Niche Construction and Long-Term Trajectories of Food Production

Quintus, Seth; Allen, Melinda S.

doi:10.1007/s10814-023-09187-x

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 302 publications

(430 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As agricultural modifications are accretionary, past agricultural behaviors can create the context for future agricultural practices [ 107 ]. Agriculture, and the changing productivity of environments over time, are useful examples of niche construction [ 30 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While knowledge of land claims with physical boundaries was no doubt present in the deeper past, the tangible nature of physical boundaries affects their inheritance, a process that builds upon emergent inequality through time [ 9 ]. Physical boundaries are retained on the landscape through ecological inheritance [ 30 ], promoting the continuation of exclusive access. As land is generally held by descent groups in Sāmoa, and most other places in Polynesia [ 20 ], the intergenerational inheritance of physically bounded and spatially heterogeneous land can act to enhance social difference through time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Collective action problems led to the cultural transformation of Sāmoa 800 years ago

Cochrane,

Quintus,

Prebble

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this research we identify the processes leading to hierarchical society in a region of Sāmoa, the often-labelled ʻbirthplace’ of the Polynesian chiefdoms. Our analyses in the Falefa Valley on ʻUpolu island combine lidar mapping and ground survey to reveal an extensive system of archaeological features: rock walls, ditches, and platforms. Excavation and radiocarbon dating underpin a feature chronology and characterize feature variation. Soil nutrient analyses and geoarchaeological coring indicate spatial differences in the agricultural potentional of the valley and human modification of the environment over time. Our results demonstrate that the construction of large rock walls, some several hundred meters long, began approximately 900–600 years ago, shortly after rapid population rise in Sāmoa. This was followed by the building of small rock walls, often enclosing rectilinear fields or platforms. Both rock wall types are concentrated in the western and northern regions of the valley and greater rock wall densities are associated with areas of higher agricultural potential. The earliest wall construction was penecontemporaneous with partial forest removal that created a more productive wetland environment in the southeastern region of the valley, an area later a focus of agricultural ditching. We propose that with population rise the variable fertility of agricultural land became a significant resource gradient, influencing the population in two ways. First, areas of more fertile agricultural land promoted territorial behaviour, including large rock walls, and led to a collective action problem. Second, niche construction in the form of human-induced environmental change created a productive wetland agricultural system that was enhanced with a reticulate ditch network, the maintenance of which also led to a collective action problem. We conclude that in the Falefa Valley, the second largest catchment in Sāmoa, collective action problems were the cause of increased social hierarchy and may underlie the origins of chiefdoms throughout Polynesia.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%