Originally published as the author's thesis--University of Exeter, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 277-291)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-264).

Revised chronologies from Moroccan cave sites have raised questions concerning the timing of changes in human cultural behaviour in relation to past climate shifts. However, many of the inferences about past moisture regimes are based on external records. Therefore, this thesis aimed to develop a palaeoclimate record using oxygen and carbon isotope values (d18O and d13C) in Gerbillinae (gerbil) teeth from two Late Pleistocene cave sites, El Harhoura 2 and Taforalt, in Morocco. Since small mammals are not commonly used to construct proxy climate records, a modern isotope study was undertaken in northwestern Africa to understand the influences on the stable isotope composition of small mammal tissues in semi-arid and arid settings. The results from the modern study show that d18O composition of gerbil teeth is strongly correlated with mean annual precipitation (MAP), and therefore in arid settings reflects moisture availability. Predictably, the d13C values of the gerbil teeth reflected C3 and C4 dietary inputs, but arid and mesic sites could not be distinguished because of the high variability displayed in d13C. The d18O isotope-based MAP reconstructions suggest that the Mediterranean coastal region of North Africa did not experience hyper-arid conditions during the Late Pleistocene. The d13C values of the gerbil teeth show that C3 vegetation dominated in the Late Pleistocene, but there was a small amount C4 vegetation present at Taforalt. This indicates that small mammals are extremely sensitive to discreet shifts in past vegetation cover. Both the modern and archaeological studies demonstrated that the isotope values of molars and incisors differed. The results indicate that tooth choice is an important consideration for applications as proxy Quaternary records, but also highlights a new potential means to distinguish seasonal contexts. Comparisons of proxy climate records and cultural sequences at Taforalt and El Harhoura 2 show that Middle Stone Age occupations of both sites occurred during relatively humid and arid climate phases. The transition to the Later Stone Age appears to have taken place during a period of increased aridity, hinting that this cultural transition may be related to changing environmental conditions.

This research employs a modern analogue approach to examine relationships between pollen, vegetation change, and land use in the tropical environments of Island Southeast Asia over the past ~5000 years. Interpretation of fossil pollen data relies upon uniformitarian principles. Few modern pollen- vegetation studies from the region exist, and those that do have focused on climatic or ecological aims. Main contributions of this study are: the collection and analysis of modern botanical data and pollen assemblages from various human-modified and ‘natural’ vegetation types; and the comparison of this modern dataset with fossil pollen sequences in order to test hypotheses relating to signatures of past land use. Some fossil assemblages showed statistical similarity with those from modern ‘cultured’ landscapes, whilst others aligned more closely with those from natural vegetation. Cores from the northern Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, contain assemblages from 1700 cal BP onwards that are similar to those produced by modern arboriculture; a core from the southern Highlands contains fossil assemblages as old as 2000 cal BP that align with those from modern wet rice paddies. These ages coincide with the earliest archaeological dates from nearby sites. Earlier vegetation changes appear to relate to edaphic development and climatic fluctuations. In northern Palawan, western Philippines, the first fossil pollen sequence from the island records post-5000 cal BP marine regression, hydrological fluctuations that are likely related to ENSO cyclicities, and persistence of open landscapes with minor evidence of closed forest after 2750 cal BP. This contrasts with existing proxy data that imply increasingly closed forest through the Holocene. In a region where direct archaeobotanical evidence is sparse, and little modern pollen- vegetation work has been done, this research contributes to clarifying modes and timings of changes in subsistence-related disturbance, as well as bolstering recent interpretations from other palaeoclimatic proxies for ENSO intensification from ~4000 cal BP. These results, and those from similar future studies, can provide baseline data for long-term monitoring and conservation initiatives.

Abstract. The goal of this case study is to further the understanding of the social and economic structure, such as trade routes and/or prehistoric man’s movement, during prehistory in the inland of Västerbotten, Sweden. This is achieved by studying the sets of lithic tools found in six archaeological sites (RAÄ 977:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 553:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 132:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 519:1 Vilhelmina, RAÄ 399:1 Vilhelmina och RAÄ 129:1 Åsele) using NIR-spectroscopic (Near InfraRed-spectroscopy), statistical and archaeological methods. By using PCA-models (Principal Component Analysis-models) and the classification method SIMCA (Soft Independent Modelling of Class Analogies) on NIR-spectroscopic data collected over the course of this study, it was possible to show signs that prehistoric man in the studied area, might have deposited quartzite materials, not naturally occurring at the RAÄ 519:1 Vilhelmina, Sweden, site. Four geographic areas (the vicinity of the sea Vojm, the North and South part of the sea Malgomaj and the vicinity of the Southwest part of the Ångerman river in the studied area) could also be shown to display distinct patterns in the PCA-models, related to the use of particular combinations of quartzites. These findings lead to the conclusion that prehistoric man in this area, typically used locally available materials for toolmaking. Furthermore, this study resulted in a large NIR-spectroscopic dataset from the archaeological sites that makes up the main material for this study, that may be beneficial to future NIR-spectroscopic studies in archaeology and/or further studies of NIR-spectroscopy applied to lithic materials.

The study of flaked mammoth bone tools from the Late Pleistocene is a topic that has inspired great interest in the archaeological community for the last 40 years. The interpretation of evidence of culturally modified mammoth bone tools has varied widely across both time and space. At different times and in different places, flaked bone toolmaking has been interpreted across the geographic expanse of the North American continent, from Beringia to central Mexico, and through a vast timeframe, from 120,000 years ago, until as recently as 10,000 years ago. The study of these purported flaked bone tool assemblages has taken many forms, and has involved efforts to understand broken mammoth bone assemblages by drawing analogies to stone toolmaking strategies, by understanding the multitude of taphonomic processes that affect archaeological bone assemblages, and by attempting to differentiate the effects of natural and cultural processes. This thesis reports on a series of experiments designed to lend new actualistic evidence to the debate surrounding flaked bone toolmaking. These experiments include investigations into the effect of different environmental conditions on the degradation of bones, the flaking characteristics of both fresh and frozen bones, and the effect of rockfall as a taphonomic process on bones exposed to different real-world environments. These experiments, paired with a body of previous research, provide a basis in actualistic and taphonomic research that allows for the reassessment of archaeological and paleontological broken mammoth bone assemblages. This thesis includes the reassessment and detailed taphonomic analysis of four mammoth bone assemblages relevant to understanding cultural bone modification and the effect of non-cultural taphonomic processes. New interpretations of zooarchaeological assemblages from Lange/Ferguson (South Dakota, USA), Owl Cave (Idaho, USA), Inglewood (Maryland, USA), and Kent’s Cavern (Devon, UK) reveal new data that revise the understanding of the nature of these assemblages, and the effect of both natural and cultural bone fracturing agencies.

The Jupiter Inlet I site is situated between the Atlantic coast and the Loxahatchee River in southeast Florida. Although excavations were previously conducted, faunal remains were not systematically collected until recently. Molluscan remains recovered in 2010 are examined to reconstruct past ecological habitats, identify which water bodies were used for extracting resources, and document changes in molluscan species over time. Based upon identifications, only brackish and marine species are represented, indicating that the Loxahatchee River was brackish rather than freshwater during the time of occupation and that the site inhabitants were collecting mollusks from both the lagoon and coastal waters. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis documents the development and application of a unique database orientated software package, BugsCEP, for environmental and climatic reconstruction from fossil beetle (Coleoptera) assemblages. The software tools are described, and the incorporated statistical methods discussed and evaluated with respect to both published modern and fossil data, as well as the author’s own investigations. BugsCEP consists of a reference database of ecology and distribution data for over 5 800 taxa, and includes temperature tolerance data for 436 species. It also contains abundance and summary data for almost 700 sites - the majority of the known Quaternary fossil coleopteran record of Europe. Sample based dating evidence is stored for a large number of these sites, and the data are supported by a bibliography of over 3 300 sources. Through the use of built in statistical methods, employing a specially developed habitat classification system (Bugs EcoCodes), semi-quantitative environmental reconstructions can be undertaken, and output graphically, to aid in the interpretation of sites. A number of built in searching and reporting functions also increase the efficiency with which analyses can be undertaken, including the facility to list the fossil record of species found by searching the ecology and distribution data. The existing Mutual Climatic Range (MCR) climate reconstruction method is implemented and improved upon in BugsCEP, as BugsMCR, which includes predictive modelling and the output of graphs and climate space maps. The evaluation of the software demonstrates good performance when compared to existing interpretations. The standardization method employed in habitat reconstructions, designed to enable the inter-comparison of samples and sites without the interference of differing numbers of species and individuals, also appears to be robust and effective. Quantitative climate reconstructions can be easily undertaken from within the software, as well as an amount of predictive modelling. The use of jackknifing variants as an aid to the interpretation of climate reconstructions is discussed, and suggested as a potential indicator of reliability. The combination of the BugStats statistical system with an enhanced MCR facility could be extremely useful in increasing our understanding of not only past environmental and climate change, but also the biogeography and ecology of insect populations in general. BugsCEP is the only available software package integrating modern and fossil coleopteran data, and the included reconstruction and analysis tools provide a powerful resource for research and teaching in palaeo-environmental science. The use of modern reference data also makes the package potentially useful in the study of present day insect faunas, and the effects of climate and environmental change on their distributions. The reconstruction methods could thus be inverted, and used as predictive tools in the study of biodiversity and the implications of sustainable development policies on present day habitats. BugsCEP can be downloaded from http://www.bugscep.com

En esta tesis se presenta un estudio sobre la evolución de paisajes mediterráneos continentales a partir de varios registros polínicos procedentes de sectores meridionales de Guadalajara y del Llano Occidental Catalán. El término paisaje es entendido en este trabajo como el resultado de las interacciones entre sociedad humana y medio. Los cambios reflejados en el paisaje a partir del registro polínico ponen de manifiesto, por tanto, las prácticas humanas, la historia ambiental, los usos del suelo y la variabilidad climática. El uso de datos paleoambientales de dos sectores geográficos diferentes permite su intercomparación. Esta estrategia de investigación permite la identificación de tendencias comunes y divergencias, lo que permite determinar el papel humano en el cambio paisajístico a lo largo del tiempo. Tres registros polínicos fueron obtenidos en Guadalajara: Somolinos α (174 cm comprendiendo desde 1600 cal aC. hasta época actual), Somolinos PAS (380 cm cubriendo desde 800 cal aC hasta 700 cal dC) y Cañamares (250 cm depth cubriendo desde 450 cal aC hasta época actual). En el Llano Occidental Catalán se obtuvieron dos registros polínicos: Ivars (415 cm cubriendo desde 800 cal aC hasta 1500 cal dC) y Els Vilars d’Arbeca (yacimiento arqueológico con algunas muestras datadas en el s. IV cal aC). El análisis de los registros de Guadalajara ha permitido determinar que el Macizo de Pela estuvo forestado durante el I milenio aC. Este sector experimentó una transformación paisajística importante en el s. I cal aC, resultado de la administración romana del territorio y de la extensión de las actividades agropecuarias. Durante el período visigótico y andalusí (s. V a XI dC) las actividades antrópicas se desintensificaron, aunque el medio permaneció abierto. Posteriormente, durante la expansión cristiana, las actividades humanas y el bosque experimentaron un avance. Entre los s. XVI y XIX dC, el sector asiste a una extensión de los pastizales vinculados al desarrollo de una importante actividad transhumante. En el Llano Occidental Catalán los registros polínicos evidencian la existencia de un paisaje abierto y la presencia de vegetación adaptada a condiciones de semiaridez desde el s. IX cal aC. En este momento se constatan evidencias de actividades antrópicas, especialmente de ganadería. Episodios puntuales de aridez parecen incidir en el sector en torno a ca. 700 cal aC. No obstante, desde ca. 450 cal aC estos episodios podrían haberse acentuado, pudiendo haber ocasionado una desecación parcial de la laguna e impidiendo la conservación polínica. Este período seco pudo estar vinculado al abandono del asentamiento de Els Vilars d’Arbeca. No obstante, otros asentamientos ibéricos continuaron ocupados entre el s. V aC y el II aC, lo cual podría sugerir la existencia de diferentes estrategias adaptativas a la variabilidad ambiental por parte de estas comunidades de la Edad del Hierro. Las actividades antrópicas fueron escasas durante época romana bajoimperial. En este momento, el bosque experimentó un avance. No obstante, en s. V cal dC, durante el período visigótico, se detectan importantes deforestaciones. Bajo el desarrollo de la administración andalusí en el sector se constata la extensión de las actividades agrícolas. Posteriormente, el área se establece como una región fronteriza entre los condados cristianos septentrionales y los reinos musulmanes meridionales, ofreciendo escasas evidencias de explotación territorial. Posteriormente, el sector experimentó un desarrollo importante de la agricultura durante la Baja Edad Media. En este momento se constata, además, el desarrollo de la actividad ganadera, probablemente vinculada al desarrollo de rutas trashumantes establecidas entre las llanuras leridanas y las cordilleras montañosas septentrionales. Este trabajo ha permitido documentar diferentes respuestas al cambio ambiental en la Península Ibérica, vinculadas a los diferentes factores políticos, económicos y sociales que predominaron en los diferentes territorios. Por otra parte, los datos paleoambientales ponen de manifiesto la relevancia del papel humano en el cambio paisajístico de los sectores de media montaña peninsular durante época romana. / "Evolution of Mediterranean continental landscapes in Lleida and Guadalajara during the last 3000 years on the basis of Ivars, Somolinos and Cañamares pollen sequences." Abstract: The evolution of landscapes through time has been studied in this work by the analysis of several pollen records from two Mediterranean continental areas of the Iberian Peninsula: the Northern Guadalajara area and the Western Plain of Catalonia. Landscapes are understood in this work as a result of the relationship between human societies and the environment. Subsequently, the changes in landscape reported by pollen record reflect the evolution of the human practices, environmental history, land-use, climate variability. The use of palaenvironmental data from two areas enables a comparison between sites. !is approach has allowed to identify convergence/divergence trends and, in consequence, to assess the role of human agency in the evolution of landscape through time. Three pollen records were obtained in Guadalajara area: Somolinos α (174 cm depth covering from 1600 cal AD to present time), Somolinos PAS (380 cm depth covering from 9th century cal BC to 8th century cal AD) and Cañamares (250 cm depth covering from 5th century cal AD to present time). Two pollen records were obtained in the Western Plain of Catalonia: Ivars (415 cm depth covering from 9th cal century BC to 15th century cal AD) and Els Vilars d’Arbeca archaeological site, of which some sedimentary samples were dated at 4th century cal BC). The analysis of the Guadalajara records has allowed to clarify that the Pela Massif was formerly forested during the 1st millennium BC. !is sector experienced a major landscape transformation in the 1st century cal BC, as a result of the onset of Roman administration at Tiermes and the widespread of extensive farming and grazing through the land. During the Visigothic and Andalusian periods (5th to 11th century AD) human activities reduced, but the area still remained as an open landscape. Later on, after the expansion of the northern Christian kingdoms towards the South, both the forest and the human activities recovered in this area. Between the 16th and 19th centuries the area transformed into pastures linked to the development of transhumance activities. In the Western Plain of Catalonia the pollen records has evidenced an open landscape and the presence of semi-arid vegetation since 9th century cal BC. At this time, evidences of human activities, specially of grazing, are reported. Episodes of droughts seemed to be recurrent in ca. 700 cal BC, however, a major dry period started in ca. 450 cal BC and involved the interruption of the pollen preservation, resulting from a possible dissecation of the Ivars lake. !is dry period could be linked to the abandonment of Els Vilars archaeological site. However, other Iberian villages still remained occupied between 5th and 2nd century BC, which may suggest different adaptative strategies to environmental variability of these Iron Age societies. Human activities were reduced in late roman times, the period when the pollen record is resumed. At this point, the forest had recovered, however, major deforestations occurred during the Visigothic times in 5th century cal AD. With the development of Andalusian administration, a slight development of agriculture is witnessed. Later on, the area remained as a boundary between northern Christian and southern Muslim kingdoms, with no evidences of land exploitation. Nevertheless, in late medieval times the area experienced a major spread of farming and also grazing, which was probably linked to the establishment of transhumace routes between the Lleida Plains and the high mountain ranges in the North. This work has documented diverse responses to climate change in the Iberian Peninsula, which are linked to the different economic, social and political factors prevailing in several territories. At this respect, alaeoenvironmental data highlights the strong capacitiy to modify the landscape by Roman people in entral areas of Iberia.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 339-383). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.