Pei-Lin Yu - Böcker

This collection of chapters by archaeologists, anthropologists, ethnoarchaeologists, biological archaeologists, and behavioral ecologists considers how humans have practiced mobility across several continents and thousands of years, raising questions about human adaptation and offering a diversity of approaches for measuring ancient mobility of small-scale societies. Mobility is a critical aspect of human adaptation, and humans are unique in their ability to adapt to an immense range of physical habitats. This capacity is at least partially dependent on strategies of population and labor movement within environments. The number of moves, the distance traveled, the frequency of movement, and the people who move all are relevant as archaeologists and anthropologists bring a variety of tools to bear in reading the vast archaeological record of environmental adaptation.This volume should appeal to professional archaeologists as well as many cultural anthropologists, and will be of special interest to researchers of hunter-gatherer, pastoral, and small-scale agricultural societies.

New perspectives on transitions in human historyThis book is about transitional periods of cultural and environmental change as seen through the lenses of archaeology and ethnography. Incorporating data from across six continents and tracing the human experience from the Late Pleistocene to the present, this book offers a global comparative perspective on transitional states.Questions of causality are considered, as are hypotheses about the processes of cultural change.Archaeology on the Threshold focuses on major transitions such as the shift from foraging to agriculture, the adoption of new technologies, the emergence of large-scale societies, the transition from egalitarian to inegalitarian leadership, and changes that occur in socioeconomic and ideological systems as a result of climate change and disease. Theoretical approaches range from processual to postprocessual, humanistic, and interpretive. Methodologies include ethnoarchaeology, the use of ethnographic analogy, crosscultural comparisons and large-scale data approaches, oral history, the historical record, participant observation, and focus group discussions.Challenging archaeologists to query long-held assumptions and theoretical positions, this volume aims to refocus inquiry into change-causing and larger evolutionary processes to problematize notions of revolutionary, irrevocable change.These case studies examine and shed light on assumptions regarding the linearity and oscillations of adaptations, with intriguing implications for archaeological inferences.

America’s western rivers are under assault from development, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Returning these ecosystems to the time of European contact is often the stated goal for restoration efforts, yet neither the influence of indigenous societies on rivers at the time of contact nor the deeper evolutionary relationships are yet understood by the scientific world. This volume presents a unique synthesis of scientific discoveries and traditional knowledge about the ecology of iconic river species in the American West.Building from a foundation in fisheries biology and life history data about key species, the book reveals ancient human relationships with those species and describes time-tested Native resource management techniques, drawing from the archaeological record and original ethnographic sources. It evaluates current research trends, summarizes the conceptual foundations for the cultural and evolutionary significance of sustainable use of fish, and seeks pathways for future research. Geographic areas described include the Columbia Plateau, Idaho’s Snake River Plain, the Sacramento River Delta, and the mid-Fraser River of British Columbia. Previously unpublished information is included with the express permission and approval of tribal communities. This approach broadens and deepens the available body of data and establishes a basis for future collaboration between scientists and Native stakeholders toward mutual goals of river ecosystem health.

In the contemporary world, unprecedented global events are challenging our ability to protect and enhance cultural heritage for future generations. Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society examines innovative and flexible approaches to cultural heritage protection.Bringing together cultural heritage scholars and activists from across the world, the volume showcases a spectrum of exciting new approaches to heritage protection, community involvement, and strategic utilization of expertise. The contributions deal with a range of highly topical issues, including armed conflict and non-state actors, as well as broad questions of public heritage, museum roles in society, heritage tourism, disputed ownership, and indigenous and local approaches. In so doing, the volume builds upon, and introduces readers to, a new cultural heritage declaration codified during a 2016 workshop at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.Offering a clarion call for an enduring spirit of innovation, collaboration, education, and outreach, Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society will be important reading for scholars, students, cultural heritage managers, and local community stakeholders.

In the contemporary world, unprecedented global events are challenging our ability to protect and enhance cultural heritage for future generations. Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society examines innovative and flexible approaches to cultural heritage protection.Bringing together cultural heritage scholars and activists from across the world, the volume showcases a spectrum of exciting new approaches to heritage protection, community involvement, and strategic utilization of expertise. The contributions deal with a range of highly topical issues, including armed conflict and non-state actors, as well as broad questions of public heritage, museum roles in society, heritage tourism, disputed ownership, and indigenous and local approaches. In so doing, the volume builds upon, and introduces readers to, a new cultural heritage declaration codified during a 2016 workshop at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada.Offering a clarion call for an enduring spirit of innovation, collaboration, education, and outreach, Relevance and Application of Heritage in Contemporary Society will be important reading for scholars, students, cultural heritage managers, and local community stakeholders.

Household Archaeology at Bridge River offers a unique contribution to the study of household archaeology, providing unprecedented insights into the history of a long-lived house in the Interior Pacific Northwest. With fifteen intact anthropogenic floors dating to pre-Colonial times, Bridge River’s Housepit 54 provides an extraordinary archaeological record—the first to allow researchers to adequately test for relationships between occupational variation and social change.The authors take a methodological approach that integrates the study of household spatial organization with consideration of archaeological formation processes. Repeating the same set of analyses for each floor, they examine stability from standpoints of occupation and abandonment cycles, structure and organization of activity areas, and variation in positioning of wealth-related items. This volume is an outstanding example of research undertaken through a collaborative partnership between scholars from the University of Montana and the community of the St’Át’imc Nation.

It offers vital context and guidance for those working in heritage management and also presents emerging cultural heritage challenges and opportunities.The volume presents a research agenda for understanding the role of heritage in identity, ecology, health and well-being and its application to heritage tourism.