Prehistoric Native Americans and Ecological Change: Human Ecosystems in Eastern North America since the Pleistocene

213 Pages·2004·1.31 MB·English

by  Delcourt Paul A.

PREHISTORIC NATIVE AMERICANS AND
ECOLOGICAL CHANGE
HumanEcosystemsinEasternNorthAmerica
sincethePleistocene
Prehistoric Native Americans and Ecological Change shows that
Holocenehumanecosystemsarecomplexadaptivesystemsinwhich
humansinteractedwiththeirenvironmentinanestedseriesofspa-
tial and temporal scales. Using panarchy theory, it integrates paleo-
ecological and archaeological research from the Eastern Woodlands
of North America, providing a new paradigm to help resolve long-
standing disagreements between ecologists and archaeologists about
theimportanceofprehistoricNativeAmericansasagentsforecologi-
calchange.Theauthorspresenttheconceptofapanarchyofcomplex
adaptivecyclesasappliedtothedevelopmentofincreasinglycomplex
humanecosystemsthroughtime.Theyexploreexamplesofecological
interactionsatthelevelofgene,population,community,landscape,
and regional hierarchical scales, emphasizing the ecological pattern
andprocessinvolvingthedevelopmentofhumanecosystems.Finally,
they offer a perspective on the implications of the legacy of Native
Americansasagentsofchangeforconservationandecologicalrestora-
tioneffortstoday.
paul a. delcourt is a professor in the Department of Ecology
andEvolutionaryBiologyattheUniversityofTennessee,Knoxville.
His areas of research interest include reconstruction of ice-age envi-
ronmentsandglobalclimatechange.Overhiscareer,hehasworked
witharchaeologistsacrosssoutheasternNorthAmericatounderstand
the relationships of prehistoric Native Americans to their changing
environments.
hazel r. delcourt is also a professor in the Department of
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville.Herresearchhasfocusedonthehistoryofdeciduousforest
speciesfromthePleistocenetothepresentday.Sheisparticularlyin-
terestedintheapplicationofinsightsfromthepaleoecologicalrecord
astheycanbeappliedtotheconservationofbiologicaldiversity.

PREHISTORIC NATIVE
AMERICANS AND
ECOLOGICAL CHANGE
Human Ecosystems in Eastern North America
since the Pleistocene
PAUL A. DELCOURT AND HAZEL R. DELCOURT
DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiology
UniversityofTennessee,Knoxville
published by the press syndicate of the university of cambridge
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Firstpublished2004
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Delcourt,PaulA.
PrehistoricNativeAmericansandecologicalchange:apanarchicalperspective
ontheevolutionofhumanecosystemsineasternNorthAmericasincethe
Pleistocene/PaulA.DelcourtandHazelR.Delcourt.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0521662702
1.Paleo-Indians–East(US) 2.Indigenouspeoples–East(US)–Ecology.
3.Nature–Effectofhumanbeingson–East(US) 4.Plantremains(Archaeology)–
East(US) 5.Paleoecology–East(US)–Holocene. 6.Bioticcommunities–
East(US) 7.East(US)–Antiquities.I.Delcourt,HazelR.II.Title.
E78.E2D45 2004
304.2–dc22 2003062730
ISBN0521662702hardback
ThepublisherhasuseditsbestendeavorstoensurethattheURLsforexternalwebsitesreferredtoin
thisbookarecorrectandactiveatthetimeofgoingtopress.However,thepublisherhasno
responsibilityforthewebsitesandcanmakenoguaranteethatasitewillremainliveorthatthe
contentisorwillremainappropriate.
ToJeffersonChapman,DanandPhyllisMorse,
JimandCynthiaPrice,andRogerSaucier,valuedmentors
andguidesinourquesttounderstandprehistoricpeople
andtheirenvironments

Contents
Acknowledgements page x
part i panarchy as an integrative paradigm 1
Overview 1
1 Theneedforanewsynthesis 3
Themythofthenaturalman 3
Effectivelandmanagementrequiresanewsynthesis 7
Conclusions:forginganewsynthesis 10
2 PanarchytheoryandQuaternaryecosystems 11
Panarchytheory 11
TheQuaternarypanarchy 12
Conclusions:thepaleo-panarchicalperspective 17
3 Holocenehumanecosystems 18
Anthropogenicadaptivecycles 19
Paleo-panarchyoftheEasternWoodlands 28
Conclusions:human-managedecosystems 30
part ii ecological feedbacks and processes 33
Overview 33
4 Gene-levelinteractions 36
Fromforagingtocultivationtoplantdomestication 36
MultiplepathwaystoplantdomesticationineasternNorthAmerica 38
TheEasternAgriculturalComplex 40
Cucurbitapepo:lastinglegacyofhuman–plantinteractions 42
Theoriginofthecommondomesticatedbean 45
Evolutionaryecologyoftheplantdomesticationprocess 46
Maizedomesticationandthedemiseofforagingstrategies 48
Conclusions:thetransitionfromforagerstofarmers 50
vii
Contents
5 Population-levelinteractions 51
Hunter-forageradaptationstothePleistocene/Holocene
transition 51
Evolutionofinteractionbehavior 55
TheCentralMississippiValley 57
Theprairie/forestborder 63
Rocksheltersofthehinterlands 64
EarlyArchaicadaptationsonthesouthernAtlanticSeaboard 65
Mastexploitationandtreepopulations 68
PanarchicalthresholdforArchaicforagers 71
Incipientdomesticationandcurationofnut-treeorchards 72
Conclusions:hunter–foragerresourcestrategies 72
6 Community-levelinteractions 74
PrehistoricNativeAmericansasanintermediatedisturbance 74
Therelationshipofintermediatedisturbancetobiologicaldiversity 74
Originofold-fieldcommunities 75
IntermediatedisturbanceandtheEasternAgriculturalComplex 77
Long-termvegetationchangeandintermediatehumandisturbanceon
theCumberlandPlateauofKentucky 80
Ecologicalresistancetoinvasion 86
LevelsofnativebiodiversityineasternNorthAmerica 88
Conclusions:humansasanintermediatedisturbanceregime 88
7 Landscape-levelinteractions 90
Anthropogenicdisturbance,forestfragmentation,andlandscape
stability 90
Forestfragmentationandpercolationtheory 95
TheLittleTennesseeRiverValley 98
CahokiaandtheAmericanBottom 115
Prehistoricpopulationdensitiesandlandscapethresholds 129
Conclusions:prehistoricsedentaryagricultureandpanarchical
collapse 132
8 Regional-levelinteractions 134
Paleoindians,megafaunalextinctions,andpanarchyreorganization 134
Dynamicsoflate-Pleistoceneenvironmentalchange 134
Late-glacialrestructuringofecosystems 137
AlternativeecologicalmodelsforrapidcolonizationofNorthAmerica 142
Keystonespeciesdisplacementandhumanhuntingpressure 153
Paleoindianpopulationgrowth 157
Conclusions:Homosapiensasakeystonespecies 159
viii
Contents
part iii application and synthesis 161
Overview 161
9 TheecologicallegacyofprehistoricNativeAmericans 162
Themythofthepristineforest 162
Integratingviewpoints:theroleoftraditionalecologicalknowledge 164
Conclusions:prehistoricNativeAmericansasagentsofecological
change 167
References 170
Index 197
ix
Acknowledgements
Wethankourfriendandeditor,AlanCrowden,forhisinsightfulchallenge
to explore interconnections and interactions between prehistoric people
andtheirenvironment.
Many colleagues offered enthusiastic encouragement, thoughtful ad-
vice, and key literature references and reprints to help cultivate this vi-
brantinterfacebetweenarchaeology,ecology,andpaleoecology.Wethank
Marc Abrams, David Anderson, Kat Anderson, Bill Baden, Ed Buckner,
Jefferson Chapman, Michael Collins, Wes Cowan, Gary Crites, James
Dixon,PennyDrooker,GayleFritz,DonaldGrayson,KristenGremillion,
Stephen A. Hall, Cecil Ison, Richard Jantz, Jim Knox, Timothy Kohler,
Mark Kot, Mark Lynott, Jim Mead, David Meltzer, George Milner, Dan
and Phyllis Morse, Evan Peacock, Jim and Cynthia Price, Emily Russell,
RogerSaucier,GeraldSchroedl,TheodoreSchurr,BruceSmith,JanSimek,
LynneSullivan,KenTankersley,MonicaTurner,andSteveWilliams.
x