultural and environmental change in coastal Southeast Queensland

Archaeological expressions of Holocene cultural and environmental change in coastal Southeast Queensland

Advances in the Archaeological Study of Invertebrate Animals and Their Products

Morphometric analyses of Batissa violacea shells from Emo (OAC), Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea

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