Palaeoenvironmental analysis - An introduction into the investigation of the ancient environment through the practice of archaeology. - Anthropology - http://maxpages.com/mikeparsons/Palaeoenvironmental

In this essay I will provide an overview of what environmental archaeology is and how it has been used by archaeologists to understand ancient landscapes and their relationships to human activity.

Environmental archaeology is concerned with the reconstruction of ancient environments in order to understand human activity on a global and local scale. These reconstructions allow an archaeologist to explore the way humans have adapted to their environment as well as answering questions regarding the impact this activity has had.

The issues that environmental archaeology discusses pertain to many sites and can be used to confirm data obtained by other methods creating a better understanding of the prehistoric past. The methods used by environmental archaeologists have also been extensively used in historic sites such as Eric Klingelhofer’s work at a 16th Century castle in Ireland ,and by David Stahle researching the “lost colony of Roanoke” in colonial Virginia. In New Zealand these techniques have played an important part in researching the decline of the Moa and other evidence of human impact on the environment such as the “fires of Tamatea”.
I will explain how this research has been used and give examples of both the global and local implications for archaeology.

On a global scale studies of the prehistoric environment has provided information regarding temperature change ,sea level patterns and vegetation patterns. All this information is relevant to archaeologists as it has implications for subsistence and economic activities as well as the dispersal of humans over land bridges formed by fluctuating sea levels.

The gradual warming of the Earth due to human impact on the environment has recently received so much publicity that it seems the most obvious environmental variable. The temperature of the Earth has fluctuated from ice age to ice age over a long period of time, the most important being the one at the end of the Pleistocene that coincided with the emergence of modern humans.(Fagan, People Of The Earth,Boston.1980.p35)

This fluctuating temperature has been identified by looking at samples taken from the ocean floor called sea cores. These core samples contain tiny single celled organisms called Foraminifera that are sensitive to changes in temperature and are deposited on the ocean floor. Scientists study these microscopic fossils in order to find patterns in the species of forimenifera present in the cores. The presence and absence of certain species of the temperature sensitive organisms can give information on the warming and cooling of the oceans at a particular time. The fluctuation of these can be read using the same basic principles that are applied to stratigraphy as well as using mass spectrometer technology to analyse the ratio of the stable isotopes 18 and 16 in the calcium carbonate of their shells.(Renfrew , C and Bahn,P Archaeology Theories, Methods and Practice. London 1997.p213)

Also used in a similar manner are ice cores taken from places such as Greenland and Antarctica which can be used to complement sea core analysis as well as investigations into wind patterns using fluctuations in stable isotopes to monitor rainfall and temperature patterns.

One far-ranging effect of this fluctuation in global temperature was the creation of continental glaciers that tied up varying amounts of water lowering the sea levels in many strategic places such as Beringia between Alaska and Russia.

Not only did the sea level fluctuations allow for human expansion on foot to places now only accessible by boat , it confined many plants and animals to particular localities when land bridges disappeared.

The fluctuations of sea levels can be measured in relation to evidence of past shorelines such as raised beaches and wave notches in coral reefs. If such evidence is not the result of isostatic uplift (when a glacier melts )or tectonic uplift (from tectonic plate movement) a raised beach can signal a past sea level. The difference can be quite dramatic an gives an idea as to the variability of the climates that prehistoric humans adapted.

This was illustrated at Tasmania by Sandra Bowdler while investigating a cave at Cave Bay that had an occupation sequence spanning 23,000 years during which time the sea level was considerably lower than at present. Bowdler looked at the occupational sequences of five sites and looked at the way sea levels affected economic activity and occupation of the area.(Bowdler,S. “Tasmanian Aboriginees in the Hunter Islands”in Bailey,G and Parkington eds. The Archaeology of Prehistoric Coastlines. Cambridge 1988,p52.)

In Thailand at Khok Phanom Di Charles Higham noted the distance from present shorelines of shell middens at the site. Sea level reconstruction allowed him to show how the site had moved from relying on marine resources to rice farming an important change in human activity.

In Polynesia the levels of the Pacific Ocean are of great importance due to the nature of low lying atolls and reefs, subsequently the coral reefs have given evidence of sea level fluctuation through notches cut into the reef by wave action.

Still on a global scale, temperature and sea levels are related to vegetation patterns that have been studied to give an idea of the species of plants that ancient humans used. The type of plants that exist in an ecosystem give archaeologists an idea of the general climate and conditions that they can tolerate and the range of temperatures that existed at a particular point in time.

The study of pollen remains has been used in both prehistoric and historic sites. This can answer questions regarding subsistence strategies in a local area as well as climate changes that can trigger wide spread change such as from grassland to desert. A change in vegetation cover be seen in the Near East and Europe at around 20,000 to 10,000 years ago in a decline of forest to open savanna.(Fagan,p28)

Pollen analysis is undertaken by extracting core samples in a manner similar to the methods used in extracting ocean floor sediments. These samples are taken from swamps and analysed by looking at the amount and types of tree pollen present that have been carried into the swamp by water.
Also contained in some of these core samples is charcoal, this substance can be radio carbon dated using the C14 technique and provide additional information on natural and human caused fires in the environment.

In his research of a 14th century castle in Ireland Eric Klingelhofer used pollen analysis to determine the past environment and diet of the castles inhabitants. Tests showed evidence of wheat, rye, barley, and oats as the staple foods which were being exploited at the time.(Klingelhofer,E. “Castle of the Faerie Queen Probing the ruins of Edmund Spencer’s Home”Archaeology,March/April 1999 p48.

Also at an historic site ,dendrochronology was used to recreate the environment around the fabled lost colony of Roanoke .This colony in North America was the first British attempt to settle the Americas. The colony disappeared without trace or any sort of reason. Historical archaeologist David Stahle studied the rings of bald cypress trees to get an idea of local environmental conditions that may have affected the colony. Environmental reconstruction allowed Stahle to highlight a drought in the area that was at the same time the colony failed. This drought was responsible for food shortages in both settler and native settlements and this says Stahl was responsible for the colony’s demise and entry into Americas history books as a great mystery.(Stahl,D. ”Colonial Dry Spell” Archaeology Sept/Oct 1998,pp18.

While studying prehistory Grahame Clark excavated at Starr Carr in the 1950’s and reconstructed the environmental setting allowing him to locate the small hunting site in a Birch forest. He then analysed growth rings on deer antlers to arrive at the conclusion that the people at the site were there during spring.(Fagan,B. “50 Years of Discovery “ Archaeology Sept/Oct 1998,p33.

The use of pollen analysis and dendrochronology illustrates the benefits that environmental analysis can bring to archaeology. The reconstruction of past environments allows archaeologists to place humans and animals in a specific climate of environmental setting. Such reconstructions led to a more holistic way of seeing the world around us in terms of how humans have adapted to change in environment both in terms of culture and other adaptations.

The excavations at Starr Carr and at historic sites such as Roanoke are examples of applying environmental reconstruction techniques in order to look at local climate changes. As the drought that brought Roanoke to a halt teaches us, the environment has had a great impact on both humans and animals.

Environmental archaeology has allowed archaeologists to recreate the past environment to show how humans have adapted as well as how animal have reacted to environmental change. Without this form of analysis archaeologists would be making assumptions about many things in the past including the current understandings about human expansion in the late Pleistocene. Understanding the environment during the Pleistocene was critical in exploring reasons behind human activity at that time. The understanding of the cycles of glaciation over the ice ages is of critical importance when looking at how people were dispersed over the globe to places now seen as inaccessible by foot. By understanding how the environment has changed , archaeologists can trace the development of land bridges such as Beringia and Sunda and use this information to extrapolate migration dates and routes.

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