Neolithization and Ancient Landscapes in Southern Primorye, Russian Far East

Reconstruction of Prehistoric and Medieval Dietary Patterns in the Russian Far East: A Review of Current Data

“…A general description of prehistoric cultural complexes from the Russian Far East and their paleoeconomy can be found in recent summaries (Popov et al 2014;Tabarev 2014; see also Kuzmin 1997. The archaeology of the Neolithic complexes in Primorye is presented by Zhushchikhovskaya (2006).…”

Neolithic pathways in East Asia: early sedentism on the Mongolian Plateau

“…The use of storage pits at all three sites (see the OSM; Figures 2-3) highlights the fact that increased sedentismparticularly in northern climates-requires more abundant seasonal procurement for storage. Although sedentism was once assumed to be dependent upon farming, we now know that sedentism can be supported without agriculture through the intensive exploitation of wild species that occur in dense concentrations and are resilient to harvesting pressure, such as fish, shellfish, nuts and seeds (Henry 1985;Gamble 1986;Rosenswig 2006;Habu 2014;Popov et al 2014). While the three sites in this study have yielded evidence for the exploitation of such species, it varies greatly across sites and does not necessarily correlate with the apparent degree of sedentism.…”

“…This pattern lasted until c. 6.4 ka cal BP (Wen et al 2010), when large Hulunbuir sites had already been abandoned or were in decline. As seen from Russian excavations farther east, in the middle and lower sections of the nearby Amur River basin (Popov et al 2014;Tabarev 2014) and in Japan (Pearson 2006;Habu 2014), initial trajectories towards sedentism corresponded with phases of climatic amelioration, and, on the Mongolian Plateau, with peaks in maximum humidity between 8.0 and 7.0 ka cal BP.…”

“…Following the Last Glacial Maximum, northern latitudes are often characterised by the persistence of hunting and gathering, and a specific range of organisational changes, including an early and protracted reduction in residential mobility, an intensified exploitation of aquatic species and more active management of natural resources. Across the global north (broadly, North America and Eurasia north of 40°), these shifts occurred at different times following the Last Glacial Maximum, and were closely tied to climatic amelioration (Gamble 1986;Elston et al 2014;Popov et al 2014;Liu et al 2015a;Janz 2016). Depending on the region, such changes preceded a range of further organisational shifts, including a return to greater mobility, the adoption of exotic domesticates and increasingly specialised hunting strategies (Basgall 1987;Beck & Jones 1997;Fisher 2002;Wolff 2008;Weber & Bettinger 2010;Bousman & Okasnen 2012;Chatters et al 2012;Rosenthal & Fitzgerald 2012;Habu 2014;Popov et al 2014).…”

Animal food during the Late Prehispanic Period at Sierras of Córdoba, Argentina. A zooarchaeological view from Boyo Paso 2

“…For example, Silva & Frank (2013) deconstructed the Neolithic myth concluding that: "[…] Neolithic Western Europeans should then be regarded as horticuralists at most, with only a small percentage of their subsistence being catered for by products of farming and pastoralism, and not as full-fledged farmers […]" (Silva & Frank 2013: 231). Thus, a reply to the question of how prehispanic people fit conveniently both strategies is not straightforward and needs to be solved on the regionally-specific case-by-case basis (Barlow 2002;Amkreutz et al 2008;Popov et al 2014).…”