The Early Agricultural period (EAP) has been a central focus of study in the American Southwest and northwestern Mexico for the past 30 years. This long interval, also considered as part of the Late Archaic in the greater region, comprises the introduction of maize agriculture and the development of sedentary agricultural communities over the course of more than 2000 years. Radiocarbon ages on maize indicate that maize was regularly cultivated by 2100 cal BC in the Tucson Basin; several recently dated specimens from the site of Las Capas suggest maize may have been grown here even earlier, between 2500 to 3700 cal BC. The shift from a mobile hunter-forager economy to a subsistence economy built around maize agriculture was long, and did not follow the trajectory of other agricultural societies world-wide; the Neolithic Demographic Transition in the Southwest was a slow process, prefaced by some 2500 years of agriculture, and did not occur simultaneously across the region. This dissertation comprises three articles that address the EAP in in southern Arizona. The first presents a review of the current status of research on the Archaic in the Tucson Basin, with a focus on the EAP and the past 30 years of work by both academic and Cultural Resource Management institutions. The second article places the EAP and development of agricultural communities in the context of Network Theory and Cultural Niche Construction theory; although regional populations were small, communities throughout northwestern Mexico and the Southwest US were connected by social and economic ties that facilitated the transmission of goods, information, and people, all of which were fundamental to the spread of agriculture and its associated societal consequences. The third article presents a chronological analysis of EAP sites in the Tucson Basin. OxCal is used to model the ages of 12 sites that date to the Silverbell interval and San Pedro phase; 160 radiocarbon ages, most obtained from carbonized maize, are used in the analysis. Temporal variation among sites and their locations along the Santa Cruz River floodplain are evaluated in light of changes in river geomorphology and the cumulative effects of community investment in agricultural infrastructure.

abstract: The recent emergence of global ‘megafires’ has made it imperative to better understand the role of humans in altering the size, distribution, and seasonality of fires. The dynamic relationship between humans and fire is not a recent phenomenon; rather, fire has deep roots in our biological and cultural evolution. Because of its long-term perspective, archaeology is uniquely positioned to investigate the social and ecological drivers behind anthropogenic fire. However, the field faces challenges in creating solution-oriented research for managing fire in the future. In this dissertation, I originate new methods and approaches to archaeological data that enable us to interpret humans’ long-term influences on fire regimes. I weave together human niche construction theory and ecological resilience, creating connections between archaeology, paleoecology, and fire ecology. Three, stand-alone studies illustrate the usefulness of these methods and theories for charting changes in land-use, fire-regimes, and vegetation communities during the Neolithic Transition (7600 - 3800 cal. BP) in eastern Spain. In the first study (Ch. II), I analyze archaeological survey data using Bayesian methods to extract land-use intensities from mixed surface assemblages from a case study in the Canal de Navarrés. The second study (Ch. III) builds on the archaeological data collected computational model of landscape fire, charcoal dispersion, and deposition to test how multiple models of natural and anthropogenic fire activity contributed to the formation a single sedimentary charcoal dataset from the Canal de Navarrés. Finally, the third study (Ch. IV) incorporates the modeling and data generated in the previous chapters into sampling and analysis of sedimentary charcoal data from alluvial contexts in three study areas throughout eastern Spain. Results indicate that anthropogenic fire played a significant role in the creation of agricultural landscapes during the Neolithic period, but sustained, low-intensity burning after the late Neolithic period maintained the human created niche for millennia beyond the arrival of agro-pastoral land-use. With global fire activity on the rise, it is vital to incorporate perspectives on the origins, development, and maintenance of human-fire relationships to effectively manage fire in today’s coupled social-ecological landscapes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2019

abstract: The Modern Synthesis embodies a theory of natural selection where selection is to be fundamentally understood in terms of measures of fitness and the covariance of reproductive success and trait or character variables. Whether made explicit or left implicit, the notion that selection requires that some trait variable cause reproductive success has been deemphasized in our modern understanding of exactly what selection amounts to. The dissertation seeks to advance a theory of natural selection that is fundamentally causal. By focusing on the causal nature of natural selection (rather than on fitness or statistical formulae), certain conceptual and methodological problems are seen in a new, clarifying light and avenues toward new, interesting solutions to those problems are illustrated. First, the dissertation offers an update to explicitly causal theories of when exactly a trait counts as an adaptation upon fixation in a population and draws out theoretical and practical implications for evolutionary biology. Second, I examine a case of a novel character that evolves by niche construction and argue that it evolves by selection for it and consider implications for understanding adaptations and drift. The third contribution of the dissertation is an argument for the importance of defining group selection causally and an argument against model pluralism in the levels of selection debate. Fourth, the dissertation makes a methodological contribution. I offer the first steps toward an explicitly causal methodology for inferring the causes of selection—something often required in addition to inferring the causes of reproductive success. The concluding chapter summarizes the work and discusses potential paths for future work. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2016

abstract: My dissertation contributes to a body of knowledge useful for understanding the evolution of subsistence economies based on agriculture from those based on hunting and gathering, as well as the development of formal rules and norms of territorial ownership in hunter-gatherer societies. My research specifically combines simple formal and conceptual models with the empirical analysis of large ethnographic and environmental data sets to study feedback processes in coupled forager-resource systems. I use the formal and conceptual models of forager-resource systems as tools that aid in the development of two alternative arguments that may explain the adoption of food production and formal territorial ownership among hunter-gatherers. I call these arguments the Uncertainty Reduction Hypothesis and the Social Opportunity Hypothesis. Based on the logic of these arguments, I develop expectations for patterns of food production and formal territorial ownership documented in the ethnographic record of hunter-gatherer societies and evaluate these expectations with large ethnographic and environmental data sets. My analysis suggests that the Uncertainty Reduction Hypothesis is more consistent with the data than the Social Opportunity Hypothesis. Overall, my approach combines the intellectual frameworks of evolutionary ecology and resilience thinking. The result is a theory of subsistence change that integrates elements of three classic models of economic development with deep intellectual roots in human ecology: The Malthusian, Boserupian and Weberian models. A final take home message of my study is that evolutionary ecology and resilience thinking are complementary frameworks for archaeologists who study the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2014

Utsläpp av koldioxid från användandet av energi från fossila bränslen orsakar jordens uppvärmning och är ett stort miljöproblem. Den samhällsnisch vi människor skapat bygger på fossil energi och det har växt till ett beroende av fossila bränslen som energikälla. Teorin vägbundenhet beskriver och ger förklaring på hur beroende formas och bevaras, men teorin beskriver även hur beroenden kan brytas. Studiens syfte är att undersöka vilka möjligheterna är för vätgas- och bränslecellstekniken att vara en del av lösningen, en pusselbit i omställning till fossiloberoende energisystem. Analysmetoden som används är tematisk analys och det empiriska materialet består av tidningsartiklar som handlar om vätgas- och bränslecellsteknik. Tematisk analys innebär studier av mönster och hur teman skildras och förändras över tid. Teman är valda utifrån forskningsfrågorna. Analysresultatet visar på förändringar i beskrivning och skildring av teman. De förändringar som iakttagits beskrivs och diskuteras mot teori och tidigare forskning för att slutligen leda fram till ett svar på forskningsfrågan; ”Hur ser möjligheterna ut för vätgas- och bränslecellstekniken att vara en del i omställning till ett fossiloberoende samhälle?”. Slutsatsen är att det finns möjligheter för vätgas och bränsleceller att vara en del i konstruktionen av en ny samhällsnisch. / Emissions of carbon dioxide from the use of energy from fossil fuels cause global warming and are a major environmental problem. The social niche we humans have created is based on fossil energy and it has grown into a dependence on fossil fuels as an energy source. The theory of path dependence describes and provides an explanation of how addiction is formed and preserved, but the theory also describes how addictions can be broken. The purpose of the study is to investigate what the possibilities are for hydrogen and fuel cell technology to be part of the solution, a piece of the puzzle in the conversion to fossil-independent energy systems. The analysis method used is thematic analysis and the empirical material consists of newspaper articles that deal with hydrogen and fuel cell technology. Thematic analysis involves studies of patterns and how themes are portrayed and changed over time. Themes are selected based on the research questions. The analysis results show changes in the description and description of themes. The changes observed are described and discussed against theory and previous research to finally lead to an answer to the research question; "What are the opportunities for hydrogen and fuel cell technology to be part of the transition to a fossil-independent society?" The conclusion is that there are opportunities for hydrogen and fuel cell technology to be part of the construction of a new social niche.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-26T17:49:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 pedroataribeiropinto.pdf: 2255947 bytes, checksum: 2cf31a876b204a5b0d0bfa114a1cc486 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-27T11:31:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 pedroataribeiropinto.pdf: 2255947 bytes, checksum: 2cf31a876b204a5b0d0bfa114a1cc486 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T11:31:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 pedroataribeiropinto.pdf: 2255947 bytes, checksum: 2cf31a876b204a5b0d0bfa114a1cc486 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-04 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho sugere uma estrutura teórica para uma Estética Cognitiva pragmaticamente orientada, baseada na Filosofia de Processos e Semiótica Cognitiva de Charles S. Peirce. Esta abordagem pouco explorada é capaz de fornecer novos métodos e premissas para a investigação da relação complexa entre obras de arte, significado, ambiente e artefatos, paradigmas artísticos, e criatividade. Nós oferecemos: (i) uma noção de criatividade artística relacionada as dinâmicas de construção de nicho cognitivo; (ii) um modelo da relação entre significado, criatividade, artefatos e nichos cognitivos; (iii) um modelo de construção de nicho cognitivo através de semiose icônica. As contribuições desta dissertação à Semiótica Cognitiva e Filosofia da Arte incluem, principalmente: a aproximação interdisciplinar entre conceitos e ferramentas teóricas oriundas da Filosofia de Processos, Semiótica, Solução Situada de Problemas, e Biologia Evolutiva; o fornecimento de uma série de análise de exemplos incluindo dança, literatura, música e tarefas de solução de problemas; a sugestação de uma estrutura conceitual para abordar fenômenos estéticos cognitivos. / This work suggests a framework for a pragmatist oriented Cognitive Aesthetics based on Peirce's Process Philosophy of Signs and Cognitive Semiotics. This little explored approach is capable of providing new methods and premises for investigating the complex relationship between artworks, meaning, environment, artistic paradigms, and creativity. We provide: (i) a notion of artistic creativity as related to cognitive niche construction dynamics; (ii) a model of the relationship between meaning, creativity, artifacts and cognitive niches; (iii) a model of cognitive niche construction through iconic semiosis. The contributions of this thesis to Cognitive Semiotics and Philosophy of Art include, mainly: the interdisciplinary approximation between concepts and theoretical tools from Process Philosophy, Semiotics, Situated Problem Solving and Evolutionary Biology; the provision of a series of example analysis in dance, literature, music and in problem solving tasks; the suggestion of a conceptual framework to approach cognitive aesthetic phenomena.

A case study of a prehistoric site named Ängesviken, in eastern Jämtland, is presented in this thesis. Ängesviken is situated in a region that traditionally has been understood as peripheral and without a significant history prior to the Late Iron Age or even the mediaeval period. The site appears to have a continuous presence of human activities through a period of 3000 years, manifested through a horizontal stratigraphy. In order to study this site of abstruse character a multidisciplinary approach is used, where archaeology, paleoecology, and spatiality are combined. The conceptual framework of the study is that landscapes are the result of socio-ecological processes over time. To frame the data provided by chosen methods, theoretical frameworks of cultural niche construction theory and landscape patchiness applied, which provide insight of the socio-ecological systems present at Ängesviken during the last 3000 years. During the Iron Age, the site was used for pastoralism, combined with hunting. The archaeological and geographical context of Ängesviken indicate that the site might have been connected with other regions through networks of trade during this period. During the mediaeval period there is a reorganisation of the outlands, leading to a phase of regrowth, but the site could possibly still have been utilised as hunting grounds as there are mediaeval villages in the region. In the early modern period and modern period, the site is once again used for pastoralism. Today, the utilisation of the site has changed towards modern forestry and occasional hunting of elk. The continuous presence at Ängesviken could be explained by the resources the outlands provided. This case study indicates that the far-reaching networks of trade during the Iron Age led to a process of local modification of the ecosystem driven by an external market. This study shows that the anthropogenic modification of the boreal forest's ecosystem has a longer history in eastern Jämtland than traditionally has been thought. The investigation of Ängesviken highlights the importance of researching abstruse and previously uncertain sites from a multidisciplinary approach, as the different datatypes complement each other and results in a deeper knowledge of the site and the socio-ecological systems in a long-term perspective. / Uppsatsen består av en fallstudie av en arkeolgosik lokal vid namn Ängesviken i östra Jämtland. Platsen ligger i ett område som vid första anblick ter sig perifeiellt placerat i utmarkerna till medeltida byar och tidigmoderna fäbodar. Tidigare har en vikingatida byggnad sam en intilligande grav undersökts arkeologiskt. Arkeologiska undersökningar har visat att människor tycks ha använt platsen under en 3000-års period, men hur platsen använts eller påverkats av denna användning har arkeologin inte kunnat påvisa. För att undersöka mänskliga aktiviteter vid Ängesviken under de senaste 3000 åren, samt hur dessa aktiviteter påverkat landskapet, undersöks platsen från ett tvärvetenskapligt perspektiv. Arkeologi kombineras med paleoekologi och rumslig analys. Det konceptuella ramverket för undersökningen bygger på historisk ekologi där kulturell nische konstruktion kombineras med "landscape patchiness". "Landscape patchiness" har sitt ursprung ur ekologin och lägger fokus på lakala vegetationsstrukturer. De äldsta praktikerna på platsen är ännu inte fullt ut klargjorda men platsens läge i landskapet ter sig som en trolig orsak till de första aktiviteterna. Pollenanalysen visar att området används för djurhållning under järnåldern, en aktivitet som kom att förändra landskapets struktur och platsens ekologi. Järnålderns kulturella nische ter sig multifunktionell där djurhållning har kombinerats med andra nyttjanden av utmarksresurser. Pollenanalysen visar att platsen verkar överges under medeltid för att sedan åter brukas för djurhållning under tidigmodern och modern tid. Undersökningen visar på vikten av tvärvetenskapliga undersökningar av otydliga och tidigare svårtolkade arkeologiska lokaler och sammanhang inom det Skandinaviska inlandet.

The motivating ambition of this thesis is the endeavour to think the subject anthropo-eccentrically, to free it of its conscious-agential overtones and to foreground instead the active organism in all its ecologically entangled, metabolically perspectival glory. I define the subject, in the course of the thesis, as a body productive of its own spatial and temporal fields, a body that lives its own space and time. Ecology is pluralized, made bodily. And the body itself is dynamicized and rendered porous—less an absolute limit than a variable topology separating, uniting, and enfolding organism and ecology, self and other, subject and world. I begin, in Chapter 1, with Deleuze and the rhythmic contractions that define the temporal pole of organismic subjectivity. In Chapter 2, I turn toward the way spaces are configured on the basis of the affective enaction of organismic life. This is organismic spatiality. In Chapter 3, I introduce Deleuze’s distinction between the actual and virtual in order to properly theorize the way organismic abilities and environmental layouts are pre-subjectively related such that actual organismic activity individuates a field of spatiotemporal experience. And as the structure of this relation fluctuates, so too does the framework of subjective experience, the sensorimotor-perceptual affects by which experience is defined. Organismic subjectivity is, as a consequence, both relentlessly dynamic and tied irreducibly to the organization of its own world. To think this entanglement is to think subjectivity as swarm, a concept that opens this theory onto an array of new possibilities—toward, to take only one example among a range of many, a human-technological entanglement that conceives scientific apparatuses in their integration with a collectively human subjectivity. I conclude the thesis with a brief gesture toward the implications carried by the development of such possibilities. / Thesis / Master of Philosophy (MA)

Le processus sélectif est-il nié, persistant ou dialectiquement réalisé dans la civilisation ? De ce problème, deux thèses générales se dégagent : (1) celle de l’épuisement de la sélection naturelle, la société humaine témoignant d’une véritable émancipation vitale et (2) celle d’un report des pressions de sélection, le système de contraintes sélectives demeurant effectif. En fait, cette interrogation se trouve esquissée dès l’« anthropologie » de Charles Darwin (1871), sujette encore à débats, notamment sur l’existence du darwinisme social de ce dernier, forme, justement, de report des pressions de sélection. Face à la thèse de l’incohérence doctrinale de cette « anthropologie », qui légitime malgré elle qu’on fasse tout dire de Darwin, on proposera une cohérence articulée autour du concept de sympathie et des effets combinés de la sélection, de la culture et de l’habitude. Ensuite, il s’agira de proposer une théorie de l’émancipation vitale, mêlant report des pressions de sélection et émancipation par procès ‘technosymbiotique’, néologisme au lien fort avec la cultural niche construction (Odling-Smee). Prendre la civilisation comme une niche écologique, la culture comme un paramètre, résoudra une bonne part des problèmes théoriques et de ce dualisme identitaire qu’on retrouve si souvent dans notre approche de l’homme et de sa société. La réflexion sur la civilisation nous conduira à nous interroger sur le biotope économique, comme marque essentielle et originale de notre niche écologique. Notre émancipation biologique côtoie ainsi le maintien du système de contrainte sélectionniste, dans un biotope, dès lors, de plus en plus biomimétique / Is the selective process irrelevant, does it persist, or is it dialectically achieved in civilization? Two general theses arise from this question: (1) either the progressive extinction of natural selection, human society thus witnessing a genuine vital emancipation or (2) the persistence of selection pressures, the system of selective constraints thus remaining effective. In fact, this question was outlined in 1871 with Charles Darwin’s “anthropology”; his anthropology and notably his social Darwinism, a form of displacement of selection pressures continue to be debated today. Confronted with the thesis of the doctrinal inconsistency of this “anthropology” which allows Darwin’s words to be interpreted at will, we shall put forward a form of coherence based on the concept of sympathy and the combined effects of selection, culture and habits. We shall then put forward a theory of vital emancipation that combines the persistence of selection pressures and emancipation via a technosymbiotic process, a neologism similar to cultural niche construction (Odling-Smee). Considering civilization as an ecological niche and culture as a parameter will solve most theoretical problems, notably related to the identity dualism associated with a conventional approach to man and society. Our reflection on civilization will lead us to focus on and investigate into the economic biotope understood as an essential and specific feature of our ecological niche. Following this approach, man’s biological emancipation coexists with a system of selectionist constraint in a biotope that is, as a consequence, increasingly biomimetic

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