M

The Origins of Food Production
Los orígenes de la producción de alimentos

Los orígenes de la producción
de alimentos
Oficina en México
Organización
de las Naciones Unidas
para la Educación,
la Ciencia y la Cultura
20180111_HEADS_FOOD_HardCover_RM.indd All Pages 2/9/18 20:17

The Origins
of Food Production
Los orígenes de la producción

de alimentos
Nuria Sanz
Editor
20171205_HEADS_FOOD_CC_RM_JP_DR.indd 3 2/9/18 20:08

Aspects of Tehuacán-Cuicatlán
Biosphere Reserve
© Fundación Cuicatlán

Tehuacán-Cuicatlán
Biosphere Reserve
© Fundación Cuicatlán

Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve © Fundación Cuicatlán

Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve
© UNESCO/Nuria Sanz

Published in 2016 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France
and the UNESCO Office in Mexico, Presidente Masaryk 526, Polanco, 11560, Mexico City, Mexico.
© UNESCO, 2016
ISBN: 978-92-3000043-1
This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.
org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO
Open Access Repository (http://unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en).
This license applies exclusively to the text and graphics content in this publication. For use of any photo or material not clearly identified
as belonging to UNESCO, prior permission must be requested from publication.copyright@unesco.org or UNESCO Publishing, 7, place de
Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France.
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication of not imply the expression of any opinion
whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The ideas and opinions expressed in this publication are of the authors; they are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the
Organization.
Original idea, concept, coordination and supervision of the editing and publication: The UNESCO Office in Mexico.
Conception, Edition and General Coordination of the project:

Nuria Sanz, Head and Representative, UNESCO Office in Mexico
Editorial work:
Chantal Connaughton, UNESCO Office in Mexico
José Pulido Mata, UNESCO Office in Mexico
With the special collaboration by Robin Dennell
Graphic and cover design:
Rodrigo Morlesin, UNESCO Office in Mexico
Cover photos:
Top photo: Rock art, Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve © Fundación Cuicatlán
Middle photos: Maize © UNESCO
Bottom photo: San Marcos (left) and Tecorral rockshelters in 2011. © Apolab/JP. Vielle–Calzada
Photos and images presented in the texts are the copyrights of the authors unless otherwise indicated.
The UNESCO Office in Mexico would like to thank the Government of the State of Puebla and Professor Robin Dennell, member of
the Scientific Committee of the World Heritage Thematic Programme HEADS. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all of the
participants, whose contributions have made this publication possible.
Printed in Mexico.
Oficina en México
Organización
de las Naciones Unidas
para la Educación,
la Ciencia y la Cultura

Table of Contents
1 Prologue
José Antonio Gali Fayad
17
State Governor of Puebla
1 Introduction
Nuria Sanz
19
Head and Representative, UNESCO Office in Mexico
2 Interdisciplinary Perspective 21
The humankind heritage 22

of the Neolithic world phenomenon
Nuria Sanz
The Applicability of World Heritage Criteria

for the Neolithic Revolution
34
Robin Dennell
3 Centres of Domestication: South-West Asia 49
The Origins of Agriculture in South-West Asia 50

Nicholas Conard
A Local History: the Neolithic Transition 68

in the Greater Petra Region
Bill Finlayson
The Late Neolithic Transition. 78

The Case of Çatalhöyük East
Arek Marciniak
The Origins of Agriculture and Neolithic Food Storage: 90

When is Enough Really Enough?
Ian Kuijt
‘Zooarchaeology’ in Transitional Societies: Evidence from 98

Anatolia, the Bridge between Southwest Asia and Europe
Evangelia Pişkin
4 Centres of Domestication: East and South-East Asia 113
Trajectories to Agriculture: 114

The Case of China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula
Gary Crawford
Foragers, Cultivators and Mariners: the Complex 126

Emergence of the Neolithic in South-East Asia
Ryan Rabett

When were Rice Paddies Ploughed? 132
An Investigation of Rice-Agriculture Technology
in China
Li Liu
Hanlong Sun
Xingcan Chen
5 Centres of Domestication: Mexico and MesoAmerica 145
Beginnings of Water Management and Agricultural 146

Intensification in Mesoamerica: The Case of the Prehistoric
San Marcos Well, the Purrón Dam
and the ‘Fossilized’ Canal Systems of the Tehuacán Valley,
Puebla, Mexico
James A. Neely
On the Origins and Domestication of Maize: 160

The Impact of Environmental Transitions is Revealed
by the Evolution of its Genome
Jean-Philippe Vielle-Calzada
La Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán - Cuicatlán 170

Fernando Reyes Flores
Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán 180

Rosalinda Medina Lemos
6 Centres of Domestication: North and South America 199
Social Complexity, Sedentism and Food Production 200

in Northern Peru: 10,000-4,000 bp
Tom Dillehay
Daily Practices and Early Village Settlement Dynamics 210

in North-western Argentina
Julian Salazar
7 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced:

North-West Europe
225
The Neolithization of Britain and Ireland: the Arrival 226

of Immigrant Farmers from Continental Europe
and its impact on Pre-existing Lifeways
Alison Sheridan

Food, Culture and Identity in the Neolithic: 246
the Agricultural Transition in the Stonehenge
World Heritage Site
Michael Parker-Pearson
8 Case studies in North America 263
Niches, Networks and the Pathways to the Forager-to- 264

Farmer Transition in the US Southwest/North-West Mexico
James M. Vint
Barbara J. Mills
Was there a Neolithic ‘(R)evolution’ in North America’s 282

Pacific North-west Region? Exploring Alternative Models of
Socio-Economic and Political Change
Anna Marie Prentiss
Matthew J. Walsh Aarhus
9 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced:

Southern Africa
299
Food Production in Southern Africa with a Specific Focus 300

on the Introduction, Spread and Consequences of Maize
(zea-mays)
Innocent Pikirayi
10 Methodological approaches 309
A Field Sampling Protocol for Palaeogenetic Analyses 310

within the Framework of the World Heritage Convention
Ruth Bollongino
Recommendations for Pollen Sample Analysis Protocol 318

Anne–Marie Sémah
Micro Categories Analysis: the Use of Micromorphology for 326

Taphonomic Studies in Archaeological Sites
Ximena Suarez Villagran
11 International Cooperation for Research

and Conservation of the Heritage of Food Production
331
Nuria Sanz

1
Prologue
Introduction

Prologue 1
It has been a pleasure and honour for the Government of the State of Puebla to work alongside
the UNESCO Office in Mexico on the project "The Origins of Food Production", a topic of great
significance and impact.
The project started with the International Experts Meeting on the Nomination Process of
Tehuacan - Cuicatlan to the UNESCO World Heritage List, held in August 2014 at the beautiful
and majestic Palafoxiana Library in the city of Puebla. The aim of the meeting was to place
Tehuacan and Cuicatlan in a global context by considering the origins of agriculture and the
forager-farmer transition in different parts of the world, including Mexico. Thanks to the
UNESCO Office in Mexico, we were privileged to host prominent international experts who
together came to plan how to guarantee that this precious heritage of Tehuacan and Cuicatlan,
and knowledge of the origins of agriculture and the forager-farmer transition, are recognized,
conserved and shared for the benefit of the local communities, the people of Mexico, and the
wider international community.
The State of Puebla acknowledges the significance of Tehuacan-Cuicatlan as areas of outstanding

importance in documenting the domestication of maize and other cultigens in the Americas, and
the development of agriculture from a forager society over several millennia.
This beautiful volume displays the studies and sites from across the world that were discussed during
the International Experts Meeting, and presents recommendations on the best ways for preserving,
promoting and studying the origins of agriculture and the forager-farmer transition. I sincerely hope
that you will enjoy reading about these transcendental issues of our history.
José Antonio Gali Fayad

State Governor of Puebla

Introduction 1
The Outstanding Universal Value of the origin of food production
Identifying the Neolithic Revolution is without a doubt one of Prehistoric Science´s most significant contributions to contemporary
thinking. The adoption of crop agriculture and animal pastoralism as fundamental food production systems was the material
precondition to the demographic, social and economic transformations that allowed this historic change to develop rapidly. In the
last 8,000 years, the adoption of agriculture has transformed a sparsely populated world of small, self-sufficient communities into the
densely-populated and complex globalized world in which we now live. It is for this reason that knowledge of and the explanations
of this process—its causes and immediate and long-term consequences—are key topics in Prehistoric Science and Anthropology.
Archaeological research is well-developed throughout the world and has evolved to add nearly ten new ńuclear areas´ to the classic
areas of study (the Fertile Crescent, East Asia, Mesoamerica and the Andean area). These new areas now make monocausal and
deterministic explanations based solely on climatic change or demographic pressure impossible. New advances in research show that,
while the Neolithic Revolution is a global process, the nuclear areas feature local and often independent processes. Moreover, the
increased access to and refinement of radiocarbon dating methods have improved the quality of relevant information. Archaeological
research has not only expanded to new areas that reveal insights into the original transition to food production, but has also benefitted
from new archaeobotanical and archaeozoological methods, and particularly from advances in genetic research. Consequentially, new
questions that cross multiple disciplines and areas of investigation have opened up.
This publication seeks to explore several fundamental categories of analysis from the perspective of multidisciplinary research,
interdisciplinary dialog and international collaboration.
The phenomenon of “transition” from mobile to sedentary societies could be approached from several different perspectives,
including but not limited to: Adaptations (related to behavioral ecology), Revisionist (Hunter-Gatherer communities as subordinated
by modernity), and Indigenous (current Hunter-Gatherer aspirations at the center of scholarly and multilateral debate). This volume
also discusses archeological and anthropological perspectives.
The main categories of analysis explored here include the interaction between nature and culture, technical responses to active
environments and behavioral responses to climate change, early Holocene dispersals, household behavior and the study of domestic
spheres as well as spheres of social interaction, the concept of built environments and the use of environmental structures and features.
In addition to these categories, others include: the knowledge of hunter-gatherer farming ecology, the archaeological distribution of
sites and the associated taphonomical aspects, intangible heritage symbolic practices, spaces used for rituals and spaces which have
accumulated meaning over time, and genetic and morphological changes that have occurred following the initial manipulation of
plants and animals.
Special attention is given to the way in which sites related to the early production of food demonstrate and justify their Outstanding
Universal Value (OUV) by use of scientific interdisciplinary approaches and implementation of related methods of conservation.
In this volume a group of international experts approach the subject from their perspectives in palaeogenetics, ecological studies,
zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, mathematical and ecological models, underwater archaeology, dendrochronology, the study of
taphonomy, and other disciplines. The reader will find explanations on how the role of ethnography, anthropology and human ecology
is essential to define households and territories as they relate to the origins of food production.
Additionally, this volume calls upon an international community of experts to critically examine established definitions of what
constitutes areas of protection, and the role of archaeology through various theoretical and methodological frameworks. The objective
is to reconsider how the UNESCO World Heritage Convention conceptualizes these sites, particularly those related to the transition
from hunter-gathers to modern food production, and to reconsider how they are represented on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Nuria Sanz

2
Interdisciplinary Perspective

2 Interdisciplinary Perspective
The humankind heritage

of the Neolithic world phenomenon
Nuria Sanz
We cannot deny the abundance, variety and geographical

representation of sites related to the Neolithic phenomenon
that are inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
More than 40 WH sites show the origin and diversity
of responses of the human adaptive capacity to adopt
communitarian ways of life associated with food production.
In those places, the OUV (Outstanding Universal Value) is
related to the first built structures that indicate a permanent/
sedentary habitat, and where the fauna and flora data
are associated with cultural processes of manipulation. It
is clear from the overlaps between the WH map and the
areas designated by Larsen in 2014 as central areas where
domestication occurred that the World Heritage List has
identified most of these areas, although some remain less
well covered than others. From Mitla to Çatalhöyük, the
World Heritage List shows the variability and gradient of the
experimental processes that led to food production.
Clear traces of resources management are detected in some

archeological sequences as a sort of “cultural control” that
imply some degree of regulation of wild species (plants or
animals) without cultivation or morphological changes;
in other cases cultivation is understood as the intentional
preparation of the soil for planting wild or domesticated
plants, and as a type of husbandry of wild plants before
domestication; or domestication when morphological or
genetic changes in plant and animal species are documented;
or farming, where utilization of domestic plants and/or
animals for food as well as other resources is registered. All
of those concepts have consequences for understanding the
character of the sites and the application of the WH criteria
to justify their OUV. Moreover, a multiplicity of concepts
that are familiar within the neolithic phenomenon such as
“horticulture,” “arboriculture,” “herding,” “pastoralism,”
“husbandry,” “storage,” or “agropastoralism” contribute to
fulfill the arborescence of patterns within the archaeological
record. Accordingly, the use of the WH criteria should explore
new approaches to maintain the essence and variety of this
major cultural change.
22

The humankind heritage of the Neolithic world phenomenon
2
The neolithic phenomenon is one of the fundamental

steps in human ecology that implies a different sort of
interaction between people and the biosphere, by the
creation of anthropogenic habitats. This extraordinary
innovative process involved niche contruction and ecological
engineering works, and confirm a critical step for the
evolution, adaptation and success of cultural experiments
through the disturbances of plants and animals.
Academics rely on new scientific methods that help our

understanding of the forager-farmer transition. These include
ancient DNA research, paleoclimatic reconstruction, advanced
dating techniques, archeobotanical studies, methods for
calculating population growth, phylogenetic analyses of plant
and animal domestication, studies of storage techniques,
traces of sedentism, exchange and sometimes long trade of
items not related to subsistence. Other indicators that are
explored within the contributions of this volume include the
presence of spaces where communal ceremonies took place,
archeological data on fertility and mortality, or traces of the
practice of weaving and the use of secondary products… all
of these are able to document a different cultural dialogue
with nature.
The geographical distribution of the sites and the

expression of their OUV in each singular place are
testimony to the huge variability of the so-called ‘Neolithic
Package’: sedentary villages with intensive food production,
places for storage, intensive concentration of growing
populations, centralized and non-centralized communal
spatial patterns, sequences where farmimg or herding
communities returned to a foraging way of life……. The
preceding pages gave answers to questions about how
and why did agriculture evolve, whether there were many
or only a few paths to the Neolithic, or whether the rise
of agriculture was specific, exceptional or inevitable. Some
of these contributions identified causality in their specific
contexts. When studying the patterns of the foraging to
farming transition, some contributions sought to create and
assess alternative evolutionary models to cover a full range
23

of analysis: evolving landscapes, patters of coexistence and research frames from all over the world provide us with domestication differ significantly for plants and animals.
between hunter-gatherers and farmers, demographic a detailed picture that brings the information closer to the Plants rather quickly exhibited distinct morphological changes
factors, regional variability of subsistence practices, and social history of particular populations. Fortuitous discovery, but animals were much slower to show such developments.
intensification of labor or new colonizations in terms of explanations arguing that increased population size upset the Commensals, prey animals, targeted animals, and the
altitude, weather or species. balance between people and resources, or a more socially- importance of non-morphological criteria such as changes in
oriented hypothesis about the the ability of certain individuals age profiles should be considered when explaining the nature
The origins of agriculture was one of the most important to generate a surplus of food and to transform that surplus into of the domestication processes for fauna.
developments in our past and our understanding of this more valued items flourished in the literature in recent decades.
remarkable cultural phenomenon is of major interest to The myriad of sites entailed major long-term changes in the
anthropology and social and basic sciences, as well as a wide Other approaches argued that the transition to farming structure and organization of the societies that adopted this
range of related areas of human and economic scientific should involve concepts and ideas as much as or more than new way of life as well as a very new relationship with the
interest. The documentation of when and where farming food production itself in the sense that agriculture was often environment. Humans truly began to harness the earth. While
began provides a powerful statement regarding the global preceded by the emergence of new cosmologies, religious hunter-gatherers live off the land in an extensive fashion,
nature of this almost universal event. Nevertheless, we should practices, and symbolic behaviors. Nowadays evolutionary generally exploiting a diversity of resources over a broad
not forget the thousands of hunter-gatherer communities ecology focuses on the dynamic relationship between human area, conversely farmers utilize the landscape intensively and
on the planet. Their contemporary way of life could be society and its environment by using culture as the primary create, by manners of artificialization, a milieu that suits
understood as the best example of sustainability. Investigation mechanism of adaptation. Evolutionary ecologists assume that their needs. Prehistoric people started to create sedentary
of the shift from hunting and gathering to farming invokes natural selection designed organisms to adapt to local conditions habitats. Sedentism is difficult to measure in the archaeology
virtually all aspects of anthropological perspectives on human in fitness-enhancing or optimizing ways. No clear consensus has of the first farmers, and this definition attempts to recognize
behavior and cultural change. The transition to agriculture yet established to determine how or why agriculture originated, that a seasonal distribution of plant foods within the same
is a common human experience that has affected us all in and it is therefore essential to ensure the integrated conservation site may indicate an annual tiny/long-term occupation. In
terms of rapid population growth and aggregation and of the relevant prehistoric sites to understand how local or global the case of Mount Carmel, Natufiuan constructions were
social inequality. Given the long prehistory of our species, the phenomenon could be represented. clearly identified as first stable settlements but there is a lot
why should the transition to agriculture happen within such of room to improve the typology of non-architectural traces
a brief period? - how and why did this happen in a few A multitude of developments related to the origins and spread of of a sedentary site within the WH convention. One of the
thousand years in a span of more than six million years of agriculture have taken place in recent years. New fieldwork and more striking developments associated with the arrival of
human existence? An important and dramatic shift in the new sites in new and old places, more radiocarbon dates, and farming is the increasing visibility of a human presence in
trajectory of human adaptation would seem to demand new methods have documented earlier transitions to agriculture the archaeological record. Hunter-gatherers rarely leave
general explanation. But we have hundreds of sites in which in parts of Asia, the south Pacific, and the Americas. Studies visible traces: shell middens, some ditches, and other features
the phenomenon occurred and we need to preserve this of microscopic plants remains, especially starch grains and remain today, but even the most complex hunter-gatherer
variety of responses for a full understanding of our essence phytoliths, have revolutionized identification of plant exploitation adaptations did not modify the landscape largely or leave
as human beings. Synchronicity in the timing of the first before the emergence of cultivation. Turning to the New World, many traces that are visible on the surface of the earth today.
domesticates around the end of the Pleistocene is emerging abundant new evidence from starch grains and phytoliths as well Neolithic evidences are closer to the spatial applicability of
in rich environments, where a singular combination of several as macrobotanical remains provide exciting new information and the WH criteria.
different species was involved in the transition to agriculture, push back the dates for early domestication, as in the case of the
and is explicity explained in this volume. The WH neolithic Amazon Basin, as stated in the HEADS publication on Tropical Disagreements within and between disciplines over the primacy
map shows that in each geographic area there are multiple Forest Conservation (Sanz, N., ed. 2017). of causal factors for the origin of food production are inherent
centers of domestication within each region. in the contemporary state of research. Beyond the singularities
This volume shows the need to strengthen collaboration of sites or local-regional sequences, or beyond the scope and
The origins of agriculture includes explanations of why between disciplines investigating this question (e.g., genetics, practice of new research techniques, certain larger questions
domestication occurred, such as the oasis hypothesis, the botany, zoology, archaeology, linguistics, and demography). arise that still require explanation. These questions are more
natural-habitat hypothesis, the population-pressure hypothesis, This context provides shared perspectives on the question than ever pertinent within the SDGs (Sustainable Development
the edge hypothesis, the social hypothesis, and more. A of agricultural origins. The ongoing research gives more Goals) of the new 2030 Agenda of the United Nations for
consideration of these ideas also reveals much about the insights on how to use WH criteria to justify OUV of sites Sustainable Development. This Agenda should raise these
nature of the archaeological practice and the role of new related to these genuine human phenomenon. We noted questions about the unique, global processes that explain our
technologies to enable those old questions to procede with as well the differences of scope between archaeozoologists present and future as a human species.
new interrogations. and archaeobotanists that reveal difficulties in articulating
the complex forms of evidence for the domestication
Abundant new botanical data appeared in the past 10 years process. It is important to consider the variety of articulations
along with the realisation that the “Neolithic revolution” often between biological and cultural changes when studying the
had little to do primarily with subsistence. New excavations transition from hunting to farming. The criteria for identifying
24

2
World Heritage Neolithic Perspective
25

Africa*
*Geographical area according

to the Neolithic Phenomenon.
26

2
Fertile Crescent, Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia*
*Geographical area according to the Neolithic Phenomenon.
27

Asia and the Pacific*

28

2
29

Europe*
30

2
Europe*
31

Americas*

32

2
Americas*
References
Larson, G. et al. 2014. Current perspectives and the future

of domestication studies. PNAS, Vol. 111, 111 (17), 6139–
146, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1323964111.
Price, D. and Bar-Yosef, O. 2011. The Origins of Agriculture:

New Data, New Ideas: An Introduction to Supplement
4, Current Anthropology, Vol. 52, No. S4, The Origins
of Agriculture: New Data, New Ideas, pp. S163-S174
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/659964
Sanz, N. (ed.) 2017. Tropical Forest Conservation. Paris and

Mexico, UNESCO.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre website
http://whc.unesco.org
33

The Applicability of the World Heritage Criteria

for the Neolithic Revolution and the Early Development
of Food-production
Robin Dennell
Dept. of Archaeology, University of Exeter, UK
Introduction relationship between people and nature. This was most be accessible for thorough investigation. Braidwood’s most
forcefully expressed by Gordon Childe, one of the most important conceptual contribution was to emphasize the
In previous publications (Dennell, 2012, in press), I discussed influential prehistorians of the early twentieth century. In social as well as the economic aspect of the transition from
why the criteria of the World Heritage Convention are his words, food-gathering to food production. As he and his principal
inappropriate for the vast majority of sites relating to human collaborator, Bruce Howe, in their investigations in Iraq in
evolution and prehistory. The primary reason is that these ‘Throughout the several hundred millennia of the Old Stone the 1950s put it, ‘The village-farming community marked a
criteria were formulated as a way of assessing the significance, Age all human societies all over the world remained parasitic, transition, in cultural history, of great important for what was
or OUV (Outstanding Universal Value), of the built heritage depending entirely for their food on what natural processes to follow. Before it were half a million years of savagery during
derived from the past few millennia. Whilst few would dispute happened to supply. Neolithic societies began deliberately which small wandering groups of people – living sometimes
the importance of monuments such as the Taj Mahal, the co-operating with nature to increase the productivity of in caves and sometimes in the open – led an essentially
Forbidden City or the Parthenon, monuments such as these edible plants and to protect and foster the multiplication ‘natural’ catch-as-catch-can existence. After the transition,
encompass only a small part of the total human experience. of animals that yield food as meat, blood, or milk’ (Childe, urban civilization followed within a short five thousand years’
As Scarre (2005, p. 177) has remarked, ‘It should be borne 1958, p. 34). (Braidwood and Howe, 1960: 1). He and Howe thus preferred
in mind, for example, that while Maya temples or Egyptian ‘the appearance of the effective village-farming community’
pyramids may impress us by their size and sophistication, one Elsewhere, he summarized this transformation as ‘The escape over Childe’s ‘food producing revolution’ (Braidwood and
of the greatest human achievements was the colonisation of from the impasse of savagery was an economic and scientific Howe, 1960, p. 4).
the far-flung Pacific islands by skilled seafaring horticulturalists revolution that made the participants active partners with
using twin-hulled or outrigger canoes’. He further remarks nature instead of parasites on nature’ (Childe, 1960, p. 55). As every undergraduate of prehistory should know, we
(2005, p.193) that ‘While state societies did produce elaborate (For readers unfamiliar with prehistory, the term ‘Neolithic’ now realize that matters are nothing like as simple as
monumental structures and artworks, and some of them left a was initially defined in north-west Europe in artefactual envisaged by either Childe or Braidwood. For example, it is
literature that we can still read today, they must be considered terms, by what was thought to be the first appearance of wholly inappropriate to caricature all Palaeolithic societies as
but one among a mosaic of human social forms extending pottery and polished stone artefacts such as axes; although ‘parasitic’ (Childe) or as living a ‘natural’ catch-as-catch-can
into the past’. evidence at the time was weak, many Neolithic societies existence’ (Braidwood). In many areas, the first steps towards
in Europe also possessed domestic crops and animals, and food production were taken in the late Palaeolithic; indeed,
These comments are especially relevant to those prehistoric thus seemed to be farmers rather than hunters). Childe’s in some areas – most notably the Levant but also Japan
sites that document the transition from food-gathering to contribution was to highlight the central importance of food (see Crawford, 2011a) – village communities existed before
food production, which was arguably the most important production over technological innovations such as pottery farming. In the Levant and Turkey, these settlements were
economic and social transformation that occurred in the and ground-stone axes. The second major component of the often large, well-built and long-lasting, and some even had
current inter-glacial period before the Industrial Revolution of concept of the ‘Neolithic Revolution’ came from the American wells and storage facilities (Kuijt and Finlayson, 2009; Kuijt,
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This transition took prehistorian Robert Braidwood, who directed several major 2011). ‘Village communities’ thus preceded Braidwood and
many forms in various areas of the world, and is most clearly field programmes investigating the earliest food production in Howe’s notion of the ‘village-farming community’.
expressed in south-west Asia by what is commonly referred Iraq, Iran and Turkey, in what he termed ‘the hilly flanks of the
to as the ‘Neolithic Revolution’. Before proceeding further, it Fertile Crescent’. That is to say, his belief was that although the What was wholly unexpected until only twenty years ago
is necessary to consider the essential features of this concept. earliest civilizations in Egypt and south-west Asia flourished on was that these pre-agricultural sites included ceremonial
the flood plains of great rivers such as the Nile, Tigris and centres. Of these, the most spectacular is Göbekli Tepe,
Euphrates, the agriculture upon which they were based likely c. 9500-9000 cal bc, which is an enormous (and probably
first developed in the hills along their edges, since it was in the earliest) ceremonial centre with ornate and complex
‘The Neolithic Revolution’ these areas that the wild progenitors of wheat, barley, sheep sculptures where people feasted (see Schmidt, 2000; Peters
and goat were most likely to be found. In any case, he further and Schmidt, 2004; Dietrich et al., 2012). Although Göbekli
There are two main components of the concept of the argued, the earliest settlements in Mesopotamia were likely Tepe is a truly exceptional site, it is not unique, as other sites
‘Neolithic Revolution’. The first concerns the cognitive too deeply buried below the remains of later settlements to with ceremonial architecture are now known elsewhere in
34

The Applicability of the World Heritage Criteria for the Neolithic
Revolution and the Early Development of Food-production
2
Grain 1961 2013 Comments
Maize 205 1016 Mexico; current figure
includes biofuels
Rice 285 745 China
Wheat 222 713 SW Asia
Barley 72 144 SW Asia
Sorghum 41 61 Africa, India
Millet 26 30 Mainly Chinese
Oats 23 50 Mainly N. European
Table 1: The legacy of the “Neolithic Revolution”: Grain

production in 1961 and 2013, in millions of metric tons
Note: In 2013, global cereal production totalled a record high
of 2,521 million tons. Modern life would be inconceivable
without the domestication of a small number of grasses in the
early Holocene.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cereal production
Figure 1: Part of the Pre-pottery Neolithic settlement of
Basta, Jordan. Reproduced with kind permission of Bill
Finlayson. @Robin Dennell Animal 2000 2009 Origin
Animals as meat
Turkey and the Levant, at sites such as Çayönü Tepe, Hallan Sheep 1058.8 1071.3 SW Asia
Çemi, Nemrik, Jerf el Ahmar and others; these date to the Goats 746.8 868.0 SW Asia
PPNA/earlyPPNB in the second half of the tenth and ninth Cattle 1314.8 1382.2 SW Asia, India (zebu)
millennia cal bc. (see Dietrich et al., 2012 for references). Buffaloes 164.1 188.3
Pigs 899.1 941.2 Europe, China
In other regions (such as Britain), food production first
developed suddenly but without the development of village
communities (see Rowley-Conwy, 2011); elsewhere (such Animals for transport
as around the Baltic), communities were often ‘Neolithic’ in Horses 57.1 59.0 SW and Central Asia
that they used pottery, but were nevertheless largely hunter- Mules 12.0 11.2
gatherer-fishers (see Zvelebil et al.,1998). In other regions –
notably Mexico – the transition to food production was not a Camels 21.9 25.4 SW Asia dromedaries,Central
sudden ‘revolution’, as envisaged by Childe, but a protracted Asia, bactrian
and complex ‘evolution’ of several millennia (see, for example, Other camelids 6.2 7.8 South America; llama and
Piperno, 2011); and in any case, Eurocentric categories of alpaca
Neolithic, Bronze and Iron ages are not appropriate to regions
such as the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa or East Asia. India, Chickens 14469.0 18554.8
Japan and Korea have their own long and complex history
Ducks 947.7 1173.4
of plant domestication in several centres, and are not easily
Geese, guinea fowls 238.2 357.4
packaged as a Childe-type ‘Neolithic Revolution’ (see Bleed
and Matsui, 2010; Crawford, 2011a; Fuller, 2011; Lee, 2011). Turkeys 0.5 0.5 South and Central America
And finally, in sub-Saharan Africa, cattle herding preceded Table 2: The legacy of the “Neolithic Revolution”: World livestock production from 2000 to 2009. Units in million stocks
crop farming by a long margin and without any shift to a
‘village-farming way of life’ (see, for example, Marshall and Note: Four types of animals – sheep, goat, cattle and pig – were first domesticated in the early Neolithic, and nowadays
Hildebrand, 2002). In other words, the last 60 years has provide most of the world’s animal meat that we consume. Horse, donkey and mule and camels can be regarded as outcomes
shown us that the development of food production across of the Secondary Products Revolution, and have their counterparts in the llamas and alpacas from South America.
much of the earth’s surface took many forms, and followed
many more trajectories than envisaged in the 1950s. Source: World livestock population 2000-2009. https://sites.google.com/site/viveklpm/livestock-statistics/world-livestock-statistics/
35

Crop cultivation Animal husbandry Transport Water Largest millet, rice and pigs emerged. In all these regions, Neolithic
management settlement* agriculture is characterized by the cultivation of cereal crops
Pre-neolithic SW Wild? Animals hunted? – Human* Wells, barrages Village (wheat, barley in south-west Asia and Europe, or rice and
Asia possibly with dogs and millet in China) on seasonally moist land by the use of hoe or
weapons spade and human labour, and the raising of domestic livestock
primarily for their meat as well as their hide, bone and possibly
blood.
Early Neolithic SW Tillage by hoe or Domestic; animals Human Wells, barrages Village
Asia spade kept primarily for Because these village or village-farming communities
meat incorporated a built component, they are also more likely to
satisfy some of the World Heritage Convention criteria than
those that did not – such as New Guinea (see, for example,
Late Neolithic SW Ploughs used in some Livestock kept for Use of pack- Irrigation canals, Villages Denham, 2011).
Asia and Europe contexts; heavier soils meat animals (e.g. reservoirs, and
can now be tilled. donkeys) and wells become more
Oxen also used for draught-animals widespread over time
traction (oxen)
The Secondary Products Revolution
Cattle, sheep and goat
Horses and later
kept for milk;
camels for riding
The late British prehistorian Andrew Sherratt (1981,
1983) made a major contribution to studies of early food
Sheep and goat for
production by emphasizing the importance of developments
wool Wheeled
transport (carts, in the fourth and fifth millennium bc in western Eurasia (see
Animal dung used chariots) Table 3). Particularly important features of this ‘secondary
widely as manure, products revolution’ were the development of ards (scratch
fuel, and in plaster ploughs) and ploughs for tilling the soil instead of hoes
and spades, and the use of oxen to pull them. Ploughs -
Table 3: Major features of the Neolithic Revolution and subsequent “secondary products revolution” especially if pulled by cattle – greatly improved crop yields
by reducing the amount of grain eaten on the surface by
Note: Smaller settlements are also known – not everybody lived in villages. birds and rodents when the seed was sown, and provided
At Göbekli, the heaviest stone weighed ca. 50 tons (Dietrich et al., 2012, p. 691), so presumably collective muscle-power was a better medium for growth. Because oxen are far stronger
combined with ropes and rollers. than humans, ox-drawn ploughs could till larger areas,
and/or areas of heavier, clayey soils, and thus increase crop
production, hopefully to the extent that it off-set the costs
Table 4: The legacy of the “secondary products revolution”: Milk production in 1999 and 2009 in millions of tons of providing them with fodder. Animal manure may also
have been used to improve crop yields; Fraser et al. (2013)
Year Cow Buffalo Goat Sheep Total interpret the stable isotope, botanical and faunal data from
1999 479.0 44.1 10.0 8.0 542.4 the LBK (Lineanbandkeramik) site of Vaihingen an der Enz in
south-west Germany as indicating that most of the protein in
2009 580.5 90.3 15.1 9.0 696.6
the inhabitants’ diet came from manured crops. (Small-scale
manuring may have been practised earlier by disposing of
Source: livestock production management: https://sites.google.com/viveklpm/livestock-statistics/world-live domestic waste on arable land; Kuijt et al. [2007] suggest
that the presence of pottery sherds near terrace walls at the
Nevertheless, the concept of the ‘Neolithic Revolution’ still has totalled a record high of 2,521 million tons. With animals, five Pottery Neolithic settlement of Dhra’ in Jordan may indicate
some validity. On a global scale, the processes that shaped types provide most of the herbivore meat that is eaten world- this practice).
the ‘Neolithic Revolution’ in south-west Asia, China and the wide (see Table 2) and a smaller number provide the world’s
Americas underpin our diet in the twenty-first century. The draught- and pack-animals. On a regional scale, Braidwood’s The domestication of the horse for riding, and the donkey
overwhelming trend is one of specialization on a very small concept of the ‘village-farming community’ is still applicable as a pack animal increased respectively the distances that
range of plant and animal species for our diet. Just three to much of south-west Asia, as well as south-east and central people could travel, and the amount of goods that could be
grasses - maize, wheat and rice - account for 89% of all Europe where farming was introduced and practised within transported. The invention of the wheel (initially solid, and
cereal production worldwide, and 43% of all food calories village communities. It also has some validity in North China, later spoked) led to the development of carts, which when
in 2009 (see Table 1); and in 2013, global cereal production where pottery-using (and thus ‘Neolithic’) villages based on
36

2
Figure 2: A modern Bedouin

settlement in Jordan. Reproduced
with kind permission of Bill
Finlayson. @Robin Dennell
37

yoked to oxen, enormously increased the amount of goods

that could be transported (Sherratt, 1983).
Concomitant with the invention of the plough and wheel,

and the use of animals for their labour as well as their meat,
was the development of milk products from sheep, goat
and cattle. By overcoming lactose intolerance, many west
Eurasian populations were able to obtain a secondary, ‘life-
time’ source of protein and fat (as well as calcium) from
their livestock that could be consumed directly as milk or
converted into storable products such as dried milk, yoghurt,
butter or cheese. Because animals could now provide food
during their life as well as after their death, this proved to
be a far more efficient way of using livestock than keeping
them primarily for their meat. As a graphic example of the
dietary and economic value of milk and its derivatives, global
milk production now totals c. 700 million tons annually (see
Table 4).
Because sheep and goat could also be reared in areas

unsuitable for crop cultivation, their use as milk sources
opened up possibilities of habitation in semi-arid areas
where` crop farming was uneconomic, and led to the
emergence in south-west Asia and Mediterranean Europe
of pastoral societies. The development of wool from
sheep was another important feature of the secondary
products revolution. Observation of modern wild sheep,
and microscopic analysis of prehistoric fibres indicate that
early Neolithic sheep were hairy rather than woolly, with
Figure 3: A reconstruction of a Neolithic house at Çatal Hüyük in Turkey. @Robin Dennell
coarse outer hair and only a little finer underhair (see Ryder,
1983). For sheep to be wool-bearing, it was necessary to
breed sheep selectively for their finer underhair. In Neolithic
Europe, textiles were largely made from plant fibres such to maintain and clear understandings among their users over subsequent ‘secondary products revolution’. Together, these
as flax (Linum sp.) and nettle (Urtica sp.), both of which access and control. Terracing was also an early innovation, underpinned western civilization (including its built heritage):
are labour-intensive as they require harvesting, then retting and are known in Early Neolithic contexts in Jordan (Kuijt as Hahn summarized, ‘Als man Milch trank und den Ochsen
(soaking in water to soften the stalks), and then combing or et al., 2007), as were wells which are found in pre-Neolithic an der Pflug spannte, waren wesentlich alle Bedingungen
picking out the fibres before spinning. These fibre plants were contexts in Cyprus (Mithen, 2010) and Israel (Galili, 1993), für unsere asiatish-europäische Kultur vorhanden’ (=‘When
supplanted and often replaced in the Late Neolithic by wool and at several Neolithic sites in Israel and Jordan (Garfinkel milk was drunk and the ox yoked to the plough, all the
as the primary textile source. et al., 2006), and also in Crete (Manteli, 1992) and Germany essential conditions were present for our Asiatic-European
(Brozio et al., 2014). culture’ (Hahn 1896, p. 75, quoted in Sherratt, 1981, p.
Another important change related to water-management. 301). Similar but not perhaps as far-reaching transformations
Early Neolithic crop agriculture in south-west Asia was Finally, salt production became an important activity in some occurred in other regions such as South Asia, China, and the
concentrated on areas of seasonally-moist land, such as the parts of prehistoric Europe, either from mines – as at Hallstatt Americas. Here, I focus on those areas where the concept
beds or flood-plains of seasonal streams (see Sherratt, 1980). in Austria – or open sea-pans as in late bronze age Roumania of either the ‘Neolithic revolution’, the ‘village-farming
Over time, small-scale irrigation schemes were introduced, (Cavruc and Harding 2011). Salt added a valuable addition community, the ‘secondary products revolution’, or a local
such as creating a barrier across a stream bed that could trap to methods of preserving perishable products such as hides, transformation from food-gathering to food production
water in a reservoir, and/or diverting water onto nearby land. meat or fish, thus increasing the times they could be kept, or have some demonstrable basis; the objective is not to add to
The earliest known may be a barrage built during the pre- the distance over which they could be transported. the enormous literature on how and why food production
pottery Neolithic B at Wadi Abu Tulayha in the Jafr Basin developed, but to show how the criteria of the World
(see Mithen, 2010). Later schemes were more extensive, and Table 3 summarizes the profound changes associated Heritage Convention could be usefully applied to some of
involved networks of channels that required communal effort with the Neolithic Revolution and (in western Eurasia) the these communities. Although most examples are Neolithic,
38

2
later examples are sometimes cited where appropriate to the Item Type of Evidence
type of pre- or non-state prehistoric society.
Technology
Hoe Stone and antler hoe blades survive, but can be ambiguous. Hafted hoes with wooden shafts
are only exceptionally preserved in water-logged or desiccated contexts.
Spade Sometimes preserved if bone; rarely if wood; spade-marks are sometimes but rarely preserved
The Transition to Food Production and the
World Heritage Criteria Ard/plough Some wooden examples are known; also clay models; some illustrations in Mesopotamian and
Egyptian pictures ; plough marks under barrows
There are three intractable problems in applying the World Wheels Fragments of wooden solid wheels known; also spokes; clay models of carts; wheeled vehicles
shown in Mesopotamian and Egyptian pictures
Heritage criteria to early farming settlements or areas where
agriculture first developed. Fields Only exceptionally preserved in Neolithic contexts; as when covered by peat, or in upland areas
Irrigation Grain/seed size (larger if grown under irrigation); wells; irrigation canals and stream barrages
sometimes preserved
1) The evidence is usually mundane
Resources
A primary difficulty in applying the World Heritage criteria to Domestic crop Macroscopic remains of seeds/grains, usually carbonised, sometimes waterlogged or desiccated;
many of the sites or areas that document the transition from sometimes as impressions in pottery
food-gathering to food production is that the evidence is Microscopic remains of spikelet and rachis fragments; phytoliths and starch grains (often
often extremely banal. As example, from my own experience ambiguous), epidermal fragments
in Bulgaria and Iran of excavating Neolithic village-farming Domestic animal Age and sex ratios, size, details of horns for sheep, goat and cattle;
sites, the remains are hardly impressive: the houses are usually Isotopic analyses of bones and coprolites (e.g. were dogs and livestock fed with domestic
crops?)
small structures of adobe, or wattle and daub, sometimes
with a stone footing; floors are usually beaten earth; the Textiles Flax and nettle fibres and fabrics are sometimes preserved but often difficult to identify.
Spindle whorls (ambiguous), loom fragments (shuttles, loom weights); carding combs
commonest categories of evidence are usually pottery sherds,
animal bones and sometimes carbonized plant remains, and Salt Mines; mining artefacts; salt pans
occasionally, a hearth, a storage pit, some grinding stones
and chipped stone, bone tools, and very occasionally, an By-products
inhumation. Although ploughing was a tremendously Milk Isotopic and chemical analyses of residues inside pots; some pottery milk strainers; pictures of
important innovation, its earliest evidence is usually a few milking in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
furrow lines fortuitously and ephemerally preserved under a Wool Carbonised and water-logged fragments, often hard to identify; rarely but exceptionally well
later monument, or a water-logged fragment of a wooden preserved in dry environment; impressions sometimes found on pottery; these rarely indicate the
plough share. Considerable creativity needs to be employed type of fibre but can indicate weaving techniques. Spun wool can be confused with vegetable
to bring out the significance of such humble beginnings. fibres such as flax or nettle.
Because very few sites are as impressive as Çatal Hüyük, serial
nominations involving several sites are likely to provide an Table 5: The main sources of evidence for the Neolithic Revolution and early food production.
easier route to nomination for World Heritage status than
ones based only on a single site. Peru (for example, the Chinchorro mummies [Sanz et al., microscopic fragments of starch grains, phytoliths and the
2014]), or in Scythian and North Chinese tombs). Milk and its size of grain (see, for example, Itzstein-Davey et al., 2007;
derivatives required highly-specialized laboratory analyses to Crawford, 2011b; Zhao, 2011). In short, it is not easy to ‘sell’
2) The evidence for food production is often identify the residues left inside pots (see, for example, Dudd an economic transformation in the same way as is possible
highly specialized and Evershed, 1998; Evershed et al., 2008). Establishing for a major monument.
whether an animal is domestic or not usually requires
Major developments in prehistory rarely resulted in analyses of age classes, sex ratios and morphometric data
spectacular, readily-understood remains. This is particularly that are often difficult to present to a general public (see, for 3) The evidence is also usually scattered over a
true of the early development of crop agriculture and animal example, Zeder, 2011). The study of early domesticated crops huge area
husbandry (see Table 5), and this in turn presents a challenge has its own esoteric problems, such as assessing whether
when considering the World Heritage criteria. Textiles, rachis fragments (the short stalk adhering the grain to the There are few precisely-defined geographic centres that
whether of flax or wool, are rarely preserved except as main stalk) were brittle or tough. With maize, the earliest indicate where a particular invention or innovation originated.
impressions in pottery, or as scarcely recognizable carbonized examples are five small cobs that are scarcely recognizable With the Neolithic Revolution and Secondary Products
or water-logged lumps. (Exceptions here are those textiles as the ancestor of modern maize. For rice, the evidence for Revolution, regions may encompass several countries.
preserved under desiccated conditions, as in ancient Egypt, domestication is often disputed and rests on assessments As example, domestic einkorn and emmer (Triticum
39

monococcum and T. dicoccum) were domesticated from the 1), the sites and regions that document the domestication ‘Technologies of Intensification’
wild progenitors T. aegilops and T. dicoccoides, and these are of these key resources deserves world heritage status, and
found in a broad arc extending from Israel and the Levant serial nominations could be plausibly constructed around Other important innovations can be invoked here as examples
through Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran (see Weiss and parts of those regions (such as the Zagros Mountains, Iran, of ‘creative genius’, of how humans increased the productivity
Zohary, 2011). With wheels and ploughs, the area that appears the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico, and North China) where wheat, of their land by agricultural intensification. Ploughing with
to delimit their earliest usage extends from Mesopotamia to barley, maize and rice respectively were first developed. traction animals has already been mentioned. Other examples
central Europe. Indeed, ‘centres’ of domestication can be so are irrigation, water-storage and -extraction, and terracing.
loosely defined that Harlan (1971) once conceptualized them A second example could be the development of livestock All these are examples of what can be regarded as ‘water
as ‘non-centres’. The lack of instances where precise ‘centres’ that is wholly dependent upon humans. This is somewhat domestication’ (see Mithen, 2010). Irrigation can be achieved
can be defined is likely to present problems when considering less clear-cut than with domestic cereals, as many domestic either by water storage in reservoirs that fed canals which
serial nominations. animals could survive without humans. An exception would take water to fields downstream (as in the Nile Valley and
be milk animals such as cattle that need milking on a daily Mexico), or by diverting water from rivers into canals (as in
basis. This leads to another example, which would be the Mesopotamia, India, Pakistan, Peru and China). The earliest
development of milk and milk-based products such as butter, examples are inevitably modest affairs compared with those
The ‘Neolithic Revolution’ and the World ghee, cheese and yoghurt than provide fat-rich nutrients on a of later city-states, but deserving of recognition as examples of
Heritage Convention Criteria regular and sometimes (as with butter and cheese) a storable how people transformed the world around them to increase
basis. Evidence for these is indirect: pottery milk strainers, for the food production and minimize risk.
With these points in mind, we can consider each criterion of example, or analysis of residues inside pots (see, for example,
the World Heritage Convention in relation to the ‘Neolithic Salque et al., 2012, 2013). Water-storage is another crucial innovation, especially in arid-
Revolution’ and ‘secondary products revolution’. The intention and semi-arid environments. The earliest water cisterns date
here is not to offer a prescriptive list of what factors may be Ards and ploughs can be regarded as other instances of human to the pre-pottery Neolithic B at Wadi Abu Tulayha in the Jafr
considered appropriate, but to provide examples that show genius as they played a major role in greatly increasing the Basin, southern Jordan, with an associated and slightly later
the types of evidence that could be selected. (Much of what yields of our staple crops. Evidence for ards and ploughs can barrage across the wadi floor (Mithen, 2010).
follows could also be applied to many later prehistoric sites that be artefactual in the form of the ard tip or plough share (see
are contemporary with city states in neighbouring regions). Sherratt, 1981); or indirect, in the form of ard- and plough-
The relevant paragraph is 77 of the Operational Guidelines, marks (see, for example, Thrane, 1989). These sometimes Terracing
which states that ‘The Committee considers a property as survive if the ploughed area is covered by the building of,
having outstanding universal value (see paragraphs 49– 53) for example, a burial mound, or peat, as at the Ceíde Fields, Terracing is a widespread practice in many hilly or mountainous
if the property meets one or more of the following criteria’. Ireland (Caulfield et al., 1998). In some parts of the world, regions such as Greece, Italy, the Himalayas/Karakorum
spades are used instead of ploughs, especially in smaller mountains, China, the Philippines and the Andes. Terraces
settlements that cannot afford a draught animal, or where are an ingenious way of increasing the amount of arable land
the cultivated land is formed of small plots (as with terrace by creating horizontal areas from slopes, and also limit soil
Criterion 1: ‘represent a masterpiece of systems, see below). Spades can be used singly, or by two erosion and stabilize slopes. The earliest example is from the
human creative genius’ people using a spade-plough, with one person digging, and Pottery Neolithic settlement of Dhra’ in Jordan; the presence
other pulling the spade through the soil. Prehistoric examples of pottery sherds near the terrace wall may hint that domestic
Many examples could be selected under this criterion. The of spades are known from the Neolithic site of Tianluoshan, rubbish and waste was being used as manure to improve the
first are the domestic cereals that formed the subsistence China (Zheng et al., 2009). quality of the soil (Kuijt et al., 2007). There are also excellent
basis of many of these communities. The ‘creative genius’ lies examples from many parts of South America (see Moore,
in transforming a plant from one that initially flourished in The wheel was probably one of the most important 2014, pp. 161–170)
the wild into one that can exist only with human support. inventions of the Holocene. Wheeled transport greatly
The main way this was accomplished in south-west Asia was increased the amount of a commodity – such as grain – that
by developing cereals that had a tough instead of a brittle could be transported, and the distance over which it could Wells
rachis (= the small stalk at the base of the grain). With cereals be transported, especially when drawn by a traction animal
with a tough rachis, the grains are held in place when the (see, for example, Sherratt, 1986). Wheels also had immense Wells can also be added as another important example of
cereal is harvested, and the grain is released (often back at technological consequences in pottery, as pottery wheels led intensification, as these enabled people to obtain water from
a settlement) by threshing. The following year’s crop is then to greater standardization, faster production, and larger sizes. below the surface by tapping into the water table, or nearer to
grown from part of the harvest. This led to greatly increased Evidence is indirect, in the form of the pots themselves. Pack where they lived. As a basic technology that even now ensures
yields over harvesting cereals with a brittle rachis, as here, animals – that is to say, domestic horse, donkeys and mules the survival of major cities such as Teheran, this method of
the grains mostly fall to the ground (or into a skilfully held in the Old World and alpacas in South America are also major tapping the water table deserves to be highlighted. Evidence is
basket) when harvested. Because most of the world’s 7 billion innovations that could be considered as eligible for World sketchy, but, the earliest examples are three stone-lined wells
people depend upon maize, rice, wheat, barley (see Table Heritage status in view of their importance to this day. c. 10,000 years old from Cyprus (Mithen, 2010), and three
40

2
Figure 4; The village of Babajan, Luristan, western Iran in

1967. Source: the author.
41

from the underwater site of Atlit-Yam, Israel (Galili, 1993; Goring-Morris, 2002). Early farming villages in the Zagros (v) ‘be an outstanding example of a traditional
Galili et al., 1993); a wood-lined Neolithic example several include ones such as Tepe Guran, Tepe Asiab, Tepe Sarab and human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which
metres deep was excavated at the Middle Neolithic site of Ganj Dareh in western Iran. There are also numerous early is representative of a culture (or cultures),
Oldenburg-Dannau, Germany (Brozio et al., 2014). farming sites scattered across China that could be considered or human interaction with the environment
under this criterion (see Cohen, 2011; Zhao, 2011). especially when it has become vulnerable under
the impact of irreversible change’
Fields Sites like Göbekli Tepe can also be presented as the world’s
earliest ceremonial centre, and as such it marks a major This criterion should be treated in two parts; first, regarding
One of the most important consequences of the Neolithic change in the ‘interchange of human values’, as well as in human settlement and land-use.
revolution (or transformation towards food production) monumental architecture (Dietrich et al., 2012).
lay in the social realm in that food production affected not
only the relationship of people to their territory, but to each For landscape design, one could cite the terraced fields and a) ‘traditional settlement and land- or sea-use’
other. In most agricultural systems, households own or rent extensive field systems in many parts of South America (see
specific areas of land (i.e. fields) for cultivation, and have Moore, 2014, pp. 161–170); or rice fields in China (Zheng Land-use: as the ‘village-farming community’ eventually
rights over their produce. It is therefore important to be able et al., 2009). formed the basis for a substantial proportion of the world’s
to determine when fields were first created. By their nature, population prior to the Industrial Revolution, it can be seen as
prehistoric examples are rare, especially in areas that have a ‘traditional’ form of human settlement. This criterion could
been cultivated for millennia, but examples are known from (iii) ‘bear a unique or at least exceptional therefore be used in support of any nomination involving
upland areas of Britain, and these include the Early Neolithic testimony to a cultural tradition or to a early agricultural villages such as those in the Levant, Turkey,
Ceíde Fields system covering12 km2 in the west of Ireland civilization which is living or which has the Zagros (see Figures 1–4), south-east Europe, or in China,
(Caulfield et al., 1998). In China, rice paddies dating to 4500– disappeared’ Japan and Korea.
5000 bc have been identified at Tianluoshan in eastern China
(Zheng et al., 2009). This criterion is probably best served by serial nominations Sea-use: Because the ‘Neolithic Revolution’ is primarily about
that embrace several sites within a well-defined area. Good the domestication of plants and animals, it might be thought
exemplars would be: the pre-pottery Neolithic communities that sea-use can be excluded here as a criterion. However,
in Jordan and Israel (for example, Kuijt and Goring-Morris, this would be to overlook the role of sea-travel in agricultural
(ii) ‘exhibit an important interchange 2002), Neolithic tell communities in various parts of south- colonisation. In some areas, maritime technology and skill
of human values, over a span of time west Asia, south-east Europe (for example, Karanovo in went hand-in-hand with agricultural expansion. Three
or within a cultural area of the world, Bulgia, Starčevo in Serbia); or the LBK (Lineanbandkeramik) examples suffice to make the point:
on developments in architecture or settlements of central Europe (Holland, Germany, the Czech
technology, monumental arts, town- Republic primarily). East Asian examples could be chosen i. Cyprus: recent investigations have shown a remarkable and
planning or landscape design’ from China (see Zhao, 2011), Japan (see Crawford, 2011a) wholly unexpected process of colonisation beginning in the
and Korea (see Lee, 2011). twelfth millennium bp. and involving the relocation from the
Because this criterion is so explicitly weighted towards the mainland of wild boar, followed by early domestic goats, cats
built heritage, it is relevant to only those sites relevant to the and cattle and subsequently by the early tenth millennium
Neolithic Revolution or the adoption of food production that (iv) ‘be an outstanding example of a type bp of wild fallow deer, foxes and domestic sheep (Vigne et
contain substantial examples of architecture. Nevertheless, of building, architectural or technological al., 2011).
there are numerous suitable examples. These include the ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a)
unique monumental art and structures at Göbekli Tepe, Çatal significant stage(s) in human history’ ii. Crete: this island was colonised by agricultural settlers c.
Hüyük and Çayonu Tepe, Turkey; and the stone tower and 6000 bc who brought with them the crops and domestic
rock-cut ditch at Jericho that are either the earliest known As with criterion ii): these include: the unique monumental animals that they relied upon (see Broodbank and Strasser,
fortification, or, as Bar-Yosef (1986) suggested a defence art and structures at Göbekli Tepe, Catal Huyuk and Cayonu 1991).
against mud-flows caused by soil instability. For showing Tepe, Turkey; the stone tower and rock-cut ditch at Jericho
major developments in architecture or town planning, one that may be the earliest known fortification; Chinese villages iii. Britain and Ireland: it increasingly seems that there was
can widen the definition slightly to include the ‘village’, as such as Jaihu and Hemudu (see, for example, Cohen, 2011; an abrupt transition to agriculture at the start of the fourth
this was the largest residential unit before the development Zhao, 2011); the Natufian and pre-pottery settlements in millennium bc that probably involved several immigration
of urban centres and cities, and was the dominant domestic the southern Levant. Other examples could undoubtedly events by boat from the North European coastline from the
environment for most of the world’s population before the be chosen that relate to a generously defined ‘Neolithic Bay of Biscay to the Netherlands. The longest of these may
mid twentieth century. Good examples of pre-agricultural Revolution’. have been from the Bay of Biscay to the Orkneys at the far
settlements are those of the early Natufian and the PPNB north of Scotland, judging by the mtDNA of the Orkney vole,
(pre-pottery Neolithic B) in Israel and Jordan (see Kuijt and which is known from Neolithic contexts on Orkney and was
42

2
Figure 5: The village of Baghestan, Central Iran in 1977.

Note the similarity to the reconstructed house at Çatal
Hüyük in Turkey (B). @Robin Dennell
43

probably derived from the Biscay Region. Its translocation (vii) ‘contain superlative natural phenomena a) ‘major stages of earth’s history, including the
was probably accidental; it could, for example, have been or areas of exceptional natural beauty and record of life’
fortuitously transported in a load of bedding or fodder (see aesthetic importance’
Rowley-Conwy, 2011). Sheep and goat undoubtedly arrived The domestication of cereal crops can be seen as a major
by boat, and cattle were also likely imported in a domestic At previous HEADS meetings where this criterion has been stage in the earth’s history, as it marks a major turning point
form than locally domesticated. Domestic cattle may have discussed, those present objected to this criterion because it is in the planet’s vegetation because it was the first time that
arrived as calves, or on short journeys, towed behind a boat relativistic and subjective. There is no universal agreement over some plants were dependent upon humans for their survival,
(see Rowley-Conwy, 2011). what is ‘beautiful’, and beauty is inevitably very much in the and secondly, because cereal cultivation led to the creation
eye of the beholder. To take one example, until the Romantic of largely or even wholly anthropogenic landscapes in Asia,
Movement of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Europe, and the Americas except for where it was too cold,
b) ‘human interaction with the environment mountainous areas in western Europe were seen by most as wet or dry for crop agriculture. If the record of life includes
especially when it has become vulnerable under barren and inhospitable places that were to be avoided as the Anthropocene, as proposed by many researchers (see,
the impact of irreversible change’ much as possible, and landscape artists and poets tended for example, Steffen et al., 2011), then the domestication
to praise and select gentler, humanized landscapes such as of cereals in the early Holocene can be regarded as a valid
This part of criterion v) requires first, a detailed, well-detailed farmlands and managed woodlands in their appreciation of starting point of this period.
archaeological record of settlement, and second, an equally nature. Only later did people regard mountains as beautiful
detailed and well-dated record of environmental change. rather than fearful, as places to explore, climb and map
The concept of ‘irreversible change’ requires a time-scale. (as with the British obsession with the Alps and then the ‘The Record of Life’
For example, at a generational scale of c. 50 years, an Himalayas). Similarly, polar regions were seen as devoid of
environmental or climatic change may seem irreversible, any beauty until they became associated with heroism and
but conditions might revert to their former state after a competitive behaviour by Europeans (and North Americans) b) ‘significant ongoing geological processes in
few centuries. Nevertheless, this part of criterion v) could over who could go furthest north or south, lose the most the development of landforms’
be used in areas where there are detailed settlement and toes and fingers, and survive the worst blizzards. The allure
environmental records: the southern Levant might be one of many desert regions also owes much to the heroism and As noted above, crop cultivation also led to the creation of
such candidate. romanticism evident in many European accounts from the an anthropogenic landscape wherever it was possible. In its
early nineteenth century onwards in writers such as Austen most extreme form, woodland, forests and grasslands were
Layard at Nineveh and Babylon, and Richard Burton, Charles replaced by fields, sometimes served by irrigations systems
(vi) ‘be directly or tangibly associated with Doughty and of course T. E. Lawrence in Arabia. and reservoirs, and terraces on hilly slopes. That is to say, crop
events or living traditions, with ideas, or cultivation resulted in the creation of agricultural landforms
with beliefs, with artistic and literary works Despite the subjective nature of this criterion, in many parts of the world.
of outstanding universal significance. (The palaeoanthropologists and Palaeolithic archaeologists could
Committee considers that this criterion should utilize the first part of this criterion by considering ‘superlative
preferably be used in conjunction with other natural phenomena’. This aspect of criterion vii overlaps with (ix) ‘be outstanding examples representing
criteria)’ criterion viii, so is discussed below. significant ongoing ecological and biological
processes in the evolution and development
In south-west Asia and Europe, it would be difficult to apply Criteria viii–x are primarily those dealing with natural of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine
this criterion to Neolithic and/or early food producing sites landscapes, and under the remit of the IUCN. ecosystems and communities of plants and
because of the discontinuities between the present and the animals’
Neolithic that result from the intervening bronze and iron
ages, the Classical periods of Greece and usually Rome, and (viii) ‘be outstanding examples representing Plant and animal domestication have played a major, and still
the subsequent centuries of historic development. major stages of earth’s history, including the ongoing role, in the evolution and development of terrestrial
record of life, significant ongoing geological ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. Several
One area where this criterion could be applied is the Tehuacan processes in the development of landforms, effects can be noted. First, there is usually a dramatic degree
Valley of Mexico, as clear links between past and present are or significant geomorphic or physiographic of botanical and faunal impoverishment under artificial
visible in the way maize is regarded and celebrated in local features’ monocultural agricultural systems as compared with natural
myths, stories, its art, music and cooking: here, there is a very ecosystems. Second, those plants, animals and insects that
tangible link between past and present in local traditions. Because this criterion is composite, it is appropriate to survive under agriculture develop different ecological webs
consider each part separately. and niches. Thirdly, the loss of species diversity under diversity
can be inherently unstable as there are fewer checks and
balances, and this can lead to unstable ecosystems in which
44

2
some species can flourish to the point that they become pests in island South-East Asia. Niah Cave, Borneo, Indonesia, lies around the critically important pre-pottery Neolithic village
(most spectacularly, rodents) or even pathogens. in a protected remnant of rainforest, most of which has been site of Beidha (see Figure 5), and includes several major sites
cleared locally for the production of palm oil. The rainforest such as the 9,000-year old village site of Basta, and the
Agriculture can also have a profound effect upon fresh-water thus acts as a haven for a wide variety of wildlife, including 11,600 year old site of Wadi Faynan 16, which features a
communities in lakes and rivers. Leaving aside the polluting bats and Aerodramus, a swiftlet, which makes the nests large public building containing tiered benches around a
aspects of many modern pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, that are harvested for birds-nest soup. The island of Flores central space. These sites also lie with the Petra Park that
crop agriculture frequently leads to increased soil erosion and the only place where the ‘hobbit’, H. floresiensis, has includes Petra, which has been a World Heritage site since
through the loss of surface vegetation between reaping and been recorded, and its offshore islands such as Komodo are 1985. The area has an impressive history of research, and
sowing (i.e. autumn to spring), and the loss of wind barriers the home of the Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis. is currently under investigation by the Council for British
through deforestation. Crop cultivation in many parts of the Varanids were once common in Australia and Indonesia, but Research in the Levant, in collaboration with the Jordanian
world thus leads to increased sedimentation rates in lakes are now a relict population regarded as endangered by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Finlayson, 2015). This
and rivers, and this in turn changes the habitats of those IUCN. research has also considered the local Bedouin population in
fresh-water communities, sometimes in a disastrous manner relation to the UNESCO proclamation of Bedouin ‘Intangible
by many their habitats unviable. Another consequence of Cultural Heritage’. Much of the groundwork for a successful
agriculture disrupting fresh-water ecosystems and creating nomination is therefore already in place through the previous
new ones in the form of ponds, water storage and irrigation Summary involvement of UNESCO at Petra and in its support of
systems is that it provides ideal breeding grounds for traditional Bedouin culture.
mosquitoes, and hence facilitates the spread of malaria (see Because of the bias of the World Heritage criteria towards the
Mira et al., 2006). built heritage, they are largely inappropriate for dealing with Other examples of this approach could include:
the profound social and economic changes that took place • Early Natufian settlements of Israel
in several hearths of plant and animal domestication – and • Early ceremonial centres in Turkey (notably Göbekli
(x) ‘contain the most important and significant their subsequent utilization – in the early Holocene. This is Tepe) and the Levant
natural habitats for in-situ conservation of unfortunate as the criteria fail to recognize the significance • LBK Neolithic settlements in Holland/Germany/Czech
biological diversity, including those containing of the millennia following the end of the last ice age and Republic
threatened species of outstanding universal preceding the construction of large monuments in the last • Early Neolithic villages in North China
value from the point of view of science or few millennia. The magnitude of these changes is perhaps
conservation’ best exemplified by contrasting the last interglacial with Serial nominations based on these could take either a
the present. In the last interglacial, the main changes that synchronic approach by considering sites of a particular
This is an ancillary criterion in the sense that it is fortuitous if accompany the first appearance of H. sapiens outside Africa age (for example, Early Neolithic) or a diachronic one, by
a monument (whether historical or Palaeolithic) happens to are a few beads and some lumps of ochre in North Africa considering how sites in an area developed over time.
lie in an area where habitats or species may be endangered. and the Levant that might indicate early symbolic behaviour.
These habitats or species might not even have been in the In contrast, the first few millennia of the present interglacial 2. A second option is to base a nomination around criteria
area where a monument was constructed or a Palaeolithic show the domestication of the crops and animals upon which i), iii) and v) ‘traditional human settlement, land-use’ and
site was occupied. Nevertheless, if a site or monument most the world depends today, and the social and economic vi) ‘tangibly associated with ideas, beliefs of outstanding
is given World Heritage status, it greatly strengthens local basis that has enabled the world’s population to expand to universal significance’. The obvious one here is the Tehuacan
protection measures in the surrounding buffer zone. its current level of c. 7 billion people. Valley as the centre of origin of domestic maize: as the world’s
most important cereal crop, and because maize is so central
An additional problem with this criterion is that a threatened There is a limited set of options for nominating sites, groups to the lives of the inhabitants of the Valley, a nomination
species has to have ‘Outstanding Universal Value from the or sites or classes of evidence connected with the Neolithic centred on Tehuacan and maize would be credible.
point of view of science or conservation’. This is inherently Revolution for World Heritage status.
subjective. Whilst most scientists and conservationists Another credible nomination might be North China, where
would agree that mammals such as the Siberian tiger, the 1. The first is to nominate settlements, or more likely, millet was first domesticated, or the middle Yangtse Valley,
Javanese white rhino, the orang-utan and the panda, have groups of settlements with substantial structural evidence where rice and perhaps pig were first domesticated.
‘outstanding universal value’, opinion would probably be for buildings. If these are still present, and have not been
divided if the threatened species was a rare type of insect, removed by excavation or erosion, they could be presented 3. A third option is more difficult, and would involve a
yet the insect may have its own universal value: the bee is an under criteria i)‘human creative genius’, ii) ‘developments thematic approach that highlights the universal significance
obvious example, given its crucial role in pollinating fruit trees in architecture’, iii) ‘testimony to a cultural tradition’, iv) of a particular invention or innovation under criteria i)
and providing honey. ‘outstanding type of building, architectural ensemble”. ‘creative human genius’, ii) ‘developments in technology’
and iv) ‘technological ensemble or landscape illustrating a
In some cases, there is a fortunate juxtaposition of a site and The most obvious case for nomination under these criteria significant stage in human history’. There are two obvious
a threatened habitat or species. Two of the most obvious are is the Neolithic Heritage Trail in Jordan, which is centred
45

themes that could be explored in connection with the Braidwood, R. and Howe, B. 1960. Prehistoric Investigations in Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of prehistoric sites
Neolithic Revolution, if generously defined: Iraqi Kurdistan. Chicago, Oriental Institute Monograph, Vol. 31. in Eurasia, with particular reference to criterion (viii). N.
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Asia and other regions such as Central and South America. Brozio, J. P., Dörfler, W., Feeser, I., Kirleis, W., Klooß, S., M. 2012. The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of
Because droughts and water shortages are a recurrent theme and Müller, J. 2014. A Middle Neolithic well from northern Neolithic communities. New evidence from Göbekli Tepe,
of modern life in many parts of the world, and likely to Germany: a precise source to reconstruct water supply south-eastern Turkey. Antiquity, Vol. 86, pp. 674–695.
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important crop Caulfield, S., O’Donnell, R. G. and Mitchell, P. I. 1998. 14C Y., Levy, T. and Burton, M. M. 2008. Earliest date for milk
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Centres of Domestication: South-West Asia

3 Centres of Domestication: South-West Asia
Cultural Developments during the Terminal Pleistocene

and Early Holocene in the Central Levant and the Western
Foothills of the Zagros Mountains
Nicholas J. Conard
Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology & Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment,
University of Tübingen, Germany
Introduction this picture and to help assess the validity of competing Fieldwork in the Central Levant
explanatory models. The need to gain new data from
While the Fertile Crescent has long been considered a previously neglected regions motivated the author to start Baaz Rockshelter, Damascus Province
region of central importance for research into the earliest new research projects in Syria and Iran with the hopes of
Neolithic societies, many fundamental questions about contributing to the debates on the rise of Neolithic societies On 14 May 1999, Andrew Kandel and the author
the nature of regional variability in cultural trajectories in the Near East. The author led a number of surveys and discovered Baaz Rockshelter near the permanent springs
are still open due the uneven record of high quality excavations between 1998 and 2010 in western Syria as in Wadi Jaba’deen about 35 km north- north-west of
research. The best-known narratives on the shift to well as surveys and excavations from 2004 to 2015 in Damascus (Conard, 2006; Dodonov et al., 2007). This small
food production and the rise of sedentism and more Iran. Both projects aimed to examine long-term patterns shelter, with an area of about 30 m2 inside the drip line, is
complex social and economic patterns of the Neolithic of cultural change during the Stone Age (Conard, 2006; located at an elevation of 1,529 meters above sea level and
come from well-studied regions including the Southern Zeidi et al., 2012). provides a commanding view over the low hills towards
Levant and southern Anatolia. One narrative focuses the arid lowlands. A short walk up to the top of the cuesta
on the Mediterranean core area of the Natufian culture More specifically, this paper presents results from research provides an excellent view of the highlands of the al Majar
(ca. 14.5 - 11.5 bp) and the rise of hamlets in the Early in the area around Ma’aloula in the Damascus Province of Basin. Although most of the hundreds of rockshelters in
Natufian. This phase of cultural development has been Syria, which is also known as the Qalamun region (Figure 1). the region have been washed clean by erosion, a number
argued to have declined in connection with a climatic The paper reports on the excavations at Baaz Rockshelter, of large boulders that fell from the massive limestone wall
deterioration during the Younger Dryas (12,900–11,700 Kaus Kozah Cave and Ain Dabbour Cave and touches of the cuesta trapped the rich archaeological sediments
cal bp; see for example, Bar-Yosef, 1998). This climatic upon results from a long-term survey in the region to help in Baaz Rockshelter. The site is one of several hundred
stress, following models from human behavioural ecology, document changing patterns of land use. The Iranian data sites identified on the survey conducted by the Tübinger-
led hunters and gatherers to exploit more low ranked come primarily from excavations at Chogha Golan in Ilam Damaskus Ausgrabungs-und Survey Projekt (TDASP)
resources, which eventually led to the rise of Neolithic Province where the team from Tübingen has obtained high (Conard et al., 2013).
economies (Munro, 2004, Stiner et al., 2000). Other resolution information about major economic and social
researchers reject behavioural ecological models in favour changes at the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the Excavation began at the site in autumn 1999 and continued
of the concept of niche construction (Zeder, 2012). As Holocene. in the autumns of 2000 and 2004. The excavation at Baaz
one might expect, still other researchers still highlight covered an area of about 18 m2 (Figure 2). The site contains
the importance of ideology rather than economic and Both regions have yielded botanical and faunal records that a long sequence of Upper and Epipalaeolithic deposits
evolutionary imperatives to explain the rise of Neolithic help to reconstruct the subsistence base and that contribute and concludes with a Middle Neolithic occupation with
lifeways (Cauvin, 1994). While many sites provide to our understanding of patterns of environmental change dates ranging from about 37,000 bp to 6,000 bp (Table
evidence for the various models, excavations at Göbekli in connection with the earliest Neolithic of the eastern 1; Conard, 2006; Conard et al., 2013; Hillgruber, 2010,
Tepe exemplify the fact that there is not a one-size-fits-all flanks of the Anti-Lebanon in the Central Levant (Napierala, 2013). Here I focus on the well-known Natufian finds from
solution to the question of Neolithization. Here excavators 2011; Deckers et al., 2009) and the foothills of the Zagros Archaeological Horizons (AH) III and II.
have argued that monumental architecture and complex in Ilam Province of Iran (Riehl et al., 2013; Starkovich et al.,
social structures developed without the benefit of 2016). This paper summarizes some of the key results from Excavation began at the site in autumn 1999 and continued
Neolithic economies (Schmidt, 2006). newly excavated sites in both regions and draws upon data in the autumns of 2000 and 2004. The excavation at Baaz
from survey to help complete the picture. covered an area of about 18 m2 (Figure 2). The site contains
These and numerous other views help to illustrate the a long sequence of Upper and Epipalaeolithic deposits
potential regional variability regarding the paths to and concludes with a Middle Neolithic occupation with
Neolithic economies and social developments. Additional dates ranging from about 37,000 bp to 6,000 bp (Table
research in poorly studied regions promises to complete 1; Conard, 2006; Conard et al., 2013; Hillgruber, 2010,
50

Cultural Developments during the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene
in the Central Levant and the Western Foothills of the Zagros Mountains
3
2013). Here I focus on the well-known Natufian finds from

Archaeological Horizons (AH) III and II.
The site has excellent botanical preservation, and Katleen

Deckers has documented taxa including Amygdalus
(almond) and other typical plants common to the almond
woodland steppe, such as Pistacia (pistachio), buckhorn
(Rhamnus), Maple (Acer), juniper (Juniperus) and the
goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae) (Deckers et al.,
2009). Besides the woodland-steppe flora, Baaz produced
a relatively large proportion of hydrophilic vegetation;
for example, ash (Fraxinus) and poplar/willow (Populus/
Salix). This shows that the residents of the site had access
to the well-watered areas in the nearby wadi. Despite
the excellent conditions for charcoal preservation, we
have recovered few seeds from the site. Two specimens
of hackberry (Celtis sp.) and a number of small seeded
grasses and pulses were recovered from the Natufian
deposits at Baaz. Although there is some debate about the
question of which plants served as food, the arguments
presented by Hillman and colleagues (1997) for the use of
small-seeded grasses as food during the Epipalaeolithic of
Tell Abu Hureyra also seem applicable in the case of Baaz.
The faunal remains from the Natufian at Baaz have been

Figure 1. Map of the TDASP survey area and surrounding region, including the location of Baaz Rockshelter and Kaus Kozah
studied by Hannes Napierala (2011) and include both Cave. © University of Tübingen. After Conard et al. 2013.
goitered and mountain gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa, G.
gazella), wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) and onager (Equus Table 1. Baaz Rockshelter. Radiocarbon dates, calibrated with CalPal.
hemionus). Small game species, which make up a large
portion of the assemblage, include hare and tortoise. Lab number Layer Sample Age BP (1 sigma) Age cal. BP
Finally, several species of fish including trout (Salmo KIA11580 AH Ia Charcoal 5,240 ± 35 6,024 ± 72
trutta) and several cyprinids suggest that perennial streams
KIA11579 AH II Charcoal 5,705 ± 35 6,499 ± 46
existed in the al Majar Basin and were linked directly to the
KIA11578 AH II Charcoal 10,380 ± 100 12,285 ± 221
Orontes River system (Napierala, et al. 2013).
KIA11577 AH III Charcoal 10,940 ± 70 12,883 ± 98
Most of these faunal resources would have been available KIA11576 AH IIIa Charcoal 10,400 ± 80 12,320 ± 196
within a few kilometres of the site. The inhabitants of KIA30307 AH V.1 Charcoal 21,310 ± 740 25,627 ± 1008
Baaz must have regularly hunted animals in all of the KIA30308 AH V.1 Chenopod charcoal 23,040 ± 270 27,594 ± 480
major landscape forms of the vicinity. Goitered gazelle
KIA30310 AH VII Chenopod charcoal 32,060 ± 600 36,520 ± 1036
and onager were probably ubiquitous, perhaps with
KIA30309 AH VII Chenopod charcoal 34,200 ± 1460 38,807 ± 1842
a preference for the grass-rich steppe of the eastern
lowlands, while sheep were probably hunted along the
cuesta. The gazelle were probably not hunted in the open
landscape but rather in the more sheltered terrain of the at Baaz include a poorly developed bone industry consisting used (Figures 3 and 4). Late Natufian people arrived at the
lowland hills or in wadi drainages that provided better cover of several bone points or awls. Tortoise shell bowls were site and dug a shallow depression into the geogenic silt
for hunters. The fish likely came from former highland used for heating or cooking, as is indicated by the soot- and limestone gravel. They then packed and stabilized this
waters that flowed through the al Majar Basin into the covered outer surface of several specimens. anthropogenic surface. Next they carried tens of kilograms
greater drainage system of the Orontes. Our analyses are of red-brown silty clay to the site and carefully spread it
consistent with a mixed economy utilizing a wide variety of Excavations at Baaz documented a Late Natufian house across the surface of the site to create a floor. This material
faunal and botanical resources. The Natufian faunal remains foundation that provides information on how the site was lay in direct contact with the limestone blocks that form
51

Figure 2. Baaz Rockshelter. Overview of the excavations in October 2004. © University of

Tübingen. Photo N. J. Conard.
the lower level of the circular stone wall of the house. In

the middle of the structure the builders placed silty clay
to secure the limestone mortar and integrate it into the
house floor. The same is true for the limestone cobbles
that constitute the adjacent fireplace. Mareike Stahlschmidt
(2010) has conducted careful micromorphological studies
that document the use of the site in considerable detail.
The house was well made, with a diameter of about 3

metres and an area of about 7 m2. We do not know
exactly what kind of organic materials were used to
cover the structure. Wood, reeds and matting materials
for this purpose could have been obtained in the wadi
bottom. Poplar or willow, which represent about 5% of
the identified wood charcoal from AH III, may have been
used as construction wood (Deckers et al., 2009). These
tree species probably provided the largest and straightest
pieces of timber in the vicinity. However, since the house is
situated inside the drip line of the small shelter, it may not
have needed a substantial roof.
Felix Hillgruber (2010, 2013) has recently presented the

lithic assemblages of Baaz in great detail (Figure 5). The
inhabitants of Baaz used a variety of locally available
flints (Dodonov et al., 2007) that they collected in the
surrounding lowlands and highlands. High numbers
Figure 3. Baaz Rockshelter. The Natufian house floor of AH IIIb with constructed hearth, embedded
of cortical flakes and early products of lithic reduction mortar, round limestone walls and packed clay floor, October 2000. © University of Tübingen. Photo
N. J. Conard.
52

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demonstrate that cobbles were often reduced directly
on site. The assemblages also document all subsequent
stages of lithic knapping and frequent discard at the site.
The nature of the assemblages provided clear insight
into activities executed both on and offsite. The lithic
assemblages from AH III and II are indicative of a site used
primarily as a camp from which hunts were staged and
to which hunted game was brought. This is consistent
with the abundance of lunates, which could have served
as composite projectile-tools and cutting tools. The
wealth of scrapers is consistent with an emphasis on
hide or woodworking. A key point in interpreting Baaz
as a hunting camp is the complete absence of sickle gloss
on the backed blades, backed bladelets, lunates and
other tools. Baaz also yielded rich assemblages pre- and
postdating the Natufian (Figure 5).
The site provides little evidence for harvesting wild

grains, an observation supported by the small number of
carbonized seeds recovered. The excellent preservation
at Baaz is further illustrated by several backed bladelets
bearing traces of bitumen and even nearly complete
bitumen hafts along their backed edges. The inhabitants
of Baaz must have had access to bitumen via trade or
direct procurement (Conard et al., 2013). While we are
not sure about the exact origin of this bitumen or what
variables controlled its access, sources are known from the
eastern Syrian Desert and Iraq. The best-preserved hafted Figure 4. Baaz Rockshelter. Portable limestone mortar and basalt pestle resting above the floor of AH IIIb, September 2000.
backed bladelet shows macroscopic damage to the cutting © University of Tübingen. Photo A. W. Kandel.
edge, but lacks sickle gloss.
The Natufian horizons from Baaz include a number of the marine shells originate from the Mediterranean since a significant investment in a site that was regularly used and
mortars and pestles (Figures 3 and 4). The mortars are it is much closer than the Red Sea. These finds provide us maintained. The large amount of ash and charcoal and the
invariably made of local limestone, while pestles were with a number of insights into the use of the site. First, the relatively high amount of debitage at the site also point to
typically made from basalt originating from either the vast small number of people who lived at or used the site of Baaz the repeated use of this site. The features that may have
volcanic fields near Homs, the Hauran or the Golan. While participated in the patterns of social signalling characteristic attracted people to this location include: 1) the ready access
we cannot rule out the possibility that the mortars were of the Natufian in other parts of the Levant where these to water in Wadi Jaba’deen; 2) the presence of wood for
used to grind grain, in this case they may well have been mollusks have been recovered from many sites. The personal tools, building and fuel in Wadi Jaba’deen; 3) the outstanding
used to grind nuts, fruits, herbs or other materials. The best- ornaments, together with the clear Natufian house structure, view over vast areas of the lowland hills; 4) the incised canyon
preserved and most complete pestle made of basalt appears lithic artefacts and radiocarbon dates, unambiguously place providing passage from lowland to highland; 5) the presence
to contain red pigments in its porous cavities along the Baaz within the Natufian cultural group. of abundant flint in the area; 6) opportunities for collecting
pounding and grinding surface, indicating that the pestle nuts, fruit and perhaps harvesting small amounts of grain;
was at times used to process pigments. In summary, Baaz did not serve as a base camp, but instead and 7) access to an abundance of game along the cliff line,
seems to have been used regularly as a semi-permanent and in the lowland and highland hills. Interestingly, in contrast
Excavations at Baaz produced 41 examples of personal camp from which multiple activities including hunting and to the Southern Levant, sites dating to the Late Natufian
ornaments made of shell (Wahl-Groß, 2006). These include gathering were staged. Although stationary and mobile are much better represented in this part of the Damascus
three kinds of perforated marine gastropods (Nassarius mortars and pestles are present, the scarcity of carbonized Province than sites dating to the Early Natufian. This suggests
gibbosula, Columbella rustica and Conus mediterraneus) grains at the site and the lack of lithic artefacts bearing that in contrasts to many claims to the contrary, this region
from the Mediterranean. Also present are the freshwater sickle gloss suggest that the harvesting of wild grains was must have been attractive for human settlement during
gastropod Theodoxus jordanii, the tusk shell Dentalium spp. not an important activity at Baaz. Still the level of energy the Younger Dryas period of global cooling just before the
and a bivalve from the family Cardiidae. We assume that involved in building a semi-permanent structure represents beginning of the Holocene.
53

Figure 5. Baaz Rockshelter. Chipped flint artefacts. 1–7 AH I, 8–10 AH II, 11–14 AH III. © University of Tübingen. After Conard et al. 2006.
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Figure 6. Kaus Kozah Cave. Overview of the excavations in Figure 7. Kaus Kozah Cave. Excavations on the terraces and in Figure 8. Kaus Kozah Cave. View of the highland hills,
October 2004. © University of Tübingen. Photo N. J. Conard. the eastern entrance to the cave, October 2005. © University highland plateau and Anti Lebanon Mountains north and
of Tübingen. Photo N. J. Conard. west of the site, October 2004. © University of Tübingen.
Photo N. J. Conard.
Kaus Kozah Cave, Damascus Province Table 2. Kaus Kozah Cave. Radiocarbon dates, calibrated with CalPal.
The other TDASP excavation of primary relevance for Lab number Layer Sample Age BP (1 sigma) Age cal. BP
this paper is Kaus Kozah Cave (Figures 6 and 7). The KIA41200 AH II Bone, Gazella subgutturosa, 11,285 ± 45 BP 13,186 ± 95 cal. BP
author discovered the cave late in the 2000 season, and
KIA41198 AH III Wood charcoal, almond 9,435 ± 60 BP 10,680 ± 77
the TDASP team conducted preliminary test excavations (Amygdalus)
in 2003, which were followed by excavations in 2004,
KIA28696 Intrusive burial in Juvenile human bone 10,130 ± 70 BP 11,734 ± 212
2005 and 2006 (Conard, 2016; Conard et al., 2013). The AH IV
site is named after the Arabic word for rainbow because
KIA41201 AH III Tooth, goat 10,620 ± 40 BP 12,634 ± 64
a prominent rainbow arched over the site when it was
KIA41202 AH IV Bone, Ovis orientalis 9,775 ± 40 BP 11,212 ± 19
discovered. The cave is on the backside of the cliff line on
the Oligocene cuesta high above Ma’aloula and near the KIA30306 AH IV Bone fragment 10,485 ± 50 BP 12,415 ± 173
permanent springs that have long supplied the city and its KIA41199 AH IV Wood charcoal, almond 10,865 ± 45 BP 12,834 ± 80
famous convents with high quality water. The site has an (Amygdalus)
elevation of 1,490 meters above sea level and, like Baaz,
commands an excellent view of the surrounding landscape
(Figure 8). The inside of the cave has been damaged by
looters, but the terrace in front of the eastern entrance
to the cave appears to have been largely untouched examples are present just inside the western entrance of the know if nearby Lake Dodonov still existed during the late
by recent activities. Excavations covering an area of 18 cave. One is larger with a diameter at the top of 23 cm and Younger Dryas, there is every reason to assume that the
m2 focused on this area and produced rich finds on four a depth of 14 cm, while the other is smaller with a diameter major springs of Ma’aloula flowed and provided permanent
archaeological horizons. AH IV contains a small assemblage of 15 cm and a depth of 10 cm. sources of water.
of Levalloisian Middle Palaeolithic artefacts and the intrusive
burials (Figure 9) of two infants from the terminal Natufian Unlike most of the sites known along the cuesta of the al Unlike Baaz, where architectural remains are well preserved,
(Table 2) (Conard et al., 2006; Hillgruber 2010, 2013). The Majar depression, Kaus Kozah is located on the back of the no such features have been preserved at Kaus Kozah. Given
upper three units include Natufian, Khiamian and PPN finds. cuesta overlooking the highland hills above Ma’aloula. The that Kaus Kozah is a cave with a relatively large interior
The site contains a rich faunal assemblage that has been site is near the top of the cuesta, granting its residents an space of c. 350 m2, the inhabitants of the site could always
studied by H. Napierala (2011). The faunal assemblage excellent view over the vast lowlands east of the al Majar use the interior for shelter, if needed. Still, the richest
contains diverse taxa including gazelle, sheep/goat, cattle, depression. Unlike Baaz, the geographic setting of Kaus deposits at the site seem to be on the terrace in front of the
hare, tortoise and many other species. Of the many sites Kozah suggests a stronger connection to the highlands than eastern entrance to the cave. The site had been used since
in the TDASP survey area, Kaus Kozah is only the second the lowlands, to which there was no direct access. Water the Middle Palaeolithic, but the richest cultural deposits
one that preserves bedrock mortars (Figure 10). Two clear would have been easy to come by. Although we do not date to the period stretching from the Late Natufian to the
55

Figure 9. Kaus Kozah Cave. Intrusive Late Natufian infant burial in AH IV, October 2005. © A. Figure 10. Kaus Kozah Cave. Bedrock mortars under the western entrance to the cave, October
W. Kandel. © University of Tübingen. Photo A. W. Kandel. 2004. © University of Tübingen. Photo N. J. Conard.
early Neolithic. Kaus Kozah is well protected and hard to consistent with a late age for the Natufian of Kaus Kozah. been studied by Fred Smith and colleagues (Smith et al.,
see from the valley, unlike Baaz, which is visible from much The placement of the lithics within the Late Natufian is also 2011). Since careful excavation of the burials revealed no
of the area below the site. The stratigraphy at Kaus Kozah consistent with uncalibrated radiocarbon dates on bone indications of an intrusive burial pit, we initially thought the
does not allow a clear separation of the Late Natufian, the and charcoal, which fall between 11,300 and 9,400 bp skeletons dated to the Middle Palaeolithic. The radiocarbon
Khiamian or the early PPN. Still the presence of lunates and (Table 2). Uncalibrated radiocarbon dates of 10,130 bp and dates, however, demonstrate that the children of roughly
small, broad cores with multiple removal surfaces document 10,485 bp were obtained on human skeletal material from three-to-four and one-to-two years of age were interred
a Natufian component among the lithic assemblage (Conard the child burials at Kaus Kozah. These ages place the site in the dense red clay of AH IV near the end of the Late
et al., 2006; Hillgruber, 2010). The relatively small size at the end of the Younger Dryas and near the end of the Natufian. No grave goods were found directly associated
of the lunates and the absence of Helwan retouch are Natufian. The two small children found at Kaus Kozah have with the children.
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Figure 11. Kaus Kozah Cave. Personal ornaments from the surface, AH I and AH II. © University of Tübingen. Photo A.W. Kandel.
57

Chogha Golan (1) and its geographic position within the Fertile Crescent; (2) Ali Kosh, (3) Chia Sabz, (4) Ganj Dareh
Tepe, (5) Sheikh-e Abad, (6) Jani, (7) Tepe Abdul Hosein, (8) M’lefaat, (9) Nemrik, (10) Qermez Dere, (11) Magzalia,
(12) Körtik Tepe, (13) Hallan Cemi, (14) Cayonu, (15) Cafer Hoyuk, (16) Asikli Hoyuk, (17) Can Hasan III,
(18) Nevali Cori, (19) Göbekli Tepe, (20) Akarcay Tepe, (21) Djade, (22) Halula, (23) Jerf al Ahmar, (24) Mureybet,
(25) Abu Hureyra, (26) El Kowm I & II, (27) Bouqras, (28) Abr, (29) Qaramel, (30) Tell Ras Shamra, (31) Kissonerga,
(32) Parekklisha-Shillourokambos, (33) Tell Ghoraifé, (34) Tell Aswad, (35) Tell Ramad, (36) Yiftah’el, (37) Iraq ed
Dubb, (38) Gilgal, (39) ‘Ain Ghazal, (40) Netiv Hagdud, (41) Dhra, (42) Jericho, (43) Nahal Hemar, (44) Wadi Fidan,
(45) Beidha, (46) Basta, (47) Dhuweila, (48) Azraq 31, (49)Wadi Jilat 7; PPN is applied to Iranian sites, because PPNA
and PPNB have additional cultural connotations that do only apply to sites in the western and northern part of the FC.
Figure 12. Map of pre-pottery Neolithic sites in the Fertile Crescent. Chogha Golan is number 1. © University of Tübingen. After Riehl et al. 2013.
58

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Figure 13. Chogha Golan. View of the tell. The two areas of Figure 14. Chogha Golan. Remnants of mudbrick walls, Figure 15. Chogha Golan. Excavation in AH XI of the Deep
excavation are located near the hut and on the highest part examples of limestone mortars and other grinding equipment, Sounding, November 2010. © University of Tübingen. Photo
of the site, fall 2009. © University of Tübingen. Photo M. and anthropogenic fill in AH I, fall 2009. © University of M. Zeidi.
Zeidi. Tübingen. Photo M. Zeidi.
Personal ornaments made of shell were more numerous at for example, Fraxinus (ash), Populus/ Salix, Vitis (vine), occupations. The sites are too small to be considered
Kaus Kozah than at Baaz (Figure 11). In all, 53 perforated Tamarix (tamarisk) and Platanus (plane). This shows that the hamlets, since only a small group of people could have used
mollusks were recovered from the site (Riethmüller, 2010). inhabitants of Kaus Kozah also had access to well-watered the sites at one time. The children’s burials at Kaus Kozah
These include two species of marine gastropods (Nassarius areas. Although the small-seeded grasses and pulses likely suggest that this cave, with its pleasant setting above former
gibbosula and Columbella rustica), the tusk shell Dentalium served as food at Kaus Kozah (Hillman et al., 1997), as at Lake Dodonov and the springs of Ma’aloula, was viewed
spp. and one example of the small freshwater gastropod Baaz, no remains of wild grains were recovered at Kaus as home by the people who occasionally lived there. The
Theodoxus jordanii. Additionally, excavators recovered Kozah. Additionally, no indications of sickle gloss were bedrock mortars also point to a period of occupation that
a total of seven other mollusk species including four identified on the lithic artefacts. Thus, intensive harvesting may have been slightly more substantial at Kaus Kozah than
gastropods and three bivalves. As with Baaz, we assume of cereals is not documented at the site. There are, however, at Baaz. The strongest arguments against this interpretation
that the marine shells came from the Mediterranean, but it some seeds of the small pulses indicating open habitats. The is the heavy investment in building a semi-permanent house
is possible that some may have originated from the Red Sea. seed assemblage from Kaus Kozah contains uncarbonized, at Baaz.
The freshwater mollusks could have been collected from modern seeds, indicating a degree of disturbance.
nearby perennial rivers or lakes (Napierala et al., 2013). Results from the TDASP excavations at Baaz and Kaus
The personal ornaments were scattered throughout the fill Like Baaz, Kaus Kozah also provides evidence for grinding Kozah and survey indicate that the region around Ma’aloula
of the site rather than being found in groups. While we activities. The most noteworthy evidence comes in the form in the Damascus Province of Syria was occupied more
cannot prove that all of the ornaments date to the Late of two bedrock mortars just under the roof of the cave near intensely during the Late Natufian than during the Early
Natufian, given their abundance at Baaz and in other the western entrance (Figure 10). One mortar is medium- Natufian. These observations do not negate the results
Natufian contexts, it seems likely that many of them date to sized with a diameter of 23 cm and a depth of 14 cm, while of decades of research in the Mediterranean heartland of
this phase of the occupation at Kaus Kozah. the other one is smaller, with a diameter of 15 cm and a the Natufian, where small hamlets with multiple houses
depth of 10 cm. Excavators did not recover examples of are well documented during the Early Natufian, and Late
Amygdalus dominates the assemblages of wood charcoal basalt pestles as they did at Baaz. The faunal assemblage Natufian occupations tend to be more ephemeral (Bar-
at Kaus Kozah, representing more than 60% of the finds from Kaus Kozah differs from Baaz, with considerably Yosef, 1998; Bar-Yosef and Valla, 1991; Goring-Morris
in AH III–I. A similar range of other woodland-steppe taxa fewer remains of small game at Kaus Kozah. In contrast to and Belfer-Cohen, 2008), but they do demonstrate that
was found at Kaus Kozah and Baaz (Deckers et al., 2009). Baaz, no fish remains have yet been recovered from Kaus each region of the Near East needs to be examined in its
Overall, though, it is of particular interest that Kaus Kozah Kozah, but several mammalian species, such as fallow deer own right rather than projecting models from one region
contains a fairly large percentage of Pistacia, a fragment (Dama dama) and red deer (Cervus elaphus), as well as across the entire Levant. In the Ma’aloula region the Early
of deciduous Quercus (oak), and a smaller proportion of the hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus), point to moister Natufian is poorly documented, while the Late Natufian is
Chenopodiaceae. This may be due to the fact that some conditions. The charcoal remains from Kaus Kozah also much better represented. This suggests that the impact of
of the occupation phases represented at Kaus Kozah were point to wetter conditions than those documented at Baaz. the Younger Dryas was different than in the Mediterranean
later than the main occupation phase represented in Baaz. zone where this relatively harsh climatic phase that followed
In addition to the woodland-steppe taxa, Kaus Kozah also Although there are important differences between Baaz the warm climatic phase of the Bölling/Alleröd interstadial
has a relatively large proportion of hydrophilic vegetation, and Kaus Kozah, both sites represent brief but repeated (ca. 14.8 – 12.8 ka cal bp) is thought to have caused a
59

Figure 16. Chogha Golan. Schematic stratigraphic, radiocarbon ages and ages of comparative sites. © University of Tübingen. After Riehl et al. 2013.
radical reorganization of subsistence and settlement The faunal resources appear to have been rich and allowed forming major settlements with substantial groups of
systems. Interestingly, the available pollen diagrams from regular hunting of gazelle, onager, wild sheep, hare and houses or extremely high densities of finds. These results
the Mediterranean zone do not support this interpretation collecting of tortoise. The faunal patterns recognized do are consistent with the Epipalaeolithic survey data that show
(Wright and Thorpe, 2003). As far as we can tell, based on not conform to the proposed high stress models developed the use of a variety of environmental settings and a far less
our data from excavations, the Late Natufian of the eastern for the Mediterranean Levant during this period (Napierala, rigid tethering to permanent water and flint sources than in
foothills of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains was better suited 2011). While wild cereals must have been present in the all of the earlier phases of the Palaeolithic.
for settlement than the previous period. The Late Natufian wider area, their use does not seem to have been as
of the area consisted of small, relatively mobile groups who ubiquitous as one might expect. Instead, the economies The data from the TDASP study area raise the question of
had access to stable sources of water, the economically of the Late Natufian seem to have relied on a balanced why, during the climatically favourable period of the Bölling/
important open pistachio and almond woodlands, as well as use of medium- and small-sized game, and to an as yet Alleröd interstadial and the Early Natufian, was the region
flowing highland streams and resource-rich wadi bottoms. undetermined extent on fruits, nuts and cereals. As far as less intensely inhabited than in the subsequent Younger
we can tell, population densities were moderately high, Dryas (12,900 – 11,700 cal bp) and Late Natufian? This
but people tended to use the landscape broadly without pattern stands in contrast to the observations made by Bar-
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Figure 17. Chogha Golan. Figure 18. Chogha Golan.

Chipped lithic artefacts from Ground stone tools including
AH I and II. © University of mortars and grinding stones.
Tübingen. After Zeidi and © University of Tübingen.
Conard 2013. After Conard and Zeidi 2013.
61

Figure 19. Chogha Golan. Clay figurines depicting schematic humans and animals. © University of Tübingen. Photos M. Zeidi.
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3
Yosef (1998), Munro (2003, 2004) and other scholars in
what has often been called the Natufian heartland of the
Southern Levant. Clearly, we cannot expect one model to
explain the complex history of a region as geographically
diverse as the Levant. Our area of study, however, is ideal
for pursuing these questions due to its strong gradients in
elevation, temperature and precipitation and its shifting
zones of floral and faunal communities. Finally, with the
start of the pre-pottery Neolithic, settlement intensity in the
uplands of the TDASP survey area declines and settlement
shifts to the lowlands, where local village life begins and
tell deposits accumulate. This lowland settlement was
made possible by large-scale cultivation of wild and later
domesticated cereals and pulses, which were augmented
by domesticated livestock later during the PPN. Evidence
for intense agricultural activities becomes apparent in
the lowlands rather than in the highlands, where in the
preceding period small groups of Late Natufian people
maintained a seemingly reliable and productive settlement
system based on the exploitation of a wide variety of wild
plants and animals. Gaps remain in our record of human
adaptations in the TDASP study area and more work needs
to be done in the adjacent regions of Syria and Lebanon
to see if our observations also apply to the neighbouring
countryside. Based on what we see in our study area in
southwestern Syria, the Younger Dryas represents a period
of fairly productive ecological conditions, as well as the
high point of Natufian settlement intensity.
Excavations in the Foothills

of the Zagros Mountains of Iran Figure 20. Chogha Golan. Changing patterns of floral species. © University of Tübingen. After Riehl et al. 2015.
In the Zagros region of Iran, much of the evidence

contributing to our understanding of the transition to Chogha Golan is a Neolithic tell that preserves an 8 m thick inhabitants. Based on surface and excavated finds, the
the Neolithic comes from sites such as Asiab and Sarab stratigraphic sequence of aceramic deposits. The site was occupation of the site appeared to date to the ninth or
(Braidwood, 1960; Braidwood et al., 1961), Ganj Dareh discovered in 1991 because of the high density of chipped eighth millennium bc, a transitional period between hunting
(Smith, 1976; 1978), Guran (Mortensen, 1963) and Abdul stone, ground stone tools and pockets of burnt sediment and gathering and farming. Since archaeological sites dating
Hosein (Pullar, 1990), all located at the higher altitudes of scattered on the surface. Subsequently, the late A.M. to this period are poorly documented in western Iran, the
the Zagros in the natural habitat of the early domesticates, Khalilian surveyed and described the site in 1996 (Khalilian, excavation of Chogha Golan helps to fill an important gap
as well as from Ali Kosh (Hole et al., 1969) in the lowlands 1999). The low tell of Chogha Golan stands at 485 m above in reconstructing the region’s settlement history. This work
of southwest Iran. Geographically, Chogha Golan is located sea level and is located on the right bank of the Konjan aims to test the hypothesis that the first phase of lowland
between these two regions (Figure 12). Since the research Cham River in the Amirabad Plain about 30 km to the Neolithic settlement would occur in a region adjacent
mentioned above was conducted, our excavations at north of Mehran in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains to the mountains, the presumed natural habitat of key
Chogha Golan (Zeidi et al., 2012; Conard et al., 2013), H. (Nokandeh, 2010; Zeidi et al., 2012) (Figure, 13). domesticated species. In this context, the Amirabad Plain
Fazeli Nashli and H. Darabi’s work at East Chia Sabz (Riehl et and the nearby foothills of the Zagros form a promising
al., 2012) and R. and W. Mathews’ excavations at Sheikh-e The main goals of the excavations at Chogha Golan were setting to investigate early domestication and early village
Abad and Jani (Mathews et al., 2013) count among the to recover all classes of organic and inorganic materials life. This research should help to answer how the timing of
new research projects focusing on the early Neolithic in the needed to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental setting, early Neolithic development in western Iran compares to
foothills of the Zagros Mountains. the subsistence economy and the technology of the site’s that of other regions in the Fertile Crescent.
63

In the summers and autumns of 2009 and 2010, looters’ pit that extended through the entire 8 m sequence record, also offers considerable potential for future study
archaeologists from the University of Tübingen conducted at the highest spot at the centre of the tell. In most cases (Starkovich et al., 2016).
small-scale excavations in collaboration with the Iranian we used plaster floors or other significant markers to define
Centre for Archaeological Research (ICAR) to document the major stratigraphic units. The archaeological deposits Even at this early stage of research at Chogha Golan, the
the site’s cultural and chronostratigraphic context. Mohsen rest on silts and geogenic gravels from the Konjan Cham rich record of material culture and architecture offer many
Zeidi served as the Iranian director of the project and the River. The sequence begins with archaeological horizon new insights into social and economic change at the end
author as the foreign director. This research formed part of (AH) XI and continues upwards to AH I. The strata are of the Pleistocene and beginning of the Holocene in the
the Tübingen Iranian Stone Age Research Project (TISARP), characterized by rich organic and inorganic remains of many western foothills of the Zagros. The botanical and faunal
which began in 2004 to study the cultural evolution in Iran classes of archaeological material that will allow a detailed records track a dynamic process towards agriculture and
during the Stone Age. reconstruction of the regional history of settlement and away from traditional patterns of hunting and gathering.
social-economic development (Zeidi et al., 2012; Riehl et al., Based on what we can say now, this development of new
We selected an area of 4 × 2 m on the summit in the centre 2015). Radiocarbon dates are so far available from Horizons forms of subsistence was not a linear, irreversible progression
of the mound to obtain the cultural and chronostratigraphic I, II, III, IV, VIII and XI spanning the period from 11,700 to and was also not characterized by a radical shift as a result
sequence of the site (Figure 14). Given that the excavation 9,600 cal bp (Figure 16). Chogha Golan was first occupied of people adopting a finished suite of domesticates from
reached a depth of only about 1.5 m, the best information near the end of the Younger Dryas. The earliest dates elsewhere in the Fertile Crescent. Instead, the cultural
on the overall stratigraphy of the site comes from the profile from AH XI are roughly 1,500 years earlier than aceramic change seems to have strong local characteristics that
preserved in the looter’s pit, which we also refer to as the Neolithic Ganj Dareh in the Zagros uplands and 2,000 years argue for a high degree of autonomous development in
Deep Sounding (DS) (Figure 15). The DS is only 5 m from older than Ali Kosh in the Zagros foothills. Comparable the cultural trajectory at the start of the Neolithic. Riehl et
the area of excavation, which leads us to assume that dates are known from the recent excavations at the site of al. (2015) have emphasized the resilience of the aceramic
the stratigraphy of the DS can provide a guideline for the Sheikh-e Abad (Mathews et al., 2013). Given the excellent Neolithic inhabitants at Chogha Golan in the face of
chronostratigraphic sequence of the excavation (Figures 15 preservation of organic materials, the site has great promise changing environmental and social conditions and have also
and 16). Our work led to the recovery of large collections for improving our understanding of the domestication of suggested that the cultural developments in this part of the
of ground stone tools and of chipped flint, documenting plants and animals and the rise of Neolithic economies in lowland Zagros is substantially different from those seen in
the systematic production of bladelets and bladelet tools southwestern Asia. the various regions of the Levant and Anatolia. Perhaps most
chipped from unidirectional platform and numerous ‘bullet’ remarkably, the early settlement of Chogha Golan begins
cores (Figures 17 and 18; Conard and Zeidi, 2013; Zeidi Numerous flotation samples have been studied so far with AH XI, which, based on what we have excavated so
and Conard, 2013). We have also recovered other inorganic showing that Chogha Golan preserves a remarkable far, is exceptionally rich in nearly all classes of archaeological
and organic artefacts, as well as remains of architecture and archaeobotanical record (Riehl et al., 2013, 2015; materials. We will need information from much larger areas
large samples of charred plants and fauna. Excavators piece- Weide et al., 20i5). The find density is very high with of excavation to address these questions in more detail, but
plotted single finds in three dimensions including chipped numerous specimens belonging to the Poaceae and based on current observations, it seems that the earliest
stone tools, larger or otherwise interesting debitage, Fabaceae families represented in variable proportions phase of settlement at the base of the tell roughly 11,700
potentially identifiable faunal remains, hand-picked charcoal, in the different archaeological horizons. Taxa including years ago was already characterized by an unusually high
ground stone tools, ornaments and other miscellaneous Hordeum spontaneum (wild barley), Triticum (wheat) occupation intensity that led to the formation of rich, thick
objects. Although no pottery has been recovered at Chogha species, Taeniatherum sp. (medusahead) and large-seeded middens that also contain debris from mudbrick architecture
Golan, we recovered one plaster vessel with impressions Fabaceae (pulses), such as lentil, are well documented, as in association with materials from the intense harvesting of
from a basket on the outside (Conard and Zeidi, 2013). are Aegilops sp. (goat grass) and small-seeded Fabaceae. wild plants and hunting, fishing and foraging diverse faunal
Additionally, materials were recovered in the light and heavy Work by Riehl, Esouti and Weide provide detailed records resources. We will need many field seasons to expose large
fractions from flotation. Excavators defined features as the of both palaeoenvironmental conditions, cultivation and the areas of AH XI and the other deeper archaeological horizons
dig progressed. These included pisé (chineh) and mud brick rise of agricultural economies (Figures 16 and 20). Although at the Chogha Golan, but already there is good reason to
walls, plastered floors and other features, such as mortars, the faunal record is not as rich as botanical record building be optimistic that this effort will be rewarded with a great
which appeared to be in situ. Small object finds from the on initial studies by Napierala, Starkovich’s work provides wealth of new information about one path from hunting
excavation include clay figurines depicting stylized humans, an overview of the animal component of the diet including and gathering to agricultural societies.
more realistic animals and various small cones and tokens, evidence for variable exploration of fish, fowl, hare and
which sometime bear decorative motifs (Figure 19; Zeidi et tortoise (Starkovich et al., 2016). The inhabitants of Chogha
al., 2012). Additionally, the excavation recovered grinding Golan exploited gazelle, sheep, goats, pig, and cattle, but
slabs, grinding stones, a plaster bowl, double perforated the record is too scant at the moment to draw wide ranging Conclusions and Future Prospects
bone pendants, shell pendants, clay cones, a bone needle, conclusions at this time. From the start of the sequence
grooved stones and stone beads. micromorphological studies have documented dung The sites discussed above provide only a few angles by
sphereolites that indicate either the presence of animals on which to view the shift from hunting and gathering to
The excavation team was able to document 11 the site or the collection of dung (Zanoni, 2014). The fauna, agricultural societies in selected regions of the Near East.
archaeological horizons at Chogha Golan by expanding a while less spectacular than the remarkably rich botanical The record from western Syria shows a strong contrast
64

3
between the patterns of cultural change documented in the Bar-Yosef, O. and Valla, F. R. (eds). 1991. The Natufian
Mediterranean zone of the Southern Levant, the so-called Acknowledgements Culture in the Levant. Ann Arbor, MI, USA, International
“Natufian heartland”, and the neighbouring Qalamun Monographs in Prehistory.
region of Syria on the eastern side of the Anti-Lebanon Firstly, I wish to thank Nuria Sanz for the invitation to
Mountains. Contrary to well-studied areas of the Southern contribute to this volume, Chantal Connaughton for her Braidwood, R. J. 1960. Seeking the world’s first farmers in
Levant, in the Qalamun region the Late Natufian is better editorial support and Dr Robin Dennell for reviewing my Persian Kurdistan: a full-scale investigation of prehistoric
represented than the Early Natufian, and the faunal and paper and for his helpful suggestions. sites near Kermanshah. Illustrated London News, No. 237,
floral records suggest that the region was more attractive pp. 695–697.
during the Younger Dryas than the previous climatic phase, I would also like to thank all of the members of the Syrian
which is traditionally considered to be wetter and more Department of Antiquities and Museums for many years Braidwood, R. J., Howe, B. and Reed, C. A. 1961. The Iranian
hospitable. Later, when the Neolithic comes into full swing of support. I am grateful to Sultan Muhesen, Mohamed Prehistoric project. Science, Vol. 133, pp. 2008–2010.
with the advent of settled life and villages, we observe a Masri, Jean-Marie LeTensorer, Andrew Kandel, Knut
clear shift away from the hills and highlands of the TDASP Bretzke, Hannes Napierala, Simone Riehl, Katleen Deckers, Cauvin, Jacques. 1997. Naissance des divinités, naissance
research area to the neighbouring lowlands where tells are Mareike Stahlschmidt, Felix Hillgruber, my late friend Andrey de l’agriculture : La révolution des symboles au Néolithique,
well-known and where farming first became the basis of Dodonov and all the members of the TDASP teams for their 2nd edn. Paris, CNRS Éditions.
the Pre-Pottery Neolithic economies (Conard et al., 2013) many contributions to the research discussed here. I thank
the nuns of the Convent St. Takla for providing housing Conard, N. J. (ed.) 2006. Tübingen-Damascus Excavation
Turning to Chogha Golan, the apparent sudden rise of and support with infrastructure during many seasons of and Survey Project 1999 – 2005. Tübingen, Germany, Kerns
settled village life is remarkable. The initial occupation of fieldwork in the Qalamun region of western Syria. Verlag.
the site reflects an exceptionally intense use of the site near
the end of the Younger Dryas cold climatic phase ca. 11,700 I am grateful to Dr. Mohammad Mortezayi, the Director of Conard, N. J., Kandel, A. W. and Abdulrachman, A. 2006.
cal bp. The later developments in this region of the western the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research, for granting The 2000 excavation at Baaz rockshelter. N. J. Conard (ed.),
foothills of the Zagros reflect a resilient range of adaptions our permit and for facilitating this research. I thank Saman Tübingen-Damascus Excavation and Survey Project 1999 –
and social innovations which gradually led to the rise of still Hamzavi, Nasrin Abdolhamidy, Sona Naderi, Mojdeh Lajmiri, 2005. Tübingen, Germany, Kerns Verlag, pp. 171–175.
larger social units and settlements as the Neolithic continued Marziyeh Khalili, Bahar Rouhi and the other members of
(Riehl et al., 2015). the TISARP crew for their important contributions to the Conard, N. J., Bretzke, K., Deckers, K., Kandel A. W.,
fieldwork in Chogha Golan. Above all, I thank Mohsen Masri, M., Napierala, H., Riehl, S., Stahlschmidt, M. 2013.
Both of these case studies underline the wonderful Zeidi, my partner for the excavations in Chogha Golan, and Natufian lifeways in the eastern foothills of the Anti-
complexity of these social and economic developments Simone Riehl, Elena Asouti and Britt Starkovich for their Lebanon Mountains. O. Bar-Yosef and F. R. Valla (eds),
at opposite ends of the Fertile Crescent. In the context of important work on the flora and fauna of the site. I also Natufian Foragers in the Levant: Terminal Pleistocene Social
the work of the UNESCO-HEADS team, there can be little acknowledge Gabriel Nokandeh and Fereidoun Biglari for Changes in Western Asia. Ann Arbor, MI, USA, International
doubt that the shift from hunting and gathering to farming their support. Finally, I am grateful to Simone Riehl and Monographs in Prehistory, pp. 1–16.
communities, whether seen as revolutionary or gradual Mohsen Zeidi for editorial comments on the paper.
trajectory, reflects an essential part of human evolution and Conard, N. J., Riehl, S. and Zeidi, M. 2013. Revisiting
socio-economic change that warrants strong representation This research was funded by the Eberhard Karls Universität Neolithisation in the Zagros foothills: excavations at
within the portfolio of world cultural heritage sites. As Tübingen, the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, Chogha Golan, an aceramic Neolithic site in Ilam Province,
research continues, archaeologists will be able to identify the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Foundation western Iran. R. Matthews and H. Fazeli Nashli (eds), The
particularly important regions and sites that chronicle these for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, and the Neolithisation of Iran: The Formation of New Societies.
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groundwork for the rise of complex societies and later in Tübingen.
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67

A Local History: the Neolithic Transition

in the Greater Petra Region
Bill Finlayson
Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL)
The British Academy, UK
Abstract Introduction developing realization that the so-called Neolithic package

develops over an extended time period, from early in the
The study of the transition from relatively mobile hunting The Neolithic of south-west Asia is the archetype of an Epipalaeolithic (c. 20,000 years ago) to beyond the Neolithic
and gathering societies to more sedentary food producers autochthonous transition from hunting and gathering period into the Chalcolithic, has led some to adopt the
in south-west Asia has been based within large-scale to farming economies and societies, with a long history term ‘Neolithization’ to describe the long gestation of food
narratives. These have ranged from the grand idea of a of research. Stadial models of the past divided the Stone producing societies (Gebel, 2004).
Neolithic Revolution to synthetic accounts propagated in a Age into the Old (Palaeo-) and New (Neo-) Stone (lithic)
top down manner describing a uniform Neolithic package ages, indicating a sharp break that was characterized As more evidence has accumulated, the simple large-
characterized by the attributes seen with hindsight as the by the introduction of new types of stone tool, pottery scale narrative has become harder to sustain. The old
significant elements for the development of a Eurasian and farming (Lubbock, 1865). The stadial nature of the syntheses assumed a linear trajectory of development
agricultural system. As more data has become available, transition was reinforced by the connection made between and selectively took data from sites around the region to
such narratives have become less tenable, especially as this this material culture periodization to the anthropologically support this, ignoring data that did not match the pattern.
revolution is now seen to take many thousands of years to derived transition from savagery to barbarism (Morgan, The publication of data rich descriptions of individual
produce the package, which emerges from a pattern of 1877). Partly as a means to cross this stadial boundary, sites, a better knowledge of a wider range of sites and
considerable regional diversity. As a result, the Neolithic is Childe famously introduced the idea of a Neolithic the increasingly sophisticated analyses of plant and
now widely perceived not as a single evolutionary thread, Revolution, reflecting what he saw as real changes in ‘all animal material, provides a much more complex picture.
but as a regional process formed by interaction between departments of human life’ (Childe, 1935, 7). The idea of Though it is fairly easy to identify attributes that connect
dynamic provinces. ‘all departments’ has subsequently been developed into the south-west Asian Neolithic world, such as projectile
the ‘Neolithic package’ characterized by the attributes points, knapping technology, patterns of increasing
There is a disjunct between this model and the general seen with our hindsight as the significant elements for sedentism, experimentation in food production and so on,
trend to publish either data rich descriptions at the scale the development of a Eurasian agricultural system (Barker, there are also attributes that divide it. For example, the
of the individual site or synthetic analyses of the large 2006; Zeder, 2011). Childe’s revolution has been maintained symbolic repertoire between the northern and southern
region, which are selective in their use of the data. It is over the years by the incorporation of new forms of data, Levant appears to be remarkably distinctive, with a far
therefore time to begin to develop analyses of sub-regions including a symbolic revolution (Cauvin, 2000) and a greater emphasis on realism in the north (most famously
and provinces that incorporate the wealth of data now cognitive revolution (Renfrew, 2003), which includes the with the naturalistic carvings at Gobekli Tepe, Turkey
becoming available. This paper will provide an overview fundamental claim that people only become fully human [Schmidt, 2005]) and an almost exclusive focus on the
of the archaeological evidence for the Neolithic transition with the Neolithic. This archaeological theorizing obviously human form (as in plastered skulls best known from
from within the Greater Petra region of southern Jordan as has worrying connotations for our conception of hunter- Jericho, Kenyon, 1957 or the plaster figures from ‘Ain
an example of one such province, an area that may provide gatherer societies, especially when it is argued that modern Ghazal, Jordan [Rollefson, 1983]) coupled with a more
a useful scale of analysis within the process of transition. hunter-gatherers in some way preserve a pristine way of abstract symbolism in the south. Variation is also visible
life and therefore represent suitable analogues to the pre- in the remarkable differences in architecture throughout
A part of the review of the evidence will be to illustrate Neolithic, non-human past. the region, with such diversity in the earlier Neolithic that
measures being applied to conserve and present the within a general architectural tradition, no two sites are the
Neolithic sites to the public, making this important but Such broad-scale synthetic approaches suffer from a same, especially when it comes to community architecture.
complex period of human history more accessible to a rather selective use of data and ignore the detail of new The particular expressions of economy also vary from site
wider audience. The paper will conclude by considering information arising from both excavations and analyses to site and region to region. The increase in information
how the process of interaction can be understood in terms of material. In particular, the length of time over which available indicates that regional diversity is important and
of human identity and agency, thereby linking the Neolithic significant adaptations were occurring, the rate of change contributes to the overall development, leading to the idea
of south-western Asia to global patterns of change associated with this timescale, the non-linear complexity that there was some sort of ‘poly-centric’ Neolithization
between hunting and gathering to farming. of the process and the scale of the geographical area process taking place across much of south-west Asia
involved all combine to show that while the changes (Rollefson and Gebel, 2004).
that occurred were hugely significant, the process was
not revolutionary but incremental (Finlayson, 2013). Our
68

A Local History: the Neolithic Transition in the Greater Petra Region
3
orientalist unchanging peasant society), the use of a
vocabulary (house and village for example) that makes these
societies appear far too easily comprehensible in modern
terms and the assumption of linear developments that
describe societies as ‘crossing thresholds’ or interpreting
the large Late PPNB settlements as ‘proto-urban’ or early
nomadic pastoralists as ‘palaeo- Bedouin’. Instead of
working from these established ideas we need to start
from the increasingly detailed basic archaeological data
and appreciate that the long transitional period represents
a unique historical context with people and economies that
just do not fit into modern categories.
Within the southern Levant, the transitional process begins

to accelerate within the period known as the Natufian,
the final Epipalaeolithic period before the start of the
Neolithic (c. 14,900 – 12,000 cal bp). The Early Natufian
is characterized by economic intensification (sometimes
equated to complex-hunter gatherer analogues), and
substantial architectural and settlement developments.
Suggestions that this represents the first steps in a simple
linear evolutionary development of hunter-gatherers into
sedentary farming societies are weakened by the Late
Natufian, when there appears to be a return to greater
mobility, possibly as a response to climate deterioration in
the Younger Dryas.
The Neolithic period commences with the Pre-Pottery

Neolithic A (PPNA, 12,000 – 10,800 cal bp), a name that
reflects the realization that within the Levant, pottery is
Figure 1. Beidha Neolithic site. © William Finlayson. a late trait within the Neolithic and not as once thought,
a key component. The earliest part of the PPNA has little
to distinguish it from the Natufian, but over time there is
evidence for an increase in sedentism and for the cultivation
of wild plants. Economic change is gradual and our present
While such arguments appear reasonable and by just one region in Jordan, the Greater Petra area. This area understanding of the nature of PPNA economies is such
incorporating a greater range of the diversity and appears to have some coherence as a Neolithic province. that it could as well have been described as the pre-
developments that were occurring have the potential to agricultural Neolithic.
provide new insights on how the Neolithic transition took We need to step back a little from the existing Neolithic
place, this requires a new level of discussion, in between models, whether revolutionary or slow and steady. All of The PPNA is followed by the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
the large-scale synthesis and the individual site report. We these remain predicated on a backwards interpretation (PPNB, 10,800 – 8400 cal bp), which is divided into Early,
need to do more work to develop the basic building blocks or retro-engineering, of the Neolithic based on what we Middle and Late periods. By the end of the Late PPNB,
of such a regional analysis. If we accept that every part of see as important to later developments, right up to the there are substantial built settlements of many hectares
south-west Asia is playing a role in this poly-centric world, modern world. This analysis through hindsight, coupled and domesticated variants of key plants and animals have
then it is clearly necessary for us to develop our still fairly with the frequent use of ethnographic analogy, has led us appeared. The process is still not a simple evolutionary
rudimentary ideas concerning the component regions. to a narrative that often imagines the transition to food path, as at the end of the Late PPNB, at least within the
Those geographic areas that are most often referred to, production in very modern terms (Finlayson and Warren, southern Levant, the large Late PPNB settlements are either
such as the southern Levant or the northern Levant, are 2010). These include the use of highly inappropriate abandoned or shrink in size during a short-lived period
still too big to serve as the building blocks of a poly-centric analogues with modern hunter-gatherers, the Cartesian known as the Final PPNB, or the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C.
analysis. We have to begin at the local level and work opposition between hunter-gatherers as the ‘other’ and Although this has been described as a ‘collapse’, it also
upwards. In response to this need, this paper will consider farmers as people like us (or at least as some timeless appears to represent something of a reconfiguration of
69

settlement patterns that reflect the emergence of real the Harifian and the earliest part of WF16 is based on communal buildings in the Middle Euphrates region, for
farming and pastoralist societies. It is only at this point, dates from wood, mostly juniper and pistachio, so may be example, at Jerf al Ahmar (Stordeur et al., 2000).
in the Late or Pottery Neolithic (8,400 – 6,500 cal bp), that distorted by old wood effects, but whatever the precise
most of the traits that Childe saw as key components of calendar date of these developments there appears to be To the north of this large building was an area that
the Neolithic finally emerge. a chronological overlap and substantial similarities between appears to have contained small workshops. One small cell
one culture that is traditionally described as Epipalaeolithic containing drilling tools, an anvil with circular impressions
and the other which is described as Neolithic. This highlights in it and numerous fragments of partially finished beads.
the gradual nature of the transition, which appears to have
The Greater Petra Region commenced before the start of the Holocene. The workshops are aligned around a very large structure,
of over 20 m in diameter, with two tiers of benches on
The Greater Petra region of Jordan is extremely well known either side and numerous internal features, including
for its Neolithic sites. Research on the Neolithic in this region Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) symmetrically placed cup-hole mortars and elaborate
started with the very early excavations in the 1950s and 60s decoration on the mud-plaster benches. It is hard not to
at Beidha by Diana Kirkbride (Kirkbride, 1960; 1966) (Figure The form of data that is most readily compared between interpret this as a communal structure that involved joint
1). This was followed in the 1980s by excavation at Basta sites and phases, is the architecture, as at present much working and an element of performance (Finlayson et al.,
(Gebel et al., 2006) and more recently at Ba’ja (Gebel and of the analysis of material culture, fauna or flora is not yet 2011a).
Hermansen, 1999). The region runs west from the edge of published.
the Jordanian plateau to include Shkarat Msaied (Kinzel, The stone uprights that would have supported suspended
2013), to Ghuwayr 1 (Simmons and Najjar, 2004), PPNA The nature of the buildings within the settlement of floors were also found at the site of Dhra’ (Kuijt and
Wadi Faynan 16 (Finlayson and Mithen, 2007) and Pottery WF16 is extremely diverse (Finlayson et al., 2011a). The Finlayson, 2009). Here several structures were identified
Neolithic Tell Wadi Faynan (Najjar et al., 1990) at the foot main excavated phase is comprised of semi-subterranean as having floors suspended above the ground on wooden
of the plateau. To the south, Ayn Jammam provides further buildings with walls made up of pisé lining the building. beams held up by upright stone supports arranged in
evidence of the Late PPNB expansion on the Jordanian Structures vary in size from small compartments just over parallel lines (Figure 3). At Dhra’, buildings are not set so
plateau (Waheeb and Fino, 1997). A number of PPNA sites a metre in diameter, to one large elliptical structure over deeply into the ground as at WF16, allowing the structures
that lie to the north are included: el-Hemmeh (Makarewicz 20 m long. Some of the structures have internal partitions, to move horizontally and they frequently overlap one with
et al., 2006), Dhra’ (Finlayson et al., 2003) and Zahrat edh while others are single celled. Some structures have mud another, enabling a relative chronology to be more easily
Dhra’ (Edwards and Higham, 2001). Their inclusion is to plaster floors laid directly on foundation layers, others have established. The overlapping of different buildings also
provide more information on the PPNA, and the Pottery floors suspended above the ground on beams supported by shows that building plots appear to go out of use from time
Neolithic phases of Dhra’ will be included for the same notched stones. Some floors contain cup-hole mortars built to time. This indicates that although the archaeological
reason. The PPNB of this wider area will not be referred into them, while others do not. In structures that survive remains are dense, occupation at any one time in the PPNA
to, given its strong representation in the core. As can be to a considerable depth, very different building histories was probably relatively dispersed. As at WF16, a change in
seen from the list of sites, there is now a remarkably full are revealed, where some were rapidly and intentionally building use can be seen, visible in one case by a cuphole
sequence of Neolithic settlement from the earliest PPNA filled with sterile material, others had repeated episodes mortar sitting in a floor that pre-dates the stone uprights
through to the end of the Pottery Neolithic. of re-flooring, while yet others appear to change function, of a later phase built on roughly the same ground plan.
going from suspended floors in one phase of use to simple
The most straightforward way to consider the evidence mud plaster floors in the next. A reconstruction drawing of one of these structures at
is in the form of a historical narrative. The shift from Dhra’ shows our interpretation, with the floor raised to
Epipalaeolithic to Neolithic happened very smoothly, in One large structure at WF16 emphasizes the diversity protect stored goods from the damp and commensals
keeping with the model of a long and slow transition from of construction, this structure containing an internal (Kuijt and Finlayson, 2009). The presence of barley chaff in
hunting and gathering to farming societies. The difference cell. The structure is unusually well preserved because it the pisé walls may indicate what was being stored inside
between the late Epipalaeolithic Harifian variant of the burnt down, preserving details of the roof construction the structure. It is of interest that the store is freestanding
Late Natufian in the Negev to the west of the Wadi Araba in the carbonized wood and baked mud, which contains and visible as anyone could watch goods being put in and
and the earliest Neolithic at WF16 (Wadi Faynan) to the impressions of reeds. The central cell was surrounded by taken away, from the store, and it may well represent a
east is minimal, especially in overall architectural forms, an area with a raised floor, in this case visible not only communal facility.
which consist of semi-subterranean structures with cup- through the presence of notched stones which would have
hole mortars set in floors and low rubble walls, probably supported the floor beams, but also in the shattered floor, The pattern of diverse architecture and building function
not suited to holding substantial roofs. However, with the broken as the roof collapsed. This raised floor was situated that is so apparent at WF16 appears to be similar at Dhra’,
Neolithic, even in the earliest phase of WF16, there are above an earlier mud-plaster floor. Because of the small where again there is a mixture of different construction
signs of greater permanence and attachment to place with internal compartment and the raised floor, this phase of the types. At Dhra’ there are not only stores or granaries, but
repeated floor building and the presence of foundation structure is interpreted as a communal store. The building also processing shelters which are light weight structures
burials (Figure 2). The radiocarbon chronology for both is approximately the same size as structures interpreted as with roofs held up by rings of wooden posts placed around
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3
communal in the PPNA should not surprise us as it has been
well known from the beginning of Neolithic field research,
with Kenyon’s discovery of the monumental tower and
walls at Jericho (Kenyon, 1957).
It was for a long time assumed that the PPNA in southern

Jordan was something of a dead end, with little or no
evidence for a direct transition to the PPNB. In particular
there was no sign of an Early PPNB, with an apparent jump
to the Middle PPNB (Kuijt, 1997). As a result, interpretations
assumed that the Middle PPNB came in from the north.
As we have acquired more data, this model of cultural
replacement no longer fits.
The first part of the new story here is the identification of a

late phase of the PPNA, indicating local developments. At
WF16 there appears to have been a shift to freestanding
architecture, circular and with massive walls, although
largely eroded away from the top of the hill except
where preserved in the hollow created by the earlier large
communal building. Further, at WF16 Trench 3 (Finlayson
and Mithen, 2007), at Zahad edh Dhra’ (Edwards and
Higham, 2001) and el-Hemmeh (Makarewicz and Rose,
2011) there is a development of freestanding stone walled
buildings, combined with the near disappearance of the
el-Khiam point.
Intriguingly, the chipped stone tool assemblage at WF16

shows signs that there is a shift from typical PPNA reduction
methods to one that appears to have been designed to
Figure 2. Early building at WF16 with multiple floor horizons. © William Finlayson.
produce larger blades, often with opposed platforms – a
characteristic of the PPNB. It appears at least possible that
what we can see is the development of a local equivalent
to the opposed platform naviform technology that is
concurrently being developed on the middle Euphrates at
the outside of wattle and daub screen walls. Cup-hole The emphasis on communal buildings appears to be the PPNA to Early PPNB transition. As a working hypothesis,
mortars were repeatedly installed beside cutting slabs as echoed again at el-Hemmeh, where one area may have we now argue that there is a late PPNA in southern Jordan
new floors were laid down, within these buildings. A third served as a communal burial structure (Makarewicz and that at least partially matches the Early PPNB identified
structural type is also present. These are revetted into the Rose, 2011). Combined with the evidence from Dhra’ elsewhere (Finlayson and Makarewicz, in press).
soft slope that was being artificially created by the dumping and WF16, it appears that there is a rapid development
of waste around the site during its use. The upslope sides of in the concept of community during the PPNA, which is
these structures were protected by substantial stone walls, reflected in the nature of architecture and the organization Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB)
made out of a pattern of alternating large stone slabs and of each settlement. There are a number of different
dry stone walling. Although considerably more substantial architectural forms, which is in contrast to the expected If these late PPNA occupations start to fill the early part
in form than the processing structures just discussed, these standard simple ‘nuclear family house’ of the type so of the assumed Early PPNB gap, the dating of the sites
buildings again seem to have had cup-hole mortars and often assumed to be the predominant architectural form of Beidha and Shkarat Msaied now suggests that the end
sometimes cutting slabs in their floors, but with a larger in early sedentism. Instead what we appear to have are a of this supposed chronological gap is also filled (Finlayson
overall floor area it is possible that these also served as variety of buildings serving communal roles, from storage et al., 2011b). While both Beidha and Shkarat Msaied
residential buildings. buildings, workshops, food processing buildings and even are conventionally attributed to the Middle PPNB, their
public spaces. It is a far cry from the base model of the calibrated radiocarbon dates overlap with what on purely
development of sedentary villages. This emphasis on the chronological terms can be seen as Early PPNB in date. In
71

radiocarbon terms, there is no visible hiatus in the Neolithic

occupation of the Greater Petra region. The presence of
el-Khiam points at Beidha (Mortenson, 1970; Hoffman
Jensen, 2007) also suggests either a continuity of these
classically PPNA artefacts into the PPNB or the presence of
undetected PPNA layers.
In addition, there are a number of architectural continuities

that suggest a local historical sequence. These run, as
discussed above, from the Harifan late Epipalaeolithic,
to the earliest structures at WF16 and then onto some
architectural similarities between Dhra’ and Beidha,
including the ring of posts at Dhra’ with those in the
early phases at Beidha, which in both cases appear to
have supported a roof independently of the walling of
the building. The stone walling in the revetted buildings
at Dhra’ also has similarities to that at Beidha, including
the distribution of upright stones which is broadly similar
to the timbers in the later walls. The similarities resolve
at a finer level too, with the moulded hearths at Shkarat
Msaied identical in form to those at WF16. The move to
freestanding circular buildings seen at a number of the
PPNA sites within the region and most dramatically with
one building with massively thick walls at WF16, suggests
a strong continuity in architectural practices to the early
buildings at both Shkarat Msaied and Beidha.
The architecture of the Late PPNB sites is more markedly

different. The individual cells and circular to curvilinear
shapes of the Middle PPNB are replaced by rectilinear,
multi-roomed structures. This radical transition is best
recorded within this region, first really described at Basta
(hence the name sometimes used for these structures,
the Basta House) (Gebel et al., 2006), it is characterized
by a complex of rooms around a central courtyard. The
appearance of many small rooms is often interpreted as a
cultural shift to internal, private storage, removing stores
from the visible and communal to the household.
Other changes happen at the same time. There is a move to

two storied buildings, as clearly seen at Ba’ja and Basta and
hinted at Ghuwayr, where there are stairs leading up from
what appear to be storage basements. This multi-storied
development can no longer be seen as entirely novel in the
Late PPNB as one of the Early to Middle PPNB buildings
at Shkarat Msaiad has internal stairs going up (Figure 4).
However, this Late PPNB development, combined with an
increasing density of buildings within the site and at many
sites an enormous growth in the overall size of the site,
forms part of an overall impression of a massive increase
in population. Even if this is an effect of the agglomeration Figure 3. Upright nothced stones at Dhra. © William Finlayson.
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3
of the population within selected sites, the number of sites
seems to increase as well.
It seems that at the start of the Late PPNB there is a shift

from the community architecture base, to compound
houses representing multi-family households. This contrasts
with most structures having specific functions in the PPNA,
to possibly evidence of emerging individual ‘family houses’
in the late PPNA/Early PPNB and into the Middle PPNB.
Another element of change is in the development of

corporate architecture. For example, at Ghuwayr 1, a walled
stepped street is present (Figure 5), which indicates that
community design and planning was taking place. There
is one striking absence from the Late PPNB in the south of
Jordan. In the north, Late PPNB ‘Ain Ghazal has buildings
described as shrines or temples (Rollefson, 1983; 1986).
Such buildings are discussed as if they were representative
of the Late PPNB, but none have been identified at the
Late PPNB sites in the south. The only site where anything
similar has been identified is Beidha, where a small group
of structures with stone floors, standing stones within the
buildings and, just outside the buildings, a large stone slab
with a basin carved in it, have been described as a shrine.
They are not linked to the main settlement stratigraphy and
it is hard to date them, but they are more probably Middle,
rather than Late PPNB (Finlayson and Makarewicz in press).
Figure 4. Stairs at Shkarat Msaiad. © William Finlayson.
Further evidence of Middle PPNB communal architecture is
provided by Building 37 within the settlement at Beidha,
which is distinctive in its size and in the presence of a stone,
floor similar to those in the sanctuary. Building 37 is clearly
within the early Middle PPNB layers. Underneath the stone Subsistence recognized. The PPNA sites in the Greater Petra area confirm
floor and below the level of the stone wall, was a ring of a pattern where reliance on the farming of domesticates
postholes, very reminiscent of those at Dhra’. Resting on The transition from food collecting to food production is has not yet occurred, but the plant subsistence economy
the floor were several large shaped slabs, possibly once one of, if not the, key aspects of the Neolithic transition. was based on the cultivation of wild barley and pulses. The
standing vertically. Once understood as an inevitable step upwards as soon facilities built for the processing and storing of this grain
as people understood how to farm, our comprehension suggest that, regardless of their wild form, cultivation had
There are PPNC layers at a number of sites within the of this transition has become increasingly nuanced over begun to be significant to the economy. Domestic cereals
Greater Petra region, including Basta, Ain Jammam, Beidha time. The realization that there are other similar processes appear in the subsequent PPNB, but the adoption of a full
and Ghuwayr 1, although some of these have only been around the world, but that they do not all follow the same farming ‘package’ takes considerably longer. Arguably, it
identified by visual inspection by visitors (for example, trajectory, and that there are many alternative economies does not really begin to emerge until the Pottery Neolithic
Rollefson, 2001). So far our knowledge of the PPNC in that lie between hunting and gathering and farming, has when, for example, check dams or terrace walls and
the south remains relatively poor. The same applies to made us recognize that the processes are complex and not evidence of the manuring of fields begin to appear around
the Pottery Neolithic. There are Pottery Neolithic layers all linear. It is now recognized that early Neolithic people Pottery Neolithic Dhra’ and Tell Wadi Feinan (Kuijt et al.,
at ‘Ain Jammam and at Dhra’ and within gravel deposits were not farmers, and the useful designation of ‘low-level 2007). Further evidence for a shift in the agricultural
overlying the PPNB of Basta, but relatively little is known food producers’ has been widely adopted (Smith, 2001). landscape can be seen in the contrast between the sharply
of the nature of settlement in this phase. The buildings delimited PPNA and PPNB sites, where rubbish appears to
at Dhra’ (Figure 6) suggest that the community may have New data over the whole of the Levant has significantly have been largely dumped within the site, to the Pottery
become more dispersed, but the accumulation of a small modified the way we think about the processes of Neolithic where at both Dhra’ and Tell Wadi Feinan there
tell at Tell Wadi Feinan argues against dispersal being a domestication and food production. The development of is a significant low density artefact halo around the sites,
universal pattern. food production was much more drawn out than previously suggesting the spreading of rubbish over the fields. This
73

presumably intentional fertilization and the check dams

combine to provide the first evidence for soil management,
as significant a development in food production as the
development of domesticated plant varieties.
The locations of Neolithic sites provide further information

on how their populations perceived their place in the
landscape. The PPNA sites of WF16, el-Hemmeh and
Dhra’ all appear to be close to ecotonal boundaries in a
typical hunter-gatherer configuration, able to exploit many
different wild resources from a single location and without
much apparent reference to land suitable for cultivation.
The PPNB sites are more variable, but several (for example,
Ghuwayr 1 and Ba’ja) do not appear to be located in
logical positions for agriculturalists. This does not appear
to occur until Pottery Neolithic occupations, when at least
in Wadi Faynan settlement appears to have moved out into
the flood plain, in the area most suitable for the practice
of agriculture.
Animal exploitation has an equally long development.

The recent consensus has been that that goat and sheep
domestication began in the north of the Fertile Crescent,
with domestic animals being subsequently imported into
southern Jordan. Much of this argument is based on the
patterns of herd management being documented in the
north and largely based on analysis of kill off patterns,
prior to the relatively slow appearance of identifiable
morphologically domesticated animals (Zeder, 2011).
Figure 5. Stepped street at Ghuwayr. © William Finlayson.
More recent analysis of south Jordanian assemblages
suggests that herd management may have appeared
equally early in the south, for example at PPNA WF16,
where the analysis of caprine bones suggests an intentional
kill off pattern (Finlayson et al., 2014). This is not the same that are essential to understanding the development of the landscapes of the north-west European Neolithic. In south-
as the kill-off pattern that subsequently becomes associated pastoral economy (Makarewicz, 2013). west Asia this idea of the significance of place within a
with domestic animals, but it indicates a developing control landscape only begins to take hold with the development
of wild herds. At Beidha, wild herds are managed before of the Bronze Age walled tell. The only landscape change
morphologically domestic animals appear, suggesting recognized in the Neolithic is that people are sowing plants
that the methods of domestic herd management were Global Patterns and controlling the movement of animals, which does
understood and employed prior to the introduction of not reflect the profound change in worldview that some
domestic animals from elsewhere. The process of interaction can be understood in terms of expect.
human identity and agency, thereby linking the Neolithic
This new research is exposing some problems in the way of south-western Asia to global patterns of change The individual settlement remains a very important focus
Late PPNB sites have been excavated. Too much has been between hunting and gathering to farming. Our vision in the early Neolithic. It is striking how sharply defined
assumed regarding our knowledge of the economy, and of the Neolithic landscape in south-west Asia has not early Neolithic sites are, whether partially walled as at
the focus on the earliest stages of domestication have led really moved on from a classic hunter-gatherer landscape, Jericho or Beidha or simply confined to a dense structural
us to ignore the long gestation of pastoralist practices. The where people go out and collect resources, away from agglomeration. This reinforces the point that, certainly in
absence of routine sieving on many Late PPNB excavations their settlements, which are placed at locations designed to the earliest Neolithic, at least in the Greater Petra area, the
leads to an under-representation of juvenile animals, enable exploitation of these wild resources. This stands in most readily identifiable unit is not the house or home,
making it impossible to properly establish kill-off patterns great contrast to the conceptualization of the monumental
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3
but the site, the tightly defined cluster of buildings, as a
communal entity.
PPNA settlement appears focused on collective activity.

While the tower and wall at Jericho are monumental and
clearly significant in terms of defining a place they also
represent substantial community projects. In the north of
the early Neolithic world, Gobekli Tepe represents another
dramatic example, but communal architecture now appears
ubiquitous in the PPNA and concerned with varying levels
of integration.
This raises the question as to what purpose these highly

constricted sites served. In some societies people derive
their sense of identity not through a sense of being an
autonomous individual, but only through relations –
family, village, caste – to which the sense of individuality
is subservient. The notion of the individual is problematic
in the early Neolithic, with no sign that the concept of
the individual was developed. There is much better
evidence for community identity, and it may be both more
pragmatic and more justified, for us to consider community
or collective agency as a way to approach agency in the
transition.
The scale of some PPNA communal structures in the

southern Levant or the communal building at WF16
suggests that their purpose goes beyond the site-based
community and that these structures provided a venue
for wider group integration. Their location on the margins
Figure 6. Corner of an isolated Pottery neolithic building at Dhra. © William Finlayson.
of the sites reinforces this and is similar to the locations
of communal buildings at sites in the Middle Euphrates
such as Jerf al Ahmar, although the scale of northern
buildings is small enough that it suggests some exclusivity
of membership for the collective group meeting within. In terms of the reality of how the local area may have Heritage Management and the Neolithic
Peripheral location may still imply that although part of functioned, taking two geographically and chronologically
the site, the role of the communal building was trans- close PPNA sites, Dhra’ and WF16, as examples, there The significance of the Neolithic process as a critical part
communal. We need to be careful that our site-based mode are significant differences in architecture, chipped stone of our history has been widely recognized and there are a
of thought does not make us interpret everything in terms technology, figurative objects and economy. But equally, number of Neolithic sites around the world that have been
of the site and the integration of a residential community. there are shared commonalities (notched stones but used given World Heritage status, including in the wider Middle
differently, el khiam points, but manufactured in a different East in Turkey (most notably, Çatal Hüyük) and Cyprus.
Some communal buildings appear as arenas for explicit manner). Much of what is different is variation on a theme. Surprisingly, none of the very early sites in Jordan have
performance – transforming spaces, giving the opportunity The same can be argued for many other comparisons, even made it onto the national indicative list, although
for agents to construct or self-generate, lifestyles and Beidha and Shkarat Msaiad, Basta and Ba’ja, for example. the site of Beidha has been included within the Petra
identities. There is purposive experimentation, the sudden We can always recognize the theme, but close inspection World Heritage site. In general, the focus of Jordanian
appearance of new ideas, such as the store buildings with always reveals variation. heritage management has been on classic, biblical and
raised floors show this. The constant reproduction of Islamic archaeology, which have a more immediate visual
society reminds us that social systems are not fixed, but ‘wow’ factor. Consequently there has only been limited
new performances, new mixtures of people, new contacts, engagement with prehistoric remains. This pattern has
ideas and practices allow society to be changed by agency been changing, with the approval of the concept of a
over time. Neolithic Heritage Trail connecting some of the sites within
75

the Greater Petra region. The Neolithic Heritage Trail project

is designed to give both Jordanians and international
tourists a synthesis of the Neolithic of the greater Petra
Region within the context of some amazing landscapes.
For tourists, Jordan remains the best place to see Neolithic
remains thanks to a combination of preservation, access
and security.
In terms of the narrative of the trail, as described above, the

Neolithic developments that happen in the Greater Petra
region are amongst the earliest in the world. However,
there is no doubt that the more recent remains are more
immediately visually spectacular, even if it is in the Neolithic
that Jordan plays a central role in world history. This requires
investment into site interpretation to make the Neolithic
more accessible. Long-term experimental archaeology
programmes and site maintenance conducted by the CBRL
(Council for British Research in the Levant), combined with
recent work sponsored by USAID via Siyaha, the Jordanian
Ministry of Tourism and the Jordanian Department of
Antiquities have begun to address this issue. Experimental
reconstructions have been made of a number of buildings
at Beidha and these are now used as the centrepiece for
site interpretation (Figure 7). The US Ambassadors fund
has sponsored site presentation work at Ghuwayr 1, the
University of Copenhagen has conducted work to lay out a
route for visitors at Shkarat Msaied, as well as undertaking
Figure 7. Experimental architecture at Beidha. © William Finlayson.
partial backfilling to protect the site and the Wadi Faynan
project has built one reconstruction at WF16 with AHRC
sponsorship, as well as backfilling the site to protect the
fragile pisé remains. Ongoing work with local communities standards are not uniformly applied as yet and irreplaceable Childe, V. G. 1935. New Light on the Most Ancient East:
funded by the British Academy is developing strategies information is still being lost. Neolithic sites are a finite The Oriental Prelude to European Prehistory. London,
to engage these communities with this heritage as an resource and excavation by archaeologists remains one Kegan Paul.
economic and social asset. of the most significant threats to their preservation. The
Neolithic Heritage Trail is intended to provide information Edwards, P. C. and Higham, T. 2001. Zahrat adh-Dhra’ 2
The early Neolithic sites that provide an important record on this key moment in human history, provide a potential and the Dead Sea plain at the dawn of the Holocene. A.
of the first transformation of hunting and gathering to source of income and identity to the local population and Walmsley (ed.), Australians uncovering ancient Jordan: 50
farming remain a scarce and fragile asset. Most CRM plans a level of sustainable protection for these sites into the years of Middle Eastern Archaeology. Sydney, the Research
coming into effect now acknowledge the risks posed by future. Institute for the Humanities Social Sciences, University of
weathering of exposed remains and the potential damage Sydney. Amman, Department of Antiquities of Jordan, pp
from animals or people. What they do not yet fully reflect 139–152.
are the dangers posed by archaeologists. It is incumbent
on all of us to only excavate Neolithic remains with the Bibliography Finlayson, B. 2013. Imposing the Neolithic on the past.
greatest of care and to the highest possible standards Levant, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 133–148. 
to achieve well-defined and precise research objectives. Barker, G. 2006. The Agricultural Revolution in Prehistory.
We are long past the point when simply exposing some Oxford, Oxford University Press. Finlayson, B. and Mithen, S. 2007. The Early Prehistory of
architectural features was acceptable. Neolithic research Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan, Archaeological survey of
today requires comprehensive recovery of material through Cauvin, J. 2000. The Birth of the Gods and the Origins Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and al-Bustan and evaluation of
sieving, flotation and bulk sampling. Where excavation of Agriculture. Trans. T. Watkins. Cambridge: Cambridge the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site of WF16. Oxford, Council
is conducted we have a duty to publish results and to University Press. for British Research in the Levant and Oxbow Books. (Wadi
protect the remains we have exposed. Unfortunately, such
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The Late Neolithic Transition. The Case of Çatalhöyük East

Arkadiusz Marciniak
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
Abstract was extended over millennia and shaped differently and its constituent elements. This new mode of existence
across the globe. The trajectories of development of its comprised the individualized and autonomous social units,
The Neolithic is a major milestone in the history of humankind. constituent elements were significantly heterogeneous the integrated character of arable-husbandry economy,
It brought about a range of fundamental developments that and largely unparalleled. Despite these idiosyncrasies, the pastoralism, occupation of forest and coastal areas as well
transformed humanity in an unprecedented and irreversible Neolithic pathways were made of a number of distinct as the creation of sacral landscape. These triggered new
way. The c. 4,000 year long period in south-west Asia was elements of Outstanding Universal Value. Their profoundly forms of interaction with the environment, the character of
differentiated and the trajectories of development of its transformative character, however, was not immediately social relations, routines of daily life, mode of subsistence
constituent elements were significantly heterogeneous and evident. The full potential of these fundamental changes as well as social and ritual practices.
largely unparalleled. It is justified to distinguish two major was manifested and realized only after millennia of
and qualitatively distinct transitions in the Neolithic in the uninterrupted development in the earliest and most This chapter is focused on the developments in south-
region: (1) the Early Neolithic transition marked by the important centres of the Neolithic culture located in southwest Asia where the richness of data and long tradition
emergence of a sedentary mode of life, art and imagery as west Asia. of research made it possible to study these processes in
well as domestication of plants and animals, (2) the Late depths. The presentation of the Late Neolithic transition
Neolithic transition defined as a transformation of the major The tempo and magnitude of various elements of the will be preceded by a systematic overview of the major
constituent elements of the Neolithic world. Neolithic world was differentiated. It culminated in the developments at the large urban centre settlement at
movement of human groups into ‘megacities’ in different Çatalhöyük in Central Anatolia in the last four centuries
The chapter aims to provide a comprehensive overview of parts of the region in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) of its occupation. Due to high quality research and the
the Late Neolithic transition and its constituent elements. period. Their ultimate collapse in the seventh millennium application of a wide range of innovative methods, this
In order to put it in a proper historical context, it starts bc was clearly a major threshold in the development of site provides an excellent opportunity to grasp the very
by presenting the major civilizational developments in the the Neolithic communities marking the end of its formative nature of these transformations and reflect on its far-
Early Neolithic. The nature of the Late Neolithic transition phase. The resulting changes on the ruins of the bygone reaching consequences. A wide range of variables will be
is presented by a systematic discussion of the major world significantly transformed and strengthened the discussed including the emergence of elaborated houses
developments at the large urban centre settlement at principles of the Neolithic civilization. and household clusters, new modes of procurement and
Çatalhöyük in Central Anatolia in the last four centuries use of different raw materials as well as modes of food
of its occupation. The chapter concludes by examining I would argue that it is justified to distinguish two major production. This corresponding material evidence will be
the transcendent and universal significance of the Late and qualitatively distinct transitions in the Near Eastern scrutinized in terms of major social, cultural and economic
Neolithic transition for further developments of human Neolithic: (1) the Early Neolithic transition – marked by the developments, such as the nature of rapidly changing
societies in the region and beyond. emergence of sedentary mode of life, art and imagery as nuclear households in terms of the regimes of acquisition,
well as domestication of plants and animal, (2) the Late production, consumption and reproduction, intensive and
Neolithic transition – defined as a transformation of the integrated subsistence practices, the new form of a village
major constituent elements of the Neolithic world. Hence, micro-history and geography, elaboration of the formalized
Introduction one can rightly distinguish the primary and secondary imagery canon, emergence of the concept of history and
origins of the Neolithic. The latter transition created ancestry, formalized religious beliefs and differentiated
The Neolithic is a major milestone in the history of conditions for strengthening and consolidating local ritual practices as well as the creation of regional networks.
humankind. It brought about a range of fundamental groups and provided prerequisite foundations for their
developments that transformed humanity in unprecedented spread across vast areas, making the Neolithic a truly global The final objective of this chapter comprises a
and irreversible ways. These comprise a sedentary mode of phenomenon. While the former has been well recognized comprehensive overview of transcendent and universal
life, domestication of plant and animals, new forms of social and systemically researched by generations of scholars, significance of the Late Neolithic transition for further
organization and religious beliefs as well as monumental the latter has hardly been conceptualized as a qualitatively developments of human societies in the region and
domestic and ceremonial architecture, distinctive art and distinct threshold in the development of the humankind. beyond. These comprise the dispersal of local groups
imagery, and innovative technologies. and the exploitation of different ecological zones, the
Accordingly, the objectives of this chapter are threefold. differentiation of domestic and non-domestic architecture
The transition from hunter-gatherers to farming societies Firstly and most importantly, it aims to provide a and settlement layout, and dynamic changes in material
was neither simple nor straightforward. The process comprehensive definition of the Late Neolithic transition culture. These new forms of social life had huge adaptive
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significance that made it possible to define the tangible
and intangible heritage of the Neolithic and conceptualize
it as one of the major thresholds in human evolution.
In order to place the Late Neolithic transition in its proper

historical context, the chapter begins by presenting major
civilizational developments in the Early Neolithic. These
refer to the emergence of sedentism and the development
of urbanism, the origin of farming and husbandry, the
formation of social groupings, the beginnings of religion
and belief systems as well as their modifications and
transformations in the following centuries and millennia.
The Early Neolithic Transition

The Nature of the Early Neolithic Transition
The beginning of the Neolithic is marked by numerous

changes in the ways in which human beings interacted
with their environments and with one another. The
leading developments included sedentism, population
growth and aggregation, the domestication of plants and
animals and the subsequent development of agricultural
practices, and increased emphasis on ritual and symbolic
behaviours (Banning, 1998; Bar-Yosef and Meadow,
1995; Cauvin, 2007; Kuijt, 2000; Zeder, 2011). They did
not occur simultaneously and took place in a number of
Figure 1. Çatalhöyük East and West. TP and TPC Areas in relation to other excavation areas. © Arkadiusz Marciniak
different zones of south-west Asia.
Of primary importance was the process leading to

increased sedentism. Reduced mobility triggered dramatic Similar arrangements are known from the classic phase of archaeologists presented different scenarios explaining
changes, such as new subsistence strategies, demographic Çatalhöyük up to c. 6500 cal. bc. The settlement was made how hunters and gatherers became farmers and discussing
growth, new forms of social arrangements, organized of clusters of approximately 30 to 40 individual and largely reasons for the transition and its mechanisms, as well as the
trade patterns, storage and exchange practices within standardized buildings, constructed directly adjacent to one time and space in which it occurred.
ever increasing communities along with new forms of another. The superimposed houses have been constantly
cooperation and competition. It ultimately led to the re-used and re-occupied (Hodder, 2006; Mellaart, 1967). The Early Neolithic society inhabited the area known
emergence of numerous large and small settlements, as a koiné (Cauvin, 2007), which means ‘a subliminal
reaching its maximal size mainly towards the end of the The first sedentary communities began cultivating a wide if not conscious awareness of similarity in the cultural
eighth and the first half of the seventh millennium cal. bc. range of wild cereals that resulted in their domestication. foundations of social groups inhabiting a given territory’.
This process is well manifested at the southern Levantine One or two millennia later herd animals such as sheep, goat, This is manifested by a range of similarities across inhabiting
sites of Jericho, Beidha, Basta or Ba’ja, ones in northern cattle and pig were tamed and eventually domesticated. regions including arrangement of space, function of the
Mesopotamia and south-eastern Anatolia such as Abu The genetic changes following their domestication led to architecture and technological solutions. The basic social
Hureyra, Mureybet and Çayönü Çayönü, or the Central the production of the surplus of staple food and animal unit in Central Anatolia was arguably a form of clustered
Anatolian settlement at Çatalhöyük. Numerous Early products. The adaptation of agriculture and husbandry neighbourhoods, which were composed of households
Neolithic sites in the southern Levant were characterized by made it possible to transform the dispersed and small- with some kind of autonomy, albeit not independent and
large exposures such as Beidha phase C, Ba’ja, and Basta in scale groups of hunters and gatherers into dynamically self-sufficient (Düring and Marciniak, 2006; Marciniak,
which buildings were constructed directly adjacent to one aggregated communities with huge demographic potential. 2008). Overall, it was a very egalitarian community. Ritual
another in tight neighbourhood clusters (Byrd, 2005; Gebel The economic system that was developed as an outcome of ties and sodalities allowed low levels of production by
and Bienert, 1997; Kirkbride, 1960; Nissen et al., 1991). these processes changed the course of history. Numerous individual houses and a strong focus on sharing and pooling
79

resources (Hodder, 2014, p. 2). Despite the evidence for Neolithic (PN) or Late Neolithic, as distinguished in different rectangular (Shaàr Hagolan and Àin Ghazal). The only
neighbourhood groupings, there were complex cross- parts of south-west Asia. This relatively short, c. 500 year, site with large rectangular architecture of the PPNB style
cutting relationships that were neither distinguished period accelerated the achievements of local communities was Atlit Yam (for example, Galili et al., 1993; Garfinkel,
in terms of proximity nor formed any kind of spatially and led them to disperse from the originally inhabiting 1993; Rollefson and Köhler-Rollefson, 1989). A new form
bounded areas. The links between individuals composing zones. Consequently, it transformed the otherwise local emerged, comprised of the cluster of dwellings around
these social groupings were ‘practical’ rather than based processes into a global phenomenon. clearly distinguished courtyards, as evident at Sha’ar
upon biological kin, as indicated by biodistance studies Hagolan. It was a well-planned village with courtyard
based on dental morphology from Çatalhöyük (Pilloud The collapse of the PPNB model is manifested by the structures and a system of streets. This spatial arrangement
and Larsen, 2011). It remains unclear what held these disintegration of a majority of large settlements and the seems to imply the existence of independent households
various groupings together (see Düring and Marciniak, creation of small villages. In the southern Levant, this defined as ‘a group of individuals who share a common
2006; Hodder, 2014; Marciniak, 2008, 2013). These social process did not lead to its depopulation but rather the residence and members of the household are normally
networks certainly involved complex exchanges of food. relocation of sites throughout the region. It was only bound together by kinship and economic relations’
Consumption of wild cattle and other wild animals linked towards the end of the PPNC when sites such as Jericho, (LeeDecker, 1994, p. 348).
different houses together at Çatalhöyük (Demirergi et al., Beidha, Munhata, Beisamoun or Abu Gosh were deserted.
2014). Inhabitants of individual houses had distinct diets However, other sites on both sides of the Jordan river, such
but clearly food ways were mixed. This may be a result of as ‘Ain Ghazal, Wadi Shu’eib, 'Ain al-Jamman, Shar’ar
the herding strategy of sheep that required considerable Hagolan (PPNC and PN) and possibly also Basta and Tel Çatalhöyük in the Late Neolithic as an
inputs of labour and a significant level of cooperation Ramad, were continuously occupied. In general, there Example of the Late Neolithic Transition
(Pearson, 2013). were two major types of settlements in this part of south-
west Asia in the PPNC and Pottery Neolithic: (i) large and The Late Neolithic at Çatalhöyük
The Early Neolithic transition is also characterized by (ii) small. The former group comprised the continuously
elaborated symbolism and the symbolic power of occupied settlements such as ‘Ain Ghazal as well as a range The site of Çatalhöyük is located in central Anatolia, c. 250
architecture. It is well manifested by large ritual buildings, of new settlements including for example, Sha’ar Hagolan. km south-west of Ankara. It is made up of two distinct
plastered human skulls, large statutory found, for example, The latter group was more common and comprised tells, the eastern of which includes over 19 m of Neolithic
at ‘Ain Ghazal, Çayönü, Jericho, Kfar HaHoresh and other numerous hamlets and seasonal sites, mainly in the coastal deposits and the much smaller western mound, which is
sites of south-west Asia. At Çatalhöyük, it had a form of areas, including Ashkelon, Nizzanim, Ziqim and Quatif (for early Chalcolithic in date. Excavations were first undertaken
installations, paintings and reliefs in houses (Hodder, 2014, example, Garfinkel, 1993; Gilead, 1990; Rollefson, 1989; in the 1960s under the direction of James Mellaart (1967)
p. 10). This peak of symbolic elaboration corresponded Rollefson and Köhler-Rollefson, 1989). and since 1993 further excavations have been undertaken
with burials occurring beneath the floors of houses by an international team of scholars under the direction of
(Cessford, 2005). These elaborated architectonic structures This period in Anatolia is marked by the emergence of Ian Hodder (2006).
were believed to serve as settings for communal rituals numerous small farming settlements across previously
of integrative character, which were arguably marked by uninhabited zones. For the first time Neolithic farming Research at Çatalhöyük has focused mainly on the earlier
public display (ritual buildings, statues, masks, stelae). At extended into north-western Anatolia and into the Neolithic levels; by contrast the Late Neolithic occupation
Çatalhöyük, rituals comprising the treatment of the dead, Balkans (Özdoğan, 2010). The newly built settlements has been clearly under-researched. The situation changed
killing wild animals and placing their body parts in houses were smaller and occupied for shorter periods of time due to results of intensive works in the TP (Team Poznań)
as well as feasts involving large wild bulls would have been than they previously had been. The dynamic of local groups Area excavated in the years 2001 to 2008 (which I
relatively infrequent, but would have involved high arousal, accelerated and their internal dynamics intensified. The co-directed) and the TPC (Team Poznań Connection)
enhancing the strength of the cross-cutting communities beginning of the Pottery Neolithic in the Levant as well Area, which has been uninterruptedly excavated under
that were part of them (Hodder, 2014, p. 17; Whitehouse as the very last phase of the Late Neolithic and start of my supervision since 20121 (Marciniak, 2015b; Marciniak
and Hodder, 2010). A clustering of population and the Early Chalcolithic saw further developments in the and Czerniak, 2007; Marciniak et al., 2013). The crest of
complex ties of neighbourhood and cross-neighbourhood settlement pattern that began in the PPNC in the Levant the East Mound provided the best opportunity for the
dependencies created social and economic ties that were and at the beginning of the Late Neolithic in Central recognition of Late Neolithic structures. This area is close
partly maintained by imagistic forms of ritual participation Anatolia. to where Mellaart identified the last phase of occupation.
(Hodder, 2014, p. 17). The results from the TP and TPC Areas have revealed a new
Domestic architecture at small settlements was considerably picture of the Çatalhöyük community (Figure 1).
different from that in the preceding period. At the southern
The Demise of the Early Neolithic Universe Levantine site of Ashkleon there was no solid architecture
and the main features comprised small hearths and pits,
The end of the Early Neolithic universe is conventionally which arguably served as dwellings. Two types of structures
equated with the end of PPNB and Aceramic Neolithic, were found at Pottery Neolithic Yarmukian sites: (i) rounded
1 The project was financed by the Polish National Science Centre
and marked by the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC), Pottery (Munhata, Megiddo and Jebel Abu Thawwab) and (ii) (decision DEC–2012/06/M/H3/00286).
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The excavations in the TP Area led to the discovery of four
solid houses, one light structure and one open space.
They made up a c. 350 year long occupational history
of the settlement between c. 6350 cal. bc and c. 5950
cal. bc (Marciniak et al., 2015a). Preliminary results of
works in the TPC Area indicate that it was in use in the
period between c. 6400 to 6100 cal. bc (Marciniak 2015b;
Marciniak et al., 2013). The beginning of the second half
of the century of the Çatalhöyük occupation (c. 6500–
6300 cal. bc) corresponds also to the Mellaart Levels III–0,
South P–T, North 4040 G–J Levels, Summit, KOPAL, and
IST (see Hodder, 2014, Figure 1, Table 1).
House, House Cluster and Social

Arrangements
The most distinct category of houses in the TP Area

comprises a large and carefully designed dwelling structure
(B.81, B.62 and B.61) (Figure 2). The houses had similar
size, internal layout and distinctive solid floors made of
white pebbles, which appear only in the final centuries
of the mound occupation. They were constructed at
the beginning and the end of the TP Area stratigraphic
sequence and separated by a solidly built house (B.74), a
light dwelling structure (B.73) and an open space (B.72)
(Marciniak et al., 2015a). The work in the TPC Area carried
out in the 2014 excavation season has brought about
discovery of five houses. They represent three solidly built
houses (B.110, B. 121 and B. 122). The two uppermost
Figure 2. Çatalhöyük, TP Area, B. 81. © Arkadiusz Marciniak
houses (B.109 and B.115) were significantly truncated
by the post-Neolithic occupation and destroyed by post-
depositional processes to the extent that their character
cannot be revealed. B. 121 has a suite of in-built structures The Late Neolithic houses were composed of a series of small, standing. It may have a form of a courtyard or some kind of
including platforms, a hearth and bin, and have walls that cell-like spaces surrounding a larger central ‘living room’ as well open space, sometimes used to perform different everyday
were decorated with a geometric design (Figure 3). B. 122 as open spaces, and lacked symbolic elaboration. Burials were activities, as implied by the presence of ovens, kilns, hearths
is a large complex-style structure with three in-built spaces no longer placed underneath the floor and were replaced by and so on. From time to time, it went out of use and became
erected in its final phase of its occupation (Marciniak et dedicated burial chambers with elaborate decoration (Figure a midden. The house may have been rebuilt in its previous
al., 2013). 4) (Düring and Marciniak, 2006; Marciniak and Czerniak, location only after 5 to 6 generations. Accordingly, subsequent
2007, 2012; Marciniak, 2008). It is exemplified by the B. 81 houses might have horizontally shifted reflecting discrete
The results of Bayesian modelling revealed that most houses house cluster, composed of structures revealed both in the building occupations within the core area.
in the TP sequence were occupied for one generation only Mellaart and TP Areas (Figure 5). It was made of a main room
(Marciniak et al., 2015a). In contrast to the classic phase, surrounded by a storage room (B.II.3). They were separated The results of Bayesian modelling of the final centuries of
the abandonment no longer involved the practice of infilling by open spaces. This relatively large complex may have been occupation of the East mound, in addition to the results of
the house interior. The inbuilt structures and the walls were owned and occupied by a household with a significant degree extensive excavations in its different parts, made it possible
now either deliberately dismantled, or the house was left of independence, as indicated by a range of bioarchaeological to estimate the decline in the number of their inhabitants.
unoccupied leading the walls and other in-built structures data (Marciniak, 2015a; Marciniak et al., 2015b). The space The northern part of the mound went out of use around
to rot and decay. The earlier strict divisions in the house it occupied may have been as large as neighbouring clusters 6300 cal. bc (Hodder, 2014), which means that the size of
between secular (south) and sacred (north) broke down and from the preceding period. Houses in subsequent generations the settlement decreased by c. 30%. The further decline
were forgotten and its main rooms came to have a more may have been shifting across the neighbourhood area. As a took place around 6250/6200 cal. bc, as marked by the
open character (Hodder, 2014, p. 15). result, an empty space was left where the house was previously abandonment of B. 74 in TP Area, B. 110 on the slope
81

in the TPC Area as well as occupation of the Istanbul implies that local groups towards the end of the mound shrank and groups became smaller. This may indirectly
Area. This decrease of an overall size of the settlement occupation had ample supplementary fodder resources indicate a shift away from broadly defined kin- or clan-
was accompanied by the introduction of the pattern of to overcome losses that arose from breaking the natural based systems to a pattern focusing on the household
horizontally shifting houses, as discussed above. Hence, one resource synchrony. This is proven by the increase of sensu stricto, and this shift sees all activities tied in finally
would expect that only a small part of the neighbourhood fodder for sheep in the form of legume straw, dry weeds with arable production needs and requirements (Asouti,
area was used at any given time while its remaining part or dry leaves from trees. The new farming economy also 2013).
was left unoccupied and served as a large open area. If included cattle herding (Russell et al., 2013). As cattle
one assumes that a similar pattern was in place throughout require high quality grass, the increasing reliance on The changes in the settlement layout, in addition to
the entire of the then-occupied part of the mound, one fodder for the caprines is more understandable. different modes of resource exploitation, mark the
can estimate that the population was about half that of emergence of a domestic mode of production and
the preceding period. These new spatial arrangements and Changes in pottery production in the Late Neolithic consumption around the increasingly independent
the continuous abandonment of subsequent parts of the reflect a departure from the relatively fixed pattern of clay household as the dominant mode of social organization
settlement may have been caused by migration of a large use. The exploitation of relatively local clay was largely (see Düring and Marciniak, 2006; Marciniak, 2013). The
portion of its inhabitants from around the middle of the replaced with the use of clay from volcanic areas, between considerably heterogeneous arrangements were based
seventh millennium cal. bc onwards. Beysehir-Konya and the upper Çarsamba (Doherty and upon individualized, short-term memory regimes within
Tarkan, 2013). The great diversity of pottery forms seems a predominantly house-based social structure. People
to imply changes in social function of food including its might have begun referring to specific pasts of their own
Economy and Subsistence Practices differentiated occasions and users (Hodder, 2014, p. 15; houses and genealogies rather than the generic past of
Yalman et al., 2013). This is indicative of a connection the entire settlement (see Whitehouse and Hodder, 2010).
The post-6500 cal. bc period also brought about between the occurrence of pottery and its function in Çatalhöyük’s households created a system concentrated
significant changes in subsistence practice and the daily life and food consumption (Özdoğan E., 2015, p. on a small-scale exploitation of numerous resources. The
economic basis of the Çatalhöyük inhabitants. In general, 37). caprine herds were kept relatively close to the settlement
these are marked by the shift to the exploitation of locally and not moved away. The breeding season was adjusted
available resources at the expense of resources acquired Some elements in the lithic technology remained to accommodate the scheduling between arable and
from far afield. A drastic decline in oak and juniper unchanged while others underwent significant pastoral demands. The use of fodder was incurred to
charcoal values is interpreted as the switch of wood transformations. The dominant raw material was still meet the shortfall in food resources. As implied by the
gathering activities from the surrounding uplands to the Nenezi Dağ obsidian, but a small amount of other study of oxygen isotope analysis and dental microwear,
locally available riparian vegetation (see Asouti, 2013; obsidian originated from Acıgöl in northern Cappadocia, there was a high degree of arable/pastoral integration and
Marciniak et al., 2015b). This can only be explained by and Bingöl B, and Bingöl A/Nemrut Dağ from the Lake dependence emerging in the Late Neolithic (see Henton,
changes in the fuel and firewood economy of the site as Van region some 650–800 km to the east (Carter et al., in press).
it is unrelated to climate-induced changes in woodland 2008). The imported material was primarily in the form of
composition and species availability (Asouti and Hather, pressure-blades and preformed cores; the manufacture of
2001). This zone was probably intensively managed, as skilled pressure-blades continued to be the community’s Imagery and Religion
implied by the narrower range of riparian taxa present in primary tool-making tradition (Özdöl-Kutlu et al., 2015).
the TP charcoal samples including Salicaceae, ash wood, Fundamental changes also took place in the religious and
elm and hackberry. This was further accompanied by These developments are indicative of changes in landscape ritual domains. As life was concentrated in smaller, more
culturally-determined changes in architectural practices management. The catchment of wood extraction activities dispersed, more independent and more self-sufficient
and construction techniques which, unrelated to wood became smaller over time, eventually becoming strictly houses, historical and ritual ties that bound the Early
availability, were less timber-dependent compared to localized and focused on the riparian habitats that were Neolithic communities lost their significance. The previously
earlier periods (Asouti, 2013). closest to the site. The conversion of the local riparian dominant ‘imagistic’ mode of religiosity moved in the
woodlands into increasingly managed anthropogenic direction of a more ‘doctrinal’ mode (Whitehouse and
Equally fundamental were changes in husbandry practices. habitats imply full scale management patterns, in terms of Hodder, 2010). The previously infrequent but high arousal
The Late Neolithic herders kept their flocks in the lower territory definition, and allocation of land use rights at the ritual events were replaced by frequent and every day ones
elevations, probably near the settlements in the outskirts expense of the previously spatially extensive subsistence that incited lower levels of arousal. This made the local
of the arable fields, as revealed by the oxygen isotopic procurement systems. Landscape change (for example, community increasingly less dependent on cohesive ritual
data (Henton, in press). They also shifted the sheep the continuous rising of the alluvial plain or even colluvial ties and more focused on exchanges between independent
birthing season to March. The natural May births are in deposition) might have been a contributing factor, but do productive units (Hodder, 2014, p. 16). This is further
synchrony with optimal grass-rich resources providing the not appear to be fully responsible for this shift. A distant corroborated by the emergence of more narrative scenes
necessary high nutritional plane for successful breeding. procurement of oak and juniper timber in the preceding in the wall paintings (Czeszewska, 2014).
The introduction of an early birthing season would take period was a communal undertaking and became
the breeding herds out of synchrony with resources. This logistically infeasible when the settlement population
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Figure 3. Çatalhöyük, TPC Area, B. 121 with geometrically

decorated wall. © Arkadiusz Marciniak
83

This shift in religious practices was also associated with These were accompanied by changes in the corresponding secular and the removal of symbolism from the domestic
the expansion of animal symbols, such as bulls, upraised domains of material culture. domain. The house was no longer the focal point of the
splayed figures, into a broader array of media including cultural universe but served ordinary dwelling purposes. Its
pottery and stamp seals. Çatalhöyük’s imagery can The recognized changes in the procurement, production new role was further strengthened by the disassociation of
be considered a point of reference for other regional and consumption patterns provide a valuable insight into burials from its domain and the emergence of extramural
developments. Particularly numerous symbolic elements the nature of a major social change involving a shift from cemeteries. These factors stressed the house autonomy
of this kind appeared on the Late Neolithic and Early some kind of communal organization (house society, and independence (Hodder, 2014; Marciniak, 2008) and
Chalcolithic ceramics of Niğde-Aksaray settlements such neighbourhood community) maintained by collective labour facilitated dispersal and easier exploitation of a range
as Tepecik-Çıftlik and Köşk Höyük (Bıçakçı et al., 2012; to more autonomous house units performing individualized of different ecological zones by its inhabitants. The
Öztan, 2012). These signifiers mobilized out of Çatalhöyük and diverse activities themselves. The dominant forms disassociation of imagery and symbolism from everyday
repertoire were believed to be good markers of supra- of social organization were now task-focused groups life led to the formalization and standardization of art and
individual identities (Meskell, 2007, p. 25). The signifiers, inhabiting individual houses. They had a form of nuclear the organization of ritual practices at the regional level.
probably manifestations of some kind of the myth, began household with an increasing degree of autonomy in terms Consequently, the Late Neolithic marks the beginnings
appearing in non-domestic contexts. Dissociated from their of the regimes of acquisition, production, consumption of narrativization and story-telling indicating reflexive
original context and deprived of its referential significance, and reproduction of different resources. Each had a well- understanding of the increasingly individualized past.
they were given a different meaning that was transformed defined space comprising the house and its immediate
over the course of time. They may have become rationalized surroundings. The other major development comprised
and naturalized and presented as representations of the the emergence of public space (see more in Düring and Consequences and Implications of the Late
inherited tradition. Marciniak, 2006). The shift from communal organization Neolithic Transition
to individual households is also evident in the southern
Cattle were no longer used in ceremonial consumption but Levantine settlements. As a result, the Neolithic society was Consequences of the Late Neolithic transition on the
were increasingly involved in daily consumption, as implied made of smaller, more dynamic, flexible entities ready to character of the Neolithic were multidimensional and far
by the degree of fragmentation of cattle bones in middens. exploit a wide range of environments. This kind of social reaching. These comprised: (i) the dispersal of local groups
At the same time, the importance of domestic sheep and arrangement led ultimately to the differentiation among and the exploitation of different ecological zones, (ii) the
goats increased in both daily and special consumption contemporaneous units and some form of inequality differentiation in domestic and non-domestic architecture
contexts. among their inhabitants. Households became more and settlement layout, and (iii) dynamic changes in material
dependent on their own production, and the relationships culture.
with their counterparts were based on the exchange of
labour and goods. One of the major consequences of the Late Neolithic
The Late Neolithic Transition transition was increased mobility and the rapid dispersal of
The increasingly autonomous households established an Neolithic groups from the relatively limited area inhabited
integrated management and procurement system and in the preceding period. This pattern is clearly discernible
Constituent Elements of the Late Neolithic an integrated farming-husbandry economy. They were around the Mediterranean and in Anatolia, as manifested by
Transition also characterized by a shift from the exploitation of the instant increase in the number of settlements (Düring,
large areas to the use of locally available resources. These 2013; Özdoğan, M., 2011;). The first sites in the Lake
The multifaceted transformations of the Early Neolithic changes are particularly visible in husbandry practices. District (south-western Anatolia), central-west and north-
communities at the end of the PPNB have numerous Sheep flocks had been herded and tended by family (or west Anatolia appeared before 6500 cal. bc and in the
parallels to the changes taking place at Çatalhöyük. smaller group) shepherds, with less separation by age and following centuries the development of the communities
Consequently, major domains of human existence were sex (Russell et al., 2013). By maintaining herds relatively accelerated (see Özdoğan, E., 2015). In western Anatolia
ultimately transformed into a qualitatively distinct and close to the settlement it would have been possible to the first communities fully adopted agriculture and animal
culturally and demographically powerful version of the include less skilled family members such as children or husbandry but did not use pottery (Çakırlar, 2012). In the
Neolithic. As a result, in the first half of the seventh those only available for short work periods such as older third quarter of the seventh millennium cal. bc numerous
millennium bc or slightly later, the Neolithic shifted from family members or women with babies (Grayzel, 1990, p. sites, such as Pendik, Fikirtepe, Aktopraklık C, Mentese
a system in which people were squeezed into collective 49). This resulted in the further integration of members (basal and middle) and Barcın (VId–c) appeared in north-
social and ritual structures to a fragmentation and of individual households. Additionally, the variability of western Anatolia (Karul, 2011; Özdoğan, M., 1999). This
dispersal of population across the landscape. This profound animals increased over time as herders increasingly moved period also marks the inhabitation of different ecological
transformation of the Neolithic universe, that I propose to their separate flocks across a range of different territories zones by farming groups spreading out from SE and
call the Late Neolithic transition, can be defined by new around the settlement (Pearson, 2013). Central Anatolia, such as the Latmos region located in
arrangements in social organization, subsistence basis and the hinterland of Miletos in western Anatolia. It contains
economic systems as well as religious and ritual practices. These profound developments in economy and society numerous rock art sites dated to the first half of the sixth
resulted in breaking down a distinction between sacred and millennium bc (Peschlow-Bindokat and Gerber, 2012). From
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Figure 4. Çatalhöyük, TP Area,

burial chamber (Space 327).
© Arkadiusz Marciniak
the second half of the seventh millennium bc onwards, located to the south-west of the Salt Lake, probably also distinct architectural traditions were developed in north-
settlement became relatively widespread in Greece (Perlès, dated to this period and exchanged salt for obsidian. western Anatolia: (a) quadrangular wattle and daub houses
2001, Figure 6.4). The end of the seventh millennium bc from Barcın and Mentese (Gerritsen et al., 2013, Figures
corresponds to a period when settlements emerged across The aftermath of the Late Neolithic transition also 6 and 7; Roodenberg et al., 2003) and (b) round-planned
a wide area spreading beyond Greece to the west of the comprised the differentiation in domestic and non- wattle and daub huts with semi-subterranean floors, as
Balkans (Krauβ, 2008). domestic architecture as well as settlement layout. seen at Aktopraklık, Fikirtepe, Pendik and other coastal
Accordingly, different regions began to establish their own settlements (Karul and Avcı, 2013). At Uğurlu (V) off the
Around 6000 cal bc considerable changes also occurred traditions. This is manifested by the variability of domestic Aegean coast of NW Anatolia, there were quadrangular
in the eastern part of Central Anatolia. A number of clusters and ceremonial and non-domestic structures. In buildings with a stone foundation (Erdoğu, 2013, pp.
settlements of different kinds appeared in completely new the beginning of the second half of the seventh millennium 5, 7). It is worth noting that these structures were of a
areas and previously occupied locations were abandoned. cal. bc, the Lake District was characterized by some kind of domestic character, as indicated by the presence of open
The most notable settlements were Köşk Höyük, Tepecik- ceremonial purpose structures, as manifested by a complex spaces and installations such as ovens. They also served as
Ciftlik and Pınarbaşi-Bor. Todd (1980, p. 118) noticed of adjacent, quadrangular buildings at Höyücek (ShP) (Duru food preparation areas with storage facilities (Özdoğan, E.,
that they had subsistence economies based on farming, and Umurtak, 2005). The western Anatolian sites were 2015:43).
but were also placed in strategic locations aimed at the characterized by free-standing wattle and daub houses
exploitation of specific resources, for example Cappadocian within a quadrangular plan with internal ovens, storage These developments continued throughout the last two
obsidian in the cases of Köşk Höyük and Tepecik-Ciftlik bins and working places in single room houses, as seen at hundred years of the seventh millennium cal. bc and into
(for example, Bıçakçı et al., 2012, Öztan, 2012). Ilıcapınar, Ulucak (Ve-b) (Çilingiroğlu et al., 2012, Figures 25–26). Two the very beginning of the sixth millennium. The dwelling
85

structures in the Lake District were made of mudbrick, had

ovens and areas identified as open space/courtyards, as
manifested at Hacılar (IV and III) (Mellaart, 1970, p. 24).
They were now built on stone foundations, such as in
Kuruçay and Bademağacı, which is indicative of changes
in building technique. The house in Kuruçay 12 consisted
of three adjacent rooms (Duru, 1994, Figure 30). Mudbrick
structures with stone foundations also appeared in western
Anatolia. They were identified at Ulucak (IVg-k), Çukuriçi
VIII and Ege Gübre IV. At the same time wattle and daub
architecture was rapidly abandoned and some circular
structures alien to the region were introduced in Ege Gübre
IV (Çilingiroğlu et al., 2012, Figure 6; Horejs, 2012, Figure
4; Sağlamtimur, 2012, p. 199). Interestingly, no major
changes were reported in north-western Anatolia. The
dominant structures were quadrangular wattle and daub
houses, while round huts existed in coastal settlements
(Gerritsen et al., 2013; Karul, 2011; Özdoğan, 1999;
Roodenberg et al., 2003).
Towards the end of the seventh millennium cal. bc

remarkable changes occurred in the settlement layout. The
new developments comprised enclosure walls, as seen in
the Lake District settlements at Kuruçay 11 and Hacılar IIA
as well as in Ege Gübre III and Yesilova VIII2–1 in western
Anatolia. The buildings were arranged around large
spaces or courtyards (Derin, 2012; Özdoğan, 2015, p. 48;
Sağlamtimur, 2012, Figure 2). Similar spatial arrangements
are reported from north-western Anatolia, where
settlements were transformed into well-organized villages
constructed within a circular plan serving as public areas,
for example at Ilıpınar VI–VA and especially Aktopraklık B
(Özdoğan, E., 2015, p. 50).
Figure 5. Çatalhöyük, TP and South Mellaart, B. 81 house cluster. © M. Barański.
The third major outcome of the Late Neolithic transition

are changes in material culture. The pottery became
widespread and the regional differences very apparent assemblages from Köşk Höyük and Tepecik-Çiftlik. The flake transition due to the transformative character of the
(Özdoğan, E., 2015, p. 35). This is attributed to the and percussion blade industries in that region dominate the imagery of the Early Neolithic origin. It is related to the
increasingly different functions the pots played in daily life, pressure-blade assemblages from Konya Plain. Similarly, a spread of local farmers into new ecological zones. They
such as cooking, carrying and storage (Özdoğan, E., 2015, significant number of large spearheads in the former region transformed this part of western Anatolia into a unique
pp. 35–38). Some vessels served ceremonial purposes, as was made of flint, which was not the material used for ritual landscape.
exemplified by the animal-shaped vessels and cross-shaped projectile manufacture at Çatalhöyük. This is interpreted
bases from Höyücek (Shrine Phase) and Hacılar VI (Duru as an indication of the continuous importance of hunting
and Umurtak, 2005, Plates 60, 61; Mellaart, 1970, Plate in the region (see Özdöl-Kutlu et al., 2015). At the same
57). At the end of the seventh millennium bc, painted time, the Lake District assemblages contained a number of Final Remarks
decoration became a main characteristic of the pottery in large and distinctive scrapers that also appear in the Konya
the Lake District. Plain (Baykal-Seeher, 1994). The Late Neolithic transition is a highly significant
phenomenon. The sites where this process took place are
The lithic technology became equally differentiated, The emergence of rock art in the Latmos region marks of unquestionable significance, which can be ascribed
particularly when compared between Çatalhöyük and the another new development in Anatolia (Peschlow-Bindokat Outstanding Universal Value as specified in the World
eastern part of Central Anatolia, and is best attested by and Gerber, 2012). This art epitomizes the Late Neolithic Heritage Convention, due to their ability to ignite and
86

3
trigger the developments of large communities in areas Byrd, B. F. 2005. Early Village Life at Beidha, Jordan:
beyond the origin of sedentism, domestication or art and Acknowledgements Neolithic Spatial Organization and Vernacular Architecture:
imagery. They need to be protected to the same extent as The Excavations of Mrs. Diana Kirkbride-Helbæk. Oxford,
their Early Neolithic counterparts. I would like to thank Nuria Sanz for her kind invitation Oxford University Press.
to contribute to this volume. I also express my gratitude
The Late Neolithic transition took place locally and largely to her for inviting me to the HEADS meetings in Puebla Çilingiroğlu, A., Çevik, Ö. and Çilingiroğlu, Ç. 2012.
independently. Irrespective of this, it was strikingly similar and Ankara where numerous arguments advocated in this Towards understanding the early farming communities
and arguably guided by some kind of logic. As with the paper came to fruition. I also thank Ian Hodder and the of Central-Western Anatolia: Contribution of Ulucak. M.
Early Neolithic transition, the process did not take place Çatalhöyük Research Project for their continuous support Özdoğan, N. Başgelen and P. Kuniholm (eds), Neolithic
simultaneously across south-west Asia but instead was and assistance. in Turkey: New Excavations and New Research. Western
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89

The Origins of Agriculture And Neolithic Food Storage:

Ian Kuijt
University of Notre Dame, USA
Hunger is a pervasive problem within contemporary and past foods within our lives today, prolonged the shelf life of foods Ethnographic and Archaeological
human communities. Be it due to unanticipated low production and created the necessity of managing wild and domesticated Perspectives on Food Storage
of food crops, a seasonal climatic crisis that reduces the growth foods. By the later prehistoric periods, such as the Early Bronze
of plants or poor storage methods, hunger touches upon, if Age of the Near East, storage features or buildings were non– Food storage is an important foundation for Holocene
not conditions, the lives of most people across the world. One movable structures, created by villagers to control the physical human cultural evolution. Trying to understand the rise of
of the major ways societies deal with hunger and temporary conditions for food storage (Figure 1.). Processing of fresh foods more complex social organizations, archaeologists continue
shortages is to store food through drying, processing and can, of course, play a major role in extending the period people to explore the fundamental aspect of food storage: how is
preserving foods. Food storage is, in fact, a major evolutionary can eat foods, including pickling, brining, smoking, parching, food storage materialised and to what extent can researchers
transition and represents a collective solution to a major human drying and seasoning meat and vegetables. Just as importantly, identify storage practices? (Barrier, 2011; Bouby et al., 2005;
problem. Despite recognition of its importance, researchers humans have developed practical means of using technology to Chesson and Goodale, 2014; Christakis, 1999; Fairbain and
have yet to really understand the mechanism of food storage, store processed foods including reducing storage temperature Omura, 2005; Fairbain et al., 2007; Fenton, 1983; Kent, 1999;
storage efficiency and how groups use storage as a solution to and moisture levels in subsurface pit features and protecting Kuijt, 2009; Martinek, 1998). Depending on circumstances,
get by hard times. There are a host of unresolved questions. foods from insects and pests with the above-ground use of silos food storage is visible and invisible, material and immaterial,
How well does contemporary and prehistoric food storage for storing baskets of dried plant and animal foods. and alternatively, optional or of critical importance. Elsewhere
work under different circumstances and conditions? What researchers have explored links between sedentism and food
temperature, humidity and preparation treatments facilitate As much as we celebrate the technological wonders of food storage. This debate has been expanded and it is now widely
better food storage? Using pre–industrial technology, such as storage, and those of our ancestors, we are left with one recognized that under different circumstances storage facilitates
pits in the ground, how long can grain be stored and how does unmovable reality: even under the best of conditions all food residential mobility as well as sedentism (Stopp, 2002; Testart,
this amount diminish through time? eventually goes bad. The reasons for storage are multiple, 1982). Other studies have tried to understand the broader
including anticipated long–term food shortage, shifting daily role of different types and scales of wild and domestic food
In the past and present, food storage is an important means needs with fresh foods and the desire to have sufficient food storage on demographic growth, the global emergence of early
by which people can be buffered from seasonal or yearly food for guests on short notice. Storage is, above all else, an inventive villages and the transition from more egalitarian to hierarchical
stress, variances in availability works so that daily/weekly short example of how humans attempt to extend the shelf–life of social organization (Cunningham, 2010; Frink, 2007; Kuijt,
falls of wild or domesticated fresh plants or hunted animals are fresh foods, with the underlying goal of securing and storing 2008; Kuijt and Goring–Morris, 2002; Marcus, 2008; Price and
augmented by stored foods. Plants are only seasonally available, sufficient foods to overcome shortages of fresh food, seasonal Feinman, 1995). A number of researchers (Bogaard et al., 2009;
so storage targets are based on projected future subsistence shortages of plants and animals, and periods of scarcity. Christakis, 1999; Wesson, 1999; Wright, 1995) have explored
needs, anticipated yearly growth conditions, estimated food the extent to which food storage emerged as a by–product of
that can be grown, harvested and processed, and then how Farmers, collectors and foragers link food storage to time: powerful households and socio–political complexity and provide
much of this will survive storage over some period of time. This how many months can farmers live on a combination of fresh insights into the importance of storage in the emergence of
entire risk calculation, moreover, requires thinking about the and stored plants and animals, when are fresh foods available social differentiation.
current year, probably a second year as well and anticipating a and when will the stored foods run out? Given seasonal and
host of potential future problems. The background question is, yearly variability in wild and domestic plants, it is clear that early A broad range of research (for example, Forbes and Foxhall
therefore, how much stored food is really enough? The answer agriculturalists were aware of the potential risk of running out 1995; Sakaguchi, 2009) has drawn our attention to the degree
to this question is, of course, linked to how many people you of stored food. Seasons of scarcity and the knowledge that one of sophisticated planning involved in plant storage. They
will have to feed, how far into the future you need to feed can have successive bad growth seasons in a row, provided the argue that storage decision–making occurs at the household
them and if you can predict when you will be able to fill up the evolutionary impetus for the development of better storage level and that household decision–making is based on specific
stock again. technologies and the rational for storing multiple years of circumstances. Given the range of conditions, individual
food to overcome the destruction caused by fungi, insects and households can make similar or different decisions as to
If the domestication of plants and animals is the evolutionary animals. what foods to store, how much food to store and how much
trigger point under which we see the emerging foundation food they can trade without reducing their food security. The
for present–day economies, then it is the construction of following discussion follows the lead of Forbes and Foxhall
purposefully designed storage facilities that entrenches stored (1995, p. 72) who argue that the main aim of households was
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the production of food for direct consumption. This essay is
based on the premise that the goal of most households is that
of self–sufficiency and that depending upon circumstances,
households are likely to have stored foodstuffs beyond their
annual consumption needs. Moreover, the primary focus of
specific economic strategies, including plant selection, would
have been focused on securing food for human consumption.
While animals were at times fed foods that people could have
consumed, I assume that this would have occurred only when
other options such as grazing were exhausted or that the
quality of stored foods had been reduced. This would have
included stored grains infested with insects or spoiled by
rodent activities. Thus, the feeding of human foods to animals
served as a means of converting spoil foods into a different
form.
Food Storage: Goals and Time
Prehistoric people stored significant food beyond their

immediate daily consumption needs. The underlying goal of
storage is to secure sufficient foods for delayed consumption
in the future and, if possible, develop an excess of food that
could be stored for trade, exchange or gifts at some later
advantageous point of time. An excess can be considered
an amount or quantity beyond what is considered normal
or sufficient each year (Hunt, 2000). As is noted by several
researchers (Forbes and Foxhill, 1995; Matson, 2011; Testart,
1982; Wright, 1995), at times storage systems can produce
an excess beyond the immediate annual household needs and
can provide a reserve of grain to overcome spoilage losses,
as well as seed for planting and supply for potential years of
crop failure. Food storage, however, does not always result in
excess. To be a true excess or surplus it is necessary to produce
enough yearly food resources to cover the defined future
subsistence needs of the group, to secure sufficient stored
food to overcome any seasonal or yearly shortage for multiple
years and still have a remaining amount that can be used for
trade, exchange or feeding stock. Thus, when considering
individual case studies, the critical question is not whether
there was storage, but rather was there any food left over
after all normal anticipated needs were satisfied? This is very
different. Understanding normal storage versus an excess has
huge implications for researches reconstruction of past human
economies.
Figure 1. Artistic reconstruction of Early Bronze Age sub–

floor pit food storage, Numayra, Jordan (illustration by Eric
Carlson, from the archive of the Expedition to the Dead Sea
Plain, used by permission).
91

Storage is, of course, only one aspect of interconnected

systems and one means of overcoming seasonal and annual
Mixture lined
food shortages. As noted by Forbes and Foxhall (1995), storage 20
is an intermediary stage embedded within food production, Chaff lined
processing, distribution and consumption. Stored foods can be Unlined
used, eaten and exchanged. At the broadest level, food storage
serves as a means of delaying time allowing people to survive 18
Grain moisture content (%)

during periods of drought, diminished crops and bad years.
As outlined by numerous researchers (for example, Forbes,
2007; Stopp, 2002; Winterhalder and Goland, 1997), there is a 16
range of risk buffering strategies available to hunter–gatherers,
foragers, collectors and farmers. These require varying levels
of labour and results in varying preservation conditions. If we
conceptualise these as a means of delaying energy return, we 14
can see that many risk–buffering mechanisms, such as altering
resource selection or intra–band food sharing, result in only
a limited time delay. These periods, often no more than days 12
or at most multiple months, are useful systems to overcome
short–term seasonal variations in available food resource. The
most efficient risk buffering strategies are field dispersion (the
use of agricultural fields in different ecological, sedimentary 10
and growth contexts) and long–term food storage.
8
0 200 400 600
Variables in Storage Planning
And Preservation Days of Storage
While the overall category of food storage includes both Figure 2. Moisture content (mc) at position (1), middle of the pit at the bottom, in three 1m deep differently lined pits from
the second year in village A. (From Abdalla et al. 2002, Fig. 2).
plants and animals, and a huge range of variation of methods
within these categories, in this essay I focus on storage of
grain. Here I am interested in a simple question: what are the storage that is quantifiable and can be materially traced to Food Storage: Planning and Spoilage
critical variables in grain storage and how was this linked to archaeological features. At times, storage of plant and animal
planning? To address these questions it is necessary to consider: resources requires very different technologies and economic Discussions about grain storage among farmers, collectors and
(a) how much food might have been available under specific practices. With limited exceptions, meat storage is accomplished foragers are largely focused on three issues: how much grain/
food storage practices, (b) how much grain might have been by maintaining animals, thereby requiring the consumption of tubers/other do they need to keep in reserve for next years’
wasted in general terms and then (c) the implications of these meat within a relatively short period of time, probably in most seed stock, how much grain/tubers/other do they need to
parameters to understand the material visibility of food storage cases under thirty days. In contrast, plant resources can be either store for the household so they have enough preserved food
and for the archaeological interpretation of food storage and eaten raw or, with preparation such as drying, can be preserved over the next year(s); and how much of the first two might
potential resource surplus. for an extended period of time. In modelling grain storage, it be lost each year due to fungi, insects and rodents. The last of
is critical to keep in mind that this is an attempt to understand these is critical. Depending on the answer, which is essentially
All farmers, collectors and foragers rely upon a range of and frame only one aspect of a complex web of dietary inputs. an informed gamble based on historical data from pervious
seasonally available, collected, planted, fresh and stored This current modelling does not consider the important role of seasons, a household needs to store a certain amount of grain
foods. Reliance upon different food sources would have varied wild plant resources, plant resources beyond those considered, due to spoilage. Seasonal and yearly levels of storage would
seasonally. It was also connected to available harvesting, marine resources or terrestrial animal resources. As such, this have varied depending upon the specific environmental context
processing and storage technologies and available human modelling is but a preliminary treatment of one aspect of a of villages, the level of household interconnection within and
labour. Modelling of storage, therefore, requires us to think broader subsistence system. Future modelling, drawing upon between villagers and the economic strategies adopted by
about short and long–term decision–making. Let me be clear plant and animal resources, wild and domestic, fresh and stored, people.
that I am not suggesting that farmers, collectors and foragers will be needed to pull apart the synergetic relationships of these
relied only on stored grain, rather that stored plants probably complementary and interconnected food resources.
represent a significant form of long–term (a year plus) food
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Seed Held Back for Planting Ashes and Refuse
Earth (Hydrophobic)
Ethnographic research highlights that the amount of grain held (moisture barrier)
back for planting is connected to each year’s planting needs,
estimated crop yield and in some cases, the volume of storage Circular Skin Cover
and anticipated needs for multiple years. The decision of what (Moisture barrier)
and how much to store probably varied seasonally and would Grass Puncheons
be based on historical consideration of how much seed was (breathable layer) (Wooden support framing)
held back in the previous year and if this was sufficient for
household needs. Holding back seed for planting is essential Grass Circular Skin Cover
as this stock represents the future success and longevity of the (breathable layer) (Moisture barrier)
group. Ethnographic studies demonstrate that the amount of
seed held back for next year planting can be significant and is Corn
often greater than researchers anticipate. Forbes and Foxhall
(1995), for example, note that in rural Greece the amount of
seed held back for planting could be as high as 40% of the
direct consumption needs of the household. In light of the Squash
critical nature of this resource, researchers can assume that
as a minimum, households would hold back 15% of stored Increased Increased
spoilage spoilage
grain as seed stock for next year planting beyond their direct
Reduced
consumption needs. This is clearly an underestimate but for spoilage
modelling purposes it provides a foundation for a better
understanding the materiality of storage. Figure 3. Hidatsa Storage Pit from Buffalo Bird Woman’s Garden (Modified from Forde 1934).
say less than six months and

Spoilage loss rates Research by Hashem et al., (2012) illustrates that in many cases upwards of 50–100% for multi–year storage (Abdalla et al.,
carbon dioxide levels are critical in preservation and highlights 2001). Multi–year storage is likely to be very complex and difficult
Spoilage is a major concern with food storage, including that the need for additional research to understand carbon dioxide to model as commodity losses increase exponentially from year to
lost to fungi, insects and rodents, plant quality, storage time, production from mould growth and how this may impact on year. For example, it is possible that under certain conditions only
and moisture and temperature levels (Abalone et al., 2011; germination rates and long–term storage. In one of the few 10% of grain might be spoiled in the first six months, increasing
Alonso–Amelot and Avila–Núñez, 2011; Beckett, 2011; Hashem detailed experimental studies of sub–surface pit food storage, to 30% by the end of the first year, but having reached 100%
et al., 2012; Jian et al., 2012; Nithya et al., 2011). Based upon Martinek (1998) illustrates that prehistoric Oneota subsurface by the end of a third year (Figure 4.).
ethnographic and archaeological case studies, a number of food storage not only sealed out pests and insects, but also
researchers (for example, Bogaard et al., 2005; Fenton, 1983; resulted in more constant storage temperature and humidity It is also critical to note that in pit features it is common to have
Forbes and Foxhall, 1995; Hill et al., 1983; Martinek, 1998) conditions (Figure 3.). This research illustrates that grain storage differential spoilage in specific pit areas, with commodities rotting
have developed a preliminary understanding of archaeological often results in increased carbon dioxide levels and a decrease at the bottom or sides of pits, often in 5 cm from the pit lining,
storage longevity under highly formalised preservation and in oxygen levels with subsurface pit storage. It is possible, for but not in the centre of the pit (Martinek, 1998). As illustrated
crop processing conditions. A number of experimental studies example, that under some conditions some mould growth may by Belmain and Stevenson (2001), more experimental research
have considered how the design of traditional storage pits, in reduce germination potential but, at the same time also reduce is necessary to better understand the conditions of partial
terms of construction materials and internal organization of spoilage rates. Clearly, improved storage technology, such as spoilage and what flexibility existed with storage of different
grain, and changes in moisture levels, temperature, oxygen and using specific soils for lining pits, has the potential to decrease types of food. It is unclear how quickly and at what rate spoilage
spoilage rates. Experimental research by Abdalla et al. (2001; grain loss rates by decreasing internal moisture levels, reducing occurred, to what extent this rendered different foods uneatable,
2002) looks at the effects of wall linings to change moisture oxygen levels, and restricting access to these areas by rodents if people had strategies (for example, cooking, feeding grain to
penetration within traditional grain storage pits and documents and insects. animals) to get around spoiled food or if spoiled food could be
the effectiveness of chaff–lining of pits (Figure 2.). Research by fed to animals.
Belmain and Stevenson (2001) describe how Ghanaian farmers’ Archaeological and ethnographic research of traditional
indigenous knowledge has improved grain storage through the agricultural storage practices (see Brenton, 1988; Fenton, Spoilage is a major problem with food storage, and ethnographic
use of botanical pesticides, often by pounding the plant into a 1983; Forbes and Foxhall, 1995; Gilman and Boxall, 1974; Hill and biological research illustrates significant spoilage rates within
powder and admixing this with the stored goods. et al., 1983; Martinek, 1998), illustrate that even under good traditional storage systems (Abdalla et al., 2001; 2002). Research
preservation conditions (generally low moisture, controlled by Fenton (1983), Hill et al., (1983) and Martinek (1998) notes
temperature), spoilage rates can be significant in the short term, that even under reasonable soil and moisture conditions, and
93

employing well–designed storage features that reduce moisture Bottom

levels, spoilage rates in traditional storage features are significant 20 North side
within a year and potentially total within three to four years 10 cm
(Figure 5.). Echoing this research, Abdalla et al., (2001; 2002) 37.5 cm
highlight that in the case of subsurface clay lined pits of 1.5 by Center
18
Grain moisture content (%)

1.5 m size, with the pits being thoroughly dried for 90 days South side
before use, insects were found throughout the outer 30 cm of
stored sorghum. They note that in many of their experimental
storage pits moisture levels increased above 13.5% in under
16
a year, thereby creating the conditions for bacteria and fungi
development in other areas of the pit. After three years, stored
sorghum placed in lined and unlined clay pits was unfit for 14
human consumption (Abdalla et al., 2001, p. 79).
Studies from multiple world areas (Brenton, 1988; Forbes and 12

Foxhall, 1995; Gilman and Boxall, 1974), including experimental
research in construction and use of storage features (Abdalla et
al., 2001, 2002; Dejene et al., 2006; Hill et al., 1983; Martinek,
10
1998), and quantification of post–harvest losses and storage
loss using traditional technologies (Adams, 1976; Dunkel, 1992;
Rowley, 1984), illustrate the significant loss of grain while in
storage. Research by Bartali et al. (1986 in Morocco notes that
8
the annual stored grain (wheat) loss was 25%. This echoes 0 200 400 600
previous work by FAO (1977) that outlines a post–harvest Days of Storage (thousands)
loss rate of 25%. Gilman and Boxhall (1974, Table 1) provide
detailed estimates for how long different types of plants can Figure 4. Moisture content changes in chaff-lined pit U over 1000 days of storage with the 13:5% safe storage level noted
be stored in different conditions and with different types of (From Abdalla et al. 2001, Fig. 7). Note that moisture level changes are clearly linked to position within the pit and that in
some cases spoilage is initiated by 200 days.
features. While there are exceptions, they note that in most of
their case studies people store plants for nine to twelve months.
Even in the case of lining sub–surface pit features with straw, Table 1. Individual subsistence needs for one person under a high, moderate,
stone and straw or even with concrete, 70–80% of Turkish and low risk scenarios and variable loss rates
farmers on the central plateau and south–eastern regions only
store grain underground for four to twelve months. In the cases Estimated percentage needs Number of units for one High risk: one years Moderate risk: two years Low risk: three years reserve
when plants are successfully stored for multiple years, people beyond consumption person reserve reserve
would normally replace stored commodities, dry and repack Direct consumption 100
existing commodities and repair storage facilities.
Seed for next year 15% 115
Low loss rate 20% 138 276 414 552
High loss rate 35% 155.3 310.5 465.8 621
Storage: When is Enough, Really Enough?
While early food producing villagers existed within a range of of Methana, Greece, (with an annual rainfall of under 400 in Neopalatial Crete, Christakis (1999:13) similarly argues that
physical conditions and variable human demands, all villagers mm/year), agriculturalist have a near–complete crop failure households of 5 to 10 members developed the capacity to store
had a shared household goal: to stockpile sufficient food to on average every five years. Clearly agriculturalists recognize food stocks for 12 to 21 months. Exploring global ethnographic
overcome subsistence shortfalls each year. It is, of course, that they have to have enough stored food on hand to live and historical records, a number of researchers (e.g., Abdalla et
very difficult to assess how often shortfalls occurred within an through a total crop failure in the next year. They would have al., 2001; Forbes and Foxhall, 1995; Kuijt, 2015) illustrates that
ethnographic and historical contexts, let alone an archaeological also been aware that two marginal years, let alone total crop under many conditions people in traditional societies aimed to
context of the past (see Anderson et al., 1995; Forbes and failures, could occur in a row. Methana farmers maintained store food for upwards of eighteen months.
Foxhall, 1995; Christakis, 1999 for detailed case studies of this two years of grain (a full year grain supply on top of their gain
question). In one of the few studies to explore this question, for the current year) as a storage target (Forbes, 1989; Forbes Collectively, agriculturalists’ ethnographic studies illustrate that
Forbes and Foxhall (1995) demonstrate that in the peninsula and Foxhall, 1995). Based on extensive analysis of food storage household members often set a temporal target of having
94

3
sufficient food stored, in combination of some estimated fresh Rubble cap
foods, to get through two agricultural cycles. Thus, to minimise (Armouring and
risk their aim is to store food for at least two years and quite
Moisture barrier)
likely an even greater period of time. Assuming we can develop
relatively reliable estimates for storage volume/person in a
cultural context, and assuming we know much of a specific
commodity could be stored and the caloric pay off for specific
commodities, then we can compare these to understand the
extent to which food storage reflects long–term planning,
Clay seal Turf and topsoil
normal storage practices and an excess or a surplus. (Moisture barrier) (Moisture barrier)
Storage: How Many Refrigerators does

a Household Need?
Stored
The purpose of storage is that people have food that can be
consumed, albeit by cooking, ready and in the back of the
Grain
house ready to go. The critical question is, however, how much
Rock chalk
food in storage does a family need in order to anticipate future
(surrounding matrix)
Figure 5. Vertical section
seasonal shortages. Ethnographically derived time targets through an experimental
and documentation of the material scale of food storage in cylindrical grain storage
pit. Note overall design
different case studies, provide a means of modelling some and placement of
of these relationships. To address this, we need to model different construction
10 cm
materials (modified from
hypothetical household needs for a hypothetical day. This Hill et al. 1983, Fig. 1).
requires researchers to consider how much food was needed
to meet projected wastage and seeds required for planting (see
Table 1). To facilitate broader modelling of storage, in this paper Using this as a comparative framework we can also estimate
I assume that annual grain spoilage in sub–surface pit features how many units would need to be stored to ensure that food Discussion
varies between a relatively low (20%) to moderate rates of was available in 12 months (one agricultural cycle) or 24
spoilage (35%) (see Table 1). While these annual estimates are months (two agricultural cycles), and can consider the material The critical question here is to what extent do the archaeological
used for modelling, it should be noted that (a) these are likely to manifestations of the increased scale of food storage. Again, remains from different Neolithic and Formative case studies
be low estimates, (b) spoilage rates increase exponentially with it is important to note that many ethnographic studies (Forbes reflect ‘normal’ food storage, versus excess, and what does
time and (c) with traditional sub–surface pits some, or all, stored and Foxhall, 1995; Christakis, 1999) illustrate that household this tell us about Neolithic economy? Drawing on our earlier
grain is unfit for human consumption within 24–36 months. members often view storing food for only 12 months as risky. analysis of spoilage and storage rates, let’s shift our discussion
This relative risky target of having stored food on hand to last to Neolithic storage to think about the extent to which observed
Working on the assumption that individuals, household only 12 months would require storing between 276 and 310 materials remains of storage reflects normal, planned storage
members or villagers need 100 units of generic stored food per units. Storing enough food for 24 months, basically ensuring and the extent to which storage supported individuals and
person for each year, and that there are a range of different that the household could outlast two bad crop cycles, would households at different points of the Near Eastern Neolithic.
preservation conditions at work, then it is possible to model require between 414 and 465 units of storage.
some of the relationships between long–term storage goals, The increased scale of food storage in the later stages of the
storage spoilage rates, seed held back for planting, and total Thus, under these conditions for a household to be able to bank Neolithic does not necessarily reflect a food surplus. As noted
food commodities. Let us assume, for example, that each on having 100 units of food for two years, they would need elsewhere (Kuijt, 2000), proxies of overall population levels
household needs to accumulate and store 15% more seed each to create and maintain material storage conditions for around and site size highlight significant population growth and/
year for planting on top of our 100 units for consumption. This 450 units. This analysis is telling us something very important: or aggregation from the Natufian through Neolithic periods,
takes us to 115 units. Depending upon rate of spoilage and for households to survive, they need to store a lot more food and show that people lived in closer proximity to each other
for the sake of discussion these rates can be calculated at a each year then they physically needed to eat. Granted, this can in later periods. All of these require the economic foundation
low (20%) and high (35%), this means that households would go up or down with complementary seasonal fresh plant food of stored food. As outlined earlier, in contexts of normal food
need to store between 138 to 155 units each year to ensure and does not consider meat contribution to the diet or other risk storage household groups potentially needed to store at least
consumption of 100 units of food over a single year. minimisation strategies, but the bottom line is the same: stored 3–4 times more food than they consumed each year. Assuming
food is insurance and to survive households had to routinely this archaeological–ethnographic based modelling represents
invest in the future and have lots of food kept in reserve. a reasonable target, then it is highly unlikely that households
95

could have stockpiled sufficient stored foods to generate any night: How many people are coming to dinner and just what Beckett, S. J. 2011. Insect and mite control by manipulating
form of food surplus. Simply put, we don’t have archaeological should I do with the slimy veggies in the back of the fridge? temperature and moisture before and during chemical–free
evidence to convincingly argue that there was large–scale food published in Environmental Archaeology: The Journal of Human storage. Journal of Stored Products Research, Vol. 47, pp.
surplus for these periods. Through time we have bins and pits, Paleoecology, My thanks to all the comments and feedback of 284–92.
but the number of these features, as well as their potential the participants of the HEADS meeting. Specifically, I would like
volume, does not appear to reflect the capacity for significant to thank Nuria Sanz, Chantal Connaughton, A. Marchiniak, R. Belmain, S. and P. H. Stevenson. 2001. Ethnobotanicals in
levels of grain storage, let alone an excess of food. Dennell and A. Prentiss. Ghana: Reviving and modernising age–old farmer practices.
Pesticide Outlook, Vol. 12, pp. 233–38.
The major implication of this consideration of food storage is
that people did not control and store an excess of plant foods Bogaard, A. Charles, M. Twiss, K.C. Fairbairn, A. Yalman, N.
before or during the early stages of domestication. As outlined Bibliography Filipovic, D. Demirergi, G.A. Ertug, F. Russell, N. and Henecke,
elsewhere (Kuijt, 2012, 2015), there is no archaeological J. 2009. Private pantries and celebrated surplus: storing and
evidence for large food excess in the pre–domesticate and Abalone, R., A. Gastón, R. Bartosik, L. Cardoso, and J. Rodríguez. sharing food at Neolithic Çatalhöyük. Antiquity, Vol. 83, pp.
transitional moments, and it is only in the post–domesticate 2011. Gas concentration in the interstitial atmosphere of a 649–68.
period, some 1,000 to 1,500 years after the first domesticates wheat silo–bag. Part II: Model sensitivity and effect of grain
appeared in the Near East, that there is solid evidence for large storage conditions. Journal of Stored Product Research, Vol. Bogaard, A., Jones, G., and Charles, M. 2005. The impact of
volume food excess. This discussion indicates that the drastic 47, pp 276–283. crop processing on the reconstruction of crop sowing time and
increase in the scale of storage in the later Neolithic was a cultivation intensity from archaeobotanical weed evidence.
materialisation of a new economic emphasis on storage as Abdalla, A, T., C. J. Stigter, H. A. Mohamed, A.E. Mohammed, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Vol. 14, No. 4, pp.
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Zooarchaeology in Transitional Societies:

Evidence from Anatolia, the Bridge between
the Near East and Europe
Evangelia Pisşkin
Middle East Technical University, Turkey
Abstract surely a ‘revolution’ for it altered radically the way we live. use to demonstrate it. At first, researchers in this field
After millions of years of scavenging, hunting and gathering highlighted the smaller size that domestic animals exhibited
This chapter summarizes the attempts to domesticate animals foodstuffs, we became food producers, thus creating the in comparison to their wild ancestors. Morphological
in Anatolia and traces the ways that people experimented conditions for wealth to be accumulated. changes, such as in the shape of horns of caprines or the
with it. New evidence and recently published synthetic facial shortening in pigs, were also important indicators
works have shown that animal husbandry was incorporated Where, how and when this big step in the history of (Uerpmann, 1979; Meadow, 1989). Nevertheless, as our
into Neolithic economies through highly variable paths and humankind was taken and what motivated our ancestors to knowledge about ancient human – animal interactions
applications. The relationship of humans with animals abandon their old lifestyle for a new one are questions around increased, so did our doubts regarding our own methods.
encompassed hunting, managing and herding, and the which heated debates are still woven. Likewise, discussions It has now become clear that morphological changes
species chosen differed amongst the settlements involved. about whether the ‘Neolithic economy’ was founded at required a long time to become substantial enough to be
Over the course of about a thousand years of advancing once, at a single ‘core’ area from which it spread or if it was visible in the zooarchaeological record (Vigne et al., 2000;
and retreating, domestication was finally completed and ‘invented’ many times at many localities seem endless. Zeder and Hesse, 2000). Zeder (2011, p. 227) states that
the dominant species were sheep and goat. South-west animal management started at least 1,000 years before
Asia holds a central place in these transformations as it was Recent advances both in zooarchaeological methodology, such evidence can be detected in animal remains. What is
there that some of the earlier evidence of such innovations as well as new archaeological discoveries have accumulated more, when the wild progenitor was present in the area,
was found. Research in the Levant is abundant and well much new knowledge and have given rise to new interbreeding could not be safely excluded and continuous
presented in literature. In contrast, the lands of Anatolia are interpretations. One cannot speak of domestication and flow of ‘wild’ genes into the ‘domestics’ slowed down these
less well known. Until recently, archaeological excavations Neolithic economies without referring to the seminal article processes (Zeder and Hesse, 2000, Hongo and Meadow,
that reached layers of this transitional phase of the Pre- by Bar-Yosef and Meadow (1995). The synthesis of what 1998). Additionally, reduction of body size does not always
Pottery Neolithic (PPN) were very few, and large parts of was known at that time showed that crop agriculture reflect domestication but often, sexual dimorphism when
Anatolia were thought to lack this cultural horizon. It was preceded animal husbandry and that the cradle of these females are sought more than males (Zeder, 2001; 2011;
thought that the ‘Neolithic package’ arrived there from developments was the southern Levant. Sixteen years later, Peters et al., 2005).
the Levant fully developed and was then transmitted to Zeder (2011), in her article with the same title as Bar-Yosef
Europe. Not long ago, fresh information and in some cases, and Meadow’s, argued that the two processes were at Demographic profiles are amongst the most powerful tools
totally unexpected discoveries moved the spotlight to this action roughly at the same time and happened multiple for recognizing human interference with animal populations.
region, showing clearly that this part of the world played an times throughout the entire Fertile Crescent. In these, the ratio of female to males slaughtered was an
important role in the development of domestic economies. indicator on the grounds that surplus males should be first
Anatolia has now emerged as a major centre of animal The conditions under which these early efforts to removed from herded flocks. Slaughtering schedules are
domestication. manipulate the natural environment began hold the key to also very informative with regards to the management of
understanding the why and how behind this fundamental animals. This evidence together makes a stronger case and
economic change. The focus of this chapter is the period the focused killing of young males is considered a good
preceding fully developed agropastoral economies. marker for the existence of domestic or managed flocks. .
Introduction
Advances in the field of palaeogenetics provided a new
About eighty years ago, Gordon Childe (1936) coined and very important line of evidence that helped unravel the
the term ‘Neolithic Revolution’ to describe the transition Defining Domestication entangled strands of the history of domestication by pointing
from hunter-gathers communities/economies to ones of in the Zooarchaeological Record out its likely timing and place (see for example, Luikart et al.,
farmers. Today it is firmly established that Neolithic was not 2006, Bruford and Townsend, 2006, Pedrosa et al., 2005;
a ‘revolution’ but rather an ‘evolution’ as it required a long Amongst the major issues of tracing the when, where Bradley and Magee, 2006; Larson et al., 2005). The recently
time for the process to be completed. Nevertheless, it is and how of domestication is what criteria we should fine–tuned method of geometric morphometrics added a
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Evidence from Anatolia, the Bridge between the Near East and Europe
3
new tool for measuring not only size, but also proportional
change and appears to be more sensitive than traditional
osteometric methods in recognizing domestic forms of
animals (Evin et al., 2013).
Further help comes from the realm of chemistry. Analysis of

the ratio of carbon and nitrogen isotopes has shed light on
the diet of animals and used as an indicator of ‘free-ranging’
wild and fodder-fed domestic animals (Lösch et al., 2006).
Another proxy indicator of domestication is the presence of
dung within settlements, as this is a sign for ‘stabling’ animals
within the site (Stiner et al., 2014). Phytolith concentrations
representing potential fodder plants have also been used as
another line of evidence (Stiner et al., 2014).
Lastly, the occurrence of animals outside their natural

habitat is the most obvious marker for human managing
and domestication. Nevertheless, it does not necessarily
need to be done after a fully developed domestic economy
is in place, as shown by the transportation of managed and
wild animals from the mainland south-west Asia to Cyprus
(Vigne et al., 2000, 2011).
The Archaeological Sites in Anatolia

and their Dating
Figure 1: Location of sites mentioned in the text. © Evangelia Pişkin
Excavated Aceramic sites are distributed unevenly in Turkey

with clusters in regions where salvage excavations were
necessary and around famous sites such as the Neolithic east Anatolia and the Levant, and proposed another here. The two Aceramic periods of the Early and Mature
site of Çatalhöyük, inscribed on the World Heritage List in chronological scheme that departs from Kenyon’s. The first Aceramic Neolithic are followed by the Pottery Neolithic
2012, under criteria (iii) and (iv), and the Archaeological Site phase, called EA (Early Aceramic Neolithic, subdivided into phase and include the last layers of Çayönü, Akarçay
of Göbeklitepe, submitted to the World Heritage Tentative EA I and EA II) denotes the cultural horizon characterized and Mezraa Teleilat, as well as several other sites that are
List in 2011 under criteria (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (vi). As a result, by round house architecture, and starts roughly in the last excluded here because they lack aceramic layers.
there are ‘clusters’ of Aceramic sites in east, southeast and centuries of the eleventh millennium bp (Rosenberg and
central Anatolia. The terminology and periodization of Erim-Özdoğan, 2011). It includes the sites of Hallan Çemi, Özbaşaran and Buitenhuis (2002) have expressed similar
the Aceramic or Early Neolithic or Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Demirköy, Körtik, Biris Mezarliğı, Soğut Tarlası, Hasankeyf reservations as to whether the Pre-pottery Neolithic (PPN)
the south-west Asia is complicated. Largely, it still follows höyük and Gursin, as well as the first phases of Çayönü model that was designed for archaeological sites in the
Kenyon’s chronology (1956, 1960) with some subsequent and Göbekli Tepe. The Early Aceramic (EA) may be preceded Levant is applicable to central Anatolia. Their response was
refinements (see for example, Bar-Yosef, 1991, and Kuijt by a phase called ‘Proto-Neolithic’: Hallan Çemi may be to propose a new system called ‘Early Central Anatolia’
and Goring-Morris, 2002). This chronological scheme considered as transitional from this early and poorly known (ECA). This chapter will address two phases of this system
has the following divisions (cal. bp): Pre-pottery Neolithic phase to the EA, and is currently the earliest published (dates in cal. bc):
A (PPNA) (10,500–9200), Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) settlement in the region. The lowest levels of Çayönü and
divided to Early Pre-pottery Neolithic B (EPPNB) (9200–8300) Göbekli are seen as transitional from EA to MA (Mature ECA I, including the time period from the Younger Dryas to
and Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic (MPPNB) (8400–7500) and Aceramic Neolithic), which represents the second phase of c. 9000 cal. bc. This covers the Epipalaeolithic and PPNA/
finally Late Pre Pottery Neolithic B- Pre Pottery Neolithic C/ the Aceramic Neolithic tradition (subdivided into MA I, MA PPNB. Included in this time frame is the site of Pınarbaşı
Late Neolithic (PPNB–PPNC/LN) (7500–6000). II and MA III) and is characterized by rectilinear architecture. rock-shelter (area B, the Epipalaeolithic phase).
Göbeklı IIA, most of the phases of Çayönü, all of Nevali Çori
Rosenberg and Erim-Özdoğan (2011) discussed the and Gürcütepe and the lower phases of Akarçay, Mezraa ECA II from 9000 to the late eighth millennium cal. bc
discrepancies between local developments in south- Teleilat, Yeni Mahalle – Baliklıgöl, Hayaz and Gritille, belong corresponding to the Levantine Early/Middle PPNB to Late
99

PPNB. The sites of Pınarbaşı A (8540–8230), Aşıklı Höyük

(8210–7480), Musular (7480–7080), Boncuklu (8400–
7800) and partly Can Hasan III (7600–6650), Suberde
(7460–6770) and Çatalhöyük East (7400–6200) belong
to this time bracket.
The South-East Anatolian Sites
The Euphrates Region
Göbekli Tepe is a unique site in that all the architecture

excavated until now has demonstrated a public character.
Its faunal assemblage is dated to the Late PPNA/Early PPNB
(Peters et al., 2005; von den Driesch and Peters, 1999).
The food provisioning relied on hunting a large variety of
wild animals, of which the dominant species were gazelle
and aurochs. Deer and pig were also hunted, as well as a
surprisingly large number of foxes. Sheep had a minor role
and goats were absent.
Nevali Çori is situated in a more hilly terrain, relatively Figure 2 : Aşıklı Höyük, step trenches at the west side of the settlement showing the sequence of layers. Picture printed with
kind permision of Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran.
close to Göbekli Tepe. The majority of the bones analysed
belong to the Early/Middle PPNB layers. The main species
hunted was again gazelle. According to Peters et al.
(2005), sheep in the mid-late ninth millennium were
intensively managed, smaller than their wild counterpart
and hence more likely domestic but it constituted only
a small component of the assemblage. Goats were wild
and minor contributors. Peters et al., (2005) report a trend
through time for Bos, Sus and Ovis/Capra that became
more important at the expense of gazelle. They also argue
that at Nevali Çori there is some of the earliest evidence
for pig management, at around 7500 cal. bc. The work of
Lösch et al., (2006) on isotopes showed that all smaller
sized but morphologically wild individuals amongst sheep,
goat and pig had been foddered with legumes and were
thus under human control. Nevali Çori is now under the
waters of Atatürk dam.
Gürcütepe II is one of four low mounds located just 12 km

away from Göbekli Tepe. The materials studied belong to
the Late/Final PPNB (Peters et al., 2005; von den Driesch
and Peters, 1999). The species composition from Gürcütepe
differs greatly from the earlier Göbekli Tepe. Especially
important is the existence of domestic goat at Gürcütepe.
The absence of wild goats at Göbekli Tepe was considered
as evidence that this region was not within the natural
habitat of this species, and therefore, goats were introduced
into the area after their domestication as a founder stock. Figure 3: Aşıklı Höyük, view of the 8th millenium settlement. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran.
100

3
Figure 4: Aşıklı Höyük, mid-ninth millenium activity area. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran.
101

Figure 5: Aşıklı Höyük, in situ scapulae on the floor of 8th millenium building. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran.
Domestic sheep were abundant at the site by 7500 cal. bc argued that they may represent imported stock. In contrast, and Tornero, 2008). Dominant species were sheep and goat,
and there was also evidence for some domestic cattle and cattle and pig show a gradual decrease in size and the with sheep being more numerous. Second in importance,
pig. Gürcütepe appears to have a fully grown agropastoral faunal materials include both large and small individuals. were cattle and then pig. There was also minor hunting of
economy. The area where the four mounds of Gürcütepe Small, presumably domestic forms of all four species make cervids, equids and gazelle.
stand is now invaded by modern buildings. up the most of the bone assemblage in the LPPNB (Late
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B). The Aceramic phase of Gritille spans the LPPNB. There is
The Mezraa Teleilat assemblage was studied by Ilgezdi evidence for cattle herding whilst auroch hunting continued.
(2008). Domestic sheep and goats appear from the earliest The published data on Akarçay refers to the later phases About 80% of the bones come from domestic caprines
levels of MPPNB (Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B). Ilgezdi of the site, dating to around 6480 to 6080 cal. bc (Saña amongst which sheep was the more numerous than goat.
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Figure 6: Çayönü, general view. The rolling hills of the "Fertile Crescent" in the background. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mehmet Özdoğan.
Figure 7: Çayönü, aerial view. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mehmet Özdoğan. Figure 8: Çayönü, detail of the Grill phase. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof.
Mehmet Özdoğan.
103

Figure 9: Musular, general view. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran.
Most sheep (60%) were killed before reaching two years of determined (Buitenhuis, 1985). Hayaz was also flooded by herding we also have the earliest evidence of cattle herding.
age. The next most important species was the pig, followed the Atatürk dam. Pigs were wild but managed intensively from the middle of
by cattle. The pig is referred to as wild or at very early stage the eighth millennium. Cafer höyük is now under the waters
of domestication (Stein, 1986). The site was flooded by the In his later publication of the faunal assemblage from Cafer of Karakaya dam.
waters of the Atatürk dam. höyük, Helmer (2008) proposed that sheep were hunted in
most of the ninth to eighth millennium bc but were managed
At Hayaz Höyük, there were domestic sheep and goat, by intensively in the late eighth millennium cal. bc. Goats were
the mid-eighth millennium cal. bc, but the status of cattle dominant in the bone assemblage, and were both hunted
and pig was uncertain. There were aurochs, boars and some and herded in the late ninth and early eighth millennium
smaller individuals but their domestic status has not been cal. bc. At the same time, when we find indications for goat
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The Upper Tigris earlier, during the preceding Grill phase, but it is clearer domestication’ (Rosenberg et al., 1995, 1998; Redding,
in the following Channelled building phase (Hongo et al., 2005).
Çayönü is perhaps the most important site for understanding 2009). Based on this evidence, the authors argue that there
early animal husbandry, domestication and the development were domestic cattle in the Middle PPNB, and perhaps Interestingly, no aurochs remains have been identified
of village communities in this region, because it is the slightly earlier. apart from three bones (Starkovich and Stiner, 2009) and
only site with occupation layers covering the whole time an aurochs skull, which was likely hanging on the walls of
span of the period in question. Habitation starts from the Sheep and goat in the late PPNA and early PPNB were one of the public buildings (Rosenberg, 1999). Evidence
Early Neolithic II ( which corresponds to the end of PPNA wild. In the later, channelled building phase, Hongo et al., of feasting has been found in the central area, comprising
in Kenyon’s chronology) through the first phases of the (2005) reported some mild phenotype changes and argued a large number of animal bones and burned cracked
Ceramic Neolithic (Pottery Neolithic) (Rosenberg and Erim- for the management of small herds. In the Large Room stones (cooking stones) (Peasnall et al., 1998; Rosenberg
Özdoğan, 2011), with only one possible hiatus in part of the phase, many more small caprines are found but Hongo et and Redding, 1998). In this context, the bones of young
earliest phase (9300–8700 cal. bp. The phasing of the site al. (2005) believe that this size reduction is not the result caprines, many of them still in an articulated position, are
has been established according to the architectural forms of domestication but due to the increase of females in the most abundant. Other species include red deer, pig and
and has the following dates reported as ‘absolute bp’ (Erim sample. In addition, caprines have higher survival rates in many carnivores like fox, bear, wild cat and marten, and
- Özdoğan, 2007): Round Building phase (EA II or PPNA, the later phases in contrast to pigs and cattle, which were many tortoises. Deer and sheep skeletal representation is
10200–9400 bp), Grill Building Phase early (EA II or PPNA, progressively killed at a younger age. heavily biased towards meat bearing bones whilst lacking
9400–9200 bp), Grill Building Phase late (MA I or early PPNB, bones with less meat. In contrast, pig skeletal representation
9200–9100? bp), Channelled Building phase (early MA I or The most important change is the increase in caprine documents complete carcasses. These observations gave
PPNB, 9100–9000 bp), Cobble paved Building phase (MA II percentages in the sample accompanied by a marked rise to an argument for the presence of ‘managed’ pig on
or Middle PPNB, 9000–8600?), Cell plan Building phase (MA decrease in hunted taxa variety and proportions. Parallel the site as opposed to sheep and deer that were hunted
II or Late PPNB, 8600–8300 bp), Large Room phase (MA III or with this is the reduction in the importance of pig, which and butchered some distance away (hence the lack of
PPNC, 8200–8000? bp). was the most intensively exploited species during the some skeletal elements). It should be noted that the
first phases of the settlement. This shift is first observed proportion of sheep to goat in the assemblage from the
At Çayönü, the pig was the most heavily exploited species in MPPNB whilst a second and clearer shift is documented central area differs significantly from that in other parts of
(Hongo et al et al. 2004). It was heavily hunted from the in the Late/Final PPNB (Hongo et al., 2005, 2009). Caprine the settlement. In the central area, the ratio of sheep/goat
beginning of the settlement of the site and the first evidence dung is also found at this phase in the site. Together this = 18:1 whilst in the peripheral areas the ratio decreases
for ‘management’ begins in the late ninth to the early evidence shows a dramatic change in the economy. to half (sheep/goat = 9:1). Starkovic and Stiner (2009)
eighth millennium cal. bp. In the mid-late eighth millennium argue that the hunting practices resemble more the earlier
cal. bp, pig management is clearly shown by evidence for size It is argued that evidence for the domestication of all four Palaeolithic ones than similar practices of the same period
reduction, age and sex selection (Hongo and Meadow, 1998, animals appear at about the same time (end of early PPNB in the Levant. Nevertheless, Peasnall et al. (1998) call it a
2000; Ervynck et al., 2002; Hongo et al., 2002). According and the beggining of the middle PPNB) at Çayönü, but ‘second autochthonous centre of Neolithization’ (second to
to the same authors, the decrease in the size of pigs started it is uncertain whether or not we are dealing with local that of the Levant). Hallan Çemi is now under the waters of
during the Grill phase but because the hunting of wild boar domestication or stock imported from other regions (Hongo the Batman dam.
continued, the bones of both large boar and small domestic et al., 2009). Wild (maybe domestic too) pulses were
pig are present. Evidence for Linear Enamel Hypoplasia is preferred to cereals at this site, and the exploitation of nuts Demirköy (Demircitepe) is located around 40 km south
also recorded, but nevertheless, it is more abundant in the and fruits was also intensive (van Zeist and de Roller, 1992). of Hallan Çemi and it is slightly younger. The animals
early/middle PPNB than in later phases (Ervynck et al., 2002). consumed were all wild. There is no evidence for the type of
It appears that the pigs at Çayönü were something between Hallan Çemi has the earliest deposits of all excavated sites pig husbandry evidenced at Hallan Çemi, but rather a shift
wild and domestic, and they may have been domesticated in in south-east Anatolia, dating to the end of 11th millenium to caprines is mentioned (Rosenberg and Erim-Özdoğan,
LPPNB Gürcütepe at a time earlier than in Çayönü (Ervynck bc (Rosenberg et al. 1998). The inhabitants were sedentary 2011). The plant gathering is similar to Hallan Çemi in that
et al., 2002; Peters et al., 2005). foragers who did not collect cereals but rather pulses, nuts cereal exploitation is again missing and the focus is on
and fruits (Savard et al., 2006) and hunted wild animals. The pulses, nuts and fruits (Savard et al., 2006).
Cattle were heavily hunted during the Round Building species mostly hunted is the sheep. Sheep mortality profiles
phase of the settlement. Isotope work on cattle and red show some emphasis on culling young animals between Körtik Tepe. Arbuckle and Özkaya (2006) published a
deer bones suggest that the diet of cattle changed in the one to three years old (Redding, 2005). Wild goats were detailed report of a small bone assemblage from this site
Channelled phase and this together, with some decrease in a minor component of the diet. Pig remains show some dating to the tenth millennium. A variety of wild animals
size and changes in the slaughtering schedule, may indicate management trends escalating through time (such as a were hunted but there is some evidence of the possible
foddered domestic cattle or, better, intervention with the slight reduction in size, increases in the percentages of pig, management of sheep, some of which may occasionally
aurochs populations that eventually led to the domestication some over-representation of males and young individuals, have been kept in captivity. Sheep is the most abundant
of cattle (Hongo et al., 2009). The shift towards slightly and a few foetal remains) that may indicate ‘incipient species and its culling shows a concentration on animals
smaller and younger culled cattle has been observed even between one and three years old, although metrical data
105

do not show any reduction in size or sex selection. Heavy caprines but also a few aurochs and equids (Buitenhuis, Can Hasan III is one of the few Aceramic sites in the region
hunting of aurochs is attested with a focus on very young 1997). The inhabitants of the site were maybe poaching and is important in that it overlaps with the last layers
animals, less than one year in age, whilst wild goats make the newborns or heavily pregnant females and confining of Aşıklı and the earlier layers of Çatalhöyük. Detailed
up a small component of the bone assemblage. Pigs are them till they were fattened enough for slaughter (Stiner information about the animal bones recovered at the
few, wild, and both young and old were targeted for et al., 2014). These records have given rise to arguments site is not yet available. It seems that hunting of wild
consumption. Benz et al. (2013) have recently reported for the local evolution of sheep husbandry. Comparisons of animals, domestic and wild cereals and pulses are the main
Epipalaeolithic layers at this site, and mentioned that this measurements of sheep from this site and the wild sheep components of economy at Can Hasan III. In a preliminary
site is the core of a locally developed tradition. Nevertheless, from Göbekli Tepe showed that the Aşıklı sheep were smaller report Payne (1972) argued that in mid–eighth millennium
results are preliminary and detailed analysis is pending. overall and led Peters et al. (2013) to argue for the possibility cal. bc, the cattle were domestic. In later deposits of the late
of domestic individuals in the assemblage during the mid- seventh millennium fully domestic crops and animals appear
Hasankeyf höyük. Work at this site is recent and in progress. eighth millennium. At the same time as the intensification of (Payne, 1972; Martin et al., 2002).
The first excavated layers belong to the second half of tenth sheep exploitation we have the first evidence for domestic
millennium cal. bc. The first results showed that in the PPNA wheat even though wild wheat is also present. Çatalhöyük. During the early phases of Çatalhöyük (around
layers there were no cereals and no domestic animals. Sheep 7400 cal. bc) neither cattle nor pig was yet domesticated.
was the dominant species and no wild cattle has yet been Musular is located just 400 m from Aşıklı höyük across Nevertheless, domestic sheep and goat are present from the
found (Miyake et al., 2012). the Melendiz River and dates to the mid-eighth–seventh beginning of the settlement (Martin et al., 2002, Russell et
millennium cal. bc. Özbaşaran (2011) suggests that the site al., 2005). Goats were not important at this time in central
Gusir höyük. There is no detailed publication of animal is a satellite of Aşikli and had no residential function but was Anatolia but they appear as domestics at Çatalhöyük from
bones yet, but it has been reported that no evidence of instead used for feasting or ritual involving cattle since the the earliest phases of the site (Russell and Martin, 2005).
plant cultivation and no domestic animals have been found vast majority of bones recovered are from aurochs. It is also interesting that the assemblage from the off-site
at this site that dates to roughly the second half of the tenth KOPAL area differs from the one at the main mound of
millennium cal. bc (Karul, 2011). Çatalhöyük in that cattle dominates whilst at the rest of the
site caprines are more abundant. Domestic cattle appear in
The Konya Plain Sites the mid-seventh millennium cal. bc. Pig finds are surprisingly
few since the environment around the site should have been
The Central Anatolian Sites Boncuklu is one of the early earliest sites in the Konya favourable for this species (Russell and Martin, 2005).
plain, and dates to 8400 to 7800 cal bc. (Baird, 2007). It
The Cappadocian Sites is contemporary with Aşikli Höyük layer 4 where caprine
herding was attested (Stiner et al. 2014) but here, at
Aşıklı höyük is the key site for the Aceramic period in central Boncuklu, such a practise is not chosen, instead meat is The Lake District Sites
Anatolia with a long sequence (c. 900 years, 8400–7300 cal. secured through hunting of wild animals. Wild sheep were
bc) of occupation, extensive excavation and a large body a minor component of the bone assemblage compared with Suberde was famously named ‘a hunters’ village’ by Perkins
of published data. It stands out for the intensive focus on wild pig and aurochs. It is the only site in the region in which and Daly (1968; see also Perkins, 1973). The site dates from
sheep exploitation (Buitenhuis, 1997; Stiner et al., 2014). wild pig is not a minor component of the faunal assemblage the second half of the 8th to first half of seventh millennium.
Even though morphologically sheep were wild from the (Baird, 2012, 2007; Arbuckle et al., 2014). Domestic cereals They reported a subsistence based on the hunting of wild
beginning till the end of the sequence, multiple lines of appear around 8300 cal. bc (Baird, 2012). sheep, goat and boar even though domestic sheep and goat
evidence prove that sheep populations were managed. were already known at Çatalhöyük. Nevertheless, Arbuckle
The Pınarbaşı locality comprises of an Epipalaeolithic (2008) re-examined a portion of the assemblage and argued
In the earliest layers, several species of animals were hunted, rock-shelter and a low mound with later occupation. The that caprines may have been managed.
but within a few centuries, sheep comprised c. 74% of the economy of the Epiplaeolithic phase is characterized by
faunal assemblage in the first half of the eighth millennium hunting a variety of wild animals and gathering plants,
cal. bc. Evidence from mortality profiles, dietary change mostly nuts but not cereals or pulses (Baird, 2012). In the
(isotopes), neonatal bones, and dung deposits that indicate later phases, sheep was a minor component of the economy Animal Domestication:
penning/keeping at the site appears to indicate small scale and were wild during the ninth millennium cal. bc (Baird, The ‘Long and Winding Road’
herding combined with hunting (Stiner et al., 2014). 2012). In the Late Neolithic (6500–6000 cal. bc) hunted
animals (such as aurochs, equids and deer) and domestic Evin et al. (2013) and Peters et al. (2013) called the process
Sheep and also aurochs were killed at a very young age. sheep are found together in unusually large numbers and of domestication a ‘long and winding road’ to signify the
There is a heavy sex bias: for sheep 58% males and only their skeletal element proportions indicate that complete difficulties in identifying the first morphologically domestic
11% of females died before 6 months (Stiner et al., 2014). carcasses were butchered at the site and then transported to animals and in pinpointing the time, place and conditions
The site has also produced an exceptionally high number feed other villages in the vicinity (Carruthers, 2003). under which these changes occurred. Proxies, like age at
of bones from neonatal and foetal animals, mostly of slaughter or sex ratios, have been found very useful for
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recognizing ‘management’ before domestication but the
results of such investigations often have more than one
interpretation. For example, the focus on killing young
caprines at Körtik, Cafer and Halan Çemi is interpreted by
Arbuckle and Özkaya (2006) as intensive selective hunting
but by Peters et al. (2005) as ‘management’. In Aşıklı
höyük the intensive management of wild sheep has been
called ‘proto-domestication’ by Buitenhuis (1997). In that
context, Arbuckle et al. (2009) feel surprised that after c.
400 years of management, including penning in the site
(which may imply some degree of isolation from the wild
population), there was still no morphological changes in
the animals.
Even with these doubts, decades of research have

accumulated a large body of data and a good number
of lessons have been learned about the grounds on
which we now can more confidently draw inferences. It
is apparent that the processes that led to the adoption of
animal husbandry were complicated and varied, involving
both cultural and biological parameters. Long periods of
experimentation with ‘management’ of wild animals at
first and later the reproductive isolation of these managed
herds from wild ancestors (for what reasons the last
occurred remains elusive) gave rise to the morphologically
changed animals that we call domesticates. These
processes more likely began in the tenth millennium cal. Figure 10: Musular, possible butchery area. Picture printed with kind permision of Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran.
bc and resulted in the first domestic animals in the mid-
to late-ninth millennium in the Northern Fertile Crescent,
that is the geographical area between south-east Turkey,
north Syria, and north-west Iraq (Peters et al., 2005, Vigne, the knowledge gained with it) is abandoned and domestic and Abu Hureyra (north Syria) in the MPPNB (Peters et al.,
2011, Zeder, 2008). caprines dominate the economy (Hongo et al., 2009). 1999). Nevertheless, according to Peters et al. (1999) it is
interesting to note that within the region of domestication
Preceding this stage was the intensification of the In southeast Anatolia, the management of animals before (Nevali Çori) and the earliest diffusion (Abu Hureyra and
exploitation of a single species, often a different species at their domestication has been reported as intensive for pigs Tell Halula) in the MPPNB the percentage of domesticates is
different sites. Nevertheless, it is not always this intensively at Çayönü as well as possibly for cattle and caprines, for small (generalizing, under 30%, the rest of subsistence relied
hunted species that became the future domesticate. In the sheep at Nevali Çori and Körtik, for pig and maybe sheep at still on hunting) which is interpreted by the same authors as
Levant, animal exploitation strategies seems similar from Cafer höyük and possibly for pig at Hallan Çemi. In central pointing to domestication being led by sociocultural rather
the Natufian period up to the middle PPNB but during Anatolia, management of sheep is very clear at Asıklı höyük than environmental reasons.
the latter period, the hunting of Capra replaced in some and possibly at Suberde.
areas the hunting of Gazella (Peters et al., 2005). This shift Cattle seems to have been under control and domesticated
towards Capra is what probably led to the domestication Caprines were arguably domesticated in the Northern in north Syria. Helmer et al. (2005) report that cattle are
of goat in the Zagros area (Zeder and Hesse, 2000; Zeder, Fertile Crescent and sheep more likely in south-east Anatolia already domestic in the early PPNB in D’jade, Syria. They
2001). In contrast, sheep in Syria were a minor component sometime in the ninth millennium cal. bc. Peters et al. were also imported into Cyprus at the end of the ninth
of the hunting regime but in the mid-eighth millennium (2005) explain the earlier appearance of morphologically millennium (Vigne et al., 2000, 2011). It is argued that
cal. bc domestic sheep appear suddenly at Abu Hureyra domestic sheep in areas farther south than Anatolia, cattle were under control from the Middle PPNB at Çayönü
and Halula (Peters et al., 2005). Similarly, at Çayönü there arguing that it was the removal of managed sheep from (Hongo et al., 2009) but the clearest evidence of domestic
was a long period with a heavy reliance on pig and even their natural habitat and to the south that caused those cattle in Anatolia comes from Gürcütepe in the Late/Final
evidence for their ‘management’ (Ervynck et al., 2002) but sheep flocks to be cut off from the wild populations. This PPNB (Peters et al., 2005).
in the last phases, surprisingly, this habit of the past (and accelerated the process of transformation of wild sheep to
morphologically domestic ones in sites such as Tell Halula
107

Efforts to control pigs started in the Anti-Taurus area Why Domesticate? A Short Note alive sheep by the site and a tell-tale sign to the role ‘rituals’
early in the PPNB but the existence in the same area of and Conclusions may have played in the appropriation of animals.
wild populations which were heavily hunted and obviously
interbred with the managed species caused pigs to continue It is argued that prolonged sedentism will bring the need Research in Anatolia has afforded us tantalizing glimpses in
to resemble wild variants of their species throughout most for modification of subsistence strategies, in particular the a dynamic word of people in transition, experimenting with
of the PPNB in Çayonu and Cafer (Ervyck et al., 2002 intensification of resource exploitation (Bar-Yosef, 2000). various adaptations fuelled by both, their natural and social
Helmer, 2008). In the Early and Middle PPNB in Nevali Çori, The need to secure a predicable supply of animals is also environment. One of the key concepts, I believe, is that at
pigs are significantly smaller and their frequencies increase highlighted for these sedentary societies on the grounds that this point of the history of humankind, people decided to
gradually (Peters et al., 2005). It appears that definite within the radius of permanent settlements wild animals will stay within their ‘territories’. Once more Çayönü arises as
human interference with wild pig populations began in the become gradually less and less abundant (Tchernov, 1993). a prime example of the determination of its inhabitants to
Middle PPNB, and in the Late/Final PPNB in various localities Losch et al. (2006) have argued that the availability of stay on the same land for almost 1300 years before actually
in the Anti-Taurus, pigs acquired the typical domestication fodder in early agricultural societies may have encouraged having fully developed that ‘economic basis’ necessary to
traits of a decrease in size and facial shortening. the process of animal domestication. Indeed, agricultural counteract the consequences of sedentism to nature. Staying
waste products such as straw or stems of plants that are on the same land surely must have caused a serious strain
In central–western Turkey domestic animals first appear in not used for human consumption could have facilitated this in resources and a need to re-secure them with a different
the eighth and seventh millennia cal. bc (Peters et al., 2013; process, as it would avoid competition for food resources way of food provisioning. But at the same time, clearly social
Arbuckle, 2013; Arbuckle et al., 2014; Çakirlar, 2012) with between humans and animals. Small numbers of animals processes were stronger than the environmental pressure.
the earliest substantial evidence being that of the caprines could have been captured and kept alive for some time to The ‘glue’ that kept together this world is perhaps the same
from Çatalhöyük in the mid-eighth millennium (Martin et al., be slaughtered when needed, meanwhile being fed on the that keeps us together today. And this might reasonably be
2002; Russell and Martin, 2005). Nevertheless, experiments straw. This could have served well the need for securing a considered to have its roots in the ‘Behavioural Modernity’
are in place as is the case with Aşıklı. What happened little of a ‘walking larder’ at the low percentages we see achieved during the Palaeolithic by the ‘Anatomically
between the ‘proto-domestication’ at Aşıklı (Buitenhuis, during the first stages of domestication. Modern Humans’: the ability to live together in large
1997; Stiner et al., 2014) and the appearance of the first groups, create long distance barter and exchange networks,
domestic sheep in Çatalhöyük is not clearly understood. Another reason to bring the animals alive in the settlement adapt to changing and challenging environments rapidly
Domestic cattle appear about 1000 years later than instead of killing them during the hunt might have been (McBreaty and Brooks, 2000), and keep these achievements
domestic caprines at around the mid-seventh millennium an intention to fatten them up, as is hinted by Stiner et alive by ‘memory’ and ‘ritual’ (Rossano, 2009; Wynn and
(Arbuckle and Makarewicz, 2009; Arbuckle et al., 2014; al., (2014). Indeed to fatten up weak animals could have Coolidge, 2003). These elements gave birth to what could
Russell et al., 2005). Pig was not incorporated properly into been an important reason for what has been observed be described as Neolithic ‘territorialism’ and its consequence
the central Anatolian domestic economy but wild boar was at Aşıklı höyük. Speth and Spielmann (1983) described in and necessary fuel is the Neolithic ‘agro-pastoral economy’.
exploited (Arbuckle, 2013; Arbuckle et al., 2014). All four depth the inadequacy and unhealthiness of a diet based on
domesticates (including pig) are attested in west Anatolia hunted animals that are in poor condition as is the case for
for the first time at Ulucak höyük in the early seventh all wild animals at the end of the winter and beginning of
millennium (Arbuckle et al., 2014; Çakirlar, 2012). Due to spring. This is actually the time when pregnant mothers or Acknowledgements
the lack of information from excavated Aceramic sites in newborns could have been caught, as suggested for Aşıklı.
western Anatolia not much can be said about the state of The (probably limited) availability of straw made it possible I would like to warmly thank Nuria Sanz for inviting
the economy before domestication. It has been argued that for only a small number of animals to be kept in the site me to contribute to this volume. I also thank Chantal
domesticates arrived there through, at least, two waves for a short time every year. This could be the reason that Connaughton for editorial assistance and Dr Robin Dennell
of ‘diffusion’ (Arbuckle et al., 2014): one represented by caprines at Aşıklı were culled so young (under 6 months) for proofreading and helpful comments. I am most grateful
the cultures of south-east Anatolia with a distinctive lack and never became morphologically ‘domestics’. The same to Prof. Mehmet Özdoğan for providing pictures of Çayönü
of pig that spread to central Anatolia and from there to plant by-products may have initially attracted pigs at the and Prof. Mihriban Özbaşaran for providing pictures from
the Marmara region of Turkey, and a second wave that waste grounds of Çayönü, only in this case these would Aşıklı Höyük and Musular. Thanks are also due to Mehmet
followed a coastal route to spread to the Aegean side. Still, have been legumes. Bilgi Er for helping preparing the map of sites.
the question of the possible autochthonous development of
sheep domestication in central Anatolia or, at the very least, The practice of keeping alive animals readily available
experimentation with developing a ‘domestic relationship’ may have had other motives too. Reliefs in Göbekli Tepe
may be considered not fully answered, keeping in mind the have been interpreted as showing sheep hunted with nets Bibliography
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4
Centres of Domestication: East and South-East Asia

4 Centres of Domestication: East and South-East Asia
Trajectories to Agriculture:
Gary W. Crawford
University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada
Research in the late 1970s and early 1980s started a archaeologists still thought that agriculture had diffused Ainu material culture (of the thirteenth and fourteenth
revolution in our conceptualization of early agriculture to East Asia from south-west Asia). The consensus also centuries ad) was similar to that of the Japanese (metal, no
in East Asia. This chapter outlines the myriad trajectories assumed that agriculture diffused to the Korean Peninsula locally made pottery and a few discoveries that suggested
that inform us that agricultural evolution in the region is from China from c. 3500 bp and subsequently to Japan agriculture was part of their history). Extensive flotation
complex. In fact, the region may have one of the most a thousand years later. Some scholars debated that the sampling and archaeobotanical research clarified that
complex histories of agriculture in the world. Primary process was not straightforward; however, supporting data nearly every crop that was being grown in north-east Asia
and secondary origins, the latter involving diffusion and were few and far between. In China during the 1970s and was grown by the Satsumon (c. 1300– 900 bp), particularly
migration, mark the trajectories in Japan, the Korean early 1980s, the Hemudu site excavations demonstrated on the Ishikari Plain surrounding Sapporo (Crawford, 1986).
Peninsula and China. Here I sketch these developments that rice-based economies were well established in China This led to my considering a broader investigation of the
focusing on key sites that inform our current model. by 7000 – 5000 bp (Zhejiang Provincial Museum, 1978) history and anthropology of early agriculture in East Asia, a
Theoretical perspectives are changing as well (Crawford, and that millet production seemed to follow a separate study that continues today (Crawford, in press; Crawford,
2008). The discourse is alive and well, although historical, development path in the north (Tong, 1984). A strong 2014, Crawford, 2011a; Crawford, 2006; Crawford,
diffusionist and deterministic explanations compete understanding of Yayoi period early agricultural economies 1992a; Crawford, 1992b).
with anthropological models set in a human ecological had been developing in Japan (Goto, 1954; Kanaseki
framework. I first examine developments in China, then and Sohara, 1976). In my case, in the late 1970s I had
explore the Early and Middle Holocene records in Japan and investigated the Middle Holocene palaeoethnobotany of
Korea that are roughly contemporaneous with the Early the south-western Hokkaido, Japan Jomon Culture whose Lower Yangzi Basin: the Shangshan
and Middle Neolithic of China. Chinese influences during subsistence economy at the time was undergoing careful Culture
the Neolithic there extended to the Korean Peninsula scrutiny because its material culture looked Neolithic
during the Middle Neolithic but the influence on the (large communities, pottery, grinding stones and other The Shangshan, Kuahuqiao and Hemudu cultures represent
Japanese archipelago at the same time is minimal. By 3500 technology often associated with farming) but no one a sequence spanning the period 11,400 to 5000 years ago
bp intensified food production brought about significant had found any clear evidence that Jomon people were (Liu and Chen, 2012; Jiang, 2013). The Shangshan culture,
changes to the Korean Peninsula (Mumun culture). These farmers. (Crawford, 1983; Crawford et al., 1976). The discovered about 10 years ago, is the first substantial
changes soon reverberated in Japan with the development evidence we recovered suggested that the Jomon in the occupation of the lower Yangzi River Valley drainage basin.
of the Yayoi that eventually impacted Hokkaido in north- region created anthropogenic habitats that were productive To date, fewer than 20 Shangshan sites have been found
eastern Japan as evidenced by the Satsumon ancestors of plant harvesting zones. The Hokkaido Jomon economy may (16 at the time of writing this paper). The Palaeolithic and
the indigenous Ainu people. These developments eventually also have included plant cultivation, but the evidence was the earliest pottery in China are documented farther south
transformed Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands to the south. ambiguous. By the early 1980s, pushback from hunting- at Yuchanyan (Boaretto et al., 2009) but no confirmed
From the perspective of potential UNESCO World Heritage gathering specialists developed the perspective that Palaeolithic sites have been found in the Shangshan area
nominations, no single site or region represents the story the Jomon were affluent foragers who never adopted so the ancestry of the Shangshan culture is not yet known.
of agricultural origins in East Asia. Such sites and regions agriculture (Koyama and Thomas, 1981). This led us to Shangshan culture sites are restricted to an upland region
need to exemplify the complex trajectories and layering examine the late prehistory and protohistory of Hokkaido in (30–100 metres above sea level), measuring roughly 170 by
of pristine and secondary origins as well as their human order to understand the late end of the Hokkaido cultural 70 km among the rugged hills of central Zhejiang Province
ecological, not simply their environmental, context. sequence. In the early 1980s, our research group began centring along the Puyang River about 80 km south of the
investigating the subsistence strategies of the Satsumon Ningshao Plain. This is about twice the area of the Tehuacán
culture, the immediate ancestors of the Ainu, who are the Valley in Mexico and about the same order of magnitude
indigenous people of north-eastern Japan (Crawford and as the Levant region in south-west Asia. Most occupations
Background Yoshizaki, 1987; Crawford, 1986). The general consensus are multicomponent but the Shangshan components
at the time held that the Ainu were cultural and biological consist of irregular pits, some of which appear to be pit-
In the 1970s a growing majority of scholars believed descendants of the Jomon, the last local analogue for dwellings, middens, post holes and, in at least two sites, a
that agriculture began independently in China, although interpreting Jomon settlement and subsistence. Yet the ditch (Figure 2). Preliminary observations of the Shangshan
the timing of its origins was not at all understood (some analogue did not seem appropriate in several respects. culture predecessors of the Kuahuqiao and Hemudu
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4
cultures are based on excavations of four occupations (Huxi, done to determine whether this is evidence of agriculture Figure 1: Map showing locations of sites: 1. Dadiwan, 2.
Shizitan, 3. Houtouliang, 4. Donghulin, 5. Nanzhuangtou,
Shangshan, Hehuashan and Xiaohuangshan; Figure 1), but at the very least, rice harvesting and processing was
6.Cishan, 7. Peiligang, 8. Jiahu, 9. Yuezhuang, 10. Xinglonggou,
three of which are multi-component, being overlain by later taking place. Rice spikelet bases have been recovered from 11. Kuahuqiao, 12. Tianluoshan and Hemudu, 13. Shangshan
occupations. Radiocarbon dates indicate that this culture the Huxi site and they have non-shattering characteristics Culture, 14. Amsadong, 15. Nam River, 16. Tongsamdong, 17.
Nabatake, 18. Itazuke, 19. Etsuji, 20. Torihama, 21. Toro, 22.
spans a period of about three millennia, from 11,400 to meaning that the rice had apparently already undergone
Shimoyakebe, 23. Tareyangi, 24. Sannai Maruyama, 25. Nakano
8,600 bp (Jiang, 2013). The sites have the first evidence of selection by people (domestication was under way). One A and B, 26. Yagi, Usujiri, Kakinoshima, 27. Kashiwagigawa, 28.
rice exploitation in the form of rice chaff tempered pottery. sample of rice embedded in Shangshan site pottery has Sakushu Kotini Gawa and K135, 29. Mochiyazawa and Fugoppe
Cave, 30. Omusaru. © Gary Crawford
Jiang suggests that tempering with rice chaff, leaves and been examined and the results have led to a heated
stems is evidence of rice processing and agriculture (Jiang debate about when and under what circumstances rice
and Liu, 2006; Jiang, 2008). Much more research needs to
115

was domesticated (Crawford, 2011b; Fuller et al., 2007;

Liu et al., 2007).
The Hemudu culture is exemplified by the Tianluoshan and

Hemudu sites at the eastern end of the Ningshao Plain
along the Qiantang River (Figure 3) (Jiang, 2013; Pan et al.,
2013; Liu and Chen, 2012). Kuahuqiao, excavated in the
early 1990s, is at the western end of the same plain and is
the type site for the synonymously named culture identified
at five sites (Jiang, 2013). Two sites are close to each other
in southern Hangzhou while three overlie deposits of the
Shangshan culture in the uplands. Kuahuqiao pottery
vessels are painted and skilfully manufactured. Two
layers of slip, one grey and one red, have been identified;
occasionally some pots were burnished with black slip.
Cooking vessels are grit tempered while other vessels have
evidence of charcoal tempering (Jiang, 2013). Some pottery
is also cord-marked, mainly around handles and lugs. The
preservation here is extraordinary because the deposits are
waterlogged (Jiang, 2013). Extensive plant remains have
Figure 2: Test excavation at the Huxi site showing a deep midden that appears to have accumulated in a ditch constructed
been reported as well as sophisticated wooden architecture around the community. © Gary Crawford
and other normally perishable artefacts. Crucially, rice
management and evidence of significant steps in its
domestication have been documented there (Zheng et 2011; Liu and Chen, 2012). Adzes were hafted and use- km away. Although the late Upper Palaeolithic people
al., 2007) and is clearly further along than it was in the wear analysis of the 11,000 bp adzes at Hutouliang shows of this region were not expressly developing agriculture
Shangshan culture. Other plants were probably managed that they were hafted and used to work wood (Zhang et (they developed strategies to enhance or reduce risk for
too, the peach being one that we have documented (Zheng al., 2010; Shen et al., 2014). These are indications of a their current way of life), the evidence is of a diverse skill
et al., 2014). The Kuahuqiao occupants also managed form of ecological engineering that would eventually be and resource set that provided a range of knowledge and
domesticated pigs and had dogs. Niche construction and amplified by Neolithic people during the Early Holocene choices that would eventually lead to decisions resulting in
plant-human interaction is the subject of recent doctoral in China. That is, woodworking is evidence of tree-felling agriculture and plant/animal domestication.
research at Kuahuqiao (Chen and Pan, 2009; Pan et al., and potentially the construction of dwellings, which would
2016; Pan, 2016). create local, small-scale, anthropogenic habitats over the The cultures in the region dating from 10,000 to 8000 bp
long term. However, Nanzhuangtou also has ditches, pits, are ambiguous and not well reported. However, shortly
a variety of chipped stone tools and pottery (Shelach and after 8000 years ago and possibly as early as 9000 years
Teng, 2013) all suggesting that ecological engineering was ago cultures from north-east China to the Huanghe Valley
North China more than small-scale. These late Pleistocene adzes are so were working with domesticated plants and animals
far the oldest examples in the world. People were exploiting and living in substantially sedentary communities. Sites
North China, in contrast to the Lower Yangzi basin, diverse resources during this period. Starch grains and such as Xinglonggou, Dadiwan, Peiligang, Cishan and
has a substantial late Upper Palaeolithic record. The phytoliths found on the grinding slabs at one of 25 localities Yuezhuang are among the best documented. Sites such
record provides technological and behavioural evidence of the Shizitan site are from a variety of plants, including as Xinglonggou and Yuezhuang have been systematically
of adaptive strategies for coping with the Late Glacial one that produces tubers (possibly a yam) and others that sampled for plant remains by collecting flotation samples
Maximum (LGM) and the roughly 8000 years of climatic and include grasses in the Paniceae grass tribe, the same group and provide insight into how agriculture was developing
biotic changes that took place from the Late Pleistocene to which foxtail and broomcorn millet belong (Liu et al., around 8000 years ago (Crawford et al., 2006; Crawford
to the Early Holocene. Less portable technology such as 2011). Charred seeds from Shizitan 9 (13,800–11,600 bp) et al., 2013; Zhao, 2005).
grinding slabs that are associated with extended use of provide clearer evidence that Paniceae grasses including
habitation sites appear. High logistical and/or seasonal probable green foxtail grass (Setaria italica ssp. viridis), the A brick factory was destroying Yuezhuang, a Houli culture
mobility more typical of earlier Upper Palaeolithic people ancestor of foxtail millet, was being collected (Bestel et al., site that is in the region of the Dawenkou and Longshan
appears to have been lessening during this period. Grinding 2014). Long distance exchange and/or travel is evidenced cultures. The brickworks were closed in order to protect the
slabs reported from the c. 20,000 bp occupation of Shizitan at Donghulin (11,000–8000 bp) where a burial (bone AMS site. Rescue excavations in 2000 and 2003 subsequently
are among the oldest in north China while adzes are in dated to 9500 bp) is associated with a shell necklace (Hao mitigated some of the damage and we have been able
the Shichuan assemblage (22,000–16,000 bp) (Liu et al., et al., 2001). The shells are minimally from about 300 to learn more about the Houli culture as a result. Despite
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Figure 3: The Qiantang River near Hemudu has rich aquatic and river edge Figure 4. The Yuezhuang site (higher area on left) showing the now dry, deeply cut,
habitats. © Gary Crawford Nandasha River Valley. © Gary Crawford
the damage, the area around Yuezhuang today is mainly Xinglonggou similarly evidences another early agricultural The Jomon
farmland and relatively free of significant development. community but belonging to a different cultural tradition
We recovered plant remains from 80 samples, 35 of these than Yuezhuang, the Xinglongwa culture. The site is in The Jomon culture is an extraordinary presence on the
from pits (Crawford et al., 2006; Crawford et al., 2016). north-east China in the Liao River drainage system where Japanese archipelago, lasting from at least 15,000 bp
Among the 453 seeds, the majority are broomcorn millet the later Hongshan culture thrived. Like Yuezhuang, (depending on one’s definition of the Jomon) to about 2800
and rice (about 20% and 6% respectively) and weedy Xonglonggou is an established early agricultural community bp in the south-west and to about 1400 bp in Hokkaido
grasses (9%) belonging to the Paniceae tribe within which with a flexible economy (hunting, gathering, pig (Crawford and Takamiya, 2008; Habu, 2004; Imamura,
broomcorn and foxtail millet are also classified. Only 2% management, millet production). Radiocarbon dates place 1996; Aikens and Higuchi, 1982). This longevity is set
of the seeds are foxtail millet. About 9% is goosefoot the site c. 8000–7500 bp. Locality 1 has 150 rectangular within discussions of resilience of the Jomon through time
(Chenopodium sp.). The remaining roughly 60% of the pit dwellings arranged in rows with a ditch separating and across the archipelago from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
collection comprises other annual, herbaceous plants that two phases of the community development. Burials in In Western literature the Jomon is not normally set in the
thrive in disturbed well-lit habitats such as fields (knotweed/ some cases include people and pigs interred together. This discourse on agriculture, either origins or intensification,
smartweed, Portulaca and unidentifiable legumes) as well excavation was a research endeavour and the surroundings but a few others and I argue that it should be (Crawford
as potential cultigens or plants that would eventually be today are among the least impacted by modern and Takamiya, 2008). Its material culture is, in many
domesticated (Perilla and soybean). The only obvious development in China. Like the Yuezhuang assemblage, respects, Neolithic; however, the Jomon does not fit the
perennials are a few fragments of acorns and some grape, the plant remains are dominated by broomcorn millet with western Asian Neolithic definition that includes agriculture
the latter being a forest edge or open habitat vine. Oaks only about 4% of the millet being foxtail millet (about half (Crawford, 2008). The Jomon is not a single culture, nor
are far more productive in open, sunlit habitats than inside the assemblage is millet) (Zhao, 2005). The assemblage is did the Jomon have the same subsistence everywhere. Its
woodlands. The low quantity of acorns does not give similar in other respects to the Yuezhuang plant remains longevity speaks to its success, although the degree of
much of an indication of the habitat in which they were with other annual plants such as goosefoot and a small success varies depending on the region and time period.
produced; it could have been either woodland or sunlit quantity of acorn and grape. Despite being at significantly For example, archaeologists generally accept that at the
areas. This assemblage indicates that the Houli culture was different latitudes and in different vegetation zones, the end of the Middle Jomon in central Honshu the population
an established food producing community whose local assemblages are quite similar, probably as a result of declined rapidly but eventually recovered (Habu, 2004).
ecology resembles that of later Neolithic occupations, such the anthropogenic nature of the habitats that included In Hokkaido where I have worked, this does not appear
as the Longshan culture Liangchenzhen site. Isotope data cultivated fields around both sites. to have happened. The Oshima Peninsula of south-west
suggest that the human diet at Yuezhuang consisted of Hokkaido had significant occupations spanning the Initial
about 30% millet. through Final Jomon, particularly in the Hakodate area.
The excavations have all been to mitigate development
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Figure 5. The setting of the Xinglongwa site, the type site for the Xinglongwa Figure 6. The Usujiri B site being excavated in 1977. © Gary Crawford
culture to which the Xinglonggou site belongs. © Gary Crawford
so many of the sites are largely gone, although parts of grown during the Middle Jomon. Other important sites that As I have argued elsewhere, the Jomon defies standard
some survive. The Usujiri neighbourhood of Minamikayabe- have clarified Jomon adaptations are Torihama and Sannai classification (Crawford, 2008).
cho (now amalgamated with Hakodate City) has several Maruyama. Torihama has waterlogged deposits and well
important sites: Usujiri A and B, Usujiri Shogakko and preserved remains in well stratified deposits dating from
Kakinoshima. The latter is still in relatively pristine condition the Initial through Early Jomon (Morikawa and Hashimoto,
and is slated for research in the near future. Nakano A 1994). Sannai Maruyama is the largest Jomon occupation The Chulmun
and B, dating to about 9000 bp are initial Jomon sites with (Early and Middle Jomon) known and documents a
pit dwellings and plant remains indicating edge and open complex history and settlement that appears to have been The Korean Peninsula was the home of the Chulmun culture
habitats (Crawford, 1983; Crawford, 1997). Barnyard supported largely by nut tree (chestnut) management (c. 8000–2500 bp) that developed in the Early Holocene
grass, the ancestor of Japanese millet, is common in both (Habu, 2008; Habu, 2004). These studies all point to (Lee, 2011; Nelson, 1993). The immediately preceding
sites. Subsequent habitations in the area continue to have the Jomon people being resource managers (‘resource’ cultures are not documented yet. Much like the Jomon,
evidence of barnyard grass exploitation. By the late Early because lacquer, bottle gourd and tree management are the material culture is characterized by earthenware and a
Jomon, barnyard grass is found in a variety of contexts, not exclusively about food) who domesticated a grass, wide variety of stone tools. Three of the best examples of
including small deposits of the seeds in postholes where soybean and azuki, and possibly even Perilla. In this occupations are Amsadong, Tongsamdong and sites in the
they appear to have avoided damage (Crawford, 1983). respect, some Jomon populations were developing a form Nam River Valley. The earthenware is characterized by linear
Within another thousand years, barnyard grass seeds of agriculture but it was not the type we are accustomed trailing/incising rather than cord marking. Early, Middle and
show a clear response to human selection, with larger to documenting in China. Defining agriculture on the basis Late periods are defined by pottery styles, as are numerous
seeds that were not present in earlier sites representing of rice production is the norm in Japanese archaeology regional variants.
as much as 20% of the seeds at Usujiri B. Lacquer is also and this conceptualization has restricted discourse on the
an important aspect of material culture aesthetics, with nature of the variations of Jomon economies that were not The Chulmun is normally represented in textbooks as a
pottery and clothing painted in lacquer in the Initial Jomon focussed on rice production (Crawford. 2008); whatever hunting-gathering-fishing culture, particularly because
component of Kakinoshima. Seeds of the lacquer tree have the Jomon niche, it was neither hunting and gathering of the significant number of shell mound sites along the
been recovered throughout the sequence in Hakodate. In nor affluent foraging. Neither was it a Chinese form of coast of the Korean Peninsula. However, over forty years
order to produce any quantity of lacquer for painting, the agriculture. The Jomon needs to be examined on its own ago research at the Tongsamdong site suggested that
tree needs to be managed. This management appears terms as an important subsistence form that can at the the Chulmun cultivated plants because the stone tool
to have begun quite early. Lacquer production is clearly very least be discussed in terms of a mixed economy of technology appears to be more Neolithic than anything else
evident at Shimoyakebe in Tokyo where domesticated- hunting, gathering, fishing and resource production. (Sample, 1974). Not until the 1990s was this hypothesis
size soybean and azuki (red bean), and hemp were also tested by the systematic recovery of plant remains by
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flotation. Flotation samples from the site consist of a one (Lee, 2011). Rather than representing a shift from or domesticated in, Japan (Crawford, 2011a; Matsui and
charred seed assemblage comprised of more than 50% hunting and gathering to agriculture, the shift involves Kanehara, 2006). Even rice appears to have been grown in
millet grains (AMS-dated to about 3700 bp) (Lee, 2003; intensification and a greater investment in ecological south-western Japan before the Yayoi makes its appearance
Lee, 2011). The rest of the assemblage resembles what we engineering through the production of water reservoirs as an integrated culture distinct from the Jomon. What was
have been finding at north Chinese Neolithic sites; that is, and drainage systems along with paddy fields. The earliest distinct was the combination of crops grown at a level of
consisting of a variety of Paniceae grasses, and goosefoot Mumun rice is dated to c. 2800 bp (Crawford and Lee, intensity that did not exist during the Jomon.
and other annual, some sun-loving plants. Tongsamdong 2003; Lee, 2011). However, a radiocarbon date on rice
is on a small island in Busan Harbour and given the other from the fill of a Mumun pit dwelling is 3700 bp, suggesting The Etsuji site in Kyushu informs the first steps in the
remains from the site, it would have appeared to have the presence of rice during the Chulmun. The context of transition to the Yayoi (Mizoguchi, 2013). Mizoguchi (2013:
been a specialized maritime oriented occupation. This is this rice grain is secondary or tertiary (redeposited) so 60) proposes that the Initial Yayoi was a hybridization of
the same assumption applied to all coastal shell middens in its association is puzzling for now. Azuki and soybean the local Final Jomon with aspects of the Middle Mumun
the Korean Peninsula. The assumption obviously no longer specimens from the Mumun period are well within the culture of the Korean Peninsula, the likely source of the
holds true. Plant remains from every flotation-sampled size range of domesticated soybean so their evolution new population that was at the foundation of the Yayoi. In
occupation consist of a variety of annual, herbaceous continued as agriculture developed in Korea (Lee, 2011). fact, the Initial Jomon was originally defined because some
plants such as goosefoot and knotweeds (Lee, 2003; Lee, The transition between the Chulmun and Mumun was not pottery assemblages such as the one at Nabatake were
2011). Paniceae grasses, much like in northern China sites, sudden; how the transition proceeded is not well known contemporary associates of Final Jomon and Yayoi styles
are common too. There is a hint of foxtail millet at an Early but likely consisted of local development with significant (Imamura, 1996:134). Nabatake is also multi-component
Chulmun occupation but the identification is ambiguous influence from China. Whether this involved migration is with Early, Middle, Final Jomon and Yayoi occupations
at the moment. Nevertheless, goosefoot and knotweeds an open question. (Kasahara, 1982). Final Jomon samples (although these
are common at the site as are Paniceae grasses. Some may now be considered Initial Yayoi) have rice, Perilla and
Triticeae seeds (probably Elymus or Agropyron), similar foxtail millet and the Yayoi samples add hemp, peach and
to specimens from the Yagi site in Japan, are also part of melon (Kasahara, 1982). Early Yayoi in south-west Japan
the assemblage. Arboreal taxa are possibly more common The Yayoi is defined partly by the absence of Jomon pottery styles.
than at later sites, represented by acorn, jujube and grape. The structure of the buildings is Mumun but their layout is
Given the significant presence of crops at Tongsamdong, The end of the Jomon culture was directly a result of similar to the layout of the local Final Jomon (Mizoguchi,
a middle Chulmun site on the south-east coast of the the influx from the mainland that brought about the 2013). Etsuji was laid out with a circular plan, quite distinct
Korean Peninsula, I expect to see an investment in millet development of the Yayoi culture (Mizoguchi, 2013; from Mumun communities (Mizoguchi, 2013). Some details
cultivation throughout the Korean Peninsula long before Imamura, 1996). How the Yayoi culture began is a matter differentiate the two cultures. Granaries were constructed
3700 bp. Some supporting evidence has been recovered of some debate. Clearly, the Yayoi owes much of its by the Yayoi, distinct from the storage of Jomon resources
from another middle Chulmun site, this one in the Nam development to events in the Korean Peninsula and in in pits. The Final Jomon in Kyushu commemorated the
River Valley to the west of Tongsamdong. Significant China. Furthermore, researchers are investigating the dead in the centre of their villages while the granaries
quantities of millet, azuki and soybean have been recovered degree to which Jomon people and culture contributed were in the centre of Yayoi communities, including Etsuji.
(Lee, 2003; Lee, 2011). A date on some of the specimens to the Yayoi. Hanihara (1991) articulated the dual origins Yayoi pottery was essentially Mumun pottery (in particular
places them at around 5000 bp. The soybean seeds are of the Japanese population, proposing that both groups the appearance of globular jars) but eventually local styles
relatively small, similar in size to late Neolithic specimens had a role to play; the key though, was to recognize that developed. However, there are many examples of Jomon
from north China. The rest of the assemblage once again, is substantial migration of people from the mainland had and Yoyoi pottery that are quite similar (for example, at
similar to that of other Chulmun sites, that is, it consists of occurred. In the north-east, Jomon populations were not Itazuke) (Aikens and Higuchi, 1982:200). Mizoguchi’s
significant numbers of Paniceae grasses and other annual replaced by migrants to any extent; however, a distinct interpretation of Etsuji as embodying a strong connection
plants. Perilla is also reported from the Middle Chulmun. form of the Yayoi developed there (Crawford and Takamiya, to the emergence of rice as the ‘potential single major food’
Lee (2011) suspects that it was cultivated. 1990; Mizoguchi, 2013). Populations were replaced in (2013: 64) still needs confirmation, especially considering
the south-west to a much greater extent. Nevertheless, that Mumun and Yayoi subsistence in general included a
initially the Jomon influenced the character of the Yayoi broad range of crops and wild resources. Nevertheless,
culture. The Yayoi marked the beginning of a significantly rice paddies were a new aspect of the human niche that
Mumun intensified agriculture, a result of the introduction of a transformed the landscape in new ways. The rice paddies
mainland style of farming that had been evolving and at Itazuke evidence sophisticated water management
The Mumun culture follows the Chulmun in the Korean diversifying for thousands of years. By the time this farming including dams, canals and bunds forming roughly
Peninsula sequence. It is normally synonymous with the complex was introduced to Japan rice paddy production rectangular water containment areas (Imamura, 1996:134).
Korean Bronze Age but from an economic perspective, was well-developed and combined with rain fed production Whatever the process of Yayoi development and whatever
the most significant development appears to be the of barley, wheat, millet, azuki, soybean, hemp and arboreal the character of the agricultural economy, the Initial Yayoi
beginning of wet rice production. The difference between crops, such as peach. Some of these, such as soybean, established the foundation of a transformed Japanese
the Chulmun and Mumun economies is an incremental azuki, hemp and peach had already been introduced to, archipelago.
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The transition to a Tohoku (north-eastern Japan) version 1996:137), dating the site to about 2200–2100 bp. The trial Figure 7. The Mochiyazawa site, Hokkaido.
© Gary Crawford
of the Yayoi brought about the end of the Final Jomon run with rice production failed and apparently retreated
there. Yayoi pottery was added to the Obora assemblages but we have hypothesized that, although rice failed, food
through a form of exchange that brought fine wares production likely did not. Keeping in mind that rice was
into the region perhaps as a way of enhancing prestige probably not the only crop the Tohoku Yayoi people tried
(Mizoguchi, 2013: 73). Cultivation was also introduced to grow, the rain fed crops such as millets, wheat and
as evidence by Tareyanagi where a rice field has been barley were probably successfully introduced. The roughly
excavated (Crawford and Takamiya, 1990; Mizoguchi, contemporary Epi-Jomon in Hokkaido traded for some of
2013). Sunazawa (Jomon), Ongagawa (Earl Yayoi) and these crops.
hybrid pottery styles were recovered here (Imamura,
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Satsumon Agriculture immediately to the south-west in Japan (Crawford and Figure 8. A Satsumon culture
dwelling being excavated at
Takamiya, 1990). the Omusaru site, Hokkaido.
The Satsumon period (c. ad 700–1200) represents a Although Satsumon sites
may date to c. 1000 bp the
significant break in the north-eastern Japan archaeological The predecessor (but not the cultural ancestor) of the pit dwellings, like the one
sequence. Initially developing in Tohoku, the best Satsumon in Hokkaido was the Epi-Jomon who descended pictured here, are still evident
in the landscape as deep
interpretation is that it is an outgrowth of the Tohoku Yayoi from the Final Jomon. Although the Epi-Jomon in many depressions. © Gary Crawford
and, although relatively independent of the centralized respects continued the Jomon tradition, it was distinct
state evolving to the south-west, the Satsumon culture from the Final Jomon. Pottery styles evolved with the
was influenced by and interacted continuously with polities incorporation of Yayoi elements. Two of the most
significant excavations were at the Mochiyazawa and
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Sapporo Eki (railway station) site called K135 (D’Andrea, millet as well as 7 or 8 other dry field crops. One project remains has revolutionized our knowledge base; however,
1995; Iinkai, 1990; Otaru-shi Kyoiku Inkai, 1990; Yoshizaki, that mitigated the development of a road recovered several flotation has not been adopted everywhere, particularly
1990b; Sapporo-shi_Kyoiku_Iinkai, 1987; Crawford, 1987). Satsumon pit dwellings. One was destroyed by a fire, in parts of Japan. Starch grain and phytolith analyses are
These were rescue excavations so neither site survives. leaving well preserved food remains on the floor (Yoshizaki, complementing flotation-recovered plant remains studies
Both sites evidence short-term occupations. Mochiyazawa 1990a). We were able to determine that the two types of or are providing insight where charred plant remains are
consists of 292 pits, most of which are burials. Preservation millets were stored together in the corner of the house near rare, or have not been recovered. Nevertheless, research
conditions were not conducive to bone preservation. the oven. At some sites they grew a broader range of crops. is so active that it is becoming difficult for any individual
Among the pits were burned soil lenses interpreted to be The most astounding collection of crops was recovered to keep track of all the rapid developments. Explanations
outdoor hearths. No dwellings were recovered. Charred from Sakushu Kotoni Gawa (Sakushu Kotoni River) on for pristine origins are languishing in models of simple or
rice was recovered along with weedy annual plant seeds the Hokkaido University campus in Sapporo (Yoshizaki single-causes, primarily the correlation of climate change
such as Chenopodium, Polygonum and two species of and Tsubakisaka, 1990; Crawford, 1986). The project was with stages of domestication and agricultural origins.
Echinochloa, one of which is associated with rice paddies a rescue excavation that mitigated the construction of a By comparing China (and origins in China are in diverse
(D’Andrea, 1995). Fleshy fruit seeds are also common student dormitory. Although the specific site no longer climatic and vegetation zones) with origins in the Korean
indicating that edge communities were prominent. Such exists, the general surroundings are not drastically changed. Peninsula and in Japan, we can develop more informed
habitats require some time to develop (the fruits are from The river after which the site is named is filled in but still hypotheses that engage the international scientific
arboreal taxa for the most part) so the area was used for flows underground. The occupation consisted of four community.
a period of time, not just once. Whether the Mochizawa rectangular pit dwellings and midden deposits among the
inhabitants were part-time or low-level cultivators has not houses. A well-preserved fish weir crossed the narrow river Domestication and the development of agriculture are
been determined but they clearly had access to crops from channel next to the occupation. Notably, this small area is fundamentally issues of human ecology. The issue involves
the Yayoi people to the south. K135 is similar but because part of a much larger Satsumon settlement that extends anthropogenesis/ecological engineering and human
of its floodplain setting several short-term occupations are across the northern portion of the campus, some of responses to these influences (Bleed, 2006; Smith, 2007;
vertically separated by alluvial deposits. The purpose of which has been excavated to make way for a new campus Rowley-Conwy and Layton, 2011; Smith, 2012; Crawford,
the settlement seems similar to that of Mochiyazawa; the entrance and highway underpass. Over 250,000 charred 2014). In the late Upper Palaeolithic of China in particular
occupations consist of small pits interspersed with outdoor seed and grass rachis specimens have been recovered, a human-environmental interaction is evident in the form of
hearths. Plant and animal remains are not particularly large portion of which are from a mounded refuse deposit technology (adzes, grinding stones) and in settlements that
diverse, with single taxa dominating separate areas. One surrounded by several dwellings. The taxa are mainly foxtail became increasingly sedentary. By 8000 bp decisions by local
area has high densities of walnut shell while another has and broomcorn millet, hemp, wheat, barley, soybean, azuki people made to resolve short-term (seasonal or annual)
high densities of chestnut (Yoshizaki, 1990b; Crawford, and a small quantity of rice, melon, flax and safflower. resource problems and reduce risk likely played a significant
1987). Other areas have no nut remains, instead having Weedy grasses belonging to the Paniceae tribe are also role in the development of novel subsistence strategies
high densities of knotweed seeds. Like Mochiyazawa common, just as they are in north Chinese Neolithic sites. that resulted in domestication. These decisions did not
the people here had access to crops. The Epi-Jomon at Fleshy fruits from plants that were likely encouraged to involve people deciding to become farmers, but to lead
these sites were living lives distinct from their Final Jomon flourish in the fields such as houzuki (Chinese lantern more secure lives (Barker, 2006). Comparisons with Japan
ancestors. Why this is the case needs research but it must plant) and Empetrum that grew near the coast. Material and Korea are informative because, although the Upper
be connected to the development of the Tohoku Yayoi culture includes pottery, some of which was wheel turned. Palaeolithic in these regions represent similar adaptations
to the south, a culture that was part Jomon and part One bowl has a Chinese character that appears to mean up to about 8000 bp (although the record in Korea is
Yayoi. Fugoppe Cave near Mochiyazawa became a sacred ‘Emishi’ a name that the Ainu call themselves. Evidence ambiguous) some decisions led to increased sedentism
space with offerings left on the floor and flourishing rock of metallurgy is in the form of bellows nozzles. Evidence and more constricted exploitation territories and types of
art composed of anthropomorphic creatures. The Epi- of metallurgy is in the form of bellows nozzles. Few stone ecological engineering as did their Chinese counterparts
Jomon ended with the rapid development of Satsumon tools are found at Satsumon sites. after that the trajectories diverged. Why? The answers may
communities in their territory. Satsumon culture did not lie at least partially in geography and the varying capacity
represent an evolution from the Epi-Jomon; it was a of regions to ameliorate fluctuations in temperatures and
replacement from Tohoku (Yokoyama, 1984). precipitation. Clearly, climate change played some role but
Discussion the specific role needs to be disentangled. Seasonal and
From a World Heritage Convention perspective, the sites on annual fluctuations become more frequent and stronger
the Hokkaido University campus form a crucial record that The preceding outlines the fundamental agricultural during periods of climate change so it is simply a matter of
speaks to the origins of the indigenous people of Hokkaido, development narrative in China, Japan and the Korean correlating average precipitation and temperature changes.
not just to the origins of a unique northern Japanese Peninsula. It is a work in progress, with efforts by local Whatever the explanation, and this paper is not meant
farming complex. The Satsumon brought a new lifeway to archaeologists and their international collaborators to explore explanations, we need to expand our vision
Hokkaido that included a Yayoi form of agriculture but one dramatically changing our conceptualization of the narrative beyond individual sites, that is, we need to examine the
that was not dominated by rice (Crawford and Yoshizaki, over the last two decades. The systematic incorporation of people and what their archaeological record tell us about
1987). Instead, the Satsumon grew foxtail and broomcorn flotation processing of sediments from sites to collect plant how they were actively creating/negotiating there place.
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Domestication also involves the response and demands of Crawford, G. W. 1986. Data related to early agriculture Crawford, G. W. 2017. Domestication and the origins of
organisms in their habitats that included varying degrees in Hokkaido: Plant seeds from the Sakushu Kotoni river agriculture in China. Lisa C. Niziolek, Deborah A. Bekken
of anthropogenesis. The narrative is complex and we have site. M. Yoshizaki (ed.), Sakushu-Kotoni Gawa. Sapporo, and Gary M. Feinman (eds), Visions of China through the
a long way to go to sort out the nuances. Anthropology Research Laboratory, Hokkaido University Ages. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Faculty of Literature. (In Japanese and English.)
Crawford, G. W., Chen, X. and Wang, J. 2006. Houli
Crawford, G. W. 1987. Plant seeds excavated from the Culture rice from the Yuezhuang Site, Jinan. East Asia
Acknowledgements K135 Site. Sapporo-shi Kyoiku Iinkai (ed.), The K135 Site. Archaeology, Vol. 3, pp. 247–251.
Sapporo: Sapporo-shi Kyoiku Iinkai. (In Japanese.)
I would like to thank Nuria Sanz and UNESCO for the Crawford, G. W., Chen, X., Luan, F. and Wang, J. 2016.
extraordinary opportunity to participate in the Puebla Crawford, G. W. 1992a. Prehistoric plant domestication in People and plant interaction at the Houli Culture Yuezhuang
workshop. I am also grateful for Chantal Connaughton’s East Asia. C. W Cowan and P. J. Watson (eds), The Origins site from Shandong Province, China. The Holocene, Vol 26,
and Robin Dennell’s reviews and editing of this manuscript. of Agriculture: an International Perspective. Washington No. 10, pp. 1594–1604.
and London, Smithsonian Institution Press.
Crawford, G. W., Hurley, W. H. and Yoshizaki, M. 1976.
Crawford, G. W. 1992b. The transitions to agriculture in Implications of plant remains from the Early Jomon,
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Foragers, Cultivators and Mariners: the Complex

Ryan J. Rabett
Queen’s University Belfast, UK
Abstract East Asia (ISEA) have been advanced: the Austronesian and Indonesia to the western islands of the central Pacific
Hypothesis and the Nusantao Hypothesis. The first and – precisely because of a prevailing maritime orientation.
Traditional models that have sought to explain the most widely-cited of these was first proposed in the mid- While these groups were actively managing their terrestrial
emergence of the Neolithic in South-East Asia are closely 1970s, but has been most particularly developed and resources, they were in no small part fishermen and
bound up with the effects and affordances of post-glacial popularized by Peter Bellwood (for example, Bellwood, mariners rather than farmers in any western Eurasian sense.
inundation of the Sunda Shelf. The dominant Austronesian 2005, 2007). In the Philippines, northern Borneo and
Hypothesis has placed the maritime movement of people, parts of eastern Indonesia, the oldest recorded Neolithic The alternative model for the spread of the South-East
plants, animals and material culture as central to the shift pottery styles are simple forms with plain or red-slipped Asian Neolithic, the Nusantao Hypothesis, was first
from foraging to farming across this region 5000–3000 surfaces, appearing widely between c. 4000 and 2500 bp. proposed by Wilhem Solheim in 1975 (Solheim, 1975)
years ago. The alternative, Nusantao Hypothesis, has Research in the Batanes Islands (between Taiwan and the and was used ultimately to refer to communities bound
proposed that increased maritime activity, borne out of a Philippines) and in northern Luzon Island point to eastern by a common maritime tradition (the ‘people of the
need to adapt to sea-level rise during the first half of the Taiwanese assemblages as the likely source of influence at islands’). Rather than seeing Taiwan as its point of origin,
Holocene, resulted in the development of greater cultural the start of this period – possibly instigated by the collapse Solheim saw early Nusantao (7000–4000 bp) as a gradually
and linguistic unity across the region, and that through this of local agricultural economies under population pressure emerging multifaceted trading network that incorporated
came the spread and growth of farming economies. As (Bellwood, 2005, pp. 136–37). For many scholars, this coastal peoples from southern Japan and Korea, Taiwan,
research has progressed, what we are finding, and what geographic point of origin finds support in the linguistic the south and south-central coasts of China, northern
will be discussed briefly in this paper, is potentially a more roots of the region’s now-dominant Austronesian language Vietnam, the Philippines, eastern Indonesia and coastal
complex picture. Although the exploitation of resources family. The Neolithic package that Bellwood describes Borneo. Around 5000 bp pottery began to circulate through
from coastal and marine environments had long been a included pottery, polished stone adzes, shell tools and this system, and from his detailed typological study of
feature of tropical foraging, the impact of post-glacial sea- ornaments, spindle whorls, backcloth beaters, cattle, ceramic traditions, Solheim suggested that over the course
level rise on hunter-gatherer communities did not always pigs and dogs (all presumably-domesticated by this time) of the next millennium distinct segments of intensified
lead to the immediate adoption of a maritime-oriented way (Bellwood, 2005, p. 130). Economically, though, the South- trade began to evolve, incorporating and extending the
of life. While there is no doubting that a significant shift East Asian Neolithic remained noticeably flexible. While initial area of contact (Solheim, 2002). This model placed
occurred in the South-East Asian archaeological record post rice, already domesticated on the Yangtze (9000–6600 cal. greater emphasis on the inundation of the Sunda Shelf
Mid-Holocene, some of the principles and components bp; Hayden, 2011), was an important feature initially, the as a primary driving force behind the development of
of the South-East Asian Neolithic appear already to have kind of open field cultivation it required tended to become regional seafaring, and especially so (as Bellwood also
been in existence for some thousands of years beforehand. quickly confined to Neolithic communities of the western argues) in the areas of eastern Indonesia and the southern
The prehistory of species translocation and landscape part of ISEA (at least partially on environmental grounds) Philippines, linked to the more (and increasingly) insular
management was already deeply rooted. In this respect, and possibly spread as a component of a separate dispersal nature of this part of the region (Solheim, 1984–5, p. 79).
rather than a ‘revolution’, the Neolithic of South-East from Taiwan to that bearing the red-slipped pottery. In the Solheim saw the Austronesian language family developing
Asia increasingly appears to represent an outgrowth of east of the region, the cultivation of rice faded from the out of the maritime links that would have mutually tied
strategies that communities had long-devised to enable economic repertoire in favour of the tending of tubers coastal communities together (and these communities to
them to cope with the structure and diversity of tropical and fruits (arboriculture), and a more central focus on hinterland groups). Spreading from an origin somewhere
environments and the nature of social systems within those marine exploitation. For example, evidence from the site on the eastern isles at the rim of the Sunda Shelf c. 7000–
environments. of Bukit Tengkorak in Sabah, revealed limited evidence 6500 bp, these related languages would have emerged and
of rice husks in its pottery but a large assemblage of fish been propelled outward as a result of trade mechanisms
bones, suggesting a maritime economy, probably mobile and social contact. He argued that the reconstructed
and trade-focused that had only a passing interest in field linguist roots of Austronesian imply that communities
Prevailing Models agriculture (Bellwood, 2005, p. 137). Indeed, Bellwood sees probably employed a mixed economy; one based on
the Neolithic expansion outward from Mainland South-East agriculture and fishing, supplemented by hunting and
Over the last 30 years two principal explanatory models for Asia as having been successfully carried to its vast extent arboriculture. In essence, under this scenario, the spread of
the spread of the Neolithic from Mainland to Island South- – of ultimately 10,000 km from the Philippines, Borneo the Neolithic (indeed the growth of an archaeological entity
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that could be identified as the ‘Neolithic’) was an outcome use of river systems in foraging activities and growth in archipelago. While pig genetic studies have also shown that
of trade relations and maritime exchange networks that the exploitation of food elements from them that had by c.7000 cal. bp the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis)
had developed as a consequence of communities having previously formed more minor parts of the diet – notably was translocated to Flores, the Malaku islands and other
to adapt to sea-level rise. In other words, the spread of the through increase in the recovery of turtle remains and islands in Wallacea (Dobney et al., 2008; Larson et al.,
Neolithic way of life owed as much to the means by which riverine molluscs. Technologically, at the Niah Caves, 2007a, b; van den Bergh et al., 2009).
it was propagated as it did to what it contained. Borneo, there is also an increased occurrence of cobble
mortars, other grinding implements, and evidence for the The acquaintance of forager communities with rice
manufacture and use of polished stone tools appearing in northern Borneo seems to significantly pre-date its
alongside continued emphasis on previous expedient core appearance at Niah (c. 4990 bp) (for example, Doherty
Clearing the Ground for the Neolithic and flake reduction sequences (Rabett et al., 2011, 2013). et al., 2000) and certainly any introduction by incoming
This tendency to augment existing economic foci and Neolithic groups, as evidenced by the appearance of rice
Both models agree that Neolithic terrestrial economies in tools is further illustrated in the burgeoning importance phytoliths c. 8000 bp at Loagan Bunut – the only large
South-East Asia (and particularly ISEA) were not confined to of bone tool technology (Rabett and Piper, 2012). Long a freshwater lake in Sarawak (Hunt and Premathilake, 2012;
the importation of a single kind of resource management, part of the foraging toolkit, it is in the terminal glacial and Hunt and Rabett, 2014). The evidence for intensive use of
but were instead quite diverse. Both also propose that the Early Holocene that this component reaches its apogee. nuts, fruits, sago palms and tubers by both ‘pre-Neolithic’
spread of the Neolithic here was possibly more directly Data from Niah relating to this technology also suggest and ‘Neolithic’ peoples fits into what Barton and Denham
dependent on maritime activities than it was on strictly that northern Borneo featured early on (c. 14,400 cal. (2011) have called ‘vegeculture’: the incipient management
agricultural ones. Almost certainly the first of these points bp) in a region-wide, but particularly ISEA, shift towards (tending) and translocation of plants. What we are starting
is partly a reflection of changes to growing conditions over a greater emphasis on the use of bone implements. Quite to appreciate is that there is a long prehistory of land
quite a wide latitudinal range (c. 23.5 degrees) from the often linked to an heightened reliance on arboreal fauna, management practices in this region – that probably
northern sub-tropics to the Equator, and further still if one and associated with coastal or sub-coastal sites, the rise parallels that in neighbouring Sahul (Hunt and Rabett,
includes expansion into the Pacific. Arguably, though, it is in bone tool use commenced shortly after the proposed 2014).
this same fact that makes it unlikely that any interaction regional population bottleneck, and dated occurrences
between indigenous and incoming groups will have been regionally sit comfortably, if as yet only coincidentally, with It had been an assumption – almost an article of faith
quite as one-sided as has tended to be assumed. The the subsequent genetic story of intra-regional population – amongst biogeographers, palaeoecologists and
recently clarified Holocene record of vegetation change in dispersal (Rabett and Piper, 2012). Between 10,800–8,700 archaeologists that great swathes of South-East Asian
northern Borneo provides a useful point of reference as cal. bp evidence from Niah points to continued innovation, rainforests were largely untouched by human activity prior
we consider the indigenous regional economic context into with the appearance of modified sting-ray spines – to the arrival of Western colonists and that even a history
which (and perhaps out of which) the Neolithic appeared. some still bearing mastic and binding-fibres – that were of localized ‘slash and burn’ cultivation had limited long
unequivocally hafted (Barton et al. 2009). This was not the term effect under low population density. This presumption
earliest evidence of hafted osseous technology regionally is also implicit in particularly older and now superseded
(see for example, O’Connor et al., 2014 – though note that anthropological literature about the non-viability of
The Early Holocene this too appeared in the east of the region); however it was hunting and gathering lifestyles under rainforest conditions
a full five thousand years (3800–3500 cal. bp) before similar because of resource distribution and inaccessibility (see for
The period of the Early Holocene (11,700–7000 cal. bp) pieces appear next at the Thai coastal site of Khok Phanom example, Bailey and Headland, 1991; Bailey et al., 1989).
was one that saw communities continuing to cope with Di – a sedentary hunter-gatherer/Neolithic occupation Significantly, it also has bearing on conservation measures
progressive inundation of the Sunda Shelf (for example, (utilizing rice, ceramics and burials but no domesticated that seek to preserve rainforest tracts in their ‘original
Hanebuth et al., 2000). Late glacial warming in the animals) (Higham and Thosarat, 1998). state’. Marking simple cultural distinctions between ‘wild’
Antarctic is thought to have triggered ice-sheet collapse and ‘cultivated’, ‘foraging’ and ‘farming’ is even today
and the meltwater pulse-1A (mwp-1A) episode (for The establishment of probably quite extensive pre-Neolithic in the tropics, and probably was in the past, very much
example, Kopp, 2012). This brought an average rise in maritime networks across this region is supported by more blurred than traditional economic typology would
sea-level 14,600–14,300 cal. bp of 5.33m per 100 years evidence for the movement of animals and plants (see prefer. The modern Penan hunter-gathers of Borneo will
(Hanebuth et al., 2000). On genetic evidence, this appears for example, Bulbeck, 2008). The earliest translocation sometimes manage wild plants in the forest (Brosius, 1991);
to be synchronous with a significant population bottleneck of species is thought to be of the northern common on other occasions they may incorporate wild plants into
regionally, and was followed by a dispersal phase with a cuscus (Phalanger orientalis) from New Guinea to New cultivated plots (Puri, 2005). With few exceptions (notably
point of origin somewhere in the north-east of Sundaland Ireland as early as 20,000 years ago (Allen et al., 1989). bananas and yams) the modification of plants at a genetic
during the Early Holocene when conditions had stabilized This same species was also transported to the Solomon level through anthropogenic selection did not occur in
(Soares et al., 2008). Islands, Bismark Archipelago and Malaku Islands (Heinsohn, South-East Asia. This is in part due to the sheer diversity of
2003). Around 10,000 bp (uncalibrated) we also see the plants that have the potential to be incorporated into the
Evidence from opposite sides of the Sunda rim (i.e. introduction of the brown dorcopsis (Dorcopsis muelleri) diet – for example, the Barawan claim to gather different
northern Borneo and northern Vietnam) show an increased to Gebe and Halmahera Islands, in the North Malaku species of fruit from a single genus for each month of the
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year (C. Hunt: personal observation, 2004). This reduces the considered an anthropogenic marker this can also be Neolithic rather as a developed version of wild food
reliance on an individual or a small set of key resources, and caused naturally. Nonetheless, interrogation of the region’s production through the intensification of existing and
with that reduces both the need and likelihood of inflicting palaeoenvironmental records for signs of key disturbance probably long-held practices of forest manipulation, and
significant morphological (genetic) variation on managed species and evidence of microscopic charcoal can still be less related to a ‘revolutionary’ event.
resources. There is reason to suspect that these affordances a useful way to explore the possibility of early human
of tropical environments, combined with the restraints they activities and the scale of their impact on the environment. The key take-home messages appear to be two-fold: firstly,
impose – for example, low species density and reproductive One way of sifting the natural from the likely anthropogenic that there are several lines of evidence supporting intra-
cycles that are not regulated comfortably by seasonality – evidence is to compare regional sequences against records regional dispersals starting some thousands of years before
have had a central effect in shaping the kinds of economic we are more confident have not been affected by human the Neolithic spread and, secondly, that economic systems
systems best suited to them. Archaeologically as well as activity. Few such places exist around the Sunda rim, so in this part of the world – as they also appear to have
ethnographically, these appear to be ones that exploit it is necessary to look farther afield. A good example of been in Early Holocene elsewhere, for example in Australia
diversity through ‘strategy-switching’ as a means of risk a Holocene succession where we can largely discount (Hiscock, 2008) – were traditionally prone to be multi-
mitigation (Rabett, 2012). early human intervention is on the very isolated island of faceted and ‘additive’, with new elements being added to,
Mauritius. By using this kind of record as an environmental rather than replacing, existing ones – continuity, adoption
The vast majority of plant foods indigenous to the region sieve, it becomes more feasible to winnow out markers and the incorporation of new strategies is indicated.
are herbivorous (leafy or tuberous) or are trees (such as sago of human disturbance from exclusively climate driven
palm), which mature over decades rather than seasons. succession in the South-East Asian record (Hunt and Rabett,
Few of these provide products that can be concurrently 2014).
harvested within a single season, with ripening occurring The Mid-Holocene
at different times at different localities in the landscape. This methodology was applied to evidence from the Loagan
This in turn affects access to other resources: it is, for Bunut core in Sarawak. Commencing c. 11,200 cal. bp the Around 6700–5700 cal. bp, palynological evidence indicates
example, a driving factor in the mass migratory movements core contained little to suggest a predominantly climate- there was a shift from tidal swamp forest near the Niah
of the bearded pig, a hunting staple in Borneo past and driven succession and much greater cause to suppose Caves to less saline-dominated back mangrove swamp.
present. While it is not easy to track an economic system human activity as the primary driver of vegetational Concurrent development of more open vegetation here has
that is by its very nature designed to alternate between a change. Charcoal and disturbance indicators appear from been linked to an increased incidence of localized burning
great many resources and as a consequence has limited the base of the core upwards. Pollen from the Indonesian indicative of human clearance (Hunt and Rushworth,
morphological impact upon them, zooarchaeological and and New Guinean sago palm (Metroxylon) also begin to 2005). There is also a corresponding shift from peats to
palaeoenvironmental records do provide signals of these occur from c. 10,400 bp until c. 7000 bp, suggesting the alluvial clay deposition. Given that the latter was found
activities. introduction and with it the selective management of to contain algae that require sunlight to produce spores,
this taxon in some form (Hunt and Premathilake, 2012). the inference is that these clays were accumulating in
As systematic zooarchaeological analysis of South-East Another sago genus that appears in the Early Holocene unshaded environments and were the product of seasonal
Asian sites expands we find that while almost all sites here, Eugeissona, is lying outside its normal montane flooding. The overall implication is that large quantities of
carry the same diverse inventory of species, the relative range in Borneo and may also have been introduced. Rice sediment were being liberated into the river system, an
abundance of different taxa shows distinct variance phytoliths are an abundant component through much of occurrence that would be consistent with human clearance
between sites. This suggests that people frequented the sequence. Taxonomic uncertainty surrounding their activities. At the same time, however, there is evidence
certain parts of the landscape at different times in order detailed analysis means that it not currently possible to that during the period c. 7000 the wider region was also
to exploit peaks in the availability of particular resources. distinguish wild from domesticated varieties. The sheer being affected by a significant hydrological and probably
For example, at the Niah Caves, pigs were probably the frequency of occurrence, however, coupled with the fact climatic (palaeomonsoon) shift. This seems to have resulted
primary draw and the implication is (based on element that a proportion are burnt, suggests that part of the in cave deposits being flushed out at numerous sites
representation) that the site was probably located on or lowland plant subsistence, which seems to have been (Rabett, 2012) as well as indications of a huge increase in
near to a major migratory route for Sus barbatus (Barker, practised locally, involved the exploitation of at least sedimentation rates. For example, most of a c. 10 m core
2013; Piper and Rabett, 2014); at the southern Thai site of wild forms and possibly even tending activities, perhaps recently extracted by the author from sub-coastal lowlands
Lang Rongrien turtle exploitation featured strongly (Mudar linked with clearance by burning. Such a strategy would in northern Vietnam was deposited in a 300 year period
and Anderson, 2007); while at upland sites in the Tràng certainly chime with patterns of activity seen in the Early between 7845±61 cal. bp (UBA–25530) and 7518±35
An massif, northern Vietnam, land snails – which can be Holocene in the Yangtze delta region of China in order to cal. bp (UBA–25527). Although this does not preclude the
collected in large numbers during the wet season – are maintain stands of rice. Expanded to a regional scale, this possibility of anthropogenic impact, it does caution us
the primary component of midden deposits (Rabett et al., kind of approach now casts Early Holocene disturbance that all lines of agency need to be considered as we assess
2011). markers from other sediment cores in Sumatra, Java and landscape change during this period.
Vietnam as potentially the result of early forest clearance
Few cultivated plant taxa produce distinctive pollen, and resource management activities. This would place At Niah’s West Mouth, Early Holocene occupation (ending
and although evidence of burnt plant tissue is often the apparent emergence of these aspects of the region’s after 8000 cal. bp) was followed by a hiatus of c. 4000
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years, before the establishment of the Neolithic cemetery tradition also begins to appear (Rabett, 2013). Known means that we cannot be certain if it was locally grown or
(comprising c. 200 burials) between 4000 and 2000 bp. from about eight sites within Ninh Bình and neighbouring traded. Tubers, fruits and nuts continued to form the main
This chronological gap corresponds to the Mid-Holocene provinces, Dabutian sites typically reveal a mixed Neolithic calorific plant intake, and hunting systems and preferences
sea-level high-stand (c. 7200–5000 cal. bp) which took signature. With few exceptions these are open air sites paralleled those of the Early Holocene. The first evidence
sea-levels 3–4 m above the modern datum (see for with, reportedly, evidence of more sedentary or at least of domesticated pig in the region appears in the northern
example, Zhao and Yu, 2002). Although inundation has tied occupation, with the evidence of formal cemeteries Philippines c. 4500–4200 bp, but currently domestic pigs
almost certainly been a central feature of the long-term as an indicator of this shift; a distinctive ceramic tradition, are not known from further south (including at Niah) until
history of human dispersal and settlement in this region, but a foraging economy. Marine exploitation appears the Metal Age (the last two millennia) and dispersal across
our archaeological understanding of actual responses to commence alongside existing terrestrial practices c. South-East Asia did not occur until after the proposed
to regression and transgression events remains largely a 6500–6000 cal. bp – including evidence of net weights and period of the Austronesian dispersal.
matter of conjecture, primarily because of inaccessibility indications that open sea taxa such as tuna were hunted;
to the Sunda Shelf today. The Mid-Holocene high-stand, however, within a comparatively short period thereafter,
though, does offer the prospect of at least partial access reliance on marine food receded again, probably linked
to that record. One location where this record appears with post-high-stand marine recession (Nguyen Viet, 2005). Conclusions
to be particularly well-preserved is in the limestone karst
landscape along the south-east margin of the Red River While there is increasingly reliable evidence for the early Emerging evidence from South-East Asia suggests
delta, Vietnam. translocation of foodstuffs by sea well into the Pleistocene, that maritime communication across the region is of
and suggestion that inland links were maintained with the considerable antiquity and significance. There is good
Currently lying c. 30 km inland, the archaeological record coast even when it was probably many tens of kilometres reason to believe that networks were in place, in some
pertaining to the Pleistocene-Holocene transition that away, at least some Early- to Mid-Holocene communities form, long before the Austronesian dispersal, and that
is being recovered from Tràng An massif (now a mixed appear to have delayed adoption of marine exploitation they were linked to the inundation of the Sunda Shelf;
cultural and natural World Heritage Site) is telling a story during the post-glacial marine transgression. When groups findings that may dilute the revolutionary significance
of enclosed forested valleys and uplands that foragers of did incorporate such resources into their local subsistence of later Holocene diaspora. Rather than spreading
the period were exploiting, probably, on a seasonal basis strategies, they were added into existing economies rather primarily because of the economic advantages its way
(Rabett, 2012; Rabett et al., 2011). Indications are that than completely replacing them. While central to our of life brought, Neolithic dispersal within and beyond
when foraging groups were not resident here, at least understanding of the emergence of the Neolithic in South- ISEA may have reached the extent it did courtesy of
some of the time away was spent closer to the coast or East Asia, the relationship that communities of the time (and doubtless through the expansion of) a pre-existing
else in contact with communities who lived there (Rabett, appear to have had with the sea probably did not follow complex of trade-links. This has consequences for the
2013) – even when the coast was considerably further any kind of simple narrative where a marine economy (and genesis of the Austronesian language family as much
away than it is today. This is attested through the recovery with it the capability and incentive for expanding maritime as it does of the ‘Neolithic package’ itself. Rather than
of a sample of pierced mangrove gastropods (neritids) in trade and exchange) was dictated only by the availability being representative of the linguistic repertoire of the
well-stratified contexts, dating to between c. 14,000 and of maritime resources. Neolithic spread, shaped primarily, if not solely, by a
12,300 cal. bp in two neighbouring cave sites, as well as Mainland South-East Asian root, many of the terms and
a piece of modified cowrie shell (dated to slightly before At Niah, the earliest date of a Neolithic burial – flexed in referents that it comprised at the time of the Neolithic
10,600 cal. bp) (UNESCO, 2014, p. 43). the manner of preceding interments but accompanied by dispersal may have been drawn from multiple sources in
a quadrangular polished stone axe – appears 3300–3000 the region, carried and traded across preceding millennia
What is interesting is that although salt marsh and cal. bp. Here there followed a shift towards much more of contact. This is perhaps in accordance with Solheim’s
coastal lagoon habitats were steadily encroaching on the formalized cemetery practices, progressing through six (1984–5, p. 80) assertion that there is ‘no reason why
massif during the Early Holocene, there is no evidence phases each bearing shifts in funerary custom with rows the use of shell to make tools would be developed in
for a corresponding increase in the proportion of coastal of burials, frequently in wooden coffins or wrapped in a mainland location where stone, much easier to work
resources appearing on-site over time as these became shrouds and accompanied by grave goods including pots, than shell, would be readily available… The shell tradition
more accessible from the massif. Indeed, indications are stone axes, grinding stones, beads, basketry and textiles started on small islands in the south where good stone
that this period saw an intensification of existing upland over the period 3300–2700 bp (Barker et al., 2011; Lloyd- was hard to find’. The origins of this and other traditions
subsistence strategies (Rabett, 2012). It is not until c. 5500 Smith, 2014). Whereas Early Holocene burials excavated at (and one assumes their linguistic referents), however, may
cal bp, at a time when the sea had probably breached Niah have an isotopic signature that corroborates a close- well have been in circulation further back in time than he
parts of the massif that we pick up evidence of a change canopy dietary regime, those from the Neolithic have a supposed. For example, evidence from Gebe Island, North
(notably, at a time broadly commensurate with Solheim’s signature more in-keeping with an open canopy regime Malaku in eastern Indonesia contains clear evidence of
proposed period of increased trade intensity within the (Krigbaum, 2005). Charred remains of morphologically marine exploitation strategies between 32 and 27,000
Nusantao network). At low altitude sites in the massif, domesticated rice have appeared (probably accidentally bp (uncalibrated), on an island that would always have
such as Hang Moi and Mál đá Ốc, marine resources now during the production process rather than as temper) required a sea crossing of at least 40 km. It also reveals
occur in quantity and corded ware pottery of the Da But in ceramics from the site. The lack of harvesting debris sufficient manufacturing consistency in the knapping
129

of the operculum of a large species of sub-tidal zone Barton, H., Denham, T. P., 2011. Prehistoric vegeculture and Archaeological Approaches to Foraging-Farming Transitions
gastropod (Turbo marmoratus) to suppose a deliberate social life in Island Southeast Asia and Melanesia. G. Barker in Southeast Asia. Cambridge, UK, McDonald Institute for
imposition of form in the way they were produced and M. Janowski (eds), Why Cultivate? Anthropological and Archaeological Research, pp. 75–93.
(Szabó et al., 2007) and more than a mere expedient Archaeological Approaches to Foraging-farming Transitions
response to opportunity. While there is no denying that in Southeast Asia. Cambridge, UK, McDonald Institute for Heinsohn, T. E., 2003. Animal translocation: long-term
the archaeological record indicates significant changes Archaeological Research, pp. 17–25. human influences on the vertebrate zoogeography of
in land-use, material culture and mortuary practice Australasia (natural dispersal versus ethnophoresy).
were taking place between 3000 and 4000 years ago, Barton, H., Piper, P., Rabett, R., Reeds, I. 2009. Composite Australian Zoologist, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 351–76.
identifying a Neolithic ‘transition’ is complicated by the hunting technologies from the Terminal Pleistocene
fact that our understanding of early foraging economies and Early Holocene, Niah Cave, Borneo. Journal of Higham, C. F. W. and Thosarat, R. 1998. Prehistoric
in this part of the Tropics is changing just as fast as our Archaeological Science, Vol. 36, pp. 1708–1714. Thailand. London, Thames and Hudson Ltd.
understanding of its early agricultural heritage.
Bellwood, P. 2005. First Farmers: the Origins of Agricultural Hiscock, P., 2008. Archaeology of Ancient Australia.
Societies. Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell. London, Routledge.
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Archipelago,3 rd edn. Canberra, Australian National vegetation, human activity and climate from Sarawak,
The author wishes to thank his many colleagues in the Niah University Press. Malaysian Borneo. Quaternary International, Vol. 249, pp.
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in the context of the current paper, Chris Hunt (Liverpool, van den Bergh, G. D., Meijer, H. J. M., Awe Due, R.,
John Moores University); as well as Nuria Sanz and the Morwood, M. J., Szabó, K., van den Hoek Ostende, L. W., Hunt, C. and Rabett, R. 2014. Holocene landscape
organizers of the HEADS meeting in Puebla, Mexico Sutikna, T., Saptomo, E. W., Piper, P. J. and Dobney, K. M. intervention and plant food production strategies in Island
(August, 2014) for which this paper was prepared. 2009. The Liang Bua faunal remains: a 95 kyr. sequence and Mainland Southeast Asia. Journal of Archaeological
from Flores, East Indonesia. Journal of Human Evolution, Science, Vol. 51, pp. 22–33.
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Hunt, C. O., and Rushworth, G. 2005. Cultivation and
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131

When were Rice Paddies Ploughed? An Investigation

of Rice–agriculture Technology in China
Li Liu Stanford University, USA
Hanlong Sun Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Archaeology, China
Xingcan Chen Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China
Key words: Usewear Analysis, Lithic Tool Function,

Experimental Archaeology, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron
Ploughs
Introduction
The origin of plough farming has long been a research
focus in Chinese archaeology. Several Neolithic sites of
the Songze and Liangzhu cultures (4000–2300 bc) have
revealed large triangular stone implements, perforated
and varying in size, which are often described by
archaeologists as ploughs used for rice cultivation
(for a summary see Mou and Song, 1981; Zhejiang
Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology
and Huzhou City Museum 2006, pp. 452–55). Therefore,
some archaeologists have suggested that the plough
technology that was correlated with the intensification
of rice agriculture first developed in the Lower Yangzi
River region. However, this interpretation remains
controversial (Ji, 1987; 1993).
In order to better understand the development of

agricultural technology in ancient China, we have
conducted a series of ploughing experiments and
compared the usewear traces on the plough replicas
with ancient triangular stone tools (Liu et al., 2012; Sun,
2014). In this paper, we first report the major findings
from these studies and then review current evidence for
the earliest use of ploughs in China.
Artefacts, Analytical Methods

and Comparative References
The Neolithic triangular stone tools from the lower

Yangzi River region can be divided into two types. Type
I is a single-piece tool with one to three perforations for
Figure 1. Distribution of sites associated with stone triangular tools and the stone ‘plough’ discovered from Zhuangqiaofen
hafting. Type II is a compound tool comprised of one (lower left). © Li Liu
132

4
triangular head and two rectangular lateral sections,
all perforated and attached together on a wooden
support to form a much larger implement. More than
200 such tools have been found at 65 sites/locations,
largely distributed around the Lake Tai region. They
first occurred in the late phase of the Songze Culture
(4000–3300 bc), flourished during the Liangzhu culture
(3300–2000 bc) and declined by the Bronze Age Shang-
Zhou period (c. 1500–1000 bc) (Sun, 2014) (Figure 1).
The artefacts analysed here include five Type I tools
excavated at the Pishan site (the Songze culture) and
one Type II tool unearthed from the Zhuangqiaofen site
(the Liangzhu culture), both in Zhejiang province.
We used polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) impressions (or peels)

to obtain usewear traces from the tool surfaces because
these implements are large and difficult to examine
under a microscope (Fullagar, 2006). The PVS method has
been used in our previous studies, which demonstrated
its effectiveness. We have conducted a series of
experimental studies, which involved processing various
materials with different tools, to generate comparative
reference data. These include processing plants, wood,
bamboo, shell, minerals and lithics with sandstone
grinding stones, and harvesting plants with slate sickles
and fine sandstone knives. (For example, Fullagar et al.,
2012; Liu et al., 2013). In order to establish necessary
reference criteria for usewear patterns from soil-
working tools, we particularly studied usewear traces
on a Neolithic stone spade and made experimental stone
ploughs which were used in dry-land fields and wet rice
paddies (Liu et al., 2012; Sun, 2014). These studies
helped us to understand the general morphology of a
plough and the patterns of usewear traces on different
types of soil-working tools (plough and spade) under
difference soil conditions (dry land versus rice paddy).
Usewear traces were documented following examination

of PVS peels using a stereo microscope and a reflected-
light microscope with magnifications of 7.5x. 50x, 100x,
Figure 2. Exp. plough Typel-1
200x and 500x. The analytical usewear variables include (single piece with one perforate)
stages of polish development (low, medium and high); used for ploughing in rice paddy
for 3.5 hrs. 1. the plough replica;
polish reticular pattern; striations, such as furrow (V 2: ploughing rice paddy; 3: the
shape in intersection), sleek (U shape in intersection) and ploughing angle on the tip;4:
hafting method; 5: usewear traces
fine; and surface micro-topography. The purpose of this (furrows) near the tip edge of the
research is to determine whether the triangular-shaped plough (200x). © Li Liu
tools were used as ploughs; therefore, we pay special

attention to the location of usewear traces on each tool
and the orientations and types of striations.
133

Table 1. Plough experiment record

The Ploughing Experiment
Tool types Plough duration Ploughing
Soil type Observation Usewear traces
Most ancient triangular tools in the Lower Yangzi River Raw material plough distance method
region were made of shale, tuff, slate and hornfels. Five Slow and difficult, the plough Parallel furrows
‘plough’ replicas, including three Type I and two Type Type I-1; head often turned to the side, on crystal grains
3 hr 24 min;
II, were made of sandstone, shale, slate and limestone 1 perforate; Rice paddy Human ploughing or was covered with muddy soil near the tip, high
3456 m
sandstone and needs to be cleaned; made polish on other
for the experiment. These rocks have medium level
shallow ditches (5 cm) areas
hardness on the Mohs scales. The plough experiment
Low- to medium
was conducted in both dry land and rice paddies. Each
Type I-2; 3 hr 38 min; Similar to Type I-1; made shallow level of polish
plough was hafted onto a wooden mount board with a Rice paddy Human ploughing
2 perforate; shale 4560 m ditches (6-7 cm) under high
long handle, which was held by one person and pulled magnifications
with a rope by another person during ploughing. Buffalo Difficult to control the handle, stop
was also used to pull the plough. Each plough was used when encountered roots and hard
Dryland 2 hr 37 min Human ploughing
for about three to four hours. After the experiment, soil blocks; made shallow ditches
(4-5 cm) Massive polish
usewear traces were analysed, first by the naked eye
Type I-3; and long,
observation of the ploughs and then by microscopic 3 perforates; More effective than human parallel striations
examination of the PVS samples that were collected from limestone ploughing, made deeper ditches under high
11 min;
(about 10 cm), the tip of plough magnifications
the ploughs. Dryland total distance: Buffalo ploughing
head become rounded with
2880 m
damage; the plough head broke
Type I–1 single-piece plough, made of sandstone, after 11 min
was used in rice paddy with human power. The plough Difficult to control the handle and to
head shows polish on the surface; striations are in Human ploughing;
pull the plough; plough head often
Rice paddy 10 min hafted with a flat
general parallel to the long axis of the plough, which turned over or stuck into the soil; Striations are
wooden support
is an orientation consistent with the movement of the could not continue after 10 min clearly visible
under low
ploughing. An angle is formed on the edge of the tip Human ploughing;
More efficient then Method 1: and magnifications,
(the ploughing angle) due to intensively breaking soil Type II-1; 3 hr 11 min; hafted with a
Rice paddy ploughed deeper ditches (about but medium-level
Compound; slate triangle wooden
in a particular position when ploughing. Under the 10 cm) polished areas
frame
microscope, high polish and parallel furrows are present without striation
Method 3: buffalo More efficient then human under high
on crystal grains of the sandstone, with the directionality 20 min;
ploughing; hafted ploughing, moved faster and made magnification
consistent with the ploughing orientation (Figure 2). Rice paddy total distance:
on a triangle deeper ditches (about 20 cm);
3744 m
wooden frame wooden frame broke after 20 min
Type I–2 single-piece plough, made of shale, was used Striations are
in rice paddies with human power. The plough head clearly visible
exhibits polish and striations near the tip and the edge Human and Efficient; human and buffalo under low
is rounded. Under the microscope, however, only low- to Type II-2; buffalo ploughing; ploughs were similar; made magnifications;
4 hr 26 min;
compound; Dryland hafted on a deeper ditches (about 12 cm); the medium-level
medium-level polish is present on the PVS peels. 7064 m
limestone triangle wooden plough head broke after buffalo polish with
frame ploughing for 10 min striations
Type I–3 single-piece plough, made of limestone, under high
was used in dry land with both human and buffalo magnification
power. The plough head shows more intensive polish
and striations than those on the rice-paddy ploughs,
likely because of the hard conditions of dry-land soil.
The polish and striations are mostly concentrated on the power. The plough head exhibits polish and striations Type II–2 compound plough, made of limestone, was
tip and lateral edges near the tip, and the ploughing similar to those from the Type I rice-paddy ploughs. The used on dry land with human and buffalo power. The
angle is also formed on the tip. The PVS peels show plough tip has rounded edge, but the lateral sections plough head shows more intensive polish and striations
massive polished areas and striations consistent with the show few usewear traces. Under the microscope of low than those on the Type II rice-paddy plough, while the
ploughing orientation (Figure 3). magnifications (7.5x), parallel striations are present near lateral sections show few usewear traces. Under the
the tip, while polished areas without striations are seen microscope, parallel striations are present near the tip
Type II–1 compound plough, made of slate, was used under high magnifications (200x) (Figure 4). on low magnifications (7.5x) and polished areas with
in rice paddy and pulled by both human and buffalo
134

4
fine striations are also visible on high magnifications
(200x) (Figure 5).
The results of this experiment indicate that the

triangular tools can be used as ploughs, although with
some difficulties. The buffalo plough was more efficient
than a human plough, as expected. However, when
buffalo was used, one plough head and one wooden
flame were soon broken, suggesting that the tools were
not strong enough to sustain the intensive impact from
the fast movement of buffalo traction (Table 1).
Based on the above observations, we can summarize

several diagnostic attributes of stone ploughs as
follows:
• The most important characteristics visible with the

naked eye include (1) the presence of long, parallel
furrows on the surface, showing an orientation
Figure 3. Exp plough replica Type 1-3: single-piece plough with three perforates working in dryland. 1: Hafting method; 2:
consistent with the working directionality, mostly ploughing in dryland; 3: the ploughing angle formed on the tip after 4 hrs of plough; 4: the plough replica; 5: usewear traces
concentrated on and near the front tip; (2) few on the upper side surface of the plough tip; 6: massive polish and long parallel striations near the plough tip (200x). © Li Liu
usewear traces on the end side of the tool because of
the lack of contact with soil; (3) the presence of the
ploughing angle or rounded edge on the tip. addition, none of them shows visible surface striations processing siliceous plants if the lithic material is hard,
similar to those on the soil-working tools. often referred to as sickle gloss (Anderson, 1999). This
• Under the microscope, if the lithic material is soft, a situation may be applicable to the Pishan tools, which
plough head surface exhibits long and parallel furrows Microscopically, in all five samples examined, the tips are made of hornfels (>5.5 hardness on the Mohs scale).
under lower magnifications, while polished areas are appear to have been used in various working motions. Some of the furrow striations on the Pishan tools might
shown at higher magnifications. If the lithic material is This was inferred from the presence of multi-directional have been caused by digging in soil (PS4, 5), but only
relatively hard, polish and striations are present on the striations. In four cases (PS1, 3, 4, 5), lateral edges were a limited area on the tip may have been used for this
surface of a plough head. used in a slicing motion, like a knife. In one case, the purpose. In general, the Pishan triangular tools were used
tool was also used for scraping (PS5), as inferred from mainly for processing various plant materials, although
• In general, a dry-land plough shows more intensive the presence of perpendicular striations on one lateral we cannot rule out the possibility of their use for working
usewear traces (polish and striations) and a more clearly edge. In three cases (PS1, 3, 4), reticulate high-level on soil occasionally. The working motions may include
defined ploughing angle than a rice-paddy plough does. polished areas without striations are present on the tip. digging, cutting, slicing and scraping.
Long or short fine striations, running multi-directionally,
are present on the edges of all five tools. In all cases the
front tip appears to have been used independently of the
Usewear Patterns on Type I lateral edges, and multiple types of usewear traces are Usewear Patterns on Type II Triangular
Triangular Tools from Pishan present on a single tool (Figure 6, nos. 6–10; Table 2). Tool from Zhuangqiaofen
The Pishan site yielded 22 triangular-shaped stone Based on our experimental study, cutting plants with One compound triangular tool from Zhuangqiaofen (ZQF
tools, all made of hornfels (Zhejiang Provincial Institute knives and sickles produces polish and parallel striations. hereafter) was examined. ZQF in Pinghu dates to the
of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Huzhou City The striations vary in form, ranging from short and very Liangzhu culture (Figure 1). Excavations have revealed
Museum, 2006, pp. 452–55). We analysed five of these fine to long and angular in cross-section, depending on more than 2,600 pieces of artefacts, including pottery,
tools (Figure 6, nos. 1–5). the types of plants. Cutting grasses produces mostly fine stone, jade, bone, antler, ivory and wooden objects.
striations, but cutting cattails produces deeper and wider A stone compound triangular tool was found on the
Morphologically, none of the Pishan triangular tools has striations (Figure 6, nos. 11–13). The striations found bottom of pit H70. It is comprised of three sections, a
an angled front tip such as caused by breaking soil when on the Pishan tools are comparable with those on the triangular head and two rectangular side components,
ploughing. These tools (PS1–5) all have sharp lateral experimental sickles used for cutting grasses and cattail. all attached together on a wooden support with a
cutting edges, which are unnecessary for a plough. In The high-level polish without striations can be caused by handle when discovered. The stone tool measured 51
135

Figure 4. Experimental plough replica Type 11-1

(three-section compound} ploughing in rice paddy.
1: The plough replica; 2: ploughing in rice paddy;
3: hafting method; 4: plough tip with rounded
and damaged edge; 5: striations near the plough
tip shown on the PVS (7.5x}; 6: polished areas near
the plough tip on PVS (200x). © Li Liu
136

4
Figure 5. Experimental plough replica Type

11-2 (three-section compound} ploughing
in dryland. 1: The plough replica; 2: hafting
method; 3: ditches made by ploughing; 4:
plough tip with rounded edge; 5: striations
on the tip; 6: striations near the tip on PVS
(7.5x}; 7: polished areas with striations near
the tip (200x}. © Li Liu
137

Figure 6. Triangular tools from Pishan and

usewear traces. 1-5: Pishan tools examined;
6: polished areas on the tip of PS1 (200x); 7:
reticulate polish and striations running mostly
diagonal on the tip of PS4 (500x); 8: fine and
short striations running multi-directionally on
the tip of PS1 (200x}; 9: medium-level polish with
fine striations perpendicular to the lateral edge
of PS5 (100x); 10: striations running vertically
and horizontally to the left lateral edge of PS3
(200x}; 11: usewear traces on experimental sickle
after cutting grass (200x); 12,13: usewear traces
on experimental sickle after cutting cattail
(200x}. © Li Liu
138

4
cm long, 44 cm wide and the total length with the Table 2. Usewear record of Pishan triangular tools
wooden handle is 1.06 m (Figure 1). This tool has been
interpreted as a compound stone plough used in rice Sample # length; width;
Tip Lateral edges Note
paddy and was presumably pulled by a bovine, given Artifact # thickness (cm)
its large size (Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Fine and short striations, parallel
Large areas of high-level Tip and lateral edges
relics and Archaeology and Pinghu City Museum, 2005). PS1 and diagonal to the left edge;
18.5; 17.5; 1.4 polish and parallel striations, were used for different
M1:5 little usewear trace on the right
multi-directional tasks
edge
Preliminary Observation Few short striations running

PS2 Diagonal and horizontal fine
24.2; 19.8; 1.5 multi-directionally on lateral Mainly used on the tip
M40:11 striations on the tip
edges
The edges of all sections exhibit polish and scars visible
Reticulate areas of high-
to the naked eye. The polish is present even on the
level polish with or without
outer, rear edges of the lateral sections, suggesting PS3 Fine striations parallel to the left
17.5; 18.3; 1.2 striations, striations fine Processing siliceous plants
that all edges underwent friction. Both upper and lower M41-2 edge
and short, perpendicular to
surfaces of all edges show polish, but the polished areas the tip
along the upper edges are wider than those on the Massive polish and fine
lower edges. Continuous scars of different sizes are striations; striations multi- Long striations nearly parallel to
PS4 The tip and one lateral
present around the edges of all three components, 27; 18; 1.5 directional, but mainly the edge on one lateral, but little
T311(2):4 side were used
diagonal and vertical to usewear traces on the other
except at the tip of the triangular head section (Figure
the tip
7, numbers 1–4). Based on experimental studies,
Medium-level polish with or
scraping objects can produce various forms of scars Few very fine striations
PS5 without striations; striations Tip and lateral sides used
(Gao and Shen, 2008; Odell and Odell-Vereecken, 23; 24; 1.5 transverse and parallel to the
M11-4 are long and deep, angular for different tasks
1980; Semenov, 1964). edges, used as scraper and knife
in cross-section
Under Low Magnifications the upper. These traces suggest that the tool tip was The Functions of the Triangular Tools
used much less intensively than the lateral sides’ edges.
Ten PVS samples were collected from the edges of The left and right lateral sections show rather similar The Pishan tools that were examined are apparently
the ZQF tool. Parallel striations running vertically and usewear traces, which are consistent with those of the multi-tasking implements, likely used as spades, knives
diagonally to the edge are visible on the surfaces of both head section. Both flat surface and the edge exhibit and scrapers. They appear to have been used on various
sides, near the edges; striations on the edges are mostly some high-level polished spots with rounded edges and materials, including plants and fine-grained soil. Given
vertical, but in a few cases the striations are parallel to striations are rare. Only on the right lateral section are the abundance of ground water in the lower Yangzi River
the edge. These traces suggest that the working motions some very fine striations, running multi-directionally, also region during Neolithic times (Zheng and Chen, 2006),
were mostly vertical, but occasionally parallel, to the present (Figure 7, numbers 9–11). it is possible that these tools were used for collecting
edges (Figure 7, numbers 5–8). aquatic plants in rivers, lakes or swamps.
The high-level polish without striation is the most
The presence of continuous scars and the vertical characteristic type of usewear trace on this tool and it The ZQF tool is likely to have been used to process
striations on the edges are consistent with a scraping only occurs on high plateaus of the tool surface. This relatively soft and siliceous materials, but we currently
motion. This tool is likely to have been used mainly to observation suggests that the materials being worked do not have a comparable example in our reference data
scrape materials, although slicing/cutting was also part on were relatively soft and probably siliceous, such as to determine the exact function of this tool. However,
of the working motions. plants. The working motions of this tool were mainly given the presence of continuous scars on the edges,
vertical to the edge, like a scraper’s and the tool tip was of striations vertical to the edges, of highly polished
used much less than the lateral sides. These usewear spots on the flat surfaces and edge areas, and of more
Under High Magnifications patterns differ completely from those of ploughs in our polish on the lower surface than on the upper surface
experimental study, in which usewear traces, mostly of edges, we suggest that this tool is likely to have been
On the head section, the surface of the tip shows low- unidirectional striations, are present on the tip. The ZQF used to process (for example, scrape) plants, such as
to medium-level of polish with no striation or pitting; tool usewear traces also differ from those of knives used soft woody materials. This was a more specialized tool,
on its lateral sides some high-level polished spots are for cutting grasses and cattails, which exhibit long or whose function is apparently different from those of the
present on the flat surfaces and on the edges, with short striations primarily parallel to the edge (Figure 6, multi-tasking single-piece triangular tools from Pishan
only occasional and very faint striations also visible. The numbers 11–13). examined in this study. Apparently, none of them was
polishes are more intense on the lower surface than used as a plough.
139

The Evidence for the First

Ploughs in China
There are several reports of stone ploughs discovered

in Neolithic sites of north China. Like those found
in the lower Yangzi River region, these tools are
triangular in form (Yu and Ye, 1981), but have not
been analysed scientifically. Therefore, it is uncertain
whether these Neolithic tools were indeed used as
ploughs.
A small number of bronze objects have been reported

as ploughs, dated to a long period extending from the
late Shang (1300–1064 bc) to the Western Han period
(206 bc–ad 9).
• Two examples were unearthed from a large elite

tomb at Dayangzhou in Jiangxi (late Shang) (Jiangxi
Institute of Cultural Relics, 1997). Both are triangular
in shape with triangular-shaped socket for hafting.
One measured 10.7 cm long and 13.7 cm wide and
weighed 0.23 kg; and the other is 9.7 cm long and
12.7 cm wide and weighed 0.16 kg. These tools are
small and light, the tips are narrow and long, and
the surfaces are elaborately decorated (Figure 8, no.
1). They may have been used as ritual objects.
• One bronze triangular tool was found in Jinan,

Shandong, probably dating to the late Shang. It
measured 13.3 cm long on the lateral side, 14.5
cm wide, and was 0.4 kg in weight. The tool has a
central ridge with two holes on the sides, apparently
designed for hafting on a wooden shaft. The edges
appear round, but no detailed study of usewear
traces has been conducted (He and Li, 2001) (Figure
8, no. 2).
Figure 7. Zhuangqiaofen triangular tool and usewear traces. 1: continuous scars on the left edge near the tip; 2: small and
large scars on the right edge near the tip; 3: polished surface and scars on the right lateral side near the back edge; 4: the
• Two triangular bronze tools were found in ZQF triangular tool; 5: striations diagonal and perpendicular to the edge on the tip of the tool; 6: striations diagonal and
Changxing in Zhejiang, dating to the late part of perpendicular to the edge of the right lateral section of the tool; 7: vertical striations on the edge of left lateral section;
8: horizontal striations on the edge of the right lateral section; 9: highly polished spots on the left lateral side; 10: highly
the Western Zhou (1065–771 bc). One measured 6.9 polished spots on the edge of head; 11: very _ne striations running multidirectionally on the right lateral side. © Li Liu
cm long and 8.8 cm wide, and the socket for hafting
is 6 x 2.2 cm in diameter. The other one measured
6 cm long and 13 cm wide, and the socket is 5.8 x • Triangular bronze tools have been found at the All these bronze tools were identified as ploughs based
1.2 cm in diameter (Figure 8, no. 3) (Xia, 2001). Shizhaishan site in Yunnan (fifth to first century bc ) on their triangular shape, rather than their usewear
The Changxing triangular tools are small in size and and were reported as ploughs (Figure 8:4). Similar tools patterns. However, tools with a triangular shape could
their small sockets indicate that they were hafted on have also been discovered from Vietnam dating to the well be used as hoes or spades. For example, several
rather narrow wooden shafts. These features raise the Dong Son period (400 bc – ad 300) and are believed scholars have argued that the triangular bronze tools
question whether the tools, if used as ploughs, could to have been used as ploughs (Glover and Higham, from Yunnan are hoes, as indicated in an image of such
have sustained the impact of breaking soil in the field. 1996, p. 433; Higham, 1989, pp. 236–38; 1996, pp. a tool depicted as a hoe carried by a woman, and shown
122–23), but this view has been questioned. on an iconographic bronze from Shizhaishan (Li, K.,
140

4
1998; Wang, D., 1977) (Figure 8:5). The same argument Table 3. Usewear traces on the ZQF compound triangular tool (high magnifications)
can be applied to the Dong Son bronze ‘ploughs’.
To date, no usewear analysis has been carried out to Sample Flat surface near the edge Edge
determine the functions of these bronze tools; thus it is Tip of the triangular Mostly low-level polish, few medium-level polished areas, moderate edge
unclear whether they were used as ploughs. Few polishes
head rounding; some faint striations;
Left edge of the Very high polished spots on both sides, rounded edges, no striation or High polished spots, no
The use of ploughs may have been a result of the triangular head pitting; more usewear traces on the back side than the front; striation
development of iron production for agricultural purposes Usewear less intensive than the left edge; polished spots on both sides, Polished spots, some faint
during the Eastern Zhou period (770–221 bc ) in the Right edge of the
rounded edges, no striation; more usewear traces on the back side than striations vertical to the
triangular head
Yellow River region (Chen, 1991:131; Yang, 1995). the front side; edge
Evidence of this technology can be found in textual Left lateral section some small high polished spots without striation or pitting, rounded edges Some highly polished spots
material and the archaeological record. An interesting some small areas of high polishes without striation, rounded edges; but on
phenomenon is that the first ploughs appear to have Right lateral section Some highly polished spots
several small flat areas very fine striations running multi-directionally
developed as a part of the cattle-plough complex.
For example, in The Analects of Confucius (written of evidence for the use of ploughs in southern China inter-polity warfare. As a result, many northerners
during the Warring States period; 475–221 bc), there before the Eastern Han period. migrated to the south and settled in the Lingnan region
is a phrase, li niu zhi zi 犁牛之子, meaning the calves of South China (Ge et al., 1997). These people likely
of ploughing cattle. This implies that some cattle were As described in the economic treatise, ‘Huozhi liezhuan, brought with them an advanced agricultural technology,
raised specially for ploughing. According to ‘Jinyu jiu’ in paragraph 26’ in Shiji, written by Sima Qian in the first including the plough and harrow, which were depicted
Guoyu (晋语九 , 国语, a text probably compiled during century bc, ‘in the Chu and Yue regions, land is plenty on funeral ceramic models. Buffalo-plough was probably
the fifth to fourth centuries bc but recording historical but population is sparse; rice and fish are the staple adopted from cattle-plough technology, making the
events from the eighth century to 453 bc), in the state of food; the farming land is prepared by fire and rice field technology more suitable for the rice paddy agriculture
Jin of the middle Yellow River Valley, ‘the animal [cattle] is cultivated by shuinou ...’ The Chu and Yue regions in south China. It is possible, therefore, that the buffalo-
which was used as sacrificial offerings in ancestral refer to the middle and lower Yangzi River Valley. The plough complex associated with rice paddy agriculture
temples is now used as a work force in the field.’ These last word, shuinou, has been interpreted as either using developed in south China by the third century ad or
records suggest that by the fifth century bc the cattle- hoes or manual cultivation methods in wet rice fields slightly earlier, as a result of diffusion of technology
plough technology was already common in north China. without ploughs (Huang, 1983, p.154). induced by population expansion from the north.
This technology became widespread during the Qin and
Han dynasties (221 bc–ad 220), being used for dry-land The earliest evidence for use of ploughs in southern
farming in north China, especially in the Yellow River China appears in artistic representations. A clay model
region (Chen, 1991, pp. 190–195; Hua, 1999, pp. 305– depicting a rice paddy associated with a ploughshare Conclusions
318; Qian, 2002a; b). was found in a late Eastern Han (c. second century
ad ) tomb in Foshan, Guangdong. As described by the In Chinese archaeology, ancient tool functions have
Consistent with the textual records, the earliest iron excavators, the human figure appears to be holding a often been inferred from their typologies by comparison
ploughs, cast in a V-shaped plough head, have been plough (Guangdong Cultural Relics Bureau 1964). The with similar tools used in more recent times. This method
discovered at several sites along the middle and lower earliest evidence for the buffalo-plough and rice-paddy is inspirational some times, but misleading in other
Yellow River, also dating to the Warring States period in complex appeared in Guangdong, dated to the Western cases. The Neolithic triangular stone tools and later iron
north China (Lei, 1980) (Figure 8: 6). The iron ploughs Jin dynasty (ad 265–316). Six ceramic models, depicting ploughs are somewhat similar in general shape, but they
became larger and heavier during the Qin and Han images of bovine ploughing and harrowing in rice paddy, were evidently used in very different ways. Usewear
periods (Figure 8:7), associated with the improvement were unearthed from Western Jin tombs in Shaoguan analysis is essential for gaining reliable understanding
of cattle-plough technology. (ad 286) (He, 2001), Lianxian (ad 312) (Xu, 1976) and of tool functions.
Huangpu (Guangdong Institute of Cultural Relics, 1999)
The cattle-plough technology particularly flourished (Figure 8, no. 9). It is possible that the cattle-iron plough Contrary to previous assumptions, there is little evidence
during the Han dynasty, when iron production became was a new technology introduced to south China from for the use of ploughs during the Neolithic period in
a state-controlled enterprise. Images of ploughing by north China during the Han period (Chen, 2002, p. 46; the lower Yangzi River Valley. Some scholars have
cattle have also been found on pictorial stone carvings Jiang, 1981, p. 65). suggested that wooden ploughs were used in prehistory
in Han tombs in north China (Figure 8, no. 8) (Wang, X., (for example, Li, 1986). In this region, several water-
1989). Interestingly, despite the rapid development of In the Eastern Han period and especially the Jin dynasty logged Neolithic sites have been found, revealing
iron plough technology in northern China, there is a lack ( AD first-fourth century) north China periodically abundant organic artefacts; but no wooden plough has
experienced political turmoil, economic instability and been discovered. This phenomenon is consistent with
141

our analysis of stone tools in this study, suggesting that

the development of paddy-rice agriculture in Neolithic
southern China was not necessarily associated with the
use of plough.
The Yangzi River region was rich in wild resources,

and faunal and floral remains from water-logged sites
have indeed shown that wild animals and plants were
important staple foods during the Neolithic times
(Chinese Archaeology Center of Peking University
and Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural relics and
Archaeology, 2011). The remaining question is exactly
what plants were processed with the Neolithic triangular
tools. This issue may be addressed by residue analysis on
these tools in the future.
It is unlikely that bronze was used for making agricultural

tools for farmers, as bronze production was tightly
controlled by the state elite for ritual and military
purposes (Liu and Chen, 2003). The plough technology
appears to have first emerged in the dry-land farming
region of north China, when iron tools became available
in large quantities to commoners during the Eastern
Zhou period. The hard evidence for the use of iron
ploughs can be traced back only to the fifth century bc in
the Yellow River region. This technology was introduced
to south China by the late Eastern Han, in about the
second century ad or later. Although we cannot rule out
the possibility that ploughs made of wood were used as
a proto-type of the iron ploughs (for example, Li, 1986),
wooden artefacts have rarely survived in north China;
therefore, this suggestion is only hypothetical and needs
to be tested in the future.
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144

5
Centres of Domestication: Mexico and MesoAmerica

5 Centres of Domestication: MesoAmerica
The Beginnings of Water Management and Agricultural

Intensification in Mesoamerica: the Case of the Prehistoric San
Marcos Well, the Purrón Dam and the ‘Fossilized’
Canal Systems of the Tehuacán Valley, Puebla, Mexico
James A. Neely
University of Texas, USA
Abstract these features/systems were ingenious in their design their study, and the study of the environmental and cultural
and engineering, and were skilful adaptations permitting contexts in which they appear.
The Tehuacán Archaeological and Botanical Project, directed early water management and agricultural intensification
by Dr Richard ‘Scotty’ MacNeish, is well recognized for its well adapted to the topography, hydrology and arid
contributions to our knowledge of early plant domestication environment of the Tehuacán Valley. These features and
in Mesoamerica. The project also greatly increased our systems are briefly described, their dating is discussed, and Climate, Topography and Hydrology
knowledge of the development of water management details of their contexts and importance are summarized.
and agricultural intensification. More recent work in the The Tehuacán Valley (Figure 1) is bordered on the east by
region has further augmented the initial findings illustrating the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, known locally as the Sierra
those developments. The San Marcos Well, the Purrón Dam de Zongólica, and on the west and south by the Sierra
and the ‘fossilized’ canal systems of the Tehuacán Valley Introduction de Zapotitlán, which is part of the Sierras Mixtecas. The
are, arguably, the most outstanding examples of the varied Sierra de Zongólica intercepts much of the moisture coming
and exquisitely engineered prehistoric water management This paper focuses on the arid highland Tehuacán Valley from trade winds in the Gulf of Mexico (Byers, 1967; Enge
systems in Mesoamerica that were superbly adapted of southern Puebla, Mexico (Figure 1). It summarizes and Whiteford, 1989) leaving the Tehuacán Valley in a
to the environments in which they were constructed. three case studies illustrating very early examples of water rain shadow. The climate of the valley floor is classified
Although very early evidence for agriculture has now been management and agricultural intensification taken from as DdB’3 (arid, rainfall deficient in all seasons, temperate,
discovered in several locations within Mesoamerica, these the hundreds of water management features and systems evapotranspiration very high) in the Thornthwaite (1948)
water management and agricultural intensification features recorded in the Tehuacán Valley (Neely and Castellón classification. The elevation of the valley floor ranges from
and systems found in the Tehuacán Valley remain the Huerta, 2014; Woodbury and Neely, 1972). The Tehuacán about 1680 metres in the north to around 1050 metres
earliest and most sophisticated yet disclosed and studied. Archaeological and Botanical Project of the early 1960s in the south. The mean annual precipitation varies from
Recent fieldwork has also provided evidence that indicates is well recognized for its contributions to our knowledge 250 mm to 500 mm, with a rainy season from June to
agricultural intensification happened even earlier than of early plant domestication in Mesoamerica (MacNeish, September. The valley has a temperature range from about
previously thought. 1967–1972). However, less well recognized is the 4 °C to 45 °C that varies inversely with elevation, with a
contribution of that project and subsequent work to our mean annual temperature of about 25 °C. The Río Salado
The Late Palaeo-Indian/Early Archaic Period San Marcos knowledge of the beginnings of water management and drains the valley from north to south. Except for the high
Well presents the earliest directly dated water management the later beginnings of agricultural intensification. elevations of the piedmont where rainfall is greater, only
feature yet found in Mesoamerica. The directly dated an unpredictable seasonal agriculture is possible within
Purrón Dam, constructed during the Formative Period, is The Tehuacán Valley provided an ideal climatic, topographic the valley without some form of water management,
the most massive water management feature yet found in and hydrological setting for the early development of water and irrigation is an absolute necessity for more exotic
Mesoamerica and appears to be the culmination of earlier management and agricultural intensification (Brunet, 1967; plants (Smith, 1967: 233, 240, 242) and for agricultural
similar forms of water management in the barranca (large Byers, 1967). Of the many examples of the varied and intensification. An often-overlooked natural phenomenon
erosional drainage) where it was found. The Tehuacán exquisitely engineered water management systems that that plays a seminal role in the nature and efficacy of
‘fossilized canals’, superbly preserved through a natural were superbly adapted to the environments in which they water management is topography. The topography of
process of travertine deposition in their channels, currently were constructed, the San Marcos Well, the Purrón Dam the Tehuacán Valley is such as to require varied adaptive
comprise the best preserved and largest directly dated and the ‘fossilized’ canal systems are the most outstanding. technologies to permit the cultivation of rich soils, some
prehistoric canal system in Mesoamerica. Portions of this This is because of their early dates, their size or extent, and of which are available in large, nearly level expanses. Each
canal system were first excavated in the Formative Period; their excellent state of preservation. They are also unique of the three early water management manifestations
the system was expanded through prehistory and segments due to the amount of time that has been dedicated to considered herein reflects a different adaptation to varying
of the system function to the present day. All three of major topographic and hydrological regimes of the valley.
146

The Beginnings of Water Management and Agricultural Intensification
in Mesoamerica: the Case of the Prehistoric San Marcos Well, the Purrón Dam
5
and the ‘Fossilized’ Canal Systems of the Tehuacán Valley, Puebla, Mexico
The San Marcos Well tapped the high water table/aquifer

once present in the centre portion of the valley, and
the later ‘fossilized’ canal systems in those same areas
conveyed spring waters emerging from underground
aquifers in karstic substrates characterizing large, nearly
level terrain. In these areas surface watercourses are
largely absent. At the south end of the valley, where
metamorphic substrates predominate, the Purrón Dam
collected water from drainage stream runoff in an area of
surface watercourses in a more topographically varied and
rugged terrain.
Although Byers (1967, pp. 63–64) has expressed some

doubt, the general consensus (for example, Smith, 1967:
240, 242) remains that there has been little, if any, climatic
change in the Tehuacán Valley from at least the beginning
of the El Riego Phase (c. 6800 bc) until the present.
However, the geological/hydrological observations of
Brunet (1967), now supported by archaeological (Neely
and Castellón Huerta, 2014) and historical data (Enge and
Whiteford, 1989; Ramírez Sorensen, 1996, 2008), point
to a human-induced, steady lowering of the water table
within the valley over the centuries of its occupation.
The San Marcos Necoxtla Water Well
The earliest evidence for water management in the

Tehuacán Valley dates to sometime in the Late Palaeo-
Indian/Early Archaic Period. In the small village of San
Marcos Necoxtla (Figures 1 and 13), located in the central
part of the valley where the water table was once close to
the ground surface, a small water well has been discovered
that dates between about 7,000 and 4,000 bc (Caran et al.,
1996; Neely, in press; Neely and Castellón Huerta, 2014;
Neely et al., 1995). This well is located some 30 kilometres
north-west of the Purrón Dam Complex and at the head of
a ‘fossilized’ canal system. The well was found exposed in
an earth profile of a large presumably historically excavated
area near the centre of the village. The profile shows the
well as a bi-lobed inverted cone that measures about 5
metres deep and 10 metres wide at the ground surface into
which it was excavated (Figure 2). It was found partially
filled with lithic chipping debris, tools and broken projectile
points, suggesting a tool production locus was nearby and
its residue was discarded into the well. The dating of this
feature is based on both radiocarbon dating and the
cross-dating of diagnostic projectile points found in the
well. The well was excavated through a stratum of soil Figure 1. A rendered physical map of the Tehuacán Valley. The approximate locations of the San Marcos Necoxtla water well
(top arrow), the Purrón Dam (bottom arrow), and the area of the ‘fossilized’ canals (rectangle) are shown. Modified by J. Neely
(Unit 3 – Figure 2) from the top of which was extracted from MacNeish 1967. © James A. Neely
147

a corrected and calibrated radiocarbon date (University of (PDC) was constructed, evidently began by c. 1050 bc and Small test excavations recovered radiocarbon samples from
Texas sample TX-7916) of cal. 7, 744 bc. perhaps earlier, preceding the construction of the Purrón Tr–15 that present dates of 2890 + 40 B.P. (Beta Analytic #
Dam by at least c. 300 years, and that the dam was but 233271 = c. 1,090 bc [1,212 to 972 cal. bc]) and 2,860 +
Several examples of two well-known projectile point types, one feature in a complex that included small dams, a major 40 B.P. (Beta Analytic # 233270 = c. 1,022 bc [1,131 to 913
the Nogales and Hidalgo types, were found within the canal, habitation sites with associated gardens and a cave cal. bc]). However, one other sample found dates to 3,950
well near its floor. These point types have an overlapping with petroglyphs (Neely et al., 2015). + 40 B.P. (Beta Analytic #233269 = c. 2,420 bc [2,503 to
age range of from c. 7,000 to 4,000 bc in the Tehuacán 2,336 cal. bc]). The 2,420 cal. bc date is important and I
Valley (MacNeish et al., 1967: 59–61, Figures 40 and 42). The Barranca Lencho Diego is a high-gradient intermittent shall return to discuss it further below.
Accordingly, the age of the San Marcos Well may bridge drainage along the eastern side of the Tehuacán Valley
the transition from the Palaeo-Indian Period into the near its southern end. It lies in one of the warmer parts of In addition, the profiles of several small dams (such as,
Archaic Period. The San Marcos Well is the earliest directly the Tehuacán Valley, with a temperature range of about 8 Tr–501, 502, 503, 505 and 539), generally similar to the
dated water well yet recorded in Mesoamerica. It precedes °C to 42 °C and a mean annual temperature of about 25 early level of Tr–15, were found exposed in arroyo (small
the other early, but indirectly dated, Abasolo Wells found in °C. It has an estimated average annual rainfall of about erosional drainage) cuts within the reservoir area behind
Oaxaca by about 2,800 years (Flannery, 1983; Marcus and 400 mm. Its catchment basin includes a piedmont formed the Purrón Dam (Figures 3 and 4). Because of their small
Flannery, 1996; Neely, in press). by portions of Cerro Chichiltepec; foothills formed by a size, it is uncertain if these dams were constructed to form
succession of Cretaceous and Cenozoic conglomerates, a reservoir to retain water or to constrain water-borne
The possibility that this feature is a form of a natural gypsum, siltstone, sandstone and limestone; and an alluvial silts to provide rich planting areas. These small dams have
sinkhole filled with cultural debris has been considered, but valley consisting of terraces, alluvial fans and down-cut been dated stratigraphically and by optically stimulated
no indications of faulting or vertically displaced strata have arroyos that empty into the Río Salado. The Purrón Dam luminescence (OSL) to the period from about 1050 bc,
been found (Figure 2). Also, fossil diatoms found within the has a catchment area of about 30.5 km2 that rises to roughly contemporaneous with the lowest level of Tr–15,
well’s fill were of species characteristic of stressed habitats, over 1,800 m. It is strategically situated at a 400 m-wide to about 750 bc, when the construction of the first level of
such as wells (Caran et al., 1996). constriction (Figure 3), at an elevation of about 920 m, in the Purrón Dam took place.
the alluvial valley of the barranca formed by outcropping
There is no evidence that this well was involved in foothills. Upstream of the dam the barranca is dominated The Purrón Dam. The Purrón Dam was constructed
agricultural intensification. However, it lies stratigraphically by alluvial fans, while downstream of the dam portions in four building stages (Figure 5) during the Middle
below a well-defined ‘fossilized’ canal that most likely was of the relatively level floodplain were formerly farmed and Formative Period (c. 750–450 bc). It is the earliest directly
used for agricultural irrigation (number 2 in Unit 6 – Figure irrigated, as evidenced by remnant canal channels and dated and most massive feature designed for agricultural
2). This canal lies about 2.7 metres below and thus predates ridged fields overgrown with scrub vegetation. intensification yet found in Mesoamerica, with a total
a small deposit of Mid- to Late Santa Maria Phase pottery volume of about 370,000 m3 of rock and earth. In its final
(number1 in Unit 6 – Figure 2) that dates to c. 500–200 bc The more fully studied PDC was found to occupy six form it was about 400 m long, 100 m from front to back,
(Caran et al., 1996: Table 1). geographic subareas within the barranca in which it was 21 m in height and had an estimated maximum potential
constructed (Figure 3). Subareas 1 and 2 contain the reservoir volume of about 979,740 m3.
This site begs for additional work, but at the time of the majority of the remains from the Formative Period, whereas
well’s discovery the residents of San Marcos were willing for the other sub-areas have most of the remains dating to the Waters from the barranca have breached both ends of the
my field team only to trowel to better define its exposed Postclassic reoccupation. dam and created north and south profiles of the dam that
profile and take a few samples for study. provide excellent exposures of its internal construction
Feature Tr-15. The Purrón Dam lends its name to the (Figure 5). An initial step in our restudy was to rappel
complex; but it is not the earliest manifestation of water down the exposed southern face of the dam to record the
management present in the Barranca Lencho Diego. nature of each level’s construction and to take elevation
The Purrón Dam Complex (PDC) The earliest radiocarbon-dated water management measurements to facilitate correlations to upstream
feature present in the complex is the first building level construction and sedimentation sequences (Figure 6).
The Purrón Dam (Figures 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7) was discovered of a feature labelled Tr–15 (Figure 3), which is a large,
in 1964 during the initial study of water management curved, earth-and- stone dam-like structure that spans the The discovery of a stratum of fluvial bedded gravels in the
in the Tehaucán Valley (Woodbury and Neely, 1972). A barranca upstream from the Purrón Dam. In its final form, profile of the Purrón Dam that also appears in arroyo cuts
recent intensive resurvey of the dam covered an area of it is approximately 550 m long, 30 m from front to back within its reservoir has provided a chrono-stratigraphic
approximately 36 hectares (Neely et al., 2015). This survey and ranges from 3 to 5 m in height. The dimensions of boundary between the earlier phases of dam construction
was designed to better define the dam’s chronological its various building stages have not yet been determined. and sedimentation below it and the later phases of
placement and to more fully examine the cultural and However, the base of Tr–15 is at higher elevation than the construction and sedimentation above it (Level 3 in Figures
environmental contexts in which it was constructed. maximum height of the Purrón Dam; therefore, it was 5 and 7). It was by means of this stratum and the OSL
The fieldwork discovered that water management in the never within the impoundment area of the dam and it dating (Aiuvalasit et al., 2010) of sediments in the reservoir
Barranca Lencho Diego, in which the Purrón Dam Complex impounded its own water and sediments. that we were able to stratigraphically date some of the
148

5
small dams found in the reservoir area behind the Purrón

Dam. These stratigraphic studies also strongly suggest that
the Purrón Dam was the culmination of dam constructions
beginning with the small dams noted above dating as early
as 1050 bc and possibly earlier.
Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dates

and stratigraphy have allowed us determine that the first
level of the Purrón Dam was constructed at about 750 bc
and that the final level of construction was completed by
the end of the Middle Formative Period, about 450 bc.
As with all such dams, the reservoir behind the first

construction level of the Purrón Dam filled with silt, and
with refurbishments the dam was expanded in both its
length and height. Through time, the processes of reservoir
filling and constructive rebuilding were repeated three more
times for a total of four construction levels and subsequent
reservoir fillings.
The reason for these laborious refurbishments was evidently

a need to supply water for the cultivation of edible and
useful crops (maize, squash, Coyol, Chupandilla, Cosahuico
and agave – Smith, 1967, pp. 228–229; Smith, 1968, pp.
140–141), but most specifically for several species of exotic
domesticated plants, including black and white sapote,
avocado, cotton and others that required irrigation to grow
in this arid locale (Smith, 1967: 233, 240, 242; Woodbury
and Neely, 1972, pp. 95–96, Table 12). Conveniently, about
one kilometre north of the dam, the macrofloral remains
of these same edible and exotic plants were found in the
well-dated excavated levels of Purrón Cave by MacNeish
and Garcia Cook (1972). The exotic macrofloral remains
first appear in the Purrón Cave’s radiocarbon dated levels
that correspond with the first construction level of the dam
and continue in the dated cave levels until the dam went
out of use – thus confirming the history of the dam’s period
of use and function.
Figure 2. Cross-section drawing of the San Marcos Necoxtla water well. Unit 4 represents the filled well with Nogales and
Hidalgo projectile point fragments and chipping debris present. After Caran et al. 1996. © Caran, Neely, Winsborough,
The reasons for the abandonment of the dam are unclear, Ramírez Sorensen and Valastro
but accumulating silt filling the reservoir, a possible drought
in the region (Bhattacharya et al., 2015), and changes in
the settlement and socio-political systems, which may have 2.0 m. The canal was carried above and around the north associated gardens that lay between the canal and the west
involved regional conflict (Marcus and Flannery, 1996, pp. end of the Purrón Dam and was probably constructed branch of the Barranca Lencho Diego.
203–206; Spencer and Redmond, 1997, pp. 600–603), to divert water away from the dam during repairs, the
may all have been involved. addition of construction levels, and to shunt unusually great The Habitation Sites and Associated Gardens. Resurvey
amounts of floodwaters around the dam and reservoir to increased the number of known Formative Period habitation
The Santa Maria Canal (Tr–508). The Santa Maria Canal protect them during the flash floods characterizing this sites associated with the Purrón Dam from 8 to 23, with the
(Figure 3) was constructed along the eastern face of the area. It also apparently served to provide a domestic water majority of the sites found in Subarea 2 north of the dam
Cerro Lencho Diego for a distance of about 2,500 metres, supply to several habitation sites and irrigation to several (Figure 3). These were small sites, averaging about 1,175 m2
with an average width of about 3.5 m and depth of about in area, which had been constructed on artificially created
149

terraces adjacent to and paralleling the east (down-slope)

bank of the Santa Maria Canal (Figure 3). Several of the sites
had the rock foundations of small houses and some had
small platforms and mounds (Figure 8).
In addition, eight agricultural gardens, some characterized

by linear borders (Woodbury and Neely, 1972: 113) and
low terraces of stone, were found associated with these
habitation sites. These gardens, averaging about 1,650 m2
in area, were only slightly larger than the sites. The garden
areas had also been artificially levelled and were located
downslope from the Santa Maria Canal and the habitation
sites and just upslope from the bed of the Barranca Lencho
Diego, which was subject to flooding (Figure 3).
Based on the size and complexity of the associated

habitation sites and associated artefacts, it is hypothesized
that the Purrón Dam was constructed by cooperating
small corporate groups rather than a more socio-politically
complex ranked society with a managerial elite (Neely et
al., 2015).
The Santiago Cave (Tc–511). The Santiago Cave was

found just south of the habitation zone and just east of
the Santa Maria Canal (Figures 3 and 9). This is a small
human-made cave or ‘cavate’ (Powell, 1886) that exhibits
an array of prehistoric petroglyphs (along with a good deal
of more recent graffiti) on its smoothed and sometimes
plastered walls (Figures 9 and 10). No excavations were
attempted within the cave, but the petroglyphs and a few
ceramic sherds indicate a long period of use – extending
perhaps from the Late Archaic into the Post-Classic (Rincón
Mautner, 2005a, b). This cave also has a human-made
terrace-like platform constructed in front of its mouth. The
petroglyphs, the presence of Coxcatlan Course ceramics
(MacNeish et al., 1970, pp. 212–217) and the frontal
platform strongly suggest the function of the cave to be
ceremonial. Recent findings (Tucker et al., 2005) regarding
similar terrace-like platforms constructed in front of
human-made ceremonial caves in central Mexico support
this proposed function. The role of ritual and ceremonialism
in relation to water management is a subject that sorely
needs attention in archaeology (Marcus, 2006).
Post-Formative Occupation of the Barranca. The

barranca was nearly abandoned at the end of the Formative
Period, with only a very small, possibly seasonal, occupation
during the Classic Period. The population had evidently
moved to two large Classic Period easily defensible
mountaintop sites about one kilometre south-west of the Figure 3. Map showing the components of the Purrón Dam Complex. lsolated large numbers indicate the survey’s geographic
sub-areas. The broad, sinuous north-south oriented line represented the Santa Maria Canal. The hachured areas represent the
PDC (Spencer, 1979: Figure 2.11). The reason for this move Purrón Dam (left) and the feature Tr-15 (right). © James A. Neely
150

5
is not known, but possibly resulted from the loss of the

Purrón Dam, or due to political pressures and armed threats
from the Valley of Oaxaca (Marcus and Flannery, 1996, pp.
203–206; Spencer and Redmond, 1997, pp. 600–603).
Climatic studies (Bhattacharya et al., 2015), near the large
site of Cantona, located about 125 km north of the PDC,
have revealed regional drought cycles which may also have
played a role in the shift of the PDC population closer to
the Río Salado and an area of springs.
Conversely, in the Postclassic Period the barranca saw

the reoccupation of many of the Formative sites and the
founding of new communities. This period also saw the
construction of the large platform-and-pyramid complex
atop the Purrón Dam, forming its fifth Level of construction
(Figure 5).
The nature and locations of the Postclassic fields indicate

that agricultural pursuits had changed. The Postclassic fields
were located along the lobes of alluvial fans and in shallow
intermittent drainages (compare Neely, 2005; Figures 6 and
7), many with well-placed stone alignments. The nature
and location of these fields indicate dry-farming and the
manipulation of local drainage patterns were practiced to
conduct the cultivation of subsistence crops, such as maize,
beans, squash and semi-domesticated plants like agave and
prickly pear, with the exclusion of the cultivated exotic food
plants demanding irrigation. This is an unusual case study
that provides an example of agricultural production that
became less complex and intensified through time.
Figure 4. The remnants of a small dam (Tr-503) found buried in the sediments filling the Purrón reservoir (see Figure 3). The
reservoir of this small dam was to the left. The rod is 2.0 m in length. © Michael J. Aiuvalasit.
The Tehuacán ‘Fossilized’ Canal Systems

a sequential use of the canal (Winsborough et al., indicate a heavy Postclassic Period use. The canals were
A natural ‘fossilization’ process, involving the deposition 1996). Examination of canal cross-sections under high apparently incrementally expanded in area through time
of spring sourced, water-borne travertine in the channels magnification disclosed organic residue, consisting of as the demand for agricultural intensification increased and
of canals located in nearly level areas of the central part diatoms, phytoliths, pollen, spores, bacteria, bryophytes, some function to the present day.
of the Tehuacán Valley, has resulted in the best-preserved, macroalgae (Charuceue), emergent aquatic plants, plant
most expansive (about 70 km2) and earliest directly dated debris and amorphous organic material, preserved between The alignment of the major springs supplying water to
prehistoric canal systems in Mesoamerica. These canals are the thin, varve-like layers. These remains also included the ‘fossilized’ canals suggests that they flow from a long
locally referred to as ‘Tecuates’ (from the Nahuatl ‘tecóatl,’ pollen and macrofloral debris from vegetation growing geologic fault that runs north-west by south-east along
meaning stone snakes) due to their narrow, sinuous near the canals as well as from adjacent irrigated fields. the approximate centre of northern and central part of the
appearance across the landscape (Figure 12). Through a Numerous hydrochloric acid baths were used to remove valley. When mapped, it was apparent that these springs
process of mineral accretion, several of these canals stand the travertine, leaving an organic residue (Winsborough headed five separate canal systems (Figure 13). The three
at heights of over three metres. The free-standing canals et al., 1996). Radiocarbon dating was undertaken at the central canal systems, and possibly all five systems, were
evidently continued to function as long as their channel laboratories of the University of Texas (TX–xxxx, see dates strategically engineered to slightly overlap so as to maximize
slope was below the elevation of their water source. below) and the University of Arizona (A–xxxxx, see dates the amount of cultivable land that could be irrigated.
below). Several samples of the rendered organic residue
These canals have thin, stratified, varve-like layers in provided dates extending from the Formative Period into The numbers of radiocarbon dates we currently have are
cross-section, each layer having been deposited during the Classic Period. Associated sites among the canals also not sufficient to delimit the geographic boundaries of the
151

five canal systems for each cultural period of use. However,

our ongoing restudy of the archaeological sites associated
with these canal systems suggests that the canals covered
an area of about 10 km2 during the Formative Period
and that the area increased to around 70 km2 during the
Postclassic Period. Approximately 376 km of primary and
secondary canals have been mapped, a number estimated
to be about half of the total canal lengths if the tertiary and
field canals were included.
Observations
Credible Formative Period 1–sigma radiocarbon dates as

early as cal. 777 bc (TX–8297) were recovered from the
canals (Neely, in press; Neely and Castellón Huerta, 2014).
However, additional very early bc radiocarbon dates were
also recovered. Originally thought to be aberrant, cal.
bc dates of 1,094 (A–12056), 1,876 (A–12107), 1,918
(A–12103), 2,449 (A–12055), 2,464 (A–12053), 2,982
(A–12057) and 2,990 (A–12050), obtained from some
‘fossilized’ canals approximate the very early corrected
dates of cal. 1,022, 1,090 and 2,420 bc from feature Tr–15
in the Purrón Dam Complex (Neely et al., 2015), leading to Figure 5. Longitudinal and transverse sections of the Purrón Dam. After Woodbury and Neely 1972.
the hypothesis that water management may date as much © James A. Neely
as 1,000 years or more earlier than what are indicated by
the recently recovered Purrón Dam Complex dates noted
above.
This hypothesis is further supported by a statement by

Earle Smith while discussing the addition of three varieties
of fruit (coyol, white sapote and black sapote) in the Late
Coxcatlan Phase (Zone XI – c. 4200 – 3500 bc) deposits
within Coxcatlan Cave. According to Smith (1967: 233):
‘These plants could not grow in the Tehuacán region
without supplementary water and the appearance of all
three in Zone XI indicates that the Coxcatlan phase people
had managed to control the water available and supply
it to plants which were desirable but were by no means
dietary necessities.’ Smith (1967: 240) also states that the:
‘Cultivation of avocados also implies water control in the
valley, inasmuch as avocados cannot exist in the valley over
the long dry season.’ However, Smith’s observation may be
tempered by the previously mentioned findings of Brunet
(1967) and others that document a steadily lowering of
the water table within the valley over the centuries of its
occupation. Should this have been the case, there may
have been enough moisture in the parts of the Tehuacán
Valley considered by Smith to be too dry early in the history
Figure 6. Michael Aiuvalasit rappelling down the eroded south face of the Purrón Dam to record each profile
of plant cultivation for those plants needing more water. element. © James A. Neely
152

5
Figure 7. Schematic cross-section drawing of the location and elevation relationships of the Purrón Dam with the other dams located upstream. © Michael J. Aiuvalasit.
Fostering the presence of higher early moisture levels

are Borejsza and Frederick’s (2010) documented moister
conditions with increased stream discharge and floodplain
aggradation during the Early Formative Period to the north
of the Tehuacán Valley. Should the condition documented
by Borejsza and Frederick extend back into the Coxcatlan
Phase and south into the Tehuacán Valley, enough moisture
may have been present to cultivate the four fruits Smith
felt needed irrigation of some sort. On the other hand, the
observations of Borejsza and Frederick may be regionally
variable and would not apply to the Tehaucán Valley due to
the valley’s rain shadow (Borejsza, personal communication,
2015). The impact of this rain shadow might be illustrated
by Smith’s (1967, p. 240) observation, while discussing the
cultivation of avocados in the Tehuacán Valley, that: ‘…
(the overall collection of) vegetal remains indicate that the
climate of the area has remained unchanged from at least
the beginning of El Riego time (ca. 6800 bc in radiocarbon
years) to the present.’ Considering the data at hand, I
believe the foregoing botanical information, as well as the
presence of early radiocarbon dates recovered from water
management features in the Tehuacán Valley, suggests a
long period of aridity and that water management may
have been developed much earlier than presently thought.
Obviously, additional fieldwork, including pollen profiles
from throughout the valley and additional radiocarbon
dating of many of the early sites and the ‘fossilized’
canals, is sorely needed to test the hypothesis and settle
Figure 8. Field map of habitation site Tr-519 (see Figure 3). The hand-drawn, paced-off field sketch map has been rendered in
this matter! Adobe lllustrator for publication. © James A. Neely
153

Figure 10. A rendition of the northeast wall of the Cueva Santiago showing the petroglyphs incised and pecked into
the gypsum wall (see Figure 9). Note the “H”-shaped elements in the tower right are similar to those found on Middle
Formative Period anthropomorphic figurines in the Tehuacán Valley (MacNeish et al. 1970: 9Z). Modified by J. Neely
from a drawing by Carlos Rincón Mautner and David Smee. © James A. Neely
Normally, radiocarbon dates on terrestrial organic matter are bc) and δ13C values of –26 to –27‰, would require little
calculated assuming an initial 14C activity of 100 percent or no correction. Third, another sample, A–12106, dated
modern carbon (pMC), i.e. atmospheric CO2 alone as to 6225 bp with δ13C = –23.1‰; the correction in this case
the source of carbon. That is how the dates above were would be approximately 800 years to a true date of about
Figure 9. Plan view of the Cueva Santiago (Tc-511 - see calculated. If in fact, the organic matter incorporated a 5400 bp (ca. 3,450 bc), which still stands as one of the older
Figure 3), showing the relative locations of some of the significant amount of bicarbonate containing as little as dates of the set. Thus it is highly likely that several of the
petroglyphs. Modified by J. Neely from a drawing by Carlos
Rincón Mautner and David Smee. 0 pMC, the result would be dates that are shifted in the very old samples are indeed as old as, or close to, the ages
direction of being too old. indicated by the uncorrected dates. (Christopher J. Eastoe,
personal communication, 2015).
Before getting too carried away with the possibility of the We can attempt a correction on the basis of the stable
‘fossilized’ canals originating at a date in the range of c. carbon isotope composition (expressed as δ13C) of the
1,800 to 2,900 bc, there is an additional interrelated factor organic matter. Let us suppose that the lowest values of At the present time, this dating conundrum cannot be
that must be considered. We have also obtained several δ13C in the data set, about –26‰, represent unadulterated resolved. Further studies of the residual organic matter in
dates from the canals that are extremely early. At this time, atmospheric input, and that the highest values (about –21‰) order to assess post-depositional changes, which might
the dates of cal. bc 3,428 (A–12058), 3,579 (A–12104), represent the largest input of 0 pMC bicarbonate with δ13C affect the reliability of radiocarbon assays, and additional
3,825 (A–12060), 4,460 A–12063), 4,935 (A–12061), = 0, values chosen to correspond to the most extreme shifts analyses on a larger number of samples extracted from the
5,075 (A–12105), 5,177 (A–12106) and 5,790 (A–12062) in the calculated dates. The δ13C values allow a mass canals are needed to place parameters of credibility on the
also recovered from the canals appear to be just too balance calculation yielding the fraction of bicarbonate–C in extremely early dates noted above. However, based on the
early to be credible. However, Dr Christopher J. Eastoe the original organic matter. From this follows a new estimate observations made during the processing of these samples
of the University of Arizona Department of Geosciences for the original pMC of the organic matter, with a value less (Winsborough et al., 1996, pp. 46–48) as well as that of
Environmental Isotope Laboratory has provided the than 100, that is used as the basis of the date calculation. Dr Eastoe, while this method of dating the organic fraction
following very interesting information that implies that of travertine and other calcareous accumulations must be
even some of the extremely early dates noted above may When we apply this reasoning to the radiocarbon dates refined, it does appear to be fundamentally valid.
be correct! from the fossilized canals, the following observations
emerge. First, if the mixing effect described above were As a result, the very early radiocarbon dates recovered from
The radiocarbon dates for the fossilized canals were present throughout the data set, older samples might be Tr–15 and the ‘fossilized’ canals must at this time stand as
measured on organic matter, most of which originated expected to have higher δ13C values. Instead, there is no the basis for a viable hypothesis that these features reflect
as aquatic plants that potentially drew photosynthetic clear correlation between dates and δ13C values. Second, much earlier beginnings for agricultural intensification than
carbon from two sources: atmospheric CO2 and dissolved several of the older samples (A–12060, A–12061, A–12062, currently accepted.
bicarbonate from the spring water feeding the canal. A–12105) with dates of 5000 – 7000 bp (ca. 3,050 – 4,040
154

5
Conclusions
In conclusion, it is clear that all three of these forms of

water management were ingenious in their design and
engineering, especially for the time of their construction,
and were skilful adaptations permitting early access to
water and promoting agricultural intensification in the
topographically and hydrologically varied arid environment
of the Tehuacán Valley.
Continuing work has greatly expanded our knowledge of

the water management systems in the Tehuacán Valley. It
not only has shown the value of resurveying using more
modern technology and methods, but has also solidified
an early date for the use of water management for both
domestic use and agricultural intensification and provided
some evidence that suggests that agricultural intensification
may well extend 1,000 years or more earlier than presently
indicated.
The discovery of the small, relatively simple habitation sites

at the Purrón Dam Complex presents compelling evidence
that small cooperating corporate groups undertook large
water management projects in the Formative Period.
These results have implications for understanding the
causal links between political complexity and agricultural
intensification, and support recent ethnographic and
archaeological research in both Mesoamerica and the
American Southwest (for example, Cabrillo et al., 2012;
Enge and Whiteford, 1989; Evans, 1990; Hunt, 1972,
1988; Hunt and Hunt, 1974; Hunt et al., 2005; Kirkby,
1973; Mabry, 2008; Neely 2014, in Press; Neely and
Castellón Huerta, 2014; Pérez Rodríguez, 2006; Ramirez
Sorensen, 1996; Smith and Price, 1994) challenging the
argument that only increasing social complexity leads to
the construction of large-scale water management systems.
Finally, the excellent preservation of the Prehistoric

structures and material culture documenting the detailed
cultural development of the region is phenomenal. This Figure 11. Field map of Tr-529
preservation also provides insights into the trajectory of (see Figure 3), a Postclassic
period agricultural field
cultural developments in Mesoamerica as a whole and situated in a shallow drainage.
is a decisive and critical reason for adding the Tehuacán- Stones cleared from the
drainage were apparently
Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve to the World Heritage List. I used to construct the low
consider the untapped potential of the Tehuacán Valley terraces and armor the sides
of the drainage. A possible
for expanding our knowledge of prehistoric lifeways and habitation site was located at
the processes of economic and socio-political development the southwest corner of this
field area. The hand-drawn,
through time to be amazing and nearly boundless. paced-off field sketch map
has been rendered in Adobe
lllustrator for publication.
© James A. Neely
155

Figure 12. A sinuous, primary ‘fossilized’ canal located just south of the city of Tehuacán. This canal has accreted to a height of 2 m. © James A. Neely
Acknowledgments laboratory analyses was provided by the H. John Heinz Christopher J. Eastoe, Robert C. Hunt, and Michael J.
III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American O’Brien who read drafts of this paper and made most
My thanks go to the Instituto Nacional de Antropología Archaeology and by Archaeological Research, Inc. The useful comments and suggestions.
e Historia de México for granting permits to conduct author extends his appreciation to all of these benefactors.
fieldwork on the above sites. Field research was funded by Michael J. Aiuvalasit, Mark D. Bateman, Blas Castellón
the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Huerta, S. Christopher Caran, Christopher J. Eastoe,
Society, the Wenner Gren Foundation, the H. John Heinz Marco A. Fragoso F., Charles D. Frederick, Carlos A. Rincón Bibliography
III Charitable Fund Grant Program for Latin American Mautner and Barbara M. Winsborough contributed
Archaeology and by a Robert Mellon Foundation Faculty significantly to the success of these projects. Special Aiuvalasit, M. J., Neely, J. A. and Bateman, M. D. 2010.
Research Grant. Funding for radiocarbon assays and other thanks go to Blas Castellón Huerta, William E. Doolittle, New Radiometric Dating of Water Management Features
156

5
Figure 13. Map of the northern and central portion of the Tehuacán Valley, showing the major active and inactive springs and
the associated five canal systems. San Marcos Necoxtla is shown near the left center of the map, while the Purrón Dam is located
approximately 16 km to the south-east of this map. © James A. Neely
157

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159

On the Origins and Domestication of Maize:

the Impact of Environmental Transitions is Revealed
Jean-Philippe Vielle-Calzada
UGA Laboratorio Nacional de Genómica para la Biodiversidad, CINVESTAV, Irapuato, Mexico
Abstract Introduction Riego, San Marcos and Tecorral (MacNeish et al., 1972). The
rockshelters of San Marcos and Tecorral are in the vicinity of
The current set of botanical, archaeological and genetic In 1958, Richard S. MacNeish, then a researcher at the a region suitable for the establishment of the first agricultural
evidence strongly suggests that maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) National Museum of Canada, began a long expedition practices in Mesoamerica. Both shelters face north as they
was domesticated in central Mexico about 9,000 years through Central America in search of clues that might explain are adjacent to each other, at the edge of a gentle slope
ago from Balsas teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) as its the origin of agriculture on the continent. MacNeish knew that could allow the establishment of cultivation terraces
single ancestor. However, many questions related to the the work of Nikolai Vavilov, the Russian geneticist that back partially flooded during the rainy season (Figure 2). At the
genetic and environmental factors that led to the initiation in 1931 had suggested that Mexico was the centre of origin bottom of their drainage basin, the current extension of
of this subspeciation process remain unanswered. More of many crops. Assuming that Vavilov was right and that floodplains is used for milpa cultivation by inhabitants of San
than fifty years after Richard MacNeish’s pioneering work the ancestors of squash, tomato, pepper, avocado, bean or Marcos Necoxtla, a small community neighbouring the city of
that established Tehuacán Valley as an important centre of corn (maize) were to be found in Mesoamerica, MacNeish Tehuacán. While in Tecorral only 3 sedimentary strata were
ancient Mesoamerican agriculture, we have undertaken an postulated that ancient human communities sheltering in found, San Marcos contained abundant remains of dried cobs
interdisciplinary approach that takes advantage of current caves could have accumulated organic waste over large distributed in 5 layers, of which the oldest is about 5400 bp
archaeobotanical, genetic, genomic, palaeogenomic temporal periods, allowing for archaeobotanical sampling. (MacNeish, 1967a, 1967b; Long et al., 1989).
and geochemical technologies to address new and old With sufficiently dry conditions, it would be possible to
hypotheses related to the possible role that environmental undertake excavations in those caves and find organic debris During the first four years of the expedition, an
factors played in the origins and diversification of maize as that could help determine the antiquity of agriculture. interdisciplinary team of archaeologists and botanists was
the primary crop of the Americas. Under the guidance of instrumental for the correct interpretation of the findings
Ángel Garcia Cook, we have conducted new archaeological It was in the Tehuacán Valley in 1960 that MacNeish identified (Flannery and Marcus, 2001). Among them was Frederick
expeditions in selected Tehuacán rockshelters (San Marcos, for the first time rockshelters that appeared ideal for the Peterson who became the coordinator of field explorations
Coxcatlan and Purrón) to recover intact macro-samples of long-term preservation of organic remains (Mangeldsorf et in Coxcatlán. Antoinette Nelken and Ángel Garcia Cook,
a wide diversity of domesticated plants, including maize. al., 1964; MacNeish, 1967a, 1967b; MacNeish et al., 1972). an outstanding student of José Luis Lorenzo Bautista of
With expert support from the Laboratory of Ancient DNA The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley (now part of the National the National School of Anthropology and History in Mexico
led by Rafael Montiel at Langebio CINVESTAV, our initial Biosphere Reserve of the same name) spreads across the (ENAH), also participated. Additionally, MacNeish received
approaches are based on comparative genomics using States of Puebla and Oaxaca. Its rugged surface forms a set support from Paul Mangelsdorf and Walton Galinat (both
extant populations of Balsas tesointe and native maize of sierras that do not exceed 3,000 metres above sea level from Harvard University), Earle C. Smith (University of
landraces, and the systematic sequencing of ancient DNA and are broadly surrounded by the valleys of Zapotitlán and Alabama), Lawrence Kaplan (University of Massachusetts),
extracted from non-manipulated maize samples from San Cañada de Cuicatlán (Figure 1). The valley is considered part Hugh Cutler (Missouri Botanical Garden) and Thomas
Marcos dating to 5000 calibrated years before present of the upper basin of the Papaloapan, a river nourished from Whitaker (University of California) who were responsible
(bp). Our goal is to compare the genetic and genomic the mountains of the Sierra de Tehuacán and Sierra Mixteca. for the detailed analysis of plant remains in each of the
constitution of ancient maize with teosinte and modern It is a semi-arid region, warm and dry, with little precipitation excavations. In total, the team found more than 24,100
maize, to reconstruct its ancestral palaeogenome in order in the summer. As water lost by plant evapotranspiration archaeobotanical samples of maize spread over the 5 caves.
to identify possible environmental factors that might have dramatically exceeds rainfall, xerophytic species prevail as part Of these, 12,860 represented complete cobs in outstanding
influenced the initial transition from teosinte to maize and of the canopy in most of the valley. The Biosphere Reserve state of preservation, many with evidence of having been
to estimate the genetic variability of maize cultivated in Tehuacán-Cuicatlán hosts major regions of deciduous forest, bitten or chewed. Additionally, they also identified many
Tehuacán at around 5000 bp. Preliminary results confirm the some areas of temperate forest and one of the few areas of remains of root, stem and leaves. Following conventional
prevalence of Balsas teosinte as the initial ancestor and open cloud forest that can still be found in Mexico. 14C dating, these findings demonstrated for the first time
the possibility of finding new domestication traits associated that maize domestication occurred in central Mexico at least
with the response to abiotic factors imposed by volcanic Although MacNeish visited no fewer than 15 rockshelters, 6000 years ago. However, maize cobs were not among the
activity in the early Holocene. only 5 were extensively explored: Coxcatlán, Purrón, El oldest crop debris. Squash seeds (Cucurbita mixta) were
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Figure 1. General view of the Tehuacán Valley close to Coxcatlán Cave. © Apolab/Jaime Padilla.
found in the most ancient sedimentary layers of Coxcatlán. Coxcatlán are approximately 4600 bp (Smith, 2005). In 1966, plant cells, prevail in dry or humid sedimentary strata (or
While the accuracy of initial dates was later challenged by the expedition that Kent Flannery conducted in the State even mud) after complete cell loss. Phytoliths and pollen can
updated estimates based on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry of Oaxaca in 1966 resulted in the discovery of older maize have distinctive morphological features that sometimes allow
(AMS), discoveries in San Marcos showed that the origin remains found at Guila Naquitz (Figure 3), a large shelter the identification of their native species. Pioneering work by
of maize in central Mexico was likely to date back to the located 5 km from Mitla, in a rocky and semi arid region at Rust and Sherer (1988) in San Andres, Tabasco, a coastal
beginnings of the Holocene. the eastern edge of the Oaxaca Valley, 1926 metres above site at the southern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, resulted
sea level. While Guila Naquitz yielded smaller quantities of in the subsequent identification of pollen belonging to Zea
archaeobotanical remains and a shorter temporal sequence in sediments dating to 7100 bp, suggesting that individuals
of human occupation as compared to Coxcatlan, AMS dated from this genus were present on the coast of Tabasco well
Archaeobotanical Evidence a few maize cobs to 5,412 +/- 33 14C years bp (approximately before their presence at Guila Naquitz (Pohl et al., 2007).
Indicates that Maize was 6,235 calendar years bp; Piperno and Flannery, 2001). In Although the possibility of unequivocally distinguishing
Domesticated in Central Mexico more recent years, a new type of micro-sample has partially pollen or phytoliths from teosinte and maize remains
added to our current knowledge on the origins of maize. controversial, recent studies conducted at the base of the
In recent years, AMS has allowed an accurate estimation of Contrary to macrosamples that quickly degrade in humid Xihuatoxtla monolith (close to Tlaxmalac, in the State of
the age of samples collected during the MacNeish expedition, conditions, phytoliths and other types of silicate crystals, Guerrero, approximately 900 metres above sea level) yielded
determining that the most ancient maize remains found in measuring 20 to 30 microns long that often accumulate in grinding tools dating to c. 8700 bp that contained presumed
161

Figure 2. San Marcos (left) and Tecorral rockshelters in 2011. © Apolab/JP. Vielle-Calzada. Figure 3. Guila Naquitz cliff and rockshelter in 2012. © Apolab/JP. Vielle-Calzada.
maize phytoliths, opening new possibilities about the time of and tight pericarp that prevents easy germination. Finally, as is Rollins Emerson at Cornell University (Horowitz et al.,
maize domestication (Figure 4; Piperno et al., 2009). the case for most cereals, the teosinte pollinated inflorescence 2004) and, as a consequence of the pioneering work of
is fragile and, when mature, disjointed seeds detach from Barbara McClintock (McClintock, 1929), Beadle acquired
the parent plant to fall down spontaneously, favouring experimental skills in classic cytogenetics and showed it
dissemination. In contrast, the maize husk is massive and can was possible to obtain viable seeds when crosses between
Genetic Evidence Indicates that Balsas carry hundreds of seeds naturally attached to the cob, which different teosintes and maize were performed. He found
Teosinte is the Ancestor of Maize prevents autonomous shattering without human intervention. not only that the chromosomes of teosinte were almost
While most crop plants differ from their wild ancestor in simple identical to those of maize, but also that they could exchange
The term teosinte refers to all species of the genus Zea that and obvious aspects (for example, ancestral wild potatoes look genetic material during pairing, by a mechanism equivalent
does not include maize. There are annual or perennial teosintes like small versions of the domesticated potato; the same is true to any homologous chromosomes belonging to individuals
that grow and spread in the wild from northern Mexico to for tomatoes and squash), for maize there is no wild plant that of the same species. Chromosome pairing did not occur
south-western Nicaragua (Weatherwax, 1935; Sanchez et forms small ears that can be recognized as its direct ancestor. when maize was crossed to other grasses such as Tripsacum
al., 1998). In particular, Zea mays ssp. parviglumis grows in Visible differences between seeds of teosinte and maize are so dactyloides, also a native of Central America. These results
the valleys of south-western Mexico as a wild grass (Figure 5), obvious that it should be sufficient to exclude any possibility indicated that the chromosomes of teosinte and maize are
often mixing with maize in cultivated plots and without farmers that they were closely related. However, multiple morphological structurally similar.
distinguishing both subspecies during initial stages of their life comparisons, combined to cytogenetic and genetic studies,
cycle. As it is widely distributed in the region of the Balsas have shown that Balsas teosinte is the direct ancestor of maize In 1969, exasperated by the lack of congruence that maize
River drainage, it is also known as Balsas teosinte. The simple (McClintock et al., 1929; Beadle, 1939; Doebley, 1994). biologists showed in trying to explain its origins, Beadle
phenotypic comparison of Balsas teosinte to maize results in a conducted new crosses between teosinte and maize, hoping
fascinating paradox. Before flowering, Balsas teosinte is virtually The limitations of archaeological exploration are to get plants whose ears would be similar to those found by
indistinguishable from maize, but afterwards, these plants complemented by genetic studies that have contributed MacNeish in Tehuacán. He decided to move to Mexico to
exhibit such extreme differences that for decades botanists essential elements to answer questions related to plant cultivate a population of 50,000 individuals generated from
and taxonomists alike considered teosinte phylogenetically domestication. These studies were initiated in the mid- self-pollination of plants obtained by crossing the Chapalote
closer to rice than to maize. While their general architecture twentieth century when, after spending thirty years maize landrace to Balsas teosinte. After self-pollination of
is similar, flowers and seeds are dramatically distinct. Balsas studying the development of flies and filamentous fungi first generation hybrids, each resulting individual qualified
teosinte generates secondary branches ending in male flowers, (with fundamental discoveries that granted him the Nobel for assignment to one of three categories: those showing
something no primitive or modern maize is able to form (Figure Prize in 1958), George W. Beadle decided to return to his a female inflorescence identical to Chapalote, those
6). In addition, the female flower yields fewer than 20 seeds roots and undertake the genetic study of the origin of showing a female inflorescence equivalent to teosinte
after being pollinated, all individually encapsulated in a hard maize. In 1939, at the beginning of his mentorship under and those showing female inflorescences that represented
162

5
a combination of both parents. Consistently, 1 in 500

plants presented female inflorescences equivalent to those
of Chapalote or teosinte, suggesting that no more than
5 quantitative genetic loci are sufficient to differentiate
the morphology of the female inflorescence of teosinte
and maize, and demonstrating that these differences are
simple enough to have arisen by the influence of human
selection over a relatively recent timescale, measured in
thousands and not millions of years (Beadle, 1972, 1978).
Identification of Genes Affected

by Domestication
Contemporary molecular methods applied to plant

developmental biology have allowed the identification
of some of the genes that led to the emergence of a
substantially different teosinte. In 2005, a comprehensive
study of genetic variability assessed by molecular markers
showed that populations of Zea mays ssp. parviglumis
from the Balsas River drainage are phylogenetically more
closely related to maize than any other teosintes, and that
the genetic divergence between maize and Balsas teosinte
began about 9000 bp (Figure 7; Matsuoka et al., 2002). Figure 4. The rock monolith of Xihuatoxtla close to Tlaxmalac, Guerrero.© Apolab/Jaime Padilla.
To study some of the key differences that distinguish
Balsas teosinte from maize, John Doebley and his team
at the University of Wisconsin began to determine the
chromosomal location of the possible 5 genetic traits
previously identified by Beadle. The first gene found was
teosinte branched–1 (tb1; Doebley et al., 1997; Clark
et al., 2004). When the function of tb1 is interrupted in
maize, the plant acquires long secondary branches and
male reproductive organs at the end of each stem, just
like Balsas teosinte. In molecular terms, tb1 is a ‘repressor’
as its activity is essential to inactivate the function of
genes that control the formation of side branches in
maize. In contrast, the Balsas teosinte tb1 gene remains
naturally inactive, allowing spontaneous secondary stems
to be formed and leading to a highly bushy plant. The
reasons that led to the activation of tb1 in maize remain
unknown. The second identified gene is teosinte glume
architecture–1 (tga1; Doebley, 2004; Wang et al., 2005).
In this case, overactivity of tga1 in Balsas teosinte results
in softening and reduction of the capsule that covers the
seeds, resulting in a partial maize kernel like phenotype, a
fundamental change in the transformation of teosinte to
maize for human consumption purposes.
With the discovery of these two genes, the origin

and evolution of maize began to be explained by the Figure 5. Balsas teosinte growing near the village of Jalapa, Michoacán. © Apolab/Jaime Padilla.
163

molecular structure of some of the factors that led to its

emergence and diversification. Nevertheless, it is evident
that domestication represents a more complex process
than the simple empirical selection of five major genetic
traits controlled by single genes. For example, the size
and number of seeds, their protein composition, their
germination capacity, the size of maize leaves or the
average stem volume are some of the characteristics that
are not yet explained in genetic and evolutionary terms. If
these two subspecies are distinguished by so few genetic
differences, it is still unclear why maize was domesticated
only once in a specific region of Mexico.
The Maize Genome and its Bearing for

Evolutionary Studies
How did early changes that transformed teosinte into
maize occur? What was the morphological nature
of those changes? Did human populations begin by
cultivating teosinte to slowly and subtly select desirable
features? Or did morphological changes that were present
as components of the natural variation in ancient teosinte
populations form the basis for subsequent and progressive
Figure 6. Cobs and seeds
human selection? of Balsas teosinte (left)
and a maize landrace (right)
© John Doebley, University
of Wisconsin.
To start elucidating some of these questions, in 2009

we began a series of molecular studies to estimate the
genomic variability of Mexican maize landraces. Encoded
in the form of nuclear DNA, a genome is the complete
set of genetic information that defines and identifies any occur in genomic regions affected by artificial selection or are candidates that have been affected by mechanisms of
living organism, including the structural, functional and domestication. artificial selection that significantly reduced their genetic
evolutionary elements that control development, growth variability to unexpected levels, either by demographic
and adaptability. Our analysis showed that the genome bottlenecks that selected in favour of specific genetic
size of maize is significantly variable in native landraces, variants, some of which could have provided adaptive value
with some containing an average of 27% less DNA than Environmental Effects during or enhanced fitness, or by voluntary human-driven selection
the international reference genome from the B73 North the Transition from Teosinte to Maize that favoured desirable traits of any type. To distinguish
American inbred line (Schnabel et al., 2009). Among between these options, we conducted a comparative
them, the ancient Palomero Toluqueño landrace provided The initial stages of transformation of Balsas teosinte into sequence analysis of a group of selected candidate genomic
an estimated 2.9 billion nucleotides (2.9 Gb), the smallest maize caused a significant loss of genetic variability (in the regions in 20 different Mexican landraces and 16 samples of
genome reported to date for a maize landrace (Vielle- form of nucleotide variability) in genes that were important extant Balsas teosinte populations growing in central Mexico
Calzada et al., 2009). Overall, we identified more than targets of artificial selection or domestication. This absence (Vielle-Calzada et al., 2009). Strikingly, among the collection
44,000 Palomero toluqueño genes that are currently of variability is now reflected in both landraces and modern of regions showing absence of nucleotide variability in
used for genomic comparative studies. On the basis varieties generated in the course of the twentieth century. Mexican landraces, we identified a group of at least 30
of their sequence, it is possible to analyse the patterns By comparing the Palomero toluqueño genes to those of the genes whose function is involved in the response of roots
of variability in virtually all genes of maize and correlate B73 modern inbred line, we were able to identify close to to environmental factors such as those caused by sudden
them with evolutionary molecular features expected to 650 genomic regions of at least 500 nucleotides in length changes in temperature, salinity or high concentration of
that have identical sequence in both genomes. These regions heavy metals in the soil (Williams and Mills, 2005).
164

5
Figure 7. Crater of Nevado de Toluca. © Apolab/Jaime Padilla.
Figure 8. Ángel Garcia Cook leading the excavation in San Marcos rockshelter, 2011. © Apolab/ Figure 9. Collecting intact maize palaeobotanical samples for ancient DNA extraction,
J.-P. Vielle-Calzada. San Marcos rockshelter, 2011. © Apolab/J.-P. Vielle-Calzada.
165

Figure 10. Macro-samples recovered in San Marcos rockshelter. From left to right and top to bottom: squash seed, agave leaves,
agave chewed fiber, gourd pedicel and pericarp fragments, pepper pedicels, maize cob. © Apolab/Jaime Padilla.
166

5
Using statistical analysis that included estimations of Victor Rodríguez Alcocer, personal communication) or pairs corresponding to the largest unit of the Rubisco
nucleotide variability, coalescence simulation tests and perhaps of more subtle effect by providing fertile edaphic enzyme (rbcL;. Poinar et al., 1998) demonstrated that
statistical models such as Hudson-Krietman-Aguadé conditions that were advantageous during early stages of the extraction resulted in the isolation of DNA from
(HKA; Hudson et al., 1987), we demonstrated that at primitive maize cultivation. maize. Recovered DNA concentrations between 20 and
least 3 genes encoding proteins that respond to high 30 picograms per microlitre were sufficient to generate
concentrations of heavy metals (copper, arsenic and high quality genomic libraries that were subsequently
lead, for example) have significant levels of nucleotide sequenced by SOLiD 5500 and Illumina technologies.
variability that can only be explained by artificial selection New Excavations at San Marcos Conventional genomic methods suggest that genome
imposed by humans. By being contained within the Rockshelter and their Importance coverage for one of the three samples runs between
plasma membrane of root cells, these proteins act as for Palaeogenomic Studies 4% and 27%, the latter being an overestimate based
cation pumps that maintain homeostasis when maize on allelic reconstruction and flexible mapping. Similarly,
is suddenly challenged by changes in heavy metal soil To determine the genomic constitution and the degree of recovered DNA allowed to close the chloroplast genome
concentration. These 3 genes are located in a relatively genetic variability present in ancestral maize samples and in all 3 samples with 6X minimum redundancy.
short region of chromosome 5, a region previously to test hypotheses related to a possible environmental
postulated by Beadle and Doebley as being affected by impact over the emergence of maize, we initiated a new Our initial genome analysis of three samples recovered at
the domestication process (Doebley, 2004). In summary, period of exploration in San Marcos, 50 years after its San Marcos rockshelter is providing new data that establish
our results demonstrate that environmental impact discovery by Richard MacNeish. Under the leadership of the genetic makeup of 5100 bp maize, allowing estimates
through changes in the physico-chemical constitution of Ángel García Cook (Figure 8), INAH personnel surveyed of the levels of natural variability that existed among ancient
soils played an important role in the transition from Balsas quadrants that had remained unexplored in the original but contemporary plant populations. It is also providing clues
teosinte to maize. expedition (Fowler and MacNeish, 1972; García MacNeish about the possible distinctions that existed between maize
and Cook, 1972). While organic remains were scarce, populations from two different regions of the Tehuacán
The explanation of these results in currently under Garcia Cook and his team found nine macro-samples Valley (northern region in San Marcos, south-east region
investigation. A reasonable hypothesis is associated with of maize in an excellent state of preservation, including in Coxcatlán and Purrón). A preliminary analysis based on
the history of the eruptive activity of the so-called Trans- several cobs and vegetative constituents, in addition polymorphisms present in the genus Zea suggests that the
Mexican Volcanic Belt during the early Holocene. The to root and tissue fragments (García Cook and Vielle- genomic constitution of San Marcos 5100 bp maize was
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt spans across central Mexico, Calzada, 2011). As indicated in the report submitted much closer to Balsas teosinte that any extant landrace. It
from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The highest to the INAH’s Archaeology Council that authorized also suggests that there are multiple nucleotide variants that
point is Pico de Orizaba (Citlaltépetl, 5636 m), but other these new excavations, these samples were collected disappeared from extant maize during subsequent selection.
active or dormant volcanoes include (from west to east) following international protocols that ensure their intact Additionally, ancient genomes are being analysed to identify
the Nevado de Colima (4339 metres), the Nevado de non-manipulated preservation, free from all possible regions of coverage corresponding to loci that have been
Toluca (4577 m), Popocatépetl (5452 m), Iztaccíhuatl contamination with DNA from extant materials (Figure 9). previously described as being affected by artificial selection
(5286 m), Matlalcueitl (4461 m) Cofre de Perote (4282 The cobs and plant debris were morphologically similar or domestication, such as tb1. For example, we identified
m) and Sierra Negra (4580 m), a companion of the Pico to layer (D) of MacNeish’s excavations (MacNeish, 1968). coverage of 300 nucleotides corresponding to SMS1, one
de Orizaba. In particular, major eruptions of the Nevado Direct dating of each of the 9 samples obtained by AMS of the heavy metal response genes described above and
de Toluca (also known as Xinantécatl, Figure 7) occurred determined that 4 of them are 5100 bp, 3 are 4000 to we are determining whether the SMS1 DNA fragments
between 12000 and 8500 bp . In particular, the Upper 4200 bp and the last 2 are 1400 bp . Additional plant were already genetically fixed at 5100 bp. Over the coming
Toluca Pumice eruption occurred about 10,500 years ago macro-samples included pepper, chupandilla (Cyrtocarpa years, the comprehensive analysis of these data will provide
and was characterized by 4 Plinian columns of which the procera HBK – Anacardiaceae), gourd, chewed agave a broader and more assertive insight into the evolutionary
last 3 were interrupted by hydromagmatic explosions fiber and squash seeds (Figure 10). mechanisms by which teosinte was gradually domesticated
covering a minimum area of c. 2000 km2 (Macías, 2005). to become maize.
This environmentally unstable period caused by volcanic Following the protocols established in the Ancient DNA
eruptions coincides with our current estimation for Laboratory of CINVESTAV Irapuato Langebio, three 5100
the initiation of the maize domestication process. The bp samples were fully processed to extract DNA, after
distance from the Nevado de Toluca crater to the Balsas removing the surface layers and processing approximately Acknowledgements
River drainage is 60 to 80 km. Therefore, it is possible that 1 cm3 of the core of the cob. For a fourth sample of more
edaphic changes caused by volcanic eruptions in central than 5000 bp, which includes root remains, the core tip This research is being conducted in collaboration with
Mexico occurred at the beginning of the Holocene, of one of the secondary roots was selected. Extraction Rafael Montiel (CINVESTAV), Ángel García Cook (INAH)
exerting selective pressures in the vegetation cover, was performed by modifications to established protocols and Javier Martínez (INAH). I thank them all for their
particularly in the grasses. This pressure may have been for seeds (Rafael Montiel and Miguel Vallebueno, comments regarding this manuscript and for their
of transmutational character, as previously suggested by unpublished results) and ancient DNA was amplified by continuous and expert support at all stages of this
some authors (Iltis and Benz, 1992; Inbar et al., 1995; polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A fragment of 140 base interdisciplinary effort.
167

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169

La Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán

Fernando Reyes Flores
Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, CONANP - México
La Reserva de la Biosfera de Tehuacán Cuicatlán (RBTC)

es un Área Natural Protegida (ANP) de carácter federal,
que cuenta con una superficie de 490,186–87–54.7 ha
declarada por decreto del Titular del Poder Ejecutivo Federal
el 18 de septiembre de 1998. El polígono de la RBTC tiene
una orientación de norte-noroeste a sur-sureste, entre los
estados de Puebla y Oaxaca (mapa 1).
El polígono general comprende el territorio parcial o total

de 51 municipios, 20 en el Estado de Puebla y 31 en el
Estado de Oaxaca. En los 20 municipios de la porción
poblana se encuentran asentadas 144 localidades en las
cuales habitan 20,817 habitantes que corresponden al
58% de la población total del ANP; para el caso de Oaxaca
en los 31 municipios se encuentran 136 localidades con
una población de 14,907 habitantes correspondientes a
42% del total de la población; asimismo en la zona de
influencia hay un registro de casi 600 mil personas (INEGI,
2010).
El objetivo general de la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-

Cuicatlán es “Conservar la biodiversidad de ecosistemas
representativos de la Provincia Florística de Tehuacán-
Cuicatlán, manteniendo la continuidad de los procesos
ecológicos y evolutivos que ahí se desarrollan, así como el
patrimonio cultural e histórico asociado a ellos, mediante
Mapa 1. Ubicación de la RBTC. © Fernando Reyes
la implementación de políticas, medidas y estrategias de
protección, manejo y restauración a través de procesos
de conocimiento, cultura y gestión que permitan alcanzar
el desarrollo sustentable de las comunidades que ahí al norte y noreste, en los municipios de Tecamachalco, Concepción Pápalo, Santos Reyes Pápalo, Santa María
habitan”. Palmar de Bravo y Cañada Morelos. Al este y sureste Pápalo, San Juan Tepeuxila y San Juan Bautista Atatlahuca.
el polígono está bordeado por la subprovincia Sierras
Orientales (conocidas localmente como Sierra Negra, en Al sur y suroeste colinda con la subprovincia Sierras
Puebla, y Sierra Mazateca, Sierra de Monte Flor o Sierra Centrales de Oaxaca en los municipios de Santiago
Características Juárez, en Oaxaca). Nacaltepec, Santiago Huauclilla, San Pedro Coxcaltepec
Cántaros, Santa María Apazco y Santiago Apoala. Al
Según la carta Fisiográfica de INEGI (1984), la RBTC está En la provincia fisiográfica Sierra Madre del Sur oeste colinda con la subprovincia Mixteca Alta, también
conformada por dos provincias fisiográficas: la Sierra Madre encontramos los municipios de Chapulco, San José de la provincia Sierra Madre del Sur, en los municipios de
del Sur, que abarca 92.65% de la superficie total del ANP, Miahuatlán, Tehuacán, Ajalpan, Zinacatepec, Coxcatlán, San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca, San Miguel Tequixtepec,
y al norte de la misma, el Eje Neovolcánico Transversal, que Zoquitlán y Coyomeapan, en el Estado de Puebla, así como Tepelmeme Villa de Morelos, Concepción Buena Vista y
ocupa 7.35% (mapa 2). los municipios de Teotitlán de Flores Magón, San Martín Santa Catarina Zapoquila del Estado de Oaxaca, así como
Toxpalan, San Juan de los Cúes, Mazatlán Villa de Flores, con la subprovincia Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca en los
Dentro de la provincia del Eje Neovolcánico en el ANP se Santa María Tecomavaca, San Juan Bautista Cuicatlán, municipios de Caltepec y Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla y la
encuentran las subprovincias lagos y montañas de Anáhuac, subprovincia Sur de Puebla de la provincia Eje Neovolcánico
170

5
en los municipios de San Pedro y San Pablo Tequixtepec y
Santiago Chazumba, en el Estado de Oaxaca, y con los
MAPA DE FISIOGRAFÍA
municipio de Atexcal y Tehuacán en el estado de Puebla.
Finalmente al noroeste colinda con la provincia Eje Neo
volcánico, subprovincia Lagos y Volcanes de Anáhuac, en
los municipios de Tepanco de López, Tlacotepec de Benito
Juárez, Yehualtepec y Tecamachalco.
La Reserva de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán se distingue por la Provincias fisiográficas

presencia de un alto grado de diversidad biológica y
endemismos. Favorecido por la posición fitogeográfica
Lagos y volcanes de Anahuac
Mixteca Alta
del área, su relieve y condiciones climáticas, así como
Sierras Centrales de Oaxaca
por el aislamiento geográfico de la zona, el cual podría Sierras Orientales
haberse originado desde el Plioceno, cuando apareció el Sur de Puebla
Eje Neovolcánico Transversal (Rzedowski, 1988).
En el territorio que comprende la RBTC se presenta 85.6%

de basamento rocoso de tipo sedimentario que se originó
desde el Cretácico Inferior hasta el Terciario Inferior. Este
basamento sufrió diversos eventos morfotectónicos que
dieron lugar a sierras altas complejas, montañas plegadas,
lomeríos, colinas, mesetas sedimentarias y una fosa
tectónica.
Edafología
En la región de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán dominan las

formaciones de rocas ígneas, sedimentarias y metamórficas
que han sido sujetas a fenómenos de intemperismo para
la formación de suelos. De acuerdo con el Sistema de
Clasificación de Suelos de la FAO-UNESCO, 1974, utilizado
en la carta de suelos, escala 1:250,000 del INEGI (1984) y
modificada por CETENAL en 1975, el área que comprende
la RBTC presenta 10 diferentes unidades de suelo y 54
subgrupos con diversas asociaciones. Las principales
unidades son: Litosoles, Rendzinas, Regosoles, Feozem,
Acrisoles, Cambisoles, Luvisoles, Vertisoles, Xerosoles y
Fluvisoles (Tabla 1).
Mapa 2. Fisiografía en la RBTC. © Fernando Reyes
171

Tabla 1. Unidades edafológicas Tabla 2. Grupos climáticos de acuerdo con Köppen, modificado por García (1981),
en la RBTC. representados en la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, de acuerdo con su
extensión territorial.
Tipo de suelo Superficie %
Fluvisoles 2,796.154 0.57 Superficie ocupada Porcentaje de la superficie
Grupo de climas
Xerosoles 3,588.357 0.73 en la RBTC (ha) ocupada en la RBTC (%)
Vertisoles 6,217.991 1.27 A (C)
8,763.884,88 1.79
Calido y semicalido (tropical lluvioso).CÁLIDO HÚMEDO Y SUBHÚMEDO
Luvisoles 10,076.780 2.05
Cambisoles 11,002.635 2.24 C
TEMPLADO HÚMEDO (TEMPLADO LLUVIOSO). TEMPLADO HÚMEDO Y 120,909.00 24.64
Acrisoles 32,759.691 6.68
SUBHÚMEDO
Feozem 52,424.405 10.68
B
Regosoles 77,663.926 15.83 361,004.00 73.57
ÁRIDO YSEMIÁRIDO (SECO)
Rendzina 122,304.986 24.92
Litosoles 171,862.390 35.02 100.00
Total 490,697.315 99.99
Hidrología de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, de acuerdo con Köppen tipos de vegetación de los 10 que este autor reporta para
(1936, 1938 y 1948) y modificado por García, 1981 están México, y otros tipos como el Palmar y Bosque de Galerías.
El 95%Noventa y cinco por ciento de la superficie de la presentes los climas: Tropical Lluvioso, B Seco, C Templado
RBTC se ubica en la Región Hidrológica 28, correspondiente lluvioso. Al comparar el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán (VTC) con
a la cuenca del Papaloapan, la cual se vierte hacia el Golfo otras reservas de la biosfera es evidente que en especies
de México; el 5% restante forma parte de la Región Los sistemas montañosos que rodean o que forman parte endémicas, el VTC ocupa el primer lugar y es por ello la
Hidrológica 18, Alto Balsas, que se vierte hacia el Océano del área natural protegida como la Sierra Madre Oriental, importancia de la protección de su riqueza vegetal, ya que
Pacífico. Se encuentran las subcuencas Río Salado y Río Sierra Madre del Sur y Eje Volcánico Transversal determinan ninguna otra región con vegetación xerófila cuenta con
Grande, correspondientes con la Cuenca del Papaloapan, las diferencias en humedad, temperatura, precipitación la alta proporción de especies endémicas, siendo un sitio
y las subcuencas de Atoyac-Balcón del Diablo y Acatlán de media anual y evapotranspiración potencial. En general, de alta diversidad biológica y escenario de diversificación.
la Cuenca del Alto Balsas. 73.5% de la superficie de la reserva presenta climas secos
o áridos (BS), seguido de los templados (C) que ocupan La amplia riqueza biológica mostrada y el número de
Un aspecto muy importante de la hidrología de la región de 24.6%; el resto son climas cálido y semicálidos A(C), especies endémicas en tan poca superficie no son igualados
Tehuacán son las galerías filtrantes, las cuales captan una acotado sólo a la porción serrana que tiene vertiente hacía en ningún otro sitio de México (Méndez-Larios, I, et. al.
gran cantidad de agua proveniente de los deshielos del Pico el Golfo de México (Tabla 2). 2004). En la siguiente tabla se muestra la riqueza florística
de Orizaba (Neely, 2003). Estas galerías fueron introducidas y endemismos del matorral xerófilo del Valle de Tehuacán-
por los franciscanos a raíz de la Conquistae, y son también El complejo montañoso que conforma el Escudo Mixteco Cuicatlán en comparación con otras reservas de la biosfera
llamadas minas de agua, ganat, fuques, galerías de que une a la Sierra Madre del Sur con el Eje Volcánico de México. (Méndez-Larios, et. Al. 2004).
captación de agua o drenajes de agua. En la región, esta Transversal donde se ubica la RBTC determina las
agua se distribuye a través de canales y drenes; se utilizan diferencias en humedad, temperatura, precipitación media
para el riego en una zona de 3,159.90 ha, en la planicie anual y evapotranspiración potencial.
aluvial 030 Valsequillo. Según un grupo de investigadores Flora útil
(Palerm, Equihua & Sánchez, 2001) en el Estado de Puebla Esta región es uno de los espacios biogeográficos más
existen 80 galerías en uso. interesantes del país desde el punto de vista biológico, en Casas et al. (2009) identifica un total de 1605 especies
ella conviven y se han desarrollado más de 3,500 especies en el Valle de Tehuacán con algún uso; donde un total de
de flora y fauna silvestres. 1,011 especies tienen una categoría única de uso, mientras
que los restantes 594 (37%) tenían dos o, en el caso de
Climatología La vegetación que se distribuye en la región de Tehuacán- 147 especies, más de cuatro categorías de uso.
Cuicatlán es variada y compleja, de acuerdo con la
Debido al gradiente altitudinal, su compleja topografía y la clasificación de Miranda y Hernández X (1963) se registran
barrera que establece la Sierra Madre Oriental a los vientos 21 tipos de vegetación; Flores, et. al., (1971) menciona
húmedos provenientes del Golfo de México, en la Reserva 20 tipos; en tanto que Rzedowski (1978) menciona nueve
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Tabla 4. Número de especies
Tabla 3. Endemismos en áreas protegidas de México. de vertebrados del VTC.
Grupo No. de especies

Superficie (km2) Total de especies Especies endémicas
Peces 14
VTC 8,364.3 1910 207 Anfibios 28
El Vizcaíno 25,457.9 468 37 Reptiles 83
Manantlán 1,245.0 1704 37 Aves 338
Mapimí 2,960.0 374 31 Mamíferos 102
Fauna murciélagos el mejor representado con 38 especies (Rojas- Arizmendi y Espinosa de los Monteros (1996) estudiaron cinco
Martínez & Valiente-Banuet, 1996; Briones-Salas & Sánchez- localidades dentro de las provincias florísticas denominadas
La riqueza faunística de la oRBTC al igual que otras Cordero, 2004; Ramírez-Pulido y Martínez-Vázquez 2006). Depresión del Balsas y Valle Tehuacán-Cuicatlán
regiones del país presenta elementos de la región Neártica y Este número de especies es alto comparado con la información (Rzedowski, 1978). Dominadas por cactus columnares
Neotropical. En términos generales, la fauna del VTC y de la disponible para otros desiertos norteamericanos, cuya con composición florística diferente y bosques tropicales
Reserva de la Biosfera es menos conocida que su flora vascular. composición faunística está más relacionada con los bosques deciduos. Encontraron 91 especies de aves, pertenecientes
Un inventario de insectos, Coreidae (Hemiptera-Heteroptera) caducifolios del México Occidental que con los desiertos del a 13 órdenes y 27 familias. De éstas, diez10 son endémicas
en el Valle, realizado por Brailovsky et al. (1994, 1995) reportó Norte. De las especies registradas cinco son endémicas y 18 (Tabla 12). Es interesante notar que cuatro de las especies
24 especies de chinches. Observaciones secundarias muestran se encuentran en la NOM–059–SEMARNAT–2010, Protección de aves mencionadas por Flannery (1967) (A. cyanoptera,
que existe una alta diversidad de hormigas y termitas, además ambiental – Especies nativas de México de flora y fauna C. virginianus, M. gallopavo y C. acutipennis) no fueron
de otros artrópodos, como escorpiones y arañas. silvestres – Categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su encontradas en las localidades trabajadas por Arizmendi,
inclusión, exclusión o cambio – Lista de especies en riesgo. debido a que están asociadas con hábitats más húmedos que
Recientemente algunos grupos específicos como peces, Entre algunas especies de mamíferos se encuentran: el puma los actuales, es probable que hayan desaparecido de la zona
anfibios y reptiles han sido estudiados, se calcula que existen (Puma concolor), venado cola blanca (Odocoileus virginianus), a causa de las condiciones de sequía. Tyto alba, tampoco fue
14 especies de peces (Martínez, 2007), 28 de anfibios y pequeños mamíferos como el zorrillo (Mephitis macroura registrada por estos autores; sin embargo, se encontraron
83 especies de reptiles (Canseco, 2006) (Tabla 4). Existe un macroura), zorra (Urocyon cinereoargenteus subespecie plumas, huesos y músculo en la región del sur del Valle, por lo
registro de 102 especies de mamíferos, de los cuales 38 son orinomus.), coyote (Canis latrans), mapache (Procyon lotor), que es probable que existan en el área con una densidad baja.
murciélagos. En cuanto a aves se reportan 338 especies. tejón (Nasua narica narica) y la recientemente registrada nutria
de río (Lontra longicaudis) para la zona de la Cañada. La avifauna del Valle comparte sólo 30% de sus especies
La riqueza faunística del Valle se presenta a continuación de aves con los desiertos norteamericanos. Aun que si se
conforme a su nivel taxonómico en orden descendente: Recientemente se ha encontrado que los murciélagos son excluyen las especies tropicales, los resultados muestran que
el único grupo de animales que es capaz de procesar la el número llega a 80%. La diferencia se debe al hecho que
producción de semillas entre cactáceas columnares, elementos la avifauna del VTC comparte más especies con bosques
Mamíferos dominantes de muchos sitios del valle (Valiente-Banuet et al. deciduos tropicales del sur de Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero y
1996a, b). Oaxaca (Dávila, et. al., 2002).
Aunque las zonas áridas tradicionalmente han sido
caracterizadas como ecosistemas simples, donde la diversidad Del Coro (2007) reporta 145 especies de aves para la Mixteca
de vertebrados es baja, hay algunos grupos de mamíferos que Aves Poblana; por lo que haciendo una revisión de diferentes
se han especializado en la vida de regiones áridas y semiáridas autores (Navarro et. al., 2004, en García et. al., 2004) y de los
y su diversidad puede ser muy alta en la zona, como en otros Las características y distribución de este grupo fueron reportes del personal de la reserva para la Cañada oaxaqueña,
tipos de ecosistemas (Reichman 1991). presentadas por primera vez por Flannery (1967), quien se incrementa la lista a 338 especies, correspondientes a
reportó un total de diez10 especies que comúnmente eran 18 órdenes y 54 familias. De las cuales 16 son endémicas
En el VTC aún no existe un estudio que resuma toda consumidas por el hombre en la época de la prehistoria para México, 10 están con categoría de amenazadas, 36 en
la información de mamíferos, sin embargo, algunas del Valle de Tehuacán. Estas especies son: pato canela protección especial, 1 en peligro de extinción y 4 extintas en
contribuciones parciales muestran la diversidad de este grupo (Anas cyanoptera), perdiz (Colinus virginianus), pavo salvaje medio silvestre, de acuerdo a la NOM–059–SEMARNAT–2010,
en el área y cabe mencionar que de los estudios de fauna (Meleagris gallopavo), chichicuilote (Charadius vociferus), Protección ambiental – Especies nativas de México de flora y
realizados, el grupo de los mamíferos es el mejor conocido se zambulle (Zenaida asiatica y Columbina passerina), búho fauna silvestres – Categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para
en la región, en el cual se tienen registradas 102 especies, (Tyto alba), Caprimulgus ridgwayi, chotacabras (Chordeiles su inclusión, exclusión o cambio – Lista de especies en riesgo.
agrupados en 8 órdenes y 24 familias, siendo el grupo de los acutipennis) y el cuervo (Corvus corax).
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Las aves en el Valle juegan un papel importante en relaciones Peces Chinantecos, Chocholtecos, Ixcatecos, Mazatecos, Mixtecos,
mutualistas con varias especies de plantas, se piensa que Nahuas, Mixtecos y Popolocas) (INEGI, 2010).
estas relaciones mejoran la reproducción de las mismas. Por En la zona de la comunidad de Tepelmeme, Oaxaca, se realizó
ejemplo, algunos colibríes son polinizadores importantes de un estudio ictiológico en donde se encontraron 18 especies, Históricamente los recursos naturales y la biodiversidad han
Fouquieria spp (ocotillos) y actúan ocasionalmente como de las cuales dos están en la NOM–059–SEMARNAT–2001, sido el sustento económico de los diferentes grupos humanos
polinizadores para algunos cactus columnares (Pachycereus, con la categoría de protección especial y amenazada. Entre las que han habitado esta región. Su aprovechamiento ha sido
Neobuxbaumia, Cephalocereus, etcétera (Valiente-Banuet et especies registradas se encontró una endémica para el estado una constante desde los primeros grupos que llegaron a
al. 1996a). Otras aves como orioles y pájaros carpinteros son de Oaxaca, que es Notropis moralesi (carpita de Tepelmeme). esta región hasta la actualidad, quedando estrechamente
también dispersores de semilla para alguna especie vegetal (Martínez-Ramírez et al., 2006). vinculados a la cultura de los pueblos indígenas y de población
(Valiente-Banuet et al. 1991a, b, 1996a, b). mestiza de la Reserva.
Insectos El aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales en el –VTC

Anfibios y reptiles se remonta a los primeros grupos humanos que llegaron a
Se conoce relativamente poco sobre la distribución y la habitar esta zona. Los vestigios más antiguos de domesticación
Estos grupos están bien representados en el –VTC, Flannery diversidad de los insectos del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, de plantas datan de los años 9600 y 7000 a. C., haciendo
(1967) documentó el empleo de cinco especies de reptiles: aun cuando se reconoce la enorme diversidad de este grupo que el Valle sea considerado como un sitio clave en torno al
tortuga (Kinosternon integrum), que todavía está presente en a nivel mundial (MacKay, 1991; Crawford, 1981). Para esta origen y desarrollo de la agricultura. Diversas investigaciones
la región, Pleistocene tortuga (Gopherus berlandieri), al parecer región sólo dos estudios se han enfocado a siete especies de arqueológicas han permitido obtener información sobre la
extinta; iguana verde (Iguana iguana), ahora restringida a las chinches con patas en forma de hoja, Hemiptera, Coreidae domesticación de distintas especies como maíz (Zea mays),
partes húmedas del valle; Ctenosaura pectinata y Ameiva (Brailovsky et al., 1994, 1995). Un total de 24 especies de chile (Capsicum annum), amaranto (Amaranthus sp.),
undulata, especies comunes en la región. Coreidae han sido relacionadas con plantas específicas aguacate (Persea americana), calabaza (Cucurbita sp.) y frijol
requeridas para su supervivencia o para completar partes de (Phaseolus sp.), etcétera.
Canseco (1996) reporta para la cañada oaxaqueña todas su ciclo de vida, como: Opuntia, Prosopis y Acacia. De igual
la especies citadas por Flannery (1967), excepto Ameiva forma se han registrado tres especies (Celinidea staflesi, C. Durante la época prehispánica, la actividad agrícola se
undulata. Asimismo registró 11 especies de anfibios y 48 de tabulata, y Narnia femorata) que están asociadas a Opuntia fortaleció con el uso de tecnología de irrigación, como diques,
reptiles, incluyendo ocho especies endémicas de Oaxaca. La pilifera sobre la cual se alimentan y se reproducen; así como canales y presas. Dentro de la Reserva se localiza la Presa
diversidad más alta de anfibios y reptiles (50% de herpetofauna cuatro especies (Mozena lunata, Pachylis hector, Savius del Purrón, la cual es considerada como la más antigua de
local) se concentra en las tierras bajas, donde los elementos de jurgiosu y Thasus gigas) que se alimentan de Acacia farnesiana Mesoamérica. La construcción de una gran red de canales,
plantas dominantes son las cactáceas columnares y algunos y Prosopis laevigata. de 33,000 ha de extensión, inició aproximadamente en el
elementos del bosque tropical caducifolio, como: Bursera, año 777 a. C. y se utilizó para abastecer las tierras del Valle
Conzattia y Lysiloma. Las hormigas están bien representadas y son abundantes en el de Tehuacán. La importancia de esta obra radicó en su
Valle, consumen como forraje semillas de cactus columnares relación con las actividades productivas, como la agricultura
En cuanto a reptiles, para toda el ANP se tienen registradas contenidas en el suelo (Valiente-Banuet y Ezcurra 1991b). y la extracción de sal, así como en el desarrollo pleno de los
85 especies, pertenecientes a 16 familias; de las cuales 18 Sin embargo, la diversidad de hormigas en el Valle es casi pueblos de la región, de tal manera que, para el año 441
especies se encuentran en categoría de amenazadas, 27 en desconocida (MacKay 1991). de nuestra era, este sistema continuaba expandiéndose.
protección especial y 20 como endémicas de acuerdo a la Este método de aprovechamiento y distribución de agua era
NOM–059–SEMARNAT–20010. Cabe mencionar que para la Las abejas son polinizadoras primarias de alguna especie complementado con la construcción de jagüeyes, utilizados
Reserva de la Biósfera se han reportado dos nuevos registros de cactus, sobre todo globosas, como: Echinocactus spp. en las labores domésticas.
de especies para la región en el estado de Oaxaca, una de y Ferocactus spp., y algunos arbustos importantes, como:
ellas es Lepidophyma cuicateca encontrada en la región Acacia spp. y Prosopis spp. También se distribuyen abejas Asociada al aprovechamiento del agua estaba la extracción de
de Cuicatlán y Xenosaurus sp en la zona de Coixtlahuaca polinizadoras secundarias o consumidoras de néctar de sal en lo que era el antiguo señorío de Zapotitlán, al oriente
(Canseco y Gutiérrez 2006). algunos cactus columnares (Valiente-Banuet et al. 1996a, b, del Valle de Tehuacán, y de algunas partes de Oaxaca. Esta
1997a, b). importante actividad económica, permitió el surgimiento y
Respecto a los anfibios, el valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán el desarrollo del sitio de Cuthá (entre el 150 a. C. y 250 d.
muestra una alta diversidad ya que se registraron 32 C.), sigue practicándose en la actualidad sin que se hayan
especies, que pertenecen a ocho familias, de las cuales dos modificado significativamente los métodos de extracción. Por
están en categoría de protección especial y tres amenazadas Nuestra historia medio de la construcción de "pares" o patios de evaporación
de acuerdo a la NOM–059–SEMARNAT–2010, Protección se obtiene la sal, técnica que está condicionada a los factores
ambiental – Especies nativas de México de flora y fauna Actualmente la diversidad cultural se observa en al menos climáticos al depender exclusivamente de la evaporación del
silvestres – Categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su ocho grupos étnicos presentes en el ANP (Cuicatecos, agua y no del lavado de la tierra. Vinculado con la extracción
inclusión, exclusión o cambio – Lista de especies en riesgo.
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de sal estaba el uso de la cal, la cual era utilizada en los patios su respaldo legal en la Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y El subprograma de Protección tiene como objetivo general
de evaporación. Protección al Ambiente. favorecer la permanencia y conservación de la diversidad
biológica de la RBTC a través del establecimiento y promoción
Otro recurso que se ha aprovechado de manera tradicional es En la –RBTC, los principales actores para lograr los objetivos de un conjunto de políticas y medidas para mejorar el ambiente
el barro, por la comunidad popoloca de Los Reyes Metzontla, de conservación de los recursos naturales y la permanencia y controlar el deterioro de los ecosistemas; algunas de las
Zapotitlán. Las técnicas y materiales empleados en las piezas de la riqueza cultural, son los dueños y poseedores de la actividades programadas consisten en coordinar acciones de
de cerámica que se han encontrado en la zona y que han sido tierra. Los acuerdos de coordinación que se logren con ellos inspección y vigilancia, identificar áreas críticas en materia de
fechadas hacia el año 2300 a. C., por lo que se considera que serán la clave para la conservación de la biodiversidad y el ilícitos ambientales, elaborar programas anuales de acciones
esta actividad no ha cambiado en más de 2 mil años. uso sustentable de los recursos naturales. Esta aseveración coordinadas de vigilancia e inspección en coadyuvancia con
se fundamenta en el profundo conocimiento que tienen las PROFEPA, establecer comunicación y coordinación con las
En el Estado de Puebla, dentro de la Reserva, las actividades comunidades indígenas y campesinas de la región sobre la autoridades ambientales de los municipios y fortalecer los
primarias de las poblaciones están centradas en la recolección biodiversidad y el uso que de forma tradicional han hecho de comités de vigilancia ambiental participativa.
de insectos como el cuchamá (Figura 1), el cocopache, los ella por más de siete mil años.
tecoles, hormigas, entre otros; la recolección de frutos y Además de lo anterior, se tiene contemplado un componente
semillas silvestres como la jiotilla, pitaya (Figura 2), pitahaya, En este sentido, para elaborar el Programa de Manejo, se de prevención y control de incendios o contingencias
chupandilla, xoconostle, orégano, garambullos, frutos verdes realizó un amplio ejercicio de participación de las poblaciones ambientales, un componente de protección contra especies
y maduros de tempezquistle, flores de agave, piñones, chile locales, de instituciones académicas, de gobierno, de invasoras y control de poblaciones que se tornen perjudiciales,
de monte, semillas de pochotes y de tetechas; en la corta autoridades municipales; entre otros actores expertos. un componente de mantenimiento de regímenes de
de inflorescencia de agaves, izotes y pencas de maguey perturbación y procesos ecológicos a gran escala y el
pulquero; en la agricultura de temporal y en la ganadería (Lira Como resultado, se identificaron ocho sistemas ambientales componente de mitigación y adaptación al cambio climático.
et al., 2009). La producción de sal (Figura 3) es una actividad u objetos de conservación: bosque de cactáceas columnares,
primaria importante, sobre todo en Zapotitlán Salinas, donde bosque mesófilo, matorral xerófilo, comunidades riparias, Para el caso del subprograma de Manejo, se tiene como
constituye una de las principales actividades económicas. selva baja caducifolia, bosque de coníferas y latifoliadas, objetivo general fomentar la ejecución de actividades
refugios y palmares; cada uno de estos objetos se calificó de y acciones orientadas al cumplimiento de los objetivos
En el Estado de Oaxaca, las actividades productivas están acuerdo con criterios como: contribución al macrosistema de conservación, protección, restauración, capacitación,
centradas en la agricultura de temporal, teniendo como (importancia en el ANP, en el Sistema Nacional de Áreas educación y recreación de la RBTC a través de proyectos
principales cultivos el maíz, chile, calabaza, trigo, cebada y Protegidas y a nivel global), su rareza, calidad (estado alternativos y la promoción de actividades de desarrollo
frijol. La agricultura de riego se realiza en las riberas de los de conservación del ecosistema), carisma y valor como sostenible.
ríos. El aprovechamiento forestal es una actividad primaria herramienta de conservación (valor potencial económico,
importante en esta región. comercial, ecoturístico, educacional, de influencia en la toma En este sentido, a través del impulso de diversos proyectos
de decisiones de conservación, así como la presencia de de uso sustentable de los recursos naturales y actividades
La extracción de materiales pétreos como el ónix (Figura 4) y especies clave). productivas se busca generar oportunidades de desarrollo y
el mármol travertino se llevan a cabo en las comunidades de seguridad alimentaria para ellos.
San Antonio Nanahuatipan, Ignacio Mejía y San Gabriel Casa De igual manera, se definieron las actividades antrópicas
Blanca en el distrito de Teotitlán de Flores Magón. que por sus características ocasionan impactos a los sistemas Algunos de estos proyectos son: de ecoturismo en la localidad
ambientales u objetos de conservación, siendo éstas calificadas de Santa María Tecomavaca, Oaxaca, sitio de anidación de
En los municipios de Caltepec, Atexcal, Tehuacán y Santiago por su ubicación, extensión, intensidad y temporalidad. la guacamaya verde (Ara militaris), el cual cuenta con guías
Miahuatlán en el Estado de Puebla y San Miguel Tequixtepec, comunitarios capacitados, área de campamento y cabañas
Apoala, Cotahuixtla en el Estado de Oaxaca, se lleva a cabo De manera general, las presiones que son comunes a los para pernoctar, senderismo para la observación de la
el aprovechamiento de la palma de sombrero (Brahea dulcis) ocho objetos de conservación son el cambio de uso de suelo, guacamaya y otras especies de flora y fauna del lugar.
con fines artesanales (Figura 5). las prácticas ganaderas incompatibles con la conservación,
la generación de desechos sólidos y la extracción de flora y En la localidad de Santiago Quiotepec, Oaxaca, se tiene
Dadas las condiciones medioambientales anteriormente materiales pétreos. un comedor, cabañas y zona de campamento, así como
descritas, así como las diversas actividades relacionadas al uso senderos para ciclismo de montaña, avistamiento de aves y un
y aprovechamiento de los recursos naturales y con el fin de Con el fin de alcanzar los objetivos de conservación y manejo sendero donde se puede apreciar la Echeveria laui, crasulácea
cumplir con los objetivos de creación del ANP, se elaboró el de los ecosistemas y sus elementos existentes se definieron endémica de la región y llamativa a los observadores por la
Programa de Manejo de la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán subprogramas que están enfocados a estructurar e impulsar cera natural que la protege dándole una vista aterciopelada.
Cuicatlán, el cual es el instrumento rector operativo y flexible en forma ordenada y priorizada las actividades y proyectos
que establece las actividades, acciones y lineamientos básicos que se lleven a cabo. Dichos subprogramas son los siguientes: En la localidad de San Juan Raya, Zapotitlán, Puebla,
para el manejo y administración de la Reserva y que encuentra de Protección, de Manejo, de Restauración, de Conocimiento, encontramos la zona fosilífera y área de huellas de dinosaurio
de Cultura y de Gestión. que se han descubierto en años recientes, dándole un
175

Figura 1. Aprovechamiento de Cuchamá. © Fernando Reyes Figura 2. Aprovechamiento de pitaya. © Fernando Reyes
atractivo a esta región de matorral xerófilo enclavado en la modificaciones causadas por las actividades humanas o
mixteca poblana. En este sitio, los visitantes pueden hacer fenómenos naturales, permitiendo la continuidad de los
senderismo para la observación de los fósiles así como de la procesos naturales en los ecosistemas de la RBTC; como
flora nativa; hay una zona de campamento y museo de sitio. estrategias se ha definido, identificar y evaluar las zonas con
algún grado de deterioro de la RBTC.
Uno de los sitios más espectaculares dentro de la Reserva
es la zona de mayor densidad de cactáceas columnares del Implementar programas de recuperación, rehabilitación o
mundo, la cual se encuentra en el jardín botánico Helia Bravo restauración de los sitios identificados incluyendo ecosistemas
Hollis en Zapotitlán Salinas. En este sitio los visitantes pueden acuáticos y subacuáticos; implementar programas de
recorrer los senderos con guías especializados que conocen recuperación y conservación de agua y suelos y recuperar
los usos de las plantas y animales, así como las especies que la cobertura vegetal, con el uso de especies nativas en sitios
son únicas en la zona; además se pueden adquirir productos impactados de la RBTC.
como artesanías de palma, productos herbolarios, alfarería,
ónix, cactáceas de ornato, entre otros que ofrecen grupos Se contemplaron los componentes de conectividad y
de mujeres. ecología del paisaje, componente de conservación de agua
y suelo, componente de recuperación de especies en riesgo,
En las comunidades de Santa Ana Teloxtoc, Santiago componente de reforestación y restauración de ecosistemas y
Acatepec y La Compañía, de los Municipios de Tehuacán y el componente de rehabilitación de hábitats riparios y sistemas
Caltepec en el Estado de Puebla, se han integrado grupos de fluviales.
trabajo de manejo ganadero, quienes han sido capacitados
y realizan actividades de sanidad, alimentario, reproducción El subprograma de Conocimiento tiene como objetivo
y mejoramiento genético de sus hatos ganaderos con el fin general generar, rescatar y divulgar conocimientos, prácticas
de aumentar la productividad y disminuir la presión sobre la y tecnologías, tradicionales o nuevas que permitan la
vegetación natural. preservación, la toma de decisiones y el aprovechamiento
sustentable de la biodiversidad de la RBTC; se definieron
El subprograma de Restauración pretende recuperar dos subcomponentes, el de inventarios, líneas de base y
y restablecer las condiciones ecológicas previas a las Figura 3. Producción de sal. © Fernando Reyes
176

5
Figura 4. Aprovechamiento de ónix. © Fernando Reyes Figura 5. Aprovechamiento de palma. © Fernando Reyes
monitoreo ambiental y socioeconómico y el componente de la capacidad operativa del personal de la RBTC, mediante 2. Subzonas de uso tradicional, con una superficie de
sistemas de información. esquemas de capacitación y aprendizaje. 133,000,739.30675 ha, integrada por 19 polígonos.
3. Subzonas de aprovechamiento sustentable de los recursos
Para el caso del subprograma de Cultura, se definió como En la declaratoria de la –RBTC, se estableció un polígono naturales, con una superficie de 33,000,046.85615 ha,
objetivo difundir acciones de conservación de la RBTC, general, es decir, no se estableció una zonificación, por lo que conformada por cuatro polígonos.
propiciando la participación activa de las comunidades las subzonas establecidas a través del Programa de Manejo se 4. Subzonas de aprovechamiento sustentable de los
aledañas que generen la valoración de los servicios establecieron conforme a lo establecido en la Ley General del ecosistemas, con una superficie de 178,000,168.86348 ha
ambientales, mediante la identidad, difusión y educación Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente. De acuerdo formada por 19 polígonos.
para la conservación de la biodiversidad que contiene. Se con esta Ley, la zonificación es el instrumento técnico de 5. Subzonas de aprovechamiento especial, con una superficie
consideraron los siguientes componentes, de educación para planeación que puede ser utilizado en el establecimiento de 239.20426 ha, integrada por 14 polígonos.
la conservación y el de comunicación, difusión e interpretación de las ANP, que permite ordenar su territorio en función del 6. Subzonas de uso público, con una superficie de 1,000.60244
ambiental. grado de conservación y representatividad de sus ecosistemas, ha, integrada por cuatro polígonos.
la vocación natural del terreno, de su uso actual y potencial, 7. Subzona de asentamientos humanos, con una superficie de
Por último, el subprograma de Gestión tiene como objetivo de conformidad con los objetivos dispuestos en la misma 2,000,210.33082 ha integrada por 29 polígonos.
establecer las formas en que se organizará la administración declaratoria; asimismo existirá una subzonificación, la cual
de la RBTC y los mecanismos de participación de los tres consiste en el instrumento técnico y dinámico de planeación, Para cada una de estas subzonas se han definido también las
órdenes de gobierno, de los individuos y comunidades que se establecerá en el programa respectivo y que es utilizado actividades permitidas y no permitidas, que en conjunto con
aledañas a la misma, así como de todas aquellas personas, en el manejo de las ANP. los subprogramas de Conservación dan la pauta para procurar
instituciones, grupos y organizaciones sociales interesadas lograr los objetivos de la –RBTC.
en su conservación y aprovechamiento sostenible; como Para el caso de la RBTC, se han definido las siguientes
estrategias se ha considerado promover y fortalecer la sinergia subzonas y políticas de manejo: Estas actividades de Protección, Manejo y Restauración de
institucional, promover la procuración de recursos para la los ecosistemas, se realizan en coordinación con organismos
RBTC, fortalecer la capacidad administrativa y operativa de nacionales e internacionales y los habitantes de la Reserva con
la RBTC con una mayor comunicación y coordinación con 1. Subzona de preservación, con una superficie de el fin de mantener la integridad de los recursos naturales y la
la Dirección Regional Centro y Eje Neovolcánico y fortalecer 141,000,781.71157 ha, conformada por cinco polígonos. riqueza natural presente, así como el desarrollo sustentable
de las comunidades.
177

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179

Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán

Rosalinda Medina Lemos
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Instituto de Biología, Departamento de Botánica, México
Resumen Setenta por ciento de las familias a nivel mundial se comunidades vegetales que visitaron. A partir de entonces
encuentran representadas en el Valle, al menos con una se publicaron trabajos en los que ya se contempló la riqueza
La flora en cuestión se ubica en una región semiárida, especie; entre las más diversas están las Asteraceae (350 florística y la gran diversidad de formas de vida que existen
enmarcada en el sureste de Puebla y noroeste de Oaxaca, spp.), Leguminosae (290 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (110 spp.), en esta región.
entre los 17°20’ y 18°58’ latitud norte, 96°45’ y 97°55’ Lamiaceae (95 spp.), Orchidaceae (90 spp.), Cactaceae
longitud oeste, separada del resto de los desiertos (86 spp.), Crassulaceae (70 spp.), Bromeliaceae (61 spp.) Para 1930, en el Instituto de Biología de la UNAM, recién
mexicanos por el Eje Neovolcánico, y constituye el desierto y Agavaceae (40 spp). Además de la riqueza florística, formado y con pocos investigadores, destacó la Dra. Helia
más sureño de México. otro valor por considerar es el alto número de especies Bravo Hollis, quién dedicó cerca de 40 años de su vida a
endémicas que existen (ca. 10%), por lo que el Valle estudiar y describir el grupo de las cactáceas, plantas que
Desde el siglo XVIII, la flora de la región del Valle de se considera un centro importante de diversidad para caracterizan a las comunidades vegetales de esta región.
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán despertó el interés de numerosos numerosos grupos de plantas y por lo tanto un área Entre los años 30’ y los 70’, ella realizó visitas periódicas al
visitantes y exploradores por lo espectacular de sus paisajes. prioritaria a conservar (IUCN, 1990). Valle, junto con otros investigadores como Débora Ramírez
Ahí están representadas todas las formas posibles de vida Cantú, Maximino Martínez y Faustino Miranda, quienes
vegetal: árboles, arbustos, hierbas, trepadoras, epífitas, De particular interés son los procesos de especiación que en abordaron el estudio de la vegetación desde diversos
parásitas y hasta plantas acuáticas. la actualidad siguen ocurriendo en algunos géneros como: puntos de vista.
Agave, Bursera, Dalea, Hechtia y Salvia, entre otros.
La diversidad de formas da como resultado un gran A finales de los setenta y hasta mediados de los ochenta,
mosaico de paisajes: cardonales, cuajiotales, encinares, Desde hace poco más de tres décadas, en el Departamento por iniciativa del Dr. Fernando Chiang Cabrera y el M. en C.
izotales, magueyales, mezquitales, quiotillales y tetecheras. de Botánica del Instituto de Biología de la Universidad Francisco González Medrano, surgió el estudio sistemático
Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), se han venido de esta área y a partir de ese momento se asumió como
La combinación de numerosas variables ambientales realizando numerosos proyectos de investigación, un proyecto institucional en el Instituto de Biología de la
favoreció el crecimiento de esa flora tan especial, que abordando diversos aspectos de la biología en el área, por UNAM, bajo el nombre: “Flora y Vegetación del Valle de
además de ser rica en formas de vida, tiene una gran lo que el Valle se considera un “gran laboratorio natural”. Tehuacán-Cuicatlán”. Estos investigadores motivaron e
riqueza florística (número de especies por área); en un involucraron a gran cantidad de estudiantes para desarrollar
área aproximada de 10,000 km cuadrados habitan poco tesis de licenciatura y posgrado, colaborando todos ellos en
más de 3 mil especies, número comparable al que se las exploraciones de campo y en la recolección de material
ha registrado para la flora de toda la península de Baja Antecedentes botánico. La suma de ese esfuerzo cristalizó en los 90’ bajo
California, en México. Varias hipótesis se han generado la dirección de la Dra. Patricia Dávila, cuando se publicó por
para explicar la existencia de esta región semiárida, una El estudio de la Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán primera vez una lista sobre el inventario florístico y se inició
de ellas plantea que es por el efecto de la presencia de la es resultado de la cooperación y trabajo de numerosos la publicación de los tratamientos taxonómicos para cada
Sierra Madre Oriental que actúa como una barrera natural, exploradores a lo largo de dos siglos. Sin embargo, en los familia registrada en la zona.
evitando el paso de lluvia que viene del Golfo de México últimos 35 años diversos especialistas, principalmente del
hacia la vertiente occidental, resultando así precipitaciones Departamento de Botánica del Instituto de Biología de la Paralelamente al trabajo taxonómico de los botánicos,
muy bajas en la zona; otro factor determinante para el UNAM, emprendieron el estudio formal de tan interesante varios especialistas en el área de etnobotánica y ecología
establecimiento de la cubierta vegetal es el sustrato, ya que región, involucrando también a investigadores de otras emprendieron investigaciones para conocer y documentar
en esta área la superficie está principalmente cubierta por instituciones de México y del extranjero. lo referente al manejo y uso de los recursos vegetales, así
afloramientos de roca caliza, yesosa, roca metamórfica e como también para saber el estado de conservación de
ígnea, por lo que se trata de suelos muy pobres en materia La región posee una vegetación xerofítica sobresaliente, por la zona. Estos trabajos aportaron información relevante
orgánica. La cantidad de agua y tipo de suelo, entre otros, lo que tiempo atrás llamó la atención de los naturalistas, que, aunada al conocimiento florístico, la diversidad y el
determinan la diversidad y distribución de las especies en pero fue hasta finales del siglo XIX que exploradores y porcentaje de endemismo, condujo a nominar la zona del
el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. Por estas condiciones, botánicos como C. Conzatti, C. G. Pringle, C. A. Purpus, Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán como un área prioritaria a
la cubierta vegetal es principalmente xerofítica, aunque J. N. Rose, E. W. Nelson, entre otros, iniciaron de manera conservar.
existen fragmentos de bosque tropical caducifolio, bosque formal la descripción de especies nuevas para la ciencia
de Quercus, en menor escala bosque de Pinus y Palmares. y dieron informes detallados sobre los recorridos y las
180

5
Mapa 1. Delimitación de la
Reserva de la Biósfera del
Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.
© Rosalinda Medina Lemos
Polígono de la flora del Valle Tehuacán-Cuicatlán 10812520194.00 1081252.02 10812.52

Delimitac
Polígono
Polígono de la flora del Valle Tehuacán-CuicatlánANP de la flora del Valle 10812.52
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán
10812520194.00 1081252.02 Tehuacán-Cuicatlán 10812520194.00
4874564239.87 1081252.02
487456.42 10812.52
4874.56 Flora del
Delimitación de la zona de estudio Delimitac
0194.00 1081252.02 10812.52 4874564239.87 487456.42 4874.56 Flora del valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Flora del
ANP Tehuacán-Cuicatlán 4874564239.87 487456.42 4874.56
Delimitación de la zona de estudio ANP Tehuacán-Cuicatlán dentro del Pol. VTC 4503378432.00 450337.84 4503.38
4239.87 487456.42 4874.56 Flora del valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán
ANP Tehuacán-Cuicatlán dentro del Pol. VTC 4503378432.00 450337.84 4503.38 Área Nat
ANP Tehuacán-Cuicatlán dentro del Pol. VTC 4503378432.00
Área Natural Protegida450337.84 4503.38
8432.00 450337.84 4503.38
Área Nat
Área Natural Protegida
ANP Tehuacán-Cuicatlán dentro del Pol. VTC 41.65 92.39

41.65 92.39
181

El trabajo de investigación realizado durante esas de un pequeño continente, Oaxaquia, que se ha asociado Finalmente las rocas volcánicas más antiguas registradas
dos décadas fructificó en 1998, cuando por decreto con las rocas proterozoicas de Gondwana (Ortega et al. afloran en San Luis Atolotitlán. Éstas se intercalan con la
gubernamental se declaró Área Natural Protegida (ANP), 1995). El complejo Acatlán está representado por rocas Formación Matzitzi y se les calcula la edad de 290–260
con el carácter de Reserva de la Biosfera, a la región metamórficas de tipo esquistos, con micas y segregaciones millones de años; los afloramientos se reconocen por la
denominada Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. de cuarzo que surgieron del metamorfismo de rocas ígneas presencia de ignimbritas, rocas de composición muy ácida
y sedimentarias de bajo impacto, se puede apreciar en Los con cristales de cuarzo en una matriz de feldespatos.
Reyes Metzontla y el suroeste de La Compañía; la edad es
entre 391 y 354 millones de años en el Paleozoico Tardío El paisaje actual se formó hace 35–30 millones de años,
La región (Centeno-García, 2004). Entre ambos complejos se presenta como resultado de emisión de lavas y depósitos piroclásticos
un cuerpo granítico de origen intrusivo denominado Granito que se pueden observar en Los Reyes Metzontla, San
Ubicada al sur del Eje Neovolcánico y aislada de los grandes Cosahuico, que aflora a largo de Los Reyes Metzontla, La Francisco Xochiltepec y San Luis Atolotitlán. Ahí, se
desiertos del norte de México, se encuentra una franja Compañía y Caltepec, se ha fechado en 275 millones de intercalan con un afloramiento continental Cenozoico. Los
pequeña con vegetación xerófita, localizada entre los 17°20’ años. aluviones y conglomerados de todas las rocas se encuentran
y 18°58’ latitud norte, 96°45’ y 97°55’ longitud oeste, hacia en una matriz arenosa, cementada por caliche. Actualmente
el sureste del estado de Puebla y el noroeste de Oaxaca, y Las rocas sedimentarias son muy diversas y pueden ser la región se encuentra en una etapa erosiva (Mendoza-
comprende cerca de 10,000 km cuadrados (Mapa 2). continentales o marinas, las más antiguas pertenecen a la Rosales y Silva-Romo, 2006).
Formación Matzitzi y afloran en las partes más bajas, en
Fisiográficamente se conoce como provincia mixteco- cañadas profundas con ladera empinada; consisten en
oaxaqueña (Tamayo, 1962) y realmente es un conjunto areniscas feldespáticas verdes y rojizas, con limolitas, lutitas Ríos
intrincado de valles y serranías. Al norte limita con el Eje carbonosas, conglomerados de cuarzo y fragmentos de roca
Neovolcánico, al este con la Sierra Madre Oriental, que metamórfica, en ellas se encuentran fósiles de plantas, hojas Hidrológicamente la región es parte de la Cuenca Alta del
localmente recibe diferentes nombres, en el norte cerca y troncos fósiles (Silva-Pineda, 1970) los cuales vivieron en Río Papaloapan, la segunda más importante de México, la
de Esperanza se le conoce como Sierra Zongolica, hacia el un ambiente pantanoso hace 290-260 millones de años cual drena hacia la vertiente del Golfo de México. A pesar
sureste a la altura de Teotitlán de Flores Magón se conoce durante el Pérmico. Cubriendo las areniscas de la Formación de reconocerse como una zona árida, la región se encuentra
como Sierra Mazateca, por el oeste le rodea la Sierra de Matzitzi, se encuentran conglomerados y areniscas rojizas surcada por varios afluentes que nacen al sur del Valle de
Zapotitlán y el Escudo Mixteco que forma parte de la Sierra muy ricas en cuarzo y feldespato y que pertenecen a la Tehuacán; la principal corriente es la del Río Salado que
Madre del Sur, la prolongación de esta sierra hacia el este Formación Caltepec y se pueden observar cerca del Cerro sigue una dirección noreste-sureste y cruza toda la zona
marca el límite sur de la zona, separándola de la gran región Matzitzi, la Barranca Nacional y el poblado de Caltepec. La hasta el sur en Oaxaca para unirse primeramente al Río
de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca. edad se ha establecido por correlación con su similitud a las Santo Domingo, a la altura de Santiago Quiotepec (el Santo
de Huajuapan de León, que data de 203-115 millones de Domingo nace en San Juan Coyula, en las montañas de la
años. Sobre la formación Caltepec se describe la Formación Sierra de Juárez y es uno de los ramales más grandes que
Zapotitlán, que consiste en areniscas de cuarzo, feldespatos hay al sur de la zona) y luego más al sureste desemboca en
Lo natural y líticos en una matriz calcárea. Se observan también bancos el Río Grande.
arrecifales intercalados entre las areniscas en los cuales se
encuentran gasterópodos, pelecípodos y corales como A lo largo del camino del Río Salado, y antes de desembocar
Edad los que se aprecian en la Formación San Juan Raya, por en el Río Santo Domingo, se le unen tres afluentes menores:
su contenido fosilífero se le asigna la edad de 117–113 el primero del Río Zapotitlán a la altura de Coxcatlán, luego
Los eventos ocurridos a lo largo de la historia geológica de millones de años durante el Cretácico temprano (Alencaster, se continúa hasta Teotitlán de Flores Magón, donde se
la zona han sido documentados por diversos especialistas 1956; Buitrón-Sánchez y Barceló-Duarte, 1980; Calderón- integran los otros dos: el Río Hondo (o río Calapa), que
(Brunet, 1967; Fuentes-Aguilar, 1971; López-Ramos, 1981; García, 1956; De Cserna, 1970). viene del noroeste (río que marca el límite entre el estado
Mendoza-Rosales y Silva-Romo, 2006). En estos trabajos de Puebla y Oaxaca), y el Río Xiquila o Río Sabino, que nace
se destaca la distribución de las rocas que afloran en el De la litología se infiere que se acumuló en un ambiente en Santa María Ixcatlán y se encausa en San Pedro Nodón
área, basándose en las características geológicas para marino somero, con numerosas barras de arrecifes; México para dirigirse hacia los poblados de San Juan Los Cues y
describir las diferentes unidades litoestratigráficas. Las estaba dividido en dos: por los eventos que se dieron Los Obos.
rocas más antiguas en la región corresponden a las rocas durante el Cretácico inferior en Norteamérica, a finales de
metamórficas que datan del Precámbrico y corresponden este periodo los mares que cubrían la región comenzaron La otra parte que se continúa del Río Salado, después del
a los complejos Oaxaca y Acatlán. El complejo Oaxaca, a retirarse como consecuencia de un evento orogénico que poblado de Santiago Quiotepec, es la que va a desembocar
formado por gneises y cuarzo feldespático con granates, dio origen a la Sierra Madre Oriental, esto ocurrió hace cerca al Río Grande. En este trayecto se le unen el Río Apoala (el
se puede observar aflorando al sur de San Luis Atolotitlán, de 100 millones de años. cual nace en San Isidro Yododene, San Miguel Chicahua
y se le han determinado edades que van desde 1,113 y Santiago Apoala, ya en el distrito de Nochixtlán), el
hasta 960 millones de años; originalmente formaba parte Río Tomellín, que va por un cañón profundo, y el último
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ramal del Río de Las Vueltas, que está a la altura de San
Juan Tonaltepec y sigue hacia el poblado de Santiago
Dominguillo. Este río está conformado por afluentes
menores: Río Chiquito de San Pedro Chicozapotes, Río
Chiquito de San Juan Bautista Cuicatlán, Río Cacahuatal,
Río El Chorro, Río Monteflor, Río Chiquihuitlán y Río El
Carrizal, todos ellos procedentes de la Sierra de los Pápalos
(Mapa 3).
Clima
La aridez de la región se debe principalmente al efecto

de sombra orográfica de la Sierra Madre Oriental, que
actúa como barrera evitando el paso de los vientos alisios
provenientes del Golfo de México, los cuales vienen
cargados de humedad. Los vientos húmedos liberan la
humedad en forma de lluvia en la parte de sotavento, pero
no logran pasar hacia la vertiente continental. La poca lluvia
que logra pasar de la Sierra de Zongolica se capta en Cerro
Verde y Cerro Amoltepec.
Los patrones de temperatura y precipitación son similares

a los del Altiplano Central, donde el periodo de lluvia se
presenta en verano. En la parte central del Valle el clima
es semicálido, con precipitación media anual entre 400
y 500 mm, como en Tehuacán y Zapotitlán (ahí se han
registrado las precipitaciones más bajas). Hacia el norte,
en Tecamachalco, el clima es más fresco y la precipitación
llega a ser de 600 mm al año. La zona más cálida con
precipitaciones mayores se presenta hacia el sureste,
por la Cañada, en los poblados de Teotitlán, Cuicatlán
y Dominguillo. Hay dos máximos de temperatura, uno
en abril y mayo y otro en septiembre. La precipitación
también marca dos máximos, uno en pleno verano
(junio–julio) y otro en septiembre (por la presencia de los
ciclones tropicales). De acuerdo a la estacionalidad de la
lluvia y las temperaturas, en las cartas (García, 1997) se
reconocen para la zona tres tipos de clima: templados (Cb),
semicálidos (A(C), (A)C, Am) y secos (Bs, Bw). El Valle de
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán es el desierto más austral de México.
Vegetación
De acuerdo a la clasificación de Rzedowski (1978), esta área

corresponde a la Región Xerofítica Mexicana y se considera
una provincia florística que es parte del Reino Neotropical.
En ella se reconocen cuatro grandes comunidades: matorral
xerófilo, bosque tropical caducifolio, bosque de Quercus
y bosque de Pinus. Las dos primeras comunidades son Mapa 2. Ubicación del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, municipios de Puebla y Oaxaca. © Rosalinda Medina Lemos
183

las más atractivas a la vista del viajero, por la rareza en Tabla 1. Asociaciones de las cactáceas agosto. Se les conoce como “órgano”, “órgano pachón”
las formas de vida de las plantas. Otras variantes de la arborescentes en el matorral xerófilo. o “cardón blanco”. Las poblaciones de esta especie se
vegetación que se encuentran inmersas dentro de las ya encuentran principalmente en el camino de Tehuacán
mencionadas son los Palmares y los bosques de galería que Matorral xerófilo Cactáceas columnares dominantes a Zapotitlán, San Gabriel Chilac y cerca de Calipan en
crecen cerca de los afluentes de los ríos. Existen zonas con (asociaciones) Coxcatlán. Especie endémica de México, registrada sólo
vegetación primaria, donde la perturbación humana no ha Organales 1. Cephalocereus columna-trajani para la región del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.
tenido incidencia (Mapa 4).
En el estrato arbóreo destaca también Beaucarnea gracilis
Tetecheras 2. Neobuxbaumia tetetzo
Los estudios sobre la vegetación han permitido conocer una (sotolín) y Prosopis laevigata (mezquite). La primera
3. Neobuxbaumia macrocephala y N.
serie de aspectos que deben considerarse para describir mezcalaensis especie resalta en el paisaje por su tronco exageradamente
mejor a las comunidades y se plantean cuatro criterios 4. Neobuxbaumia macrocephala y ensanchado hacia la base.
básicos (Valiente-Banuet et al., 2000, 2009): Stenocereus Dumortierii
Entre los arbustos de esta comunidad, predominan las
• Composición: se refiere a las especies presentes en la siguientes especies: Agave peacockii, A. macroacantha
Cardonales 5. Pseudomitrocereus fulviceps
comunidad. 6. Stenocereus stellatus (maguey), B. fagaroides (cuajiote amarillo), Brongniartia
luisana, Calliandra eriophylla, Jatropha neopauciflora
• Estructura: está dada por la disposición espacial que (llora sangre o sangre de drago), J. rzedowskii, Calcicola
ocupan las plantas, su abundancia y tamaño. Chichipera 7. Polaskia chichipe (Polaskia parviflora, Morkilia mexicana, Karwinskia humboldtiana,
chende, Myrtillocactus geometrizans,
Ziziphus pedunculata.
Lophocereus marginatus, Pilosocereus
• Fisonomía: determinada por las formas de vida de las chrysacanthus, Stenocereus stellatus)
plantas, como las categorías de árbol, arbusto, hierba, En el estrato herbáceo: Ammannia pringlei, Dalea
trepadora, epífita, parásita, acuática, etcétera. Y también bicolor, D. botterii, Echeveria purpusorum, Echinocactus
por la presencia de plantas espinosas, crasas o rosetófilas. riqueza de asociaciones vegetales, en donde las cactáceas platyacanthus, Ferocatus recurvus, Loeselia caerulea, L.
columnares son los principales actores de la escena. A pumila, Nama spathulata, Passiflora foetida, Polygala
• Patrones temporales: según la época del año, la continuación, se describen las principales asociaciones de annectans, Salvia axillaris, S. thymoides, S. tenoriana,
composición de las especies cambia por la diferencia cactáceas columnares y de rosetófilas, ambas comunidades Sanvitalia fruticosa, Tradescantia monosperma.
en los ciclos de vida de las plantas (anuales, bianuales únicas en el mundo.
o perennes) o por cambios debidos a perturbaciones
ambientales. Las asociaciones vegetales reciben diversos nombres locales, Tetecheras
según la especie que domina en el estrato arbóreo. El
Con base en estos criterios se describe a continuación la primer grupo es el de los bosques de cactáceas columnares: Nombre aquí usado para las comunidades donde abundan
vegetación del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. individuos de diferentes especies del género Neobuxbamia.
Organales 2. Neobuxbaumia tetetzo (F. A. C.Weber) Backeb. Las

Matorral xerófilo grandes poblaciones de esta especie son características
1. Cephalocereus columna-trajani (Karw. ex Pfeiff.) K. del matorral xerófilo y menos frecuentes del bosque
Esta comunidad es la que abarca una mayor extensión en Schum. Si en una comunidad predominan los individuos tropical caducifolio. Crecen sobre suelo calizo, en
la zona. Su estructura está definida principalmente por de esta especie, al conjunto se le llama “organales”. elevaciones de (600–)1000–1900 m. Los individuos
la presencia de dos formas de vida: arbustos y hierbas. Las poblaciones son frecuentes en el matorral xerófilo y frecuentemente llegan a medir 15 m de altura y ca. 60
Los árboles de porte alto son muy escasos; sin embargo, pocos individuos se han registrado en el bosque tropical cm de diámetro. Cuando alcanzan su madurez empiezan
destacan en el paisaje por su tamaño (9.0–15.0 m de alto). caducifolio. Tienen preferencia por los suelos calizos, en a ramificarse, tienen flores blancas, grandes ca. 10 cm de
Además hay otras especies denominadas “arborescentes”, elevaciones de 600–1800 m. Los individuos llegan alcanzar largo, que nacen alrededor del ápice de las ramas y que
conocidas también como cactáceas columnares, que no son ca. de 10 m de altura por 40 cm de diámetro. Esta cactácea son polinizadas por murciélagos. Florecen entre mayo
propiamente árboles porque no llegan a formar madera columnar es muy peculiar porque los tallos no ramifican, y julio, fructifican entre junio y julio. Los frutos y las
en su corteza, pero que son los que conforman el estrato sólo tiene un eje y el ápice es recurvado. También presenta flores tiernas se consumen como alimento localmente.
árboreo por su altura. La composición florística de los una rara cicatriz de hasta ca. un metro de largo, oscura La planta se conoce como “teteche”, “tetetzo” o
matorrales es muy variable según el sustrato, la orientación y pronunciada por un costado, la cual corresponde a la “cardón”, y a los frutos les llaman “higo de teteche” o
de la ladera, la disponibilidad de agua y la altitud. El huella que dejan las flores producidas cada año. Las flores “tetecha”. Las poblaciones más grandes de esta especie
conjunto de estos factores ambientales determinará la son blancas o ligeramente rosadas y son polinizadas por se localizan principalmente en laderas de lutitas, en los
combinación de especies que habitan en cada región. En murciélagos. La época de floración es entre marzo y mayo alrededores del Valle de Zapotitlán, San Gabriel Chilac,
este sentido, el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán cuenta con una (ocasionalmente hasta julio) y la fructificación entre julio y Calipan, Coxcatlán y Cuicatlán. Especie endémica de
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5
México, registrada sólo para la zona del Valle de
Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.
En el estrato árboreo se encuentran otras cactáceas

columnares de talla menor, que no forman grandes
poblaciones: Myrtillocactus geometrizans (garambuyo o
padre nuestro), con una altura < 5 m, flores pequeñas,
blanco-amarillentas y frutos de color rojo intenso (éstos
son pequeños pero de sabor agradable y se consumen
en la región; en el norte de México forman grandes
poblaciones conocidas como “garambullales” y se
produce mermelada con los frutos). Otra especie que
aparece en esta comunidad es Lemairocereus hollianus
(“baboso” o “acompes”), de similar altura a la especie
anterior, con flores blanco-verdosas y frutos rojos. Se
consume la fruta fresca o se usa para hacer agua fresca
o helado. Los pobladores reconocen seis variantes por
el color de la pulpa; los tallos se usan como cerca viva.
Estudios sobre su uso y manejo revelan una tendencia a
su desaparición. Es endémica de México, sólo se conoce
del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. Ambas especies
son más frecuentes en el matorral xerófilo que en el
bosque tropical caducifolio. Otras especies del estrato
arbóreo son: Actinocheita potentillifolia, Bursera arida
(cuajiote), B. fagaroides (cuajiote amarillo), Eysenhardtia
polystachya, Ipomoea pauciflora, Neopringlea viscosa,
Piscidia grandiflora.
Entre los arbustos de esta comunidad predominan

las siguientes especies: Mimosa luisana, M. purpusii,
M. calcicola (uña de gato), Caesalpinia melanadenia,
Agave karwinskii, A. marmorata, A. potatorum,
(maguey), Ipomoea pauiciflora, Foquieria formosa
(ocotillo), Castela erecta subsp. texana (chaparro
amargoso), Cnidoscolus tehuacanensis (mala mujer),
entre otras.
En el estrato herbáceo se encuentran especies de

cactáceas globosas generalmente llamadas “biznagas”
o “chilitos” y pertenecientes a varios géneros:
Coryphantha calipensis, C. pallida, C. pseudoradians,
Echinocactus platyacanthus, Ferocactus flavovirens,
F. robustus, Mamillaria carnea, M. haageana y otras
hierbas como Justicia candicans, J. ramosa, Ruellia
hirsuto-glandulosa.
3. Neobuxbaumia macrocephala (F. A .C.Weber

ex K. Schum) E. Y. Dawson y Neobuxbaumia
mezcalaensis (Bravo) Backeb. La presencia de N.
macrocephala es común en el matorral xerófilo y no
tanto en el bosque tropical caducifolio, a diferencia Mapa 3. Principales ríos de la región. © Rosalinda Medina Lemos
185

de N. mezcalensis que es dominante en esta última Orobanche dugesii, Phymosia floribunda, Tragia nepetifolia,
comunidad. En el Valle ambas especies conviven y Tribulus cistoides, Zinnia peruviana. Tabla 2. Asociaciones de las plantas
forman esta asociación justo en la zona de transición rosetófilas en el matorral xerófilo.
del matorral xerófilo con el bosque tropical caducifolio, 4. Neobuxbamia macrocephala (F. A. C.Weber ex K.
principalmente en suelos calizos y en elevaciones de Schum) y Stenocereus dumortieri (Scheidw.) Buxb. La Matorral xerófilo Plantas arborescentes o acaules
1600–2400 m. Pueden distinguirse fácilmente ya que comunidad que forman estas especies, como dominantes, (asociaciones) (sin tallo)
N. mezcalensis, al igual que C. columna-trajani, no está definida por el sustrato en que crecen, generalmente Izotales 8. Beaucarnea gracilis y/o
ramifica, posee sólo un tallo vertical erguido y el ápice de roca volcánica. Estas columnares se encuentran B. purpusii, Agave spp.
no es recurvado, llega a alcanzar hasta 14 m de alto. conviviendo con otras cactáceas de igual o menor porte, 9. Yucca periculosa y Agave spp.
10. Nolina parviflora y Agave spp.
N. macrocephala, a diferencia de la anterior, tiene que no son tan abundantes y se encuentran dispersas:
numerosas ramificaciones y el ápice de las ramas es muy Lophocereus marginatus, Myrtillocactus geometrizans, Cucharillales 11. Dasylirion lucidum y/o
característico por el color rojizo de las espinas que ahí Pilosocereus chrysacanthus, Polaskia chichipe, P. chende y D. serratifolium y Agave spp.
se concentran. Algunos individuos llegan a tener 7 m Stenocereus stellatus. Se puede observar esta asociación
de altura, las flores en la primera son blancas con el como pequeños parches aislados, no forman un continuo y
ápice rojo y en la segunda son blancas a rojizas. La época se localizan hacia el sur de Zapotitlán, camino a Huajuapan En el estrato arbóreo destacan: Agonandra obtusifolia,
de floración es de marzo a agosto y de abril a junio, de León, cerca del límite de los estados de Puebla y Oaxaca. Parkinsonia praecox (palo verde), Prosopis laevigata
la fructificación de abril a agosto y de mayo a junio. Stenocereus dumortieri puede encontrarse en matorral (mezquite), Lasiocarpus salicifolius, Leucaena esculenta.
Respectivamente; de la primera, se consumen las flores xerófilo y bosque tropical caducifolio, llega a medir hasta 7
como verdura y de la segunda los frutos frescos, ambas m de alto, tiene tallos muy ramificados, las ramas terminales El estrato arbustivo está formado por: Acacia farnesiana,
reciben el nombre común de “cardón”. presentan ligeras constricciones y alcanzan ca. 4 m de A. subangulata, Calcicola parvifolia, Dodonea viscosa,
largo por 15 cm de ancho. Las flores son blanco-verdosas, Echinopterys eglandulosa, Hibiscus elegans, Mimosa
N. macrocephala es una especie endémica de México y los frutos anaranjados o rojos de pulpa jugosa y dulce se luisana, Morkilia mexicana, Phyllanthus subcuneatus,
registrada sólo para la región del Valle de Tehuacán- consumen como fruta fresca. La planta es conocida como Randia capitata.
Cuicatlán. N. mezcalaensis es endémica de México, pero “órgano”, “órgano blanco” o “candelabro”. La época de
no exclusiva del Valle. Las poblaciones más grandes de esta floración es de marzo a junio, la fructificación de mayo a En el estrato herbáceo: Lycianthes ciliolata, Physalis
especie están en la Cuenca del Balsas. julio. Es endémica de México, pero no restringida al Valle philadelphica, Solanum trydinamum, Talinum lineare,
y tiene una distribución muy amplia en el centro del país. Turnera diffusa (damiana).
En esta asociación la presencia de árboles aumenta, pero
no llegan a ser abundantes y tienen un porte menor al 6. Stenocereus stellatus (Pfeiff.) Riccob. En las
de las cactáceas columnares (3.0–5.0 m alto). Algunas Cardonales comunidades donde predomina esta especie se reconoce
especies que se han registrado son: Bursera aptera (cuajiote fácilmente, porque ramifica profusamente desde la base,
amarillo), B. biflora (copal), B. galeottiana (cuajiote rojo), 5. Pseudomitrocereus fulviceps (F. A. C. Weber ex carece de un tallo principal, es abundante en el matorral
Eysenhardtia polystachya, Parkinsonia praecox (palo K. Schum.) Bravo and Backeb. Esta especie no forma xerófilo y en el bosque tropical caducifolio, así como en
verde), Pistacia mexicana, Prosopis laevigata (mezquite), asociaciones dominantes, los individuos se encuentran lugares muy perturbados, en elevaciones de 900–2300 m,
Pseudosmodingium andrieuxii, Yucca periculosa (izote), dispersos, pero de entre todas las columnares es la más con una altura promedio de 4 m. Tiene flores rosadas, los
Fouquieria ochoterenae (ocotillo). robusta. Destaca en el paisaje por su porte y se encuentra frutos son comestibles por la vistosa pulpa rojo oscuro y son
tanto en el matorral xerófilo como en el bosque tropical muy cotizados por su sabor dulce. La época de floración
El estrato arbustivo está compuesto por Acanthothamnus caducifolio, en elevaciones de 1200–2400 m, en sustratos es entre junio y septiembre, la fructificación de julio a
aphyllus, Ageratina callophylla, Acacia cochliacantha, A. diversos. Pueden llegar a medir hasta 12 m de altura por octubre. Se conoce como “pitayo” o “ xoconostle”, es una
compacta, A. constricta, A. farnesiana, A. subangulata, 30 cm de diámetro, con un tallo principal y numerosas de las especies que se seleccionó tiempo atrás y ha sido
Calliandropsis nervosus, Painteria elachistophylla, Iresine ramificaciones. Las ramas secundarias llegan a ser de 8 m domesticada. De esta especie han surgido varias formas
rotundifolia, Leucaena confertiflora subsp. confertiflora, L. de alto, las flores son blancas o rosadas, ocasionalmente hortícolas y es parte importante de la dieta. Cuando es la
esculenta, Mimosa brevispicata, M. calcicola, M. lacerata, amarillentas. La época de floración es entre junio y temporada de la fruta se le puede encontrar en la mayor
Rhus chondroloma subsp. huajuapanensis, Schaefferia octubre, fructifica entre julio y noviembre. Se le conoce parte de los mercados del Valle; los tallos se usan como
stenophylla. como “cardón”. Se puede apreciar en laderas de los cerca viva.
alrededores de San Antonio Texcala, donde se reportan
Entre las hierbas se pueden encontrar Aristida entre 50–100 individuos por hectárea. Se encuentra Especie endémica de México, pero no del Valle, se
tehuacanensis, Crusea calcicola, Cuphea aequipetala, también en Cuicatlán, donde las poblaciones son mayores encuentra en Morelos, Oaxaca y Puebla.
Euphorbia berteroniana, Eustoma exaltatum, Heliotropium de 100 individuos por hectárea dentro del bosque tropical
calcicola, Hemiphylacus mahindae, Kallstroemia caducifolio. Especie endémica de México, registrada sólo En el estrato arbustivo se encuentran: Acacia cochliacantha,
hirsutissima, Jacquemontia smithii, Linum scrabelum, para la zona del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. A. constricta, A. farnesiana, A. subangulata, Bursera biflora
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(copal), B. morelensis (cuajiote rojo), B. schlechtendalii
(cuajiote rojo), Calliandropsis nervosus, Mimosa benthamii,
M. lacerata, M. polyantha (uña de gato), Parkinsonia
praecox (palo verde), Prosopis laevigata (mezquite), Senna
wislizenii, Opuntia decumbens, O. parviclada, O. pilifera
(nopal).
En el estrato herbáceo: Chamaecrista greggii, Chenopodium

murale, Drymaria laxiflora, Evolvulus alsinioides,
Hoffmannseggia gladiata, Ipomoea conzattii, Mentzelia
hispida, Loeselia caerulea, L. purpusii, Senna apiculata, S.
arida, S. galeottiana, Tripogandra angustifolia.
Chichipera
7. Polaskia chichipe (Gosselin) Backeb. Es una comunidad

que crece principalmente sobre basalto y está asociada
a otras especies de cactáceas arborescentes: Polaskia
chende, Myrtillocactus geometrizans de porte bajo (< 5
m). Otras especies de mayor tamaño se pueden encontrar
intercaladas entre ellas, como Lophocereus marginatus,
Stenocereus stellatus, Pilosocereus chrysacanthus.
Polaskia es un género endémico del Valle de Tehuacán-

Cuicatlán, con dos especies: P. chichipe (chichibe o chichipe)
y P. chende (chende o chinoa). Sus frutos se consumen
frescos o se emplean para elaborar helado, agua fresca o
mermeladas, los frutos de la primera especie se conocen
con el nombre de “chichituna” o “chichitun”.
El estrato arbóreo y arbustivo es el mismo que se menciona

para Neobuxbaumia tetezo, en la asociación 2.
Un segundo grupo de matorral, muy llamativo por las

formas de vida, es el de las rosetófilas (plantas con hojas
agrupadas, que aparentemente salen del mismo punto):
Izotales
8. Beaucarnea gracilis Lem. Puede encontrarse como

dominante en el matorral o los individuos estar dispersos
entre las tetecheras. Sólo se encuentra en el matorral
xerófilo y convive con otra de las especies presentes en la
zona, B. purpusii Rose, en elevaciones de 1,300 a 2,000
m. Las plantas adultas miden entre 6 y 12 m de alto,
los tallos tienen entre 1.5 y 2.5 m de diámetro, con una
corteza peculiar con formas geométricas rectangulares o
poligonales. Las ramas superiores donde se encuentran las
hojas ramifican numerosas veces, las ramas que producen Mapa 4. Comunidades vegetales. © Rosalinda Medina Lemos
187

flores alcanzan hasta 1 m de longitud. La floración es entre y masivas, casi formando bosques, están en las partes más peacockii, A. potatorum. También es común ver grandes
marzo y agosto, la fructificación de mayo a enero. altas de las sierras, por lo que también se le conoce como individuos de Echinocactus platyacanthus Link & Otto f.
“izotal de montaña”. Llegan a medir hasta 5 m de altura, grandis (biznaga, biznaga burro, asiento de suegra o cactus
Se le conoce como “sotolín” o “palma de hoja delgada”, las flores son blanquecinas con tintes verdosos o pardos. La barril). De esta especie se conocen tres formas, dos son
las fibras se utilizan para tejer sombreros y en la elaboración floración se presenta de febrero a mayo y la fructificación del norte de México y ésta, que es endémica del Valle.
de arreglos para ofrendas religiosas. En el camino de de abril a noviembre. Esta biznaga llega a medir hasta 2 m de altura, tiene flores
Zapotitlán para tomar la brecha a Los Reyes Metzontla se vistosas y amarillas.
pueden observar grandes extensiones donde esta especie Se le conoce como “sotol” y sus hojas se usan para
es dominante. Su existencia está en riesgo, ya que los techar casas. Especie endémica de México, pero de amplia
individuos adultos se extraen de su ambiente natural, distribución. Recientemente se ha registrado otra especie Bosque tropical caducifolio
son muy cotizados en el mercado ilegal. Ambas especies, de este género, Nolina excelsa García-Mend. & E. Solano,
B. gracilis y B. purpusii, son endémicas de México y su que se diferencia de la primera por la talla mayor, hasta Por su extensión, este bosque es la segunda comunidad
distribución se restringe al Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán. 13 m de alto y las flores son blanquecinas con una línea en importancia. A diferencia del matorral xerófilo, en esta
morada en la parte media, difieren también en la época comunidad se reconocen en su estructura tres estratos
9. Yucca periculosa Baker. Especie muy abundante en el de floración y fructificación. Se encuentran comunidades bien definidos: árboles, arbustos y hierbas, además de
matorral xerófilo donde se encuentra como dominante. densas en la sierra de Tecamachalco y de Zapotitlán. la presencia de plantas trepadoras y epífitas del género
Hay poblaciones con densidades de 500–1,000 individuos Tillandsia y diversas especies de orquídeas.
por hectárea y pueden observarse en el trayecto de Están asociadas en el estrato herbáceo numerosas cactáceas
Cuacnopalan a Tehuacán. A esas comunidades se les conoce globosas (Coryphanta spp., Ferocactus spp., Mammillaria Aquí, los árboles son el estrato dominante, y los que
como “izotales” y habitan generalmente en elevaciones de spp.) y diversas especies de magueyes (Agave spp). determinan la fisonomía de este bosque. Su nombre hace
1,500–2,000 m. También se pueden encontrar individuos alusión a la perdida de follaje por un largo periodo del
escasos en el bosque de Quercus, Bosque de Pinus- 11. Dasylirion lucidum Rose y/o D. serratifolium (Karw. año (ca. 8–9 meses). Aunque ocurre en la mayor parte de
Quercus y en el bosque tropical caducifolio. Este género ex Schult. f) Zucc. Ambas especies llegan a ser dominantes las especies que ahí habitan, no en todas las especies la
pertenece a la misma familia de los magueyes, difiere de y casi exclusivas del matorral xerófilo en la región del Valle, caída es simultánea, la estacionalidad es muy marcada,
ellos principalmente por tener un tronco bien definido y sobre todo en climas más frescos (Cb). Sólo la segunda sólo en el verano cuando se presenta la época de lluvias
de gran dimensión y por carecer de espinas laterales en especie puede encontrarse en encinares pero nunca en se puede apreciar el follaje verde y es cuando aparecen
la hoja, sólo presenta una espina terminal. Alcanzan tallas otros tipos de vegetación. Destacan en el paisaje porque también numerosas plantas trepadoras y otras plantas
hasta de 10 m, las flores son blancas y grandes. su forma semeja una gran esfera de hojas, carecen de tallos anuales que están latentes por poseer bulbos como
desarrollados o no son evidentes. Si son muy longevas, estructura de reserva. A finales de la época de sequía se
A la planta se le conoce comúnmente como “izote” o llegan a medir 1.5 m de altura, una vez que maduran dispara la floración, que es efímera en algunas especies,
“palma”, a las flores como “cacayas”. Las flores y los frutos desarrollan una gran vara que produce cientos de flores posteriormente por 2–3 meses producen hojas y maduran
son comestibles y las hojas completas se usan para techar poco evidentes. los frutos.
casas y fragmentadas en tiras, se usan como mecate para
hacer amarres. La floración es de marzo a mayo o hasta D. lucidum se conoce localmente como “sotolín”, Los árboles dominantes de estas comunidades miden en
julio si son plantas cultivadas. La fructificación es entre “tehuizote” o “cucharilla” y se encuentra en elevaciones promedio entre 4 y 8 (–12.0) m de altura y pertenecen
julio y noviembre. Se han registrado dos especies de este de 1,500–2,300 m. A la especie D. serratifolium le llaman a especies de las familias Anacardiaceae, Bignoniaceae,
género en el Valle y ambas son endémicas de México. Y. “sotol” o “maguey cucharilla”, está en elevaciones de Burseraceae, Euphorbiaceae y Leguminosae, acompañadas
periculosa, que es la de más amplia distribución, y Yucca 1,300–2,700 m, la floración se presenta entre mayo y junio frecuentemente de algunas especies de cactáceas
mixtecana García-Mend., fue descrita recientemente de la o de febrero a julio respectivamente, y la fructificación de columnares o candelabriformes y otras arborescentes de
porción sur del Valle, en Oaxaca; las poblaciones de ésta abril a noviembre. Las flores tiernas se consumen como los géneros Beaucarnea y Yucca, especies distintas a las que
son más escasas y se encuentran hacia el sur del Valle, verdura en la temporada, el corto tallo y la base de las hojas se reportan para el matorral xerófilo y la rara presencia del
en los distritos de Huajuapan y Teposcolula, es un nuevo se usan para hacer una bebida destilada llamada sotol, la género Dioon (Zamiaceae).
registro para la zona y por ahora endémica. Ambas especies base de las hojas secas se usa como cuchara y para adornos
se pueden reconocer fácilmente por el grosor de los tallos y en las fiestas religiosas. Género con 20 especies endémicas Por número de individuos y de especies, las Leguminosae
el ancho de las hojas, la especie nueva es mucho más grácil. de México, estas dos especies sólo se han registrado para el son las más abundantes, le siguen en importancia
Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán: la primera está prácticamente las especies de la familia Burseraceae. En todas las
10. Nolina parviflora (Kunth) Hemsl. Al igual que los en toda la zona y la segunda tiene sus poblaciones en la comunidades de bosque tropical caducifolio en México,
izotales de Yucca periculosa, abarca un amplio rango porción suroeste, en Oaxaca. se encuentran cactáceas columnares destacando entre
altitudinal, entre los 1,800 y los 2,700 m, por lo que se los árboles. Generalmente son endémicas y, aunque las
encuentra en todos los tipos de vegetación reconocidos Esta comunidad, dependiendo de la localidad, se asocia poblaciones no llegan a ser tan grandes, éstas lucen en el
para el Valle; sin embargo, las poblaciones más saludables con diversas especies de magueyes: A. kerchovei, A. paisaje por su forma y tamaño. En el Valle se encuentran
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dos asociaciones de cactáceas columnares dentro del grandiflora, Gomphrena decumbens, Heliotropium 2. Escontria chiotilla (F. A. C. Weber ex Schum.) Rose.
bosque tropical caducifolio, una de Pachycereus weberi ternatum, Herrisantia crispa, Jacquemontia nodiflora, Principalmente se encuentra en el bosque tropical caducifolio,
y la otra de Escontria quiotilla, especie muy abundante Krameria pauciflora, Mammillaria carnea, M. aunque también puede estar en matorral xerófilo, en
pero de menor talla, ambas prácticamente con la misma dixanthocentron, M. huitzilopochtlii, Mentzelia hispida, elevaciones de 600–2000 m. Las poblaciones que forma se
distribución, desde Coxcatlán hasta más al sur de la Oxalis neaei, O. nelsonii, Mitracarpus hirtus, Pouzolzia conocen como “quiotillales”. Los frutos se consumen frescos
Cañada. pringlei, Ruellia hirsutoglandulosa, Schistophragma pusilla, o en conserva y reciben los siguientes nombres: “jiotilla”,
Sida abutifolia, Talinum fruticosum, Tillandsia hammeri, T. “geotilla”, “quiotilla”, chiotilla”, “xuega”. Las flores son
Los arbustos del estrato medio son menores de 3 m de fasciculata, Tillandsia recurvata, Varronia curassavica. amarillas, los frutos son rojo oscuro con escamas papiráceas,
altura, el estrato inferior de las hierbas va desde pocos amarillentas, traslúcidas. Tiene dos periodos de floración al
centímetros hasta más de 1 m de alto. La composición A diferencia del matorral xerófilo, en esta comunidad año, uno de marzo a mayo y otro en julio y agosto; fructifica
florística del bosque tropical caducifolio es tan diversa hay una gran diversidad de plantas de hábito trepador: de abril a mayo y de septiembre a noviembre. Se distingue
como la del matorral xerófilo. Cardiospermum corindum, Dioscorea convolvulacea, fácilmente de otras especies semejantes por no presentar
Evolvulus alsinoides, Gaudichaudia galeottiana, Hippocratea espinas en las flores ni en los frutos. Es un género endémico
La temperatura media anual en estos bosques oscila entre celastroides, Ipomoea orizabensis, I. praecana, I. ternifolia, de México, con sólo una especie.
20º y 29º C, con una precipitación de 600–1,200 mm. Iresine latifolia, Marsdenia zimapanica, Passiflora nodiflora,
Culmina como comunidad en elevaciones entre los 500 Urvillea ulmacea, Phaseolus microcarpus. Al igual que en el matorral xerófilo, existen plantas
y 1,000 m. rosetófilas de gran porte, intercaladas entre el bosque
Dos asociaciones destacan en el bosque tropical caducifolio: tropical caducifolio, donde se encuentran otras especies
Entre los árboles dominantes están: Actinocheita con esta forma de vida:
potentillifolia, Amphypterigyum adstringens, Bursera
aptera, B. bipinnata, B. cinerea, B. fagaroides, B. galeottiana,
B. glabrifolia, B. linanoe, B. morelensis, B. pontiveteris. B. Tabla 3. Asociaciones de las cactáceas
submoniliformis, B. schlechtendalii, Caesalpinia pringlei, arborescentes en el bosque tropical Tabla 4. Asociaciones de las plantas
Cascabela ovata, C. thevetia, Cederela salvadorensis, Ceiba caducifolio. rosetófilas en el bosque tropical
parvifolia, Chiococca alba, Colubrina elliptica, Cyrtocarpa caducifolio.
procera, Enterolobium cyclocarpum, Esenbeckia macrantha, Bosque tropical caducifolio
Cactáceas arborescentes
Euphorbia schlechtendalii, Fouquieria formosa, Guazuma (asociaciones) Bosque tropical caducifolio
Rosetófilas
ulmifolia, Hintonia latiflora, Handroanthus impetiginosus, Cardonal 1. Pachycereus weberi (asociaciones)
Lysiloma acapulcense, L. divaricatum, Muntingia calabura, 3. Beaucarnea stricta
Parkinsonia praecox, Pistacia mexicana, Pithecellobium Quiotillal 2. Escontria chiotilla Izotales 4. Yucca periculosa
dulce, Podopterus mexicanus, Prosopis laevigata, 5. Dioon purpusii
Pseudosmodingium andrieuxii, Quadrella incana, Q.
pringlei, Spondias purpurea, Switenia humilis, Trichilia hirta,
Varronia oaxacana, Zanthoxylum affine, Ziziphus amole.
1. Pachycereus weberi (J. M.Coult) Backeb. Esta 3. Beaucarnea stricta Lem. Especie arborescente hasta
En el estrato arbustivo es frecuente: Acacia cochliacantha, cactácea columnar sólo se encuentra en el bosque tropical de 6–7 m de altura. Tiene hojas más largas y anchas que
A. pennatula, Aeschynomene compacta, Cnidoscolus caducifolio, en elevaciones entre 600–1100 m. Los las especies del matorral xerófilo, frecuente en la Cañada
tehuacanensis, Croton mazapensis, Dalea bicolor, individuos alcanzan hasta 15 m de altura por 2 m o más de Cuicatlán. No forma poblaciones grandes, más bien
Digitacalia jatrophoides, Dioon purpusii, Dodonea viscosa, de diámetro y son muy ramificados. Las flores son blanco escasas y crece en sustratos rocosos de origen volcánico, con
Erythroxylum rotundifolium, Eysenhardtia polystachya, amarillentas y los frutos pardo amarillentos se consumen suelos ácidos, pardo oscuros. Florece de enero a septiembre
Indigofera suffruticosa, Jatropha neopauciflora, Karwinskia para hacer agua fresca. Los tallos se usan como forraje y y fructifica de marzo a diciembre. Se le llama localmente
humboldtiana, Lasiacis divaricata, Lippia bracteosa, Mimosa en la construcción de casas. Se le conoce como “órgano”, “estrella” o “sotol”. Endémica de México, se le conoce del
brevispicata, Mimosa polyantha, Myrtillocactus schenkii, “candelabro” o “cardón”. La floración se presenta entre estado de Oaxaca.
Opuntia tomentosa, Phoradendron reichenbachianum, enero y abril, la fructificación de abril a mayo. Especie
Plocosperma buxifolium, Plumeria rubra, Randia capitata, endémica de México, pero no exclusiva del Valle, se
Tecoma stans, Montanoa tomentosa, Senna atomaria, encuentra también en la Cuenca del Balsas.
Wedelia acapulcensis, Zapoteca formosa.
Convive con numerosas cactáceas: Cephalocereus
En el estrato herbáceo: Acalypha langiana, Anemia columna-trajani, Lemairocereus hollianus, Myrtillocactus
tomentosa, Callisia repens, Cheilanthes lozanoi, geometrizans, Neobuxbaumia tetetzo, Polaskia chichipe,
Cyrtopodium macrobulbon, Elytraria imbricata, Eucnide Stenocereus pruinosus y S. stellatus.
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4. Yucca periculosa Baker. Esta arborescente es muy En la región los encinares se encuentran principalmente en cordata, B. parviflora (tepozán), Bursera bipinnata (copal),
escasa en el bosque tropical caducifolio. Se encuentran las partes altas de las sierras, en elevaciones de 1600–2900 Pistacia mexicana, Pseudosmodingiun andrieuxii.
individuos aislados al sur de Cuicatlán, sobre sustrato calizo. m. Los hay de dos tipos por su altura:
En el estrato arbustivo, se encuentran como dominantes:
Se conoce como “izote” en esta región. a) Encinos “chaparros” que crecen en la porción más alta Agave angustiarum, A. angustifolia, A. atrovirens, A.
y seca del matorral xerófilo. Las condiciones ambientales, convallis, A. nussaviorum, A. potatorum, Ageratina
5. Dioon califanoi De Luca & Sabato, D. caputoi De Luca, principalmente la baja temperatura y una fuerte intensidad espinosarum, A. petiolaris, Arctostaphylos pungens, Aralia
Sabato & Vázq. Torres y D. purpusii Rose. Tres especies de los vientos, hace que los individuos sean muy bajos humilis, Brahea dulcis, Brongniartia mollis, B. oligosperma,
rosetófilas que se encuentran formando parte de las y crezcan muy pegados al suelo (1.5–2 m de alto), con Calia secundiflora, Calliandra grandiflora, Comarostaphylis
comunidades del bosque tropical caducifolio. Pertenecen ramificaciones muy intrincadas, tan densas que no se les discolor, C. polifolia subsp. polifolia, C. spinulosa, Dalea
a la familia Zamiaceae (cícadas), con cerca de 90 especies puede cruzar caminando. Están asociados a los “izotales” leucosericea, D. melantha, D. obovatifolia, Desmodium
en el mundo (Vovides, 1983) y cuatro géneros presentes de Nolina parvifolia. Entre los encinares de porte bajo se molliculum, Furcraea longeva, Harpalyce formosa,
en el trópico de América: Ceratozamia, Dioon, Microcycas encuentran las especies: Quercus dysophylla*, Q. frutex*, Indigofera miniata, Rhus chondroloma var. huajuapanensis,
y Zamia (tres bien representados en México, excepto Q. greggii*, Q. microphylla*, Q. sebifera*. En las partes Rhus oaxacana, Rhus standleyi, R. virens var. australis,
Microcycas, que es endémico de Cuba). El grueso de las un poco más bajas, donde desaparece Nolina parvifolia, Vaccinum leucanthum.
especies de esta familia está en peligro de extinción, debido estos pueden estar asociados a Juniperus deppeana y J.
principalmente a la destrucción de su hábitat y a la colecta flaccida, árboles conocidos como “enebros” o “tascates” Especies del estrato herbáceo: Acourtia cordata, A.
irracional para el comercio de plantas ornamentales. y que llegan a ser dominantes en algunas áreas. discolor, Adiantum poiretti, Anturium andicola, Asplenium
monanthes, Cuphea cyanea, Dyschoriste capitata,
Grupo de primordial importancia, se les considera b) Encinos “altos” que crecen en las laderas menos Echeandia conzatti, E. flavescens, Elytraria imbricata,
“prehistóricas” porque datan del Cretácico superior expuestas al viento y por lo tanto un poco más húmedas, Eryngium gracile, E. heterophyllum, E. purpusii, Geranium
(hace 75–33 millones de años). Son sobrevivientes que se encuentran también en la zona de transición con el schiedeanum, Henrya insularis, Justicia candicans,
se diversificaron en el Mioceno tardío y se cree fueron bosque tropical caducifolio; su porte varía (3–12 m de Manfreda pringlei, Milla biflora, M. oaxacana, Philadelphus
dominantes en la época de los dinosaurios, por lo que alto) se pueden encontrar comunidades con dos especies mexicanus, Pinguicula moranensis, Pseuderanthemum
erróneamente se les llama también “fósiles vivientes”. dominantes únicamente o con varias compartiendo praecox, Ruellia lactea, Salvia axillaris, S. candicans, S.
el mismo espacio. Es frecuente que estos encinos de cinnabarina, S. disjunta, S. lasiantha, S. oaxacana, S.
Dioon es un género con ca. 14 especies, casi endémico de talla mayor se encuentren en las partes más altas y patens, Schoenocaulon calcicola, Stenandrium dulce,
México, excepto por una especie que llega a Centroamérica. frías asociados con algunas especies del género Pinus, Tigridia bicolor, Zephyranthes verecunda.
Generalmente crecen en la zona de transición del bosque aunque no forzosamente, ya que se encuentran bosques
tropical caducifolio con encinares, tienen preferencia por donde el estrato arbóreo es sólo de encinos. En la zona Entre las plantas trepadoras se pueden encontrar individuos
las laderas empinadas y sombreadas, con suelos ricos limítrofe con el bosque tropical caducifolio, generalmente de: Canavalia villosa, Iresine diffusa, I. latifolia, I. schaffneri,
en materia orgánica, en elevaciones de 600–2000 m. vamos a encontrar la asociación Quercus glaucoides y Rhus arsenei, Toxicodendron radicans.
Se les conoce como “palma real”, de uso ornamental, Q. glabrescens. Entre los encinares de porte alto se han
y en pequeña escala sus hojas se usan en adornos para registrado las siguientes especies (con asterisco aparecen Los encinares comparten mayor número de especies del
ceremonias religiosas. las endémicas de México): Quercus acherdophylla*, Q. estrato arbustivo y herbáceo con el matorral xerófilo que
acutifolia*, Quercus castanea, Q. crassifolia, Q. crassipes*, con el bosque tropical caducifolio. Estas comunidades
Aunque las especies de Dioon no llegan a formar grandes Q. deserticola*, Q. glabrescens*, Q. glaucoides*, Q. albergan la mayor diversidad de platas epífitas de las
poblaciones, son un elemento importante dentro de la flora laurina*, Q. magnoliifolia*, Q. mexicana*, Q. obtusata*, Q. familias Bromeliaceae (géneros Catopsis y Tillandsia) y
regional que nos ocupa y las tres especies son endémicas. polymorpha, Q. rugosa, Quercus sartorii*, Q. splendens*, Orchidaceaeae (Alamannia, Bletia, Epidendrum, Eyclia,
Su rareza y antigüedad las hacen únicas en el mundo. Q. urbanii* (Vázquez-Villagrán, 2000). Laelia, Oncidium, entre otros) y de numerosas especies de
piperáceas y helechos.
Los encinares son comunidades vegetales que han
Bosque de Quercus (encinares) sido bastante explotadas por el valor de la madera de
estas especies. En la región se extrae principalmente la Bosque de Pinus (pinares)
Los bosques que forma el género Quercus en el Valle no madera para hacer carbón, aunque también se usa para
abarcan grandes extensiones, sin embargo, presentan construcción de casas habitación, así como muebles La familia Pinaceae con ca. 12 géneros y 250 especies en
una gran diversidad de especies. El género tiene ca. 400 y herramientas, esto ha traído como consecuencia la el mundo, está bien representada en México por el género
especies a nivel mundial y la mitad de ellas (200) están deforestación de grandes extensiones. Pinus, el cual cuenta con 150 especies en el mundo y 47
presentes en México, lo que lo hace el país más diverso de en México.
América. En el Valle se han registrado 22 especies. En el estrato arbóreo, se encuentran otras especies de
diversas familias: Arbutus xalapensis (madroño) Buddleja
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Las comunidades de pinos abarcan un área mucho menor menor escala, para techar las casas. Los individuos alcanzan como alimento, bebida (fermentada o destilada),
que las tres comunidades anteriores y se encuentran una altura de 6–7 m. medicina, fibras, construcción, forraje, ornato, ceremonial,
pobremente representadas. Sin embargo, se han registrado combustible, como sustituto de jabón y como cercas vivas.
10 especies para el Valle (se marcan con asterisco las La relación planta-hombre abarca desde la recolección y
especies de México): Pinus cembroides var. orizabensis*, aprovechamiento de ejemplares silvestres hasta el cultivo
P. devoniana, P. lawsoni*, P. leiophylla*, P. montezumae*, Diversidad y endemismo extensivo para la extracción de fibras o para destilación
P. patula*, P. pringlei*, P. pseudostrobus, P. radiata var. de las mieles. Numerosas especies están domesticadas
binata*, P. teocote* (Fonseca, 2015). La riqueza de especies de un sitio se define por el número y entre las de mayor importancia económica destacan:
de especies por área. En esta pequeña región de 10,000 Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck (maguey pulquero),
Las especies de este género son explotadas a nivel km cuadrados coexisten 3,600 especies (Medina-Lemos, A. angustifolia Haw (maguey espadín para mezcal), A.
mundial para extracción de madera. Los bosques 2015 inédito). Si se compara esta diversidad con la de tequilana F. A. C.Weber (maguey tequilero), A. furcroydes
constantemente son talados por las comunidades otras regiones de similar composición florística, como Lem. (henequén) y A. lechuguilla Torr (lechuguilla), estos
locales y, aunque hay restricción para los cortes, se ven la península de Baja California, que posee un número últimos para la extracción de fibras (García-Mendoza,
mermados por el comercio del mercado negro que existe equivalente de especies, pero que tiene un área 14 veces 2011).
en toda la nación. De ellos también se extraen resinas mayor (143,790 km2) sorprende la gran concentración de
y de pocas especies se cosechan las semillas (piñones) especies que habitan en el Valle.
porque son comestibles. Bromeliaceae
Es innegable que las condiciones ambientales de este
En estos bosques dominan en el estrato árboreo las complejo Valle han favorecido los procesos de especiación Familia endémica de América (a excepción de una
especies de Pinus. Los estratos arbustivo y herbáceo y el establecimiento de numerosos grupos para contar especie presente en África), principalmente habitan en
son relativamente bajos, siendo la composición de estos actualmente con esta gran diversidad vegetal. En varios el trópico húmedo, con pocos géneros en zonas áridas.
estratos similar a la del bosque de Quercus. trabajos se ha evaluado el porcentaje de endemismo de la Se ha registrado desde el sur de Estados Unidos hasta el
zona y estos coinciden en que cerca de 10% de las especies norte de Sudamérica, incluyendo las Antillas. La familia
son endémicas (Villaseñor et al. 1990; Dávila et al. 1993; Bromeliaceae cuenta con 58 géneros en el mundo, de
Palmares Villaseñor et al. 2004). Para apreciar el endemismo, a ellos 24 están registrados para México, con cerca de 355
continuación se citan algunos ejemplos de grupos selectos especies (Espejo-Serna y López-Ferrari, 2014). En el Valle de
En extensiones muy reducidas pueden encontrarse que integran estos paisajes: Tehuacán-Cuicatlán se conocen 8 géneros y 61 especies.
Palmares, principalmente como parte del matorral xerófilo.
Hay dos especies del género Brahea, una de ellas es Brahea Los géneros con mayor diversidad de esta familia en México
dulcis, que crece en las partes más bajas y cálidas, con Agavaceae son Hechtia y Tillandsia, ambos presentan un alto grado de
sustrato calizo. No alcanza gran altura, crece con sus tallos endemismo. De las 61 especies conocidas de Hechtia, 59
postrados y generalmente está asociada a las especies de Familia endémica de América, restringida a los trópicos, (92%) son endémicas, en el caso de las 223 especies de
Dasylirion lucidum y D. serratifolium. principalmente en zonas áridas, menos frecuente en las Tillandsia, 165 (73.9 %) sólo existen en nuestro territorio.
templadas, desde el nivel del mar hasta los 3,000 m. Se ha
Esta especie ha sido favorecida por el uso desde tiempo registrado desde el sur de Estados Unidos hasta el norte Estos géneros están muy bien representados en el Valle
atrás, sobre todo en la región de la mixteca. La fibra de de Sudamérica, incluyendo las Antillas. Algunas especies de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, además de ser los más ricos en
las hojas se venía usando para tejer sombreros, petates de los géneros Agave L., Furcraea Vent. y Yucca L. se han especies, no deja de sorprender también el alto grado de
y cestos, así como para techar las casas. Es un recurso naturalizado y cultivado en gran parte del mundo, pero endemismo, ca. 20.3% de las especies del género Hechtia
valioso para las personas que habitan en la zonas más son grupos originalmente americanos. Para México, se y 24.2% del género Tillandsia del total de especies del
secas, pero decayó con la aparición de las fibras sintéticas. han registrado 9 géneros y 261 especies. En el Valle de país son exclusivas del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán; de lo
Recientemente se está volviendo a fomentar el trabajo Tehuacán-Cuicatlán se conocen 6 géneros y 33 especies. anterior se infiere que la zona es un centro de diversidad
artesanal que se hace con las fibras, a través de la importante para estos grupos.
creación de programas de apoyo gubernamental para las La familia es conocida principalmente por los singulares
comunidades de algunos municipios en Coixtlahuaca. De “magueyes”, nombre común que corresponde a diversas Desde el punto de vista ecológico, las plantas de esta familia
esta manera, habrá una fuente alternativa de ingresos para especies del género Agave, el cual tiene su principal centro son muy interesantes por las interacciones de coexistencia
los artesanos que la saben trabajar. de diversidad en México. con otras especies vegetales y animales que viven en ellas,
además de las adaptaciones que han desarrollado para
La otra especie es Brahea nítida y se le encuentra en las En México, las especies de Agave tienen gran importancia sobrevivir en ambientes xéricos, también por tener hábito
partes más altas y templadas, asociada a bosque de Pinus cultural y económica, y se ha registrado su estrecha epífito (crecen sobre los árboles), aunque las hay terrestres,
en el municipio de Nicolás Bravo y en los izotales de Nolina relación con el hombre desde tiempos ancestrales. Todas creciendo en el suelo o sobre rocas y excepcionalmente una
parvifolia a lo largo del Valle. Se usa también, pero en y cada una de las partes de la planta son aprovechadas especie de ambiente acuático.
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El uso de estas especies está muy ligado a la cultura de Tabla 5. Riqueza del género Agave en el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.
las comunidades, especies como T. deppeana Steud.,
T. eizii L. B. Smith, T. punctulata Schltdl. & Cham., T. GÉNEROS América México Endémicas Baja California VTC Endémicas
bourgaei Baker y T. usneoides L., por mencionar algunas;
Agave 200 159 119(74%) 15 25(28%) 7
se han usado tradicionalmente en ceremonias y arreglos
religiosos (Espejo-Serna & López-Ferrari, 2003; Méndez &
Mondragón, 2012). Tabla 6. Riqueza de los géneros Hechtia y Tillandsia en el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.
Por lo atractivo de las inflorescencias, son bien cotizadas GÉNEROS América México Endémicas Baja California VTC Endémicas
como ornamentales (T. imperiales E.Morren ex Mez, T. Hechtia 64 61 59 (92%) 1 12 (20%) 10
gymnobotrya Baker), por lo que son objeto de comercio en
numerosos mercados. Tienen importancia local por ser una
Tillandsia 560 223 165(73.9%) 2 40 (24%) 8
fuente alternativa de ingresos en muchas comunidades.
Tabla 7. Riqueza del género Bursera en el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.

Burseraceae
GÉNERO América México Endémicas Baja California VTC Endémicas
Familia con 19 géneros y ca. 600 especies en el mundo, Bursera 110 100 95(86 %) 9 21 (22%) 4
principalmente en el trópico seco, desde el nivel del
mar hasta los 2,900 m. En América, 9 géneros y 240
especies, desde el sur de Estados Unidos hasta el norte Tabla 8. Riqueza de la familia Cactaceae en el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán.
de Sudamérica, incluyendo las Antillas. Para México se
registran tres géneros: Beiselia Forman, Bursera Jacq. ex L. Cactaceae América México Endémicos VTC Endémicas
y Protium Burm. f. Géneros 124 60(48%) - 28 (46%) -
Especies 1438 670(46%) 77% 86 (12%) (24%)
En el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán sólo se encuentra el
género Bursera, con 21 especies, una quinta parte de las
existentes en todo el país. Bursera es un género endémico
de América, tiene en México su centro de diversidad con
un poco más de 100 especies registradas, 95% endémicas
(muy pocas crecen hasta Sudamérica y en las Antillas). Los “cuajiotes” son árboles cuyas cortezas pueden ser considerable riqueza de especies arbóreas, trepadoras
de diversos colores. Las hay rojo intenso, anaranjadas, y epífitas.
La mayor parte de las especies habitan en el bosque tropical doradas, amarillas, verdosas y hasta de apariencia
caducifolio; en esos bosques, las burseras son los árboles azulosa. En el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán existen 13 De los cerca de 50 copales que crecen en México, sólo
dominantes del estrato arbóreo junto con las leguminosas, copales y 8 cuajiotes rojos y amarillos (Medina Lemos, cinco o seis especies se han seleccionado desde la época
pocas especies crecen como arbustos y habitan en el 2008). prehispánica para la extracción de resinas y son las que se
matorral xerófilo. comercializan en mercados. El incienso de mejor calidad
El desprendimiento de la corteza responde a una es el que proviene de la especie Bursera bipinnata (copal
En el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán están bien adaptación fisiológica para sobrevivir a la aridez de chino). Entre otras que se explotan, están B. copallifera, B.
representadas y al igual que el género Agave L., son los bosques en que habitan. Llueve muy poco durante glabrifolia, B. cuneata y B. excelsa.
especies que han estado ligadas al hombre desde la el verano (2–3 meses al año) y sólo tienen follaje por
época prehispánica. Se les conoce por el nombre de ese corto periodo; el resto de los meses permanecen
“copales” y “cuajiotes”. Este último nombre es de sin hojas (9–10 meses), así que durante los meses de Cactaceae
origen náhuatl y significa “lepra” (haciendo alusión a sequía realizan la fotosíntesis a través de la corteza
la corteza de estos árboles, porque se descarapelan o primaria, que subyace a la que exfolia, ya que queda Familia endémica de América, con algunas especies
despellejan en pequeñas o grandes láminas). Los aztecas expuesto el tejido parenquimático. Con esto, evitan un del género Opuntia (nopales) naturalizadas en el Viejo
las usaron principalmente para la extracción de incienso, esfuerzo mayor para realizar las funciones de respiración Mundo y Australia. De los 124 géneros conocidos en
aceites finos y látex, pero a las resinas también se les (intercambio de gases) y bajan su ritmo metabólico al América, 60 géneros (48%) están presentes en México,
atribuyen propiedades antisépticas. Una vez lavadas, las mínimo. Durante la época seca; estos bosques vistos con alrededor de 670 especies. De ellas, 77% son
personas en el campo acostumbran cubrir las heridas con desde lejos dan la sensación de ser bosques muertos en endémicas. Para el Valle se registran 28 géneros con 86
resina para evitar infecciones. esta larga temporada; sin embargo, ellos albergan una especies, 21 de ellas son endémicas. La mayor parte de
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las especies son nativas, sólo cinco son introducidas de Lo cultural conduce a la idea de que los primeros pobladores de la zona
Sudamérica y las Antillas. venían manipulando la vegetación que les rodeaba desde
tiempo atrás, con el fin de asegurar recursos útiles para
De las 77 especies de cactáceas columnares que se Identidad y riqueza cultural su sobrevivencia. En las últimas décadas se ha avanzado
registran para México, la mayor diversidad se distribuye en bastante en el conocimiento sobre la domesticación de las
el centro del país, en la Cuenca del Balsas y en el Valle Aunada a la gran diversidad de la flora, encontramos plantas (Casas et al. 1997b, 2001), gracias a los trabajos de
de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán; en este último se encuentran 45 que existe también una riqueza cultural inmensa y poco antropólogos, arqueólogos, etnobiólogos y etnobotánicos
especies (Valiente-Banuet y Arias, 1997). conocida. Los pobladores actuales, herederos de las que han dirigido su atención a responder a las preguntas
culturas que domesticaron el maíz, el frijol y la calabaza, ¿cuándo y cómo el hombre empieza a sembrar? Resulta
La gran diferencia entre las cactáceas columnares que pertenecen a diversas etnias: nahuas, popolocas, mixtecos, fácil ahora comprender que la domesticación de plantas
habitan en la Cuenca del Balsas y las del matorral xerófilo ixcatecos, mazatecos, chinantecos y cuicatecos. silvestres inicia cuando el hombre hace una selección de
del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, es que en este último productos de su entorno, sobre todo los que son cruciales
algunas especies tienen poblaciones muy grandes, que La convergencia de todos ellos habitando en esta extensión en su alimentación y vestimenta.
ocupan laderas completas de las sierras, censando entre de valles y serranías ha permitido que cada una de estas
1,600 y 1,800 individuos por hectárea; forman “bosques” etnias, con su particular visión de la vida, sus tradiciones Hernández-X. (1985) menciona que la agricultura se inició
que dan una fisonomía muy especial del paisaje y esto y todas aquellas costumbres ancestrales heredadas, hace 11 mil años en Medio Oriente y hace 9 mil años
los hace únicos en el mundo. En la Cuenca del Balsas las contribuyan en su conjunto a incrementar la riqueza en México, aparentemente de manera independiente.
especies de columnares se encuentran dispersas entre cultural de México. Leaky (1982), con base en evidencias arqueológicas,
las especies arbóreas dominantes del bosque tropical va más allá y menciona que el hombre de la Era Glacial
caducifolio, pero nunca se les encuentra formando A través de 35 años de recorrer la región, se comenta aquí (hace 30 mil años) ya ejercía un control sobre los recursos
poblaciones extensas. someramente algunos aspectos valiosos de la relación del naturales. Considera también que el periodo conocido
hombre con su entorno: como la domesticación de plantas como “revolución agrícola”, en el que ocurrieron grandes
Especies columnares o candelabriformes registradas para que prevalece en la actualidad, la variada cocina (basada cambios rápidamente, es resultado de un cambio en las
el Valle: en el uso de especies locales) y la creación de artesanías. actividades para sobrevivir, donde el hombre ya estaba
1. Cephalocereus columna-trajani familiarizado con la selección de recursos y desde entonces
2. Escontria chiotilla se intensificaron y diversificaron experiencias de manejo
3. Lemairocereus hollianus Incidencia del hombre sobre la naturaleza que permiten explicar el éxito tan explosivo de la agricultura
4. Lophocereus marginatus en los últimos 10 mil años.
5. Myrtillocactus geometrizans La presencia del hombre en el Valle de Tehuacán (desde
6. Myrtillocactus schenckii hace 12 mil años), ha sido documentada y respaldada Las hipótesis alrededor del tema son variadas y numerosas;
7. Neobuxbaumia macrocephala por los trabajos de investigación que iniciaron en los de los innumerables trabajos que aportan información al
8. Neobuxbaumia mezcalaensis años cincuenta y se continuaron intensamente hasta los respecto y que no abordaremos, se concluye así:
9. Neobuxbaumia tetetzo sesenta y más allá (Byers, 1967; Flannery, 1973; Kenyon
10. Pachycereus grandis 1969; MacNeish 1964, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1992). Los a) La domesticación no fue un evento repentino como
11. Pachycereus weberi diversos estudios realizados por ellos revelaron hallazgos pensaba Childe (1954) al plantear su “revolución
12. Pilosocereus chrysacanthus arqueológicos que condujeron al descubrimiento de los neolítica”, sino un proceso continuo, semejante al
13. Polaskia chende primeros asentamientos de una civilización, que dejó de que ocurre en la naturaleza.
14. Polaskia chichipe ser cazadora-recolectora para volverse sedentaria.
15. Pseudomitrocereus fulviceps b) En el proceso de evolución de la domesticación, es
16. Stenocereus dumortieri, Las exploraciones hechas por los investigadores y determinante la acción del hombre.
17. Stenocereus pruinosus sus equipos de trabajo en las Cuevas de “El Riego”,
18. Stenocereus stellatus “Coxcatlán”, “Abejas” “Purrón” y “Tecorral”, aportaron c) Durante el proceso de domesticación se fijan
19. Stenocereus treleasei suficientes vestigios de presencia humana que ayudaron transformaciones genéticas en las poblaciones de
a reconstruir la prehistoria del hombre en Mesoamérica; plantas, lo que las va diferenciando de las plantas
Todas las especies mencionadas aquí, junto con las de es así que el Valle de Tehuacán toma relevancia mundial silvestres.
las familias Agavaceae, Bromeliaceae y Burseraceae, son como área prioritaria para entender el desarrollo de la
particularmente atractivas por su forma y tamaño, dando domesticación de plantas y por consecuencia del origen Por otra parte, es pertinente reconocer que Vavilov
a las comunidades vegetales un aspecto muy singular. de la agricultura; esto revolucionó el conocimiento sobre la (1926 y 1949–1950) fue quien planteó de manera más
Estos grupos selectos son una pequeña muestra de la gran historia del hombre en el continente Americano.MacNeish rigurosa cómo dar seguimiento a las preguntas sobre la
diversidad de plantas en esta región. (1967) y Flannery (1986) plantean que entre los años domesticación de plantas. Él sentó las bases metodológicas
10,000–7,000, había ya una agricultura incipiente. Esto nos para conocer los centros de origen de las plantas cultivadas,
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proponiendo que había que ubicar los sitios con mayor última se usan los tallos, la flor, el fruto y las semillas para la Recolección y selección de plantas silvestres
diversidad de la(s) especie(s) a considerar, además de elaboración de diversos guisados y/o dulces; Sechium edule,
reconocer la presencia de sus parientes silvestres más comúnmente nombrado chayote, chayote verde, chayote El platillo tradicional de Tehuacán, Puebla, y parte de la
cercanos. Bajo estas premisas, los estudios etnobotánicos pelón, se consume la raíz y los frutos. De la misma familia mixteca hacia Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, es el “mole
recientes han resuelto grandes incógnitas sobre uso y (Cucurbitaceae) puede uno encontrar también otras dos de caderas”. Este platillo se elabora con carne de chivo y
origen de las plantas. especies sembradas en los huertos, que son introducidas numerosas plantas silvestres del matorral xerófilo.
de África tropical: Lagenaria siceraria, conocida como bule
Aun cuando en la región se han encontrado los indicios más o guaje (el fruto seco y limpio de semillas, ya hueco se usa Su preparación está ligada a las fiestas pagano-religiosas,
antiguos sobre la domesticación de plantas y de agricultura, como recipiente para guardar y transportar líquidos: agua o conocidas como Festival de la Matanza, que se lleva a cabo
las condiciones ambientales, principalmente el clima y el pulque) y Luffa aegyptica, planta que se cuida para obtener el tercer jueves del mes de octubre. En ella hay bailes y la
suelo, no favorecen que los pobladores se dediquen a la estropajos, zacates o esponjas de baño (al secar el fruto danza denominada “danza de la matanza”. Además, se
agricultura. Los asentamientos que se ubican en el campo se le quita la cáscara delgada y las semillas se le sacuden, hace una ceremonia inicial ante un altar donde se pide
obtienen sus recursos alimenticios principalmente de los quedando sólo el tejido fibroso, que es de textura suave, que la matanza sea buena, se acompaña y da inicio al
huertos familiares y de la recolección de flora y fauna útil para frotar, con jabón, la piel al bañarse). sacrificio de animales de crianza. El platillo de mole de
silvestre. caderas es más cotizado que el mole oaxaqueño, lleva la
Los habitantes acostumbran a trasplantar también otras carne y el espinazo del chivo. Lo especial del sabor de la
especies locales de cactáceas columnares que cumplen carne se debe a que durante todo un año se prepara al
Huertos familiares o traspatios la función de cercas vivas y delimitar así sus terrenos: animal, es decir, se cuida su alimentación, llevándole al
Lemairocereus hollianus, Lophocereus marginatus, monte para que coma hierbas silvestres únicamente, con
Gran parte de los pobladores han procurado el cuidado Stenocereus stellatus y algunos nopales, que a la vez lo cual se espera se mantenga hidratado sólo por el agua
de diversas plantas locales, no sólo las de ornato, sino pueden proporcionarles frutos comestibles. de las hierbas consumidas. Es importante mencionar que
principalmente las comestibles, las de condimento y las durante la época de lluvias reverdecen los arbustos de
medicinales. Es común que junto a los huertos, también haya corrales Lippia graveolens (orégano), especie muy abundante en el
para la crianza de gallinas, chivos, burros, vacas o caballos. matorral xerófilo en esa época de crianza, hierba que dará
Generalmente, a un costado o en el patio trasero de las el sabor especial a la carne.
viviendas, ellos hacen huertos familiares, donde siguen Las condiciones económicas en la población de la parte sur,
domesticando numerosas plantas silvestres, como sucede que viven en zonas cercanas al bosque tropical caducifolio, Además de que los chivos consumen el orégano de monte,
con el pitayo (Stenocereus stellatus), especie muy favorecida son mejores, ya que ahí sí hay condiciones propicias para para la preparación del guisado se usa gran variedad de
por los frutos que contienen una pulpa jugosa de agradable la agricultura. Son las zonas más bajas y cálidas con buen plantas silvestres que se encuentran ahí y se distribuyen
sabor, pero además de formar parte de su dieta, la gran suelo y con afluentes de agua permanentes que permiten en los mercados regionales: “ejotes silvestres” (Phaseolus
cantidad de frutos que producen las plantas, permite que el riego: de Calipan a Cuicatlán pueden observarse grandes sp.), chiles locales como el cuicateco (Capsicum sp.),
los excedentes de la producción sean comercializados en extensiones de cañaverales, que se vienen sustituyendo en hojas de aguacate (Persea spp.), “pipicha” (Tagetes sp.) y
los mercados. los últimos años por cultivo de limón, tamarindo u otros “miltomate” (Physalis sp.); cuando este mole se combina
productos que reditúen más al agricultor. Ahí crecen con otros ingredientes como los frutos del “tempenquixtle”
Algunos tienen árboles frutales introducidos de Asia Menor: también otras frutas tropicales como mango, chico zapote, (Sideroxylon capiri) o con “huajes” (Leucaena esculenta) se
Punica granatum o granada roja o granado, Prunus persica mamey y melón. conoce como huaxmole, guaxmole o guaximole.
o durazno y Rubus adenotrichos o zarzamora.
Se ha documentado (Vázquez-Peralta, 1999) que la flora y
En las escasas milpas producen algo de maíz, frijol y guías La cocina la fauna local en las zonas áridas son parte importante de
de temporada como las calabazas, de las cuales se conocen la alimentación de los pobladores.
tres especies que se cultivan en el Valle y se les dan los La relación directa que existe entre los recursos naturales
siguientes nombres: a Cucurbita ficifolia se le conoce locales y los platillos tradicionales es evidente al comer en De los animales del monte que aún puede casarse están:
como chilacayote verde, chilacayote blanco, chilacayote la región o revisar un recetario regional. la paloma blanca, el conejo, la liebre, el zorrillo y la víbora
de temporal o chilacayote de cajete, de esta especie de cascabel, el venado en menor escala pues está bajo
se consumen los frutos inmaduros como verdura y los A la fecha, los habitantes de asentamientos establecidos protección. El zorrillo y la víbora son muy respetados y
maduros se usan para la elaboración de dulces cristalizados; en la zona seca del matorral xerófilo enriquecen su se les come poco, porque se les atribuyen propiedades
a Cucurbita pedatifolia se le conoce por calabacilla, alimentación con numerosas especies de la flora y la fauna medicinales. También son parte primordial de su dieta
calabacilla cimarrona o torito, el fruto machacado se silvestres. numerosos insectos que se consumen sólo en temporada.
usa como jabón o maduro como juguete para los niños;
Cucurbita pepo subsp. pepo, llamada calabaza, calabaza de A continuación, una muestra de platillos que se elaboran
castilla, calabaza de comer o calabaza de temporal, de esta con ingredientes recolectados de la flora y fauna locales,
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compilados de un recetario de comida de la región Colorín = Erythrina americana (flores) Salvarón = Phoradendron reichenbachianum (para
poblano-mixteca. Coyotomate = Vitex mollis (frutos) postparto)
Epazote = Chenopodium ambrosioides (tallos y hojas Tepozán = Buddleja cordata (hojas para curar heridas)
tiernos) Yerba ceniza = Tridax mexicana (infusión hojas para dolor
Domesticación actual del chile Ejote de monte = Canavalia villosa (frutos) de hígado)
Garambuyo = Myrtillocactus geometrizans (flores y frutos)
La producción del “chilhuacle” se da en la región de la Jícama de monte = Pachyrhyzus erosus (tubérculo)
Cañada Cuicatlán. El chilhuacle es un chile endémico de Laurel = Litsea glaucescens (hojas secas) Usos múltiples
Cuicatlán, valioso como condimento en la elaboración Manitas = Dasylirion lucidum (flores)
de los platillos ancestrales conocidos como “chichilo Mora = Morus celtidifolia (frutos) Árboles de leguminosas más abundantes, tanto en el
negro” y “chichilo rojo”. Este recurso es un ejemplo de Mostaza o quelite = Brassica campestris (tallos y hojas matorral xerófilo como en el bosque tropical caducifolio y
domesticación en la actualidad, que se encuentra en riesgo tiernos) apreciados por tener usos múltiples:
de extinción. Sólo cinco familias de la zona seleccionan la Nanche = Malpighia mexicana (frutos)
semilla, la siembran y no todos los años, pues la inversión Nopal = Opuntia spp. (pencas tiernas) Prosopis laevigata o mezquite = la madera como
que tienen que hacer los agricultores desde la siembra Papaloquelite= Porophyllum macrocephalum (hojas frescas) combustible, para construcción y extracción de taninos; el
hasta la cosecha no les reditúa lo suficiente para seguirlo Pipicha o cepiche = Porophyllum linaria (hojas frescas) follaje y frutos como forraje para ganado.
produciendo, ya que al ser un cultivo de temporal depende Pitahaya = Hylocereus undatus (frutos)
del clima.Este recurso ha sido revalorado recientemente Pitaya = Stenocereus stellatus (frutos) Leucaena esculenta o guaje = la madera como combustible,
por la “nueva cocina mexicana”, que trata de fomentar Pochote = Ceiba parvifolia (raíz y semillas) para construcción, elaboración de herramientas, utensilios
la cultura culinaria y pone atención en los ingredientes Quelite = Galinsoga parviflora (tallos y hojas tiernos) de cocina y extracción de taninos; el follaje y frutos como
autóctonos de las diversas regiones de México. En el caso Quelite = Anoda cristata (tallos y hojas tiernos) forraje para ganado; la vaina y/o la semilla como alimento;
de la cocina Oaxaqueña ha resurgido el uso del chilhuacle Quiotilla = Escontria chiotilla (frutos) el árbol como ornato.
negro y rojo, gracias a reconocidos chefs. Tempenquixtle = Sideroxylon capiri
Tuna = Opuntia spp. (frutos dulces o ácidos) Pithecellobium dulce o guamúchil = la madera como
Yuca =Yucca periculosa (flores) combustible, para construcción y extracción de taninos; la
Los mercados, diversidad y uso Zapote blanco = Casimiroa edulis (frutos) cubierta de la semilla como alimento; el follaje y frutos
Zapote negro = Diospyros digyna (frutos) como forraje para ganado, como cerca viva; el árbol como
Los mercados del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán concentran Verdolaga = Portulaca oleraceae (tallos y hojas tiernos) ornato.
los productos recolectados y cultivados en los huertos
familiares por los habitantes de la región y sus alrededores. Parkinsonia praecox o palo verde o mantecoso = la madera
Medicinales como combustible, para construcción y extracción de
Un tercio de la diversidad total (ca. 1 000 especies) son Amate = Ficus cotinifolia (látex para desinflamar) taninos.
plantas usadas por las comunidades que ahí habitan (Casas Anís o anisillo = Tagetes filifolia (infusión de hojas para
et al. 2001) con fines alimenticios, medicinales, religiosos, dolor de estómago) Además de los usos mencionados, estos árboles son
artesanales y de construcción. Árnica = Grindelia inuloides (para dolor de dientes) favorecidos porque nutren el suelo, producen mucha
Cenizo amargoso = Gnaphalium spp. (para evitar la bilis) hojarasca que genera gran cantidad de materia orgánica
Chicamole prieto = Croton ciliato-glandulifer (el latéx quita y vuelven más fértiles las tierras.
Alimenticias los mezquinos)
Aguacate = Persea spp. (frutos) Guazima = Guzuma ulmifolia (infusión de corteza para Los pobladores de las zonas áridas del mundo, no han
Cabuche = Ferocactus spp. (frutos tiernos) enfermedades de la piel) dejado de ser cazadores-recolectores.
Cacaya = Agave spp. (flores) Higuerilla = Ricinus comunis (aceite de la semilla para
Calabaza = Cucurbita ficifolia y C. pepo subsp. pepo (tallos, purga, quita el empacho)
flores, frutos) Orégano de monte = Lippia graveolens (infusión de la hoja La cerámica
Chayote = Sechium edule (frutos) para cólico)
Chichi de virgen = Varronia curassavica (frutos) Mala mujer = Cnidoscolus rostratus (para dolores En un poblado de origen popoloca del Valle de Zapotitlán,
Chicozapote =Manilkara sapota (frutos) musculares) conocido por el nombre de Los Reyes Metzontla, los
Chilito = Mammillaria spp. Manzanita = Arctostaphylos pungens (infusión de frutos habitantes se han dedicado desde la época prehispánica a
Chipil = Crotalaria spp. (hojas) para el riñón) ser alfareros, trabajan con los suelos para producir piezas de
Chirimoya = Annona cherimola (frutos) Popotillo = Russelia obtusata ((infusión de hojas para dolor cerámica, principalmente de tipo utilitario. Ellos narran que
Chupandía = Cyrtocarpa procera (frutos) de riñón) desde que existían los xantiles (los primeros hombres que
Ciruela = Spondias purpurea (frutos) Repara huesos = Pittocaulon velatum (para fracturas) lograron sobrevivir en la región), trabajan en este oficio.
195

Para los habitantes de este poblado el medio ambiente ha

resultado ideal, ahí encuentran los recursos necesarios para Tabla 9. Alimentos preparados con ingredientes de la flora y fauna local.
la actividad productiva que desempeñan, en las montañas
de los alrededores encuentran los yacimientos de barro, los Platillos tradicionales Flora y fauna silvestres
desgrasantes, los colorantes y la leña. Flor de colorín en pipián Flores de colorín (Erythrina sp.) + pepitas de calabaza (Cucurbita spp.) + epazote (Chenopodium
graveolens) + chiles secos locales (Capsicum spp.)
Los yacimientos de barro están en laderas con pendiente Tempenquixtles en pipián Sideroxylon capiri + epazote (Chenopodium graveolens) + chiles secos locales (Capsicum spp.)
no muy pronunciada. Ahí las rocas sedimentarias sufrieron Guaximole Carne de chivo + guajes completos + chile cuicateco
Nuxi Chile pulla + hoja de aguacate + carne
un metamorfismo de bajo a alto grado, formándose los
Quelites Hierbas de temporada + chile verde
esquistos de mica verdes que son conocidos localmente Nopal en chilate Nopales (Opuntia spp.) + chile soltero + epazote
como “la peña” y que son la materia prima para elaborar Chiquiliches en caldo Larvas de cigarras + chipilín (Crotalaria spp.) + epazote
los comales famosos de Los Reyes Metzontla. Chapulines asados Chapulines + limón
Cuetlas Larvas de mariposa que crecen sobre el árbol de pochote durante el verano (Ceiba parvifolia)
Chicatanas Hormigas reinas de conducta nocturna (al inicio de lluvias)
Otros son los yacimientos de material fino o arcillas,
Dini kuñu Larvas de escarabajos (colectadas de la madera en descomposición)
que subyacen a la roca sedimentaria de lutitas (de la Jumiles Chinches voladoras (en otoño)
formación Matzitzi), la cual por intemperismo contribuye Totopos con semilla de chico Se combina la semilla obtenida de los frutos de una cactácea
a la formación de tales arcillas; cuando éstas se extraen se o chikusa arborescente con la masa de maíz
busca generalmente que sean del horizonte edafológico C Flores de gigante Flores del tetecho (Neobuxbaumia mezcalaensis), se consumen antes de que abran.
Flores de maguey o cacayas Dos variedades, las de “cola de borrego” y “espadilla”, entrada la primavera
(o suelo tipo regosol), evitando se mezcle con el horizonte
Semillas de pochote Semilla hervidas + sal, se consumen como pepita o cacahuate
A que contiene abundante materia orgánica, que no Larvas de avispa Larvas + chile verde
conviene para la cocción de la cerámica. La extracción Conejo en adobo Carne de conejo + semilla o pepita de guaje (Leucaena esculenta) + hojas de aguacate
de arcillas es una actividad realizada principalmente por (Persea sp.).
los hombres durante la época seca y se transportan en Mole de tlacuache Carne de tlacuache + chiles rojos + jitomate
Zorrillo en ayomole Carne seca de zorrillo + calabaza + chile loco
costales sobre burros.
A la arcilla se le adicionan “arenas” (de río, ceniza

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Bull. Applied Botany. Genetics and Plant Breeding, Vol. 16, Financiamiento
pp. 139–248.
El conocimiento de la biodiversidad de esta región no hubiera sido posible sin el apoyo brindado por las siguientes instituciones: CONACyT
Vavilov, N. I. 1949–1950. The phytogeographic basis of y BID-CONACyT 1979-1983, CONACyT (PCECBNA-021759) 1984-1986, Fundación MacArthur 1990-1992, National Geographic Society
plantbreeding. The origin, variation, inmunity and breeding 2001-2003, CONABIO 1993- 2014, Instituto de Biología, UNAM 1979-2014.
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6
Centres of Domestication: North and South America

6 Centres of Domestication: North and South America
Social Complexity, Sedentism and Food Production

in Northern Peru: 10,000–4,000 bp
Tom Dillehay
Vanderbilt University, USA
Introduction
Human society on the north coast of Peru began more

than 11,500 years ago, as evidenced by several early
archaeological sites located on the dry coastal plains and
the lower western-forested slopes of the Andes. At this
early date, it is difficult to speak of the type of society that
existed. Certainly some forms of social behaviour existed,
as inferred from site location, size and internal features.
But the fundamental archaeological data provide insights
into the technology and economy of these people, and
how they interacted with their environments. We can
surmise that the first people were generalized hunters
and gatherers whose mobility probably allowed them to
Figure 1. Location map of
adapt to changing environmental challenges at the end the Zana and Nanchoc valleys
of the Pleistocene period. Between ~10,000 and 8,000 in Peru. © Thomas Dillehay
bp (uncalibrated ages), early Holocene foragers continued

many of the patterns which characterized the previous
period, although there were changes in the social and
economic organization. From ~8,000 to 5,000 bp, there
is evidence for more socially complex foragers practising
a broad-spectrum economy that included gardening and
food production, living in permanent households and
building public works, such as small mounds and short-
distance irrigation canals. These changes provided some of reflected in an earlier change from circular to rectangular quick spread across settlements in contact. But this is not
the earliest foundations for the subsequent development structures of domestic units and in the appearance of always the case, as seen in the Nanchoc case with respect
of Andean civilization. public gatherings at small public mounds specialized to the adoption of cultigens, canal irrigation, permanent
in the production of lime for use with coca leaves. But architecture and the rise of social complexity. For instance,
Although the beginnings of plant cultivation and probably these developments were not taking place everywhere as despite the identification of early crop production, it
sedentism took place earlier, the commitment to intensified evidenced by our study of more than 400 sites dispersed developed in a fragmented foraging setting consisting of
crop production did not occur until ~6,500–5,500 bp, over multiple ecological zones in the 10 km long Nanchoc many distinct types of hunters and gatherers, only some
when small irrigation canals were constructed. Yet the Valley, a branch of the Zana Valley and in the Chaman and adopting it. We currently do not know why this occurred.
commitment to crop production was not simply the Jequetepeque Valleys, immediately to the south in northern Perhaps some settlements simply did not envision the
transition to a more intensified sedentary life structured Peru (Dillehay, 2011). benefits of new technologies, rejected them outright or
around the shift from gardening to agriculture. It also was did not have the know-how to incorporate them.
the product of a set of decisions and responses, which There are several reasons for this uneven development
resulted in fundamental organizational changes in society, that relate to a multitude of shifting environmental, Furthermore, although many of the cultural transformations
increased social risks and uncertainties, low-risk economic social, economic and other factors. This finding may be a from the late Pleistocene to the middle Holocene period are
intensification based on environmental richness and shifts surprise to most archaeologists. Once a new technology or understood in terms of different climate and environment
in social and ritual roles as a result of the dependence on invention appears for the first time in an area, such as canal changes, others are not and can be comprehended only in
new technologies. Besides the shift from house gardening irrigation or crop use, archaeologists far too often expect its terms of social and cultural processes. A paradox is that just
to multi-household irrigation agriculture, these changes are benefits to be obvious to all local residents, resulting in its when cooler or arid climatic conditions are thought not to
200

6
be favourable in northern Peru during this period, people
in the Nanchoc Valley developed initial pulses toward
socio-cultural complexity, such as the transition from
mobile foraging to less mobile and eventually sedentary
agriculture, and the beginnings of plant and possibly
animal domestication in other areas of the Andes.
Presented below is a brief synopsis of the interdisciplinary

findings from the Nanchoc Valley (Figure 1), located
between 1200–2000 m above sea level in a seasonally dry
tropical montane forest flanked by thorny scrub and humid
forests on the western slopes of the Andes in northern
Peru, where the majority of the archaeological evidence
exists to support the patterns mentioned above. The
environmental setting and the cultural sequence of the
valley are presented first, followed by the major patterns
of social complexity, the environment of food production
and its wider meaning.
Environmental Setting
The Nanchoc Valley is characterized by two types of forests

in the past and in the present: a humid montane forest and
a seasonally dry forest. A humid montane forest formation
lies just below a treeless paramo environment. Figure 2
Figure 2. General view of the humid tropical forest in the upper part of the Nanchoc Valley. © Thomas Dillehay
shows the humid montane forest at the head of the valley
as it is today. The forest is found at an altitude of 3,400
m on the highland plateaus as well as the upper slopes and incipient horticulturalists (Netherly, 2011; Dillehay and bp, and the use of small domestic structures and local
of the mountains. This represents a movement upward as Netherly, 1986). raw lithic material suggest the economic exploitation of
temperatures warmed from late Pleistocene levels to the circumscribed local territories (primarily alluvial fans drained
modern values. In the Nanchoc basin much of the forest by small streams) and possibly semi-sedentism by Paijan
has been cleared from highland areas and down the steep hunters and gatherers. Domesticated squash (Cucurbita
escarpments to an altitude of 2,600 m. Today, throughout The Cultural Sequence moschata) was adopted at this time. The constriction of
the northern Andes only a few thousand hectares remain of the Nanchoc Valley territory, reduced mobility and localization of population
of what was once a very extensive formation. The forest is continued and accelerated past 9,000 years ago into the
maintained by seasonal rainfall and by dense fog and mist Preserved charcoal from excavated house remains and following Las Pircas and Tierra Blanca phases. In some areas
that recycles the condensed evapotranspiration from the garden plots was suitable for radiocarbon assays, which of the valley, this pattern of resource exploitation began to
forest itself and falls at night as a fine rain. In the humid provide a chronology for several phases of human change between 9,000 and 7,000 years ago when people
forest the ground is saturated most of the time. occupation from the late Pleistocene to the middle of the Las Pircas Phase began to settle more permanently
Holocene period (~11,500–5,000 bp, based on uncalibrated on selected alluvial fans.
The seasonal dry forest is the most important biogeographic dates). Three archaeological phases in the valley have been
formation in the study area. It includes plants adapted to recorded (Dillehay, 2011). Las Pircas foragers began a permanent or perhaps
months and even years without rainfall. The importance sedentary life at higher elevations between 9,000 and
of the dry forest for human habitation and especially for The early El Palto Phase (~11,500–10,000 bp) is associated 7,000 bp, with small organized settlements (Figure 3),
foraging and food production cannot be overestimated. with a pattern of scheduled, possibly seasonal movements burial of the dead, circular house forms, subtle social
Modern-day human intervention in the Nanchoc Valley between coastal and upland locations in northern Peru, differences in the artefact inventory, and small garden
has left very little of this seasonal forest intact, making it where various plants, animals and seafood were available plots near their homesteads. Unifacial stone tools, basalt
difficult to assess its ‘pristine’ potential for hunter-foragers during all or at different times of the year. Regional hoes for gardening, a varied ground stone technology,
and local variation in stone tools, dated around 10,000 simple food storage, and a food economy based primarily
201

on the exploitation of a wide variety of plants and animals

dominated the technology. Las Pircas sites yielded wild
and cultivated squash, Chenopodium (c.f., quinoa),
peanut, yucca, manioc, and several unidentified fruits.
Low frequencies of exotic materials (for example, marine
shell, carved stingray spines, quartz crystals and raw stone
material) suggest minor contact with distant coastal and
highland areas. Las Pircas sites are generally interpreted
as small-scale ephemeral occupations, roughly similar to
ethnographic foraging groups.
During the Tierra Blanca Phase (7,000–5,000 bp ),

settlements aggregated closer to the valley floor and
its fertile soils where we excavated buried agricultural
furrows and stone hoes (Figure 5). House styles changed
(from small circular Las Pircas houses to larger, multiple
room rectangular Tierra Blanca houses: Figure 6), cotton,
beans and coca were added, and residents constructed
an artificial agricultural system associated with irrigation
canals (Figure 4) and sedentism. (Corn does not appear
in the local archaeological record until about 4,000 years Figure 3. Loction map of the primary Las Pircas (CA-09-27 and 52) and Tierra Blanca sites (CA-09-50, 71, 77) and the.
Cementerio de Nanchoc site (CA-09-04) in the Nanchoc Valley. © Thomas Dillehay
ago). Although exotics disappeared, the separation of
public and private or domestic space was pronounced,
as evidenced by dual, stone-lined, multi-tiered earthen to incipient sedentary lifeway and with a broad-spectrum social relationships evidenced during the later Las Pircas
mounds at the Cementerio de Ñanchoc site in the valley economy focused on foraging and a few food crops. and Tierra Blanca phases. There is archaeological evidence
(Figure 7). At this site, lime was produced in a controlled, However, in the Tierra Blanca Phase, the reverse occurs, that terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene groups began
presumed public ritual context for probable use with coca with the rectangular house form associated primarily with to decrease their mobility, aggregate and establish more
leaves and/or as a food supplement (Figure 8). The mounds plant food production and secondarily with foraging. permanent camps at the edge of the dry forest near active
were located on an alluvial fan separated from but also springs and within equidistance of the desert coast to the
accessible for all households (see Figure 3; CA–09–04). Though people still relied on foraging for some subsistence west and the seasonally dry forests to the east. These sites
By 7,000–6,500 bp, the rectangular-shaped Tierra Blanca means during the Tierra Blanca Phase, the rich resources were highly localized as indicated by the presence of local
houses were all located near the base of the alluvial fan of the seasonally dry tropical forest, combined with a food lithic raw material and by various floral and faunal foods
near the short canal that took water upstream from the crops (i.e., squash, beans, yucca, avocado, chilli pepper, indigenous to the seasonally dry environment. Sites of
Nanchoc River (Figure 9). For reasons not fully understood, peanut, quinoa) allowed for a more settled way of life the following Las Pircas and Tierra Blanca phases, dated
sedentism and food production did not occur everywhere (Dillehay, 2011). During this period, several new socio- between 9,000 and 5,000 bp, were associated with a more
in this valley during this phase. Some groups continued cultural traits were developed: planning and decision- stable environment, albeit increasingly more arid around
practicing a mobile foraging lifeway well after more making, risk management, communal land use, resource 7,000 bp, and with more prolonged social contact and
cultigens were introduced into the area. Between 6,000 sharing between different groups and technological exchange. This led to enhanced conditions for population
and 5,000 bp, farmers and foragers co-existed and were innovation. And this happened during the peak aridity of growth and greater cultural complexity, as evidenced by the
co-dependent on one another. the so-called hypsithermal between 7,000 and 4,000 bp. presence of large and numerous grinding stones, irrigation
canals and increased crop production and permanent
There is widespread evidence that the transition from In summary, in some localities of the valley, our domestic structures forming small aggregated household
foraging to food production in parts of the valley altered palaeoecological and archaeological analyses relate climatic communities.
aspects of the material culture. For instance, there and environmental change to specific stone tool industries,
is evidence for increased utilization of food crops in dietary regimes, site and house forms, food crops and
association with changes in grinding stone tools, stone differential human responses. Between 11,000 and 10,000
hoes, houses and storage pits, which appear to be a direct bp, there occurred a compression of terminal Pleistocene Public Architecture, Community
product of food production. It also is possible to equate and later early Holocene people into several circumscribed Organization and Food Production
changes in house form or design with functional changes habitats from the coastal plains to the mountain slopes of
in the subsistence regime. For example, circular forms of the Nanchoc Valley. This probably led to increased contact Communal construction projects are noted for the Nanchoc
the Las Pircas Phase are associated with a semi-sedentary and promoted the later development of more complex Valley during the middle Holocene period (late Las Pircas
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6
and Tierra Blanca phases). These include agricultural
earthworks (i.e., canals and fields) and ceremonial mounds
that are associated with the rise of crop production.
Mound-building was restricted to the small teardrop-
shaped structures at the site of Cementerio de Nanchoc
(Dillehay, 2011). The mounds are roughly 1.5 m high and
30–35 m long and represent one of the earliest public
architectural expressions in the central Andes and, of
particular relevance, can be situated within the local
settlement system. The mounds produced evidence of lime
production, which is believed to have been associated with
the consumption of coca leaves. The archaeological record
of both Las Pircas and Tierra Blanca households shows
evidence for heating calcium-bearing limestone to produce
lime as an alkali used in historic times and today to extract
alkaloids from coca leaves. Coca leaves (Erythroxylum
novogranatense var. truxillense) and precipitated lime were
preserved in the floors of several houses. Two radiocarbon
dates on the leaves indicate that coca chewing in the valley
began at least 7,000 years ago (Dillehay et al., 2010).
The horticultural landscape of the late Las Pircas to early

Tierra Blanca phases is characterized by the presence of
short feeder ditches (~50–70 m long) taking water from
the upper reaches of small streams at the headwaters Figure 4. Green bush line along the edge of the terrace shows traces of a 6,500 14C year old irrigation canal depicted in Figure 9.
of alluvial fans, which flowed into small garden plots © Thomas Dillehay
adjacent to fifteen to twenty houses. A more intensified

and communal organization of agriculture in the valley
occurred during the subsequent Tierra Blanca phase. This and of different concepts of the relationship between alluvial fans in the study area during this same period,
phase is defined by the presence of more than twenty-five nature and culture. neighbouring groups made decisions to stay primarily with
households that correspond to small communities linearly a foraging lifeway rather than commit to food production.
aggregated downslope on the alluvial fans near a 2.5 km In summary, small-scale changes combining short-distance Although we cannot point directly to climate changes as
long irrigation canal that watered the fertile floodplain of environmental moves, development of irrigation and crop spurring these changes and decisions, there must have
the river valley in the seasonally dry forest (Figure 9). That technologies and continued reliance on some hunting been choices and preferences by local communities in
is, a major settlement transformation took place from one and gathering in a specific mixed-forest environmental responding to them, with some groups deciding to change,
phase to the other, with the Tierra Blanca people shifting setting among various households of small, dispersed and others possibly deciding to move elsewhere and others
from small stream-irrigated horticulture on higher alluvial aggregated communities made significant socio-economic maintaining a status quo.
fans to canal-irrigated floodplain agriculture. At the smallest advances and held the potential as magnets for long-term
scale, these changing domestic and communal food change elsewhere in the region. Interdisciplinary research
production landscapes of the valley were linked exclusively on the specific and small scalar environmental setting Food Production, Foraging and the Nanchoc
to local socio-political conditions, rather than to a larger of the Nanchoc Valley allowed us to pinpoint specific Environment
valley-long population or semi-centralized authority. At human and palaeoecological parameters as people not
the largest scale, the organization of agriculture by local only adjusted to local climate changes over a long period As a result of major environmental and climatic changes,
communities is reflected in a ‘legible’ landscape (Scott, of time but also transformed their social and economic plant and animal communities were altered considerably
1999), one that became familiar to more local and non- practices to benefit from them. The collective evidence throughout the late Pleistocene and middle Holocene
local communities that gradually adopted similar food shows that similar developments were not taking place period (~11,000–5,000 bp) in most regions of South
production practices in similar alluvial and river bottom in neighbouring areas as far away as 2–5 km within the America (Lavallee, 2000). For this time period, there is scant
landscapes over the following 1,500 years. At a small or same valley and neighbouring valleys within 20–35 km in evidence of plant foods that survive in the archaeological
large scale, these landscapes are records of alternative ways distance, where similar suitable climatic and environmental record. In localities where organic remains are preserved,
to communally create, transform and manage resources conditions existed. Although spatially extensive foraging there is macro-botanical evidence (for example, burned
sites of hunters and gatherers characterized other seeds) of the domestication of squash (Cucurbita moschata)
203

in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru by at least 10,000 bp and Although we do not fully comprehend why particular spatial forms, but rather these forms were the expression
the use of palm nuts (Arecaceae sp.) and other plants in environmental locations were selected over others in of the process of collective treatment of the daily
Colombia by 9,200 bp At the end of the Pleistocene period, the Nanchoc Valley, a few semi-sedentary settlements consumption patterns of households. Permanent places
when climate conditions were generally warm and stable, appear early in the interiors of small quebrada or alluvial also fostered increased contact between inhabitants in part
intentional plant manipulation was underway in several fans around 9,000 bp. These are locations inferred to be because of the diminished physical space between larger
areas, but primarily in the Neotropics and the central Andes the most suitable settings for incipient food production numbers of individuals in the circumscribed space of the
(Pearsall, 2003; Piperno, 2007, 2011; Piperno and Dillehay, (i.e., squash), because they contain some of the richest valley. However, the valley’s inhabitants managed this space
2008). soils and they are characterized by the presence of small through the development of a supra-local focal point that
intermittent streams that provide seasonal run-off water cultivated a sense of community identity, i.e., the public
Some of the best-documented archaeological evidence for for archaeologically documented household garden plots. mound constructions at the Cementerio de Nanchoc site.
the early adoption of plant foods comes from the multiple As stated earlier, the later sedentary sites abandoned these
resource zones of the Nanchoc Valley, where macro- and settings and moved closer to the valley floor where richer Furthermore, the examination of these early sedentary sites
micro-fossils, the latter from the calculus of human teeth, soils were available and where the irrigation canal and in the Nanchoc Valley and later sites along the coast and
reveal the presence of several food crops. In the valley, agricultural fields were built. adjacent interior of Peru (Lavallee, 2000; Moseley, 2001)
several major crops were adopted between at least 9,500 suggests that the creation of social networks and the
and 7,000 bp, including squash (Cucurbita moschata), In the Nanchoc Valley (Dillehay et al., 2007, 2008), the exchange of exotics (for example, cultigens, raw materials
peanuts (Arachis sp.), common bean (Phaseolus), pacay, intensified adoption of cultigens primarily took place such as malachite, shell, bird feathers) may not have been
a tree fruit (Inga feuillei), quinoa (Chenopodium), coca between 7,000 and 5,000 bp, roughly the peak period merely a by-product of sedentism, but probably was one
(E. novogranatense var. truxillense), industrial cotton of aridity during the hypsithermal. Although local of the fundamental reasons for the increased movement of
(Gossypium) and other plants. As noted above, the palaeoecological data from the valley do not reflect a people into sedentary environments. Sites in a landscape of
remains of these plant types were recovered along with period of severe aridity, a warm, usually dry environment dispersed populations under conditions of increasing socio-
the bones of various large and small animal species, which did exist. How stable or unstable these conditions were political complexity such as Nanchoc seem to represent
together have provided evidence for a broad-spectrum is not known. It is probable that some foraging and this kind of network, especially during the Las Pircas Phase
subsistence economy in the tropical dry forest of the valley. incipient horticultural groups in the valley shifted in and when exotics appear, in which any initial impetus for the
The evidence also indicates that by 6,500 bp an effective out of an increased reliance on plant foods as they found creation of a population nucleus (ceremonial, defensive,
agricultural system employing a wide range of wild and themselves in varying climatic, subsistence and/or social economic or exchange) was sustained by social interaction
domesticated seed, tree, vegetable and root crops provided crises. It also is probable that in addition to environmental under conditions where the greater ease of information
balanced, nutritious and stable diets to the inhabitants of parameters, social conditions, such as settlement dispersion and product exchange was probably deemed valuable.
the valley. This system exploited small but fertile alluvial or aggregation, shared technological inventions and Especially in the network concentrated by sedentism during
patches on terraced benches near the floodplain of the cultural transmission of new ideas and experiences, were the Las Pircas phase, consumption activities resulting in the
Nanchoc River. also important factors determining economic, dietary and acquisition and display of exotic goods appear to have been
demographic choices in the valley. In these and other an effective means of interaction sustained by individuals
There are three significant environmental drivers that cases, we know that some terminal Pleistocene hunters and households.
potentially affected food production in the Nanchoc and gatherers solved nutritional and seasonal scheduling
Valley during the early to middle Holocene period. First, problems associated with non-domesticated plant foods
Figure 5: Basalt hoes
increased seasonal moisture between ~10,000 and 7,000 by continuing to rely on large and small game animals of the Tierra Blanca
bp produced several results amenable to incipient crop use and, in some cases, a few cultivated plants (i.e., squash, Phase associated with
agricultural fields.
in the valley. Previously arid landscapes became less dry Cucurbita moschata), while likely coping with short-term © Thomas Dillehay
resulting in the presence of greater surface vegetation climatic changes (Dillehay, 2011).
similar to the patchy tropical forested slopes in the region
today (Netherly, 2011). Second is the increase in episodic The activities of site-dwellers in the conscious
El Nino and flood intensity beginning as early as 5,000 creation and development of domestic
years ago. However, between 7,000 and 4,000 years ago, sedentary communities in the Nanchoc Valley
higher precipitation levels also were linked to a significant was not limited to the increased production
increase in temperature. Third, changes in the sea level also and consumption of food crops, but also
had an impact on regional climatic conditions, with shifting involved the consumption and reordering of
prevailing winds altering temperatures and precipitation site space and inter-site relations within a
rates resulted in more arid conditions after 7,000 bp, limited territory. Indeed, the consumption
despite intermittent El Nino floods. of space and of food crops was closely
intertwined. Sedentary organization in this
case was not just a simple arrangement of
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6
Adoption and Intensification
What most studies overlook is the distinction between

the first adoption of crops and the later establishment of
intensive agriculture. We should consider these as two
separate contexts of crop adoption during the early to
middle Preceramic period in the study area. The late El
Palto (Paijan) people had already begun to manage useful
wild plants and probably one cultigen by 9,500–9,000 bp.
Evidence from several early sites in Colombia and Ecuador
also indicates that squash was used early on. From at
least 7,000 bp, the Nanchoc culture developed specific
subsistence solutions to narrow mountainous floodplains
and hilly regions that involved distinctive combinations of
wild, possibly managed and domesticated species. Changes
in plant use seem to have gone through similar phases in
the late Preceramic period (~7,000–4,000 bp).
Most of all, in the Nanchoc area, adoption of several semi-

domesticated or domesticated plants did not occur all
together. Clearly, squash, beans and chilli peppers were
available as early as ~9,000–7,000 bp, while peanuts, coca,
quinoa and cotton arrived later, generally after 7,000 bp and
in the case of corn around 4,000 bp. However, the dates for
the initial adoption of all of these and other plants are not
clear. Were they incorporated into early squash gardening
individually over a number of generations during a long
transitional period? Or were two to three of these crops
incorporated as a package at once? Unfortunately, systematic
archaeobotanical data are lacking for the critical transitional
periods between the adoption of several species. Because of a
lack of data from several hundred years during the transition,
the question of the rate of changes to intensive agriculture
cannot be resolved. (The only possible local cultigen would
have been coca, which is native to the humid tropical
environment of the study area). We also must review carefully
how local cultural developments and external influences
were integrated into the transition rather than simplify the
transition as a gradual appearance of the food production and
the gradual replacement of a foraging lifeway.
The development of more permanent and extensive

forms of sedentism and small complex societies in
the Nanchoc Valley and in a few other areas on the
Peruvian coast and in the highlands occurred between
~4,500 and 3,500 bp. During this period, maritime and
Figure 6. Upper: Drawing of a circular Las Pircas house;

lower: drawing of a rectangular Tierra Blanca house form.
© Thomas Dillehay
205

agricultural villages along the coast increased in size and

the first large-scale monumental non-domestic architecture
appeared in the form of stone platform mounds and small
ceremonial pyramids. A few examples are Huaca Prieta,
Alto Salaverry, Áspero, Huaynuna, Caral, Garagay, among
others (Aldenferder, 1998; Creamer et al., 2007; Kaulicke,
2009; Moseley, 2001; Lavallee, 2000).
Epilogue Zone B West Mound
In summary, our work in the valley attempted to examine East Mound

the conditions that were involved in decisions to forage
or produce food. This approach allowed us to assess
the relative importance of variables that contributed
to the adoption of food production in association with
early to middle Holocene settlements, as well as the
later geographic expansion of farmers in the region. Zone A
Our research built on the study of plant and animal
remains in archaeological sites and attempted to model
the specific decisions that individual communities made
concerning the procurement or production of specific
crop foods. At the core, our interpretations assume
that communities chose to either forage or farm or
develop a mixed economy of both based upon perceived Figure 7. Outlines of the two mounds at the Cementerio de Nanchoc site. © Thomas Dillehay
returns. Although not detailed here, our interpretations
considered economic concepts that are critical to
understanding adaptive decision-making in the context of
food production, such as the marginal value of resources
and opportunity costs (for example, when does the
value of a cultivated resource decline and how does the
amount of labour time, or competing opportunities factor
into the decision to farm). These concepts allowed for
an interpretation that anticipated future (as opposed to
immediate) returns, examine the varying value of foods or
resources in the context of an unpredictable future and
allow for the assessment of long and short-term returns
on different kinds of labour expenditures (for example,
hunting, gathering, gardening). These notions are
critical to understanding the context of human decision-
making that involved food production in the valley. We
also believe that the low energy requirements for early
household-level gardening in this seasonally dry forest
would have made food production appear as the best
option, as a small plot of irrigated land could produce a
relative high yield following a single growing season.
We hypothesized that in the centuries that followed the

initial adoption and development of food production, Figure 8. Left: Modern–day coca leaf; Upper and lower right: archaeological coca leaves excavated from
both foragers and food producers weighed the option of a Tierra Blanca house. © Thomas Dillehay
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6
Figure 9. The location of Las Pircas sites (white dots) on the alluvial fans and the Tierra Blanca sites (red dots) near the canal and floodplain of the Nanchoc Valley. © Thomas Dillehay
207

procuring food from a greater distance, which apparently village formation based on agricultural surplus developed
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in the Nanchoc Valley did not stimulate its immediate Holocene. T. D. Dillehay (ed.), From Foraging to Farming
adoption in neighbouring areas with a similar climate. in the Andes: New Perspectives on Food Production and
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209

Daily Practices and Early Village Settlement

Dynamics in North-western Argentina
Julián Salazar
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and C.E.H. Segreti, CONICET, Argentina
Abstract were created and sustained through the repeated cycles Different approaches interested in early village societies have
of daily life and materialized in the archaeological record shown that early permanent population concentrations
This chapter discusses comparative data on daily practices, (Bandy, 2010; Bocquet-Appel, 2008; Hodder and Cessford, were frequently unstable. It is recognized that there is a
household materiality and settlement patterns from 2004; Kuen Lee, 2007; Kuijt, 2008; Schachner et al., 2012). clear relation between the rapid growth and the dynamics
north-west Argentina and addresses the question of Life in these contexts was provisional, improvisational of the early village settlements (Bocquet-Appel, 2008),
early village formation, growth and abandonment from and innovative and in a real historical sense the social fission being the predominant mechanism for resolving
the perspective of social actors engaged in this process. developments that took place in these societies were intra-village conflict (Bandy, 2004; McAndrews, 2005).
This approach, which takes into account the recursive generative (Bandy and Fox, 2010). The ways of living, According to this explanation the only way to overcome
relations between objective structures and practices, not social relationships, power structures and belief systems demographic thresholds of conflict and prevent an
only illuminates the agents and social scales articulated in that came into being in various locations around the world, endless fission process, was to develop higher level social
the process of village life expansion in the south Andes, which were both the medium (conditions allowing) and institutions to handle information contradictions (Bandy,
but also contributes to understanding the similarities and the artefacts (products) of becoming villagers, could be 2005).
variations with other cases on a global scale. The earliest understood as varying historical responses to similar cross
village settlements in north-western Argentina started to cultural conditions. This proposal was capable of explaining the onset of
grow after 2500 bp. During the first millennium ad, several hierarchical and centralized polities in several trajectories.
sedentary agropastoral settlements systems were founded, The Neolithic transition was understood, in classic The problem with this approach is that it assumes that the
expanded, transformed and abandoned during the evolutionist approaches (for example, Childe, 1925), as the ‘new’ institutions and practices were those higher level
Formative or Early period. As in many regions worldwide, adoption of a monolithic package of interlinked cultural ones, and that other sequences, for example, those where
there is clear evidence of rapid demographic growth, as traits: agriculture, sedentism and pottery, defining a new no collective supra-household institutions appeared and
well as the development of intensification strategies and way of life and a new social and spatial setting: villages. no large village sites were formed, continued using ‘old’
a high degree of landscape domestication. Nevertheless, From the evolutionist standpoint this human achievement and almost ‘natural’ ways of fission. All the responses to
particular historical trajectories that shared some of those was a necessary step upon which more complex and the stresses associated with the adoption of agriculture,
features were not identical worldwide. In several south hierarchical societies could develop and, in accordance sedentarisation and crowding are at some point new and
Andean cases, residential sites tended to spread out along to this expectation, the Neolithic was studied within a generative, considering they constitute social behaviours
the landscape keeping considerable distances between teleological framework in order to explain the forthcoming without comparable material correlates before this point
houses and fields, precluding the formation of really large phenomena rather than the dynamics of the people in the archaeological sequences. Nevertheless none of
and clustered village settlements. These processes lead engaged in those processes. As a consequence, trajectories them is totally new, because each is developed by agents
complex demographic contexts with the development of where no complex social polities or states emerged were whose cultural structures were reproduced in precedent
densely inhabited regions but with scattered and spaced dismissed (Fox, 2010). social, political and demographical contexts that had great
layouts. One clear example of this particular setting that is variability. Thus, if we are to understand the question of
discussed in this chapter was recorded on the Tafí Valley, a In the last decades, different research projects have shown becoming villagers worldwide, as I think we must in order
high elevation basin located in north-west Argentina. how variable, complex and reversible the transition from to explain particular cases, we must also understand those
hunter-gathering strategies to an agropastoral way of cases where crowding and supra-household structures
life could be. Researchers have especially stressed the were rejected, but in which other kinds of community
importance of understanding historical trends lacking were created to share work, for protection, to avoid risk
Introduction a state or chiefdom formation to establish alternative and especially for social and biological reproduction. In
pathways of social evolution and the variable and non- other words, we should take into consideration all of the
Early village landscapes constituted new social contexts for essentialist ways in which economic, political and cultural different ways of living together, which appeared after the
human life. Sedentism, agropastoral labour, demographic aspects of human practices may have been engaged in adoption of agriculture and sedentary life.
growth and the aggregation of people set up new ways of the formation and reproduction of historical processes
establishing, changing and managing social relationships. (Drennan and Peterson, 2008; Fox, 2010; Pauketat, This paper discusses comparative data on daily practices,
This new social, adaptive and ideological milieu was faced 2007;Yoffee, 1993). household materiality and settlement patterns coming
with the development of traditions of practices which from north-western Argentina and addresses the question
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of early village formation, growth and abandonment
from the perspective of social actors engaged in this
process. This historical approach, that takes into account
the recursive relations between objective structures and
practices, sheds light on the agents and social scales
articulated in the process of the expansion of village life in
the south Andes, and contributes to the understanding of
the similarities and variations with other cases on a global
scale.
South Andean Early Village Landscapes
The south Andes include a vast region that consists of the

extreme south of Peru, the south-west of Bolivia, the north
of Chile and the north-west of Argentina, from the Titicaca
Lake to Mendoza province in Argentina, and from the
Pacific Ocean to the eastern slopes of the Andes (Figure
1). This large region was unified around the fourteenth
century by the Inka Empire and formed one of the four
suyus of the Tawantinsuyu: the Qollasuyu. However, it
had previously been really diverse and heterogeneous,
including different trajectories in terms of chronology,
demography, and the social and political structures that
developed.
The Formative Period in the northern area (3600 – 2000

bp), was characterized by the appearance of large and
clustered villages with ceremonial architecture, such
as Chiripa settlements, and the foundation of social
institutions such as the Yayamama religious tradition
which continued with the formation of the Tiwanaku
state, 1600 – 900 bp , (Bandy, 2001, 2010; Stanish,
2003). In the Bolivian Altiplano, another cultural process
was developed by groups of food producers, especially
herders, known as Wankarani. Wankarani sites are quite
small tells spread out in a scattered layout. Previously
interpreted as sedentary villages during a process of
landscape colonization through a fission-growth process
(McAndrews, 2005), they have been recently redefined as
the result of small and transhumant herder groups moving
around the Andean highlands in certain occupational
cycles which formed that particular archaeological pattern
(Capriles, 2014; Fox, 2010).
The southern area, although sharing a common cultural

background with Andean societies, has followed a unique
Figure 1. South Andean Region map with a selection of early

village cases. © Julián Salazar
211

Figure 2. Tafí Valley, a typical Keshua Landscape: a sight of southern extreme of Cumbres Calchaquíes Range during winter, the
driest season. © Julián Salazar
developmental trajectory (Leoni and Acuto, 2008; Pérez degree of autonomy, defined by productive and storage Yunga (800–1800 metres above sea level) is formed by the
Gollán, 1992). Productive strategies were introduced by scale, residential settlements’ distribution and ceremonial eastern slopes of the Andes, where almost all the humid
north-western Argentinian hunter-gatherer groups around public places (Bandy, 2005; Fox, 2010; Haber, 2007; Leoni Atlantic rains fall, producing a dense forest. Environmental
3500 bp through an enduring and complex process of and Acuto, 2008; Sanhueza and Falabella, 2007). In most difficulties for field work have prevented the development
regional population reorganization, mobility reduction and cases, residential sites tended to spread out along the of archaeological research on this ecological step, but
an increase of territoriality. The earliest village settlements landscape keeping considerable distances between houses we know that, although agriculture or horticulture had
started to grow after 2500 bp. Around the first millennium and fields. This process did not finish with the formation been introduced at an early date, their inhabitants never
of the Christian Era, several sedentary agropastoral of really large and clustered village settlements, but rather totally reduced their mobility; they continued combining
settlement systems were founded, expanded, transformed with the development of densely inhabited regions with several food procurement strategies, within which hunting
and abandoned, in the process defined as the Formative scattered and spaced layouts. and gathering continued to be important along with
period (2500 – 1000 bp). horticulture and fishing (Ortiz et al., 2012; Seldes and
North-west Argentina (NWA) is ecologically defined by the Ortiz, 2012). Keshua (protected valley in Qichua language)
As in many areas worldwide, there is clear evidence that presence of the Andes chain, and the ecological conditions are the high (1800–3000 metres above sea level) inter-
this process implied a rapid demographic growth, as well are related directly to altitude above sea level, which montane valleys of the Andes, which get some summer
as the development of intensification strategies and a sets the annual rains, access to humid winds, frosts and rains and have fertile soil on which to grow corn, squash
high degree of landscape domestication. Nevertheless, therefore the possibilities for producing different and very and beans. They were intensely populated during the
many villager populations were characterized by a tension specific crops. NWA could be divided into three ecological Formative period, and therefore archaeological research has
between the aggregation of communitarian collectives altitudinal zones. traditionally concentrated on early village archaeological
and the fragmentation of segmentary groups with some contexts (Tarragó, 1999). Suni and Puna, are two different
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6
ecological steps of the high plateau, from 3000 to 4500
metres above sea level, with a dry environment and an
overall scarcity of water sources. Nevertheless it presents
some oasis and localized areas with important resources
for Andean adaptations: grasslands for herding, lithic raw
materials, and salt. Although agriculture is difficult, micro-
thermic crops such as potato and quinoa were grown and
complex irrigation networks in some special locations such
as oases were developed (Quesada, 2006).
Palaeo-environmental studies showed that the

environmental conditions during the first millennium of
the Christian Era were more humid and colder than today,
allowing vegetal coverage to grow in higher altitudinal
zones (Caria and Sayago, 2008; Grill et al., 2013; Sampietro
Vattuone, 2002). This was a key aspect for encouraging
crop production and the expansion of agriculture all over
the region. Different archaeological complexes associated
with food producers and settled societies appeared and
grew in a few centuries in Keshua valleys and Suni basins.
Tafí Valley
The Tafí Valley first millennium agropastoral occupations

are one of the most important early village case studies
in Argentina. Tafí is located in the north-west of Tucumán
Province and it is part of the Keshua ecological zone
described earlier (Figure 2). It is a small triangle like basin
emplaced between two main range chains: Cumbres
Calchaquíes, on the north, and Aconquija, on the
south. Between 2300 and 1200 bp farmers and herders
inhabited the Tafí Valley, building household compounds
and agropastoral infrastructure on alluvial fans (Berberián
and Nielsen, 1988; Duglosz et al., 2009; Franco Salvi et
al., 2012; Gómez Cardozo et al., 2007; González and
Núñez Regueiro, 1960; Oliszewski, 2011; Sampietro and
Vattuone, 2005).
Over the last five years, field surveys in the northern Tafí
Valley have focused on a 10km2 area in the sectors of La
Bolsa and Carapunco, recording all the archaeological
features on the surface and developing a relative chronology.
This includes the identification of potential archaeological
structures using aerial photography, direct ground survey
and field identification, mapping of archaeological features
Figure 3. Archaeological household compounds, dated

to the first millennium, recognized on North Tafí Valley
surveys. © Julián Salazar
213

and relief topographic characteristics, and the use of

transects and quadrats for collecting material in random
sampled surfaces.
The surveys allowed the identification of a dense first

millennium occupation, formed by houses, crop growing
plots, corrals, irrigation devices, a ceremonial mound and
other functionally undetermined structures (Figure 3). A
total of 156 dwelling compounds were identified, implying
30,000 m2 of built indoor space, 16,000 m2 of them
with roofs. In general terms the household compounds
illustrate a similar occupational record, including residential
buildings, crop growing structures and cattle handling
enclosures. Some of these residential buildings are isolated,
dispersed multifunctional compounds. In other cases,
however, there are numerous residential clusters, associated
with enclosed unroofed areas and functionally specialized
features. In close association with residential occupations,
303 agropastoral enclosures, corrals and crop growing
plots and 28 terraced fields were located, making a 53,000
m2 productive surface. Lithic and pottery samples collected
on transects and quadrats show a clear chronological
association of almost all these surface features to the first
millennium of the Christian Era.
Far from being an exceptional clustering of Formative

sites, almost all of the inhabitable places of the Valley and
Figure 4. Satellite image of Río La Puerta alluvial fan archaeological occupations. This image shows the effects of current
nearby areas, especially the alluvial fans, were also densely houses and neighborhoods on the archaeological sites. © Julián Salazar
occupied during this period. Figure 4, for example, shows
the Rio La Puerta alluvial fan, one of the largest residential
compounds clustering in association with production- generated continuous and fragmented village landscapes. strong communal planning. Household compounds are
related structures. Figure 5 shows the first millennium Continuity is defined by the high overall occupation of the spatially segregated architectural units of about 200 m2
dwelling compounds located at 3,000 metres above sea land, the absence of limits or borders between settlements, that consist of food storage space, craft production areas
level on La Ciénega (Cremonte, 1996), a high ravine and the recurrence of dwelling compounds as the main and areas demonstrating strong traces of kin identity. The
located close to the west of the Tafí Valley. If we consider features constructing the landscape. Fragmentation is dwellings include circular structures around an open patio,
that only a few occupations previous to 2500 bp have been characterized by the sustained spacing between houses, the built with big stone masonry. The chronology shows that
recognized so far (Martínez et al., 2013), it is clear that absence of public spaces ordering the spatial distribution this site was occupied all through the first millennium ad.
demographic conditions in the region changed dramatically and fragmented and identifiable crop growing plots. A
after the adoption of agriculture and sedentary life. If we closer analysis of one of these settlements could give a The occupation of alluvial terrace LB1 began around the
take this to a wider scale, comparing the number of dated clearer view of the early village context of this region. second century bc. The earliest evidence comes from
contexts and recorded sites, even including the agrocentric an excavated cultural midden associated with a water
archaeological tradition that dismissed hunter-gatherer managing channel crosscutting the settlement. This
research, almost all the valleys of north-western Argentina drainage system controls rainy season rapid flooding and
show evidence of demographic growth in this period. La Bolsa 1 (LB1) facilitates irrigation of lower fields. The recovered pottery
assemblage from this midden consists of coarse red pottery
Despite the important occupation recognizable in the La Bolsa 1 is a clustering of household compounds located with thick inclusions (91.2%) and a lower proportion of
archaeological record, human groups living there never on an alluvial terrace in the north area of the Tafí Valley, fine red and orange groups with thin inclusions (7.2%).
formed very crowded village settlements, as the classic inhabited between 2100 and 1200 bp (Figure 6). This The recovered animal fauna include Camelidae sp. that is
Neolithic model describes. Although they formed some settlement includes 21 household compounds and a radiocarbon dated to Cal. bc 360–270 (AA81302: 2,110+–
residential compound clusters, for almost a millennium 25-hectare complex system of agricultural structures. The 66 bp) (Franco Salvi and Berberián, 2011). There are limited
they did not produce large and dense residential sites but site layout shows a spontaneous outgrowth rather than remains from this early occupation but they demonstrate
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the presence of agriculture in the region before 2,000
years ago. This is accompanied by other remains, including
a crop growing terrace with a cache of llama (Lama glama)
remains which suggests the presence of fertility and
agricultural rites occurring at Cal. 70–210 ad [AA89140:
1,883+–46 bp] (Franco Salvi and Berberián, 2011). This
ritual cache includes the skull and four flexed, articulated
limbs of an adult llama, covered by a little rock mound.
The construction of the earliest dwellings occurred

around 2,000 years ago and, many of these, such as U14
residential compound, were used for hundreds of years
after this point. For example, the burial cist in the centre
of the open courtyard of the U14 residential cluster has
been dated to Cal. ad 139–313 [AA85756: 1799+–37 bp].
Four radiocarbon dates from the last occupational floors
demonstrate that this building was still in use around Cal.
ad 690–860 (Salazar, 2010).
As the C14 dates show, many of these houses were

occupied, at times intermittently, over a long period, with
structures enduring almost ten centuries. Developing a
complete, dynamic, detailed settlement biography is a
difficult, if not logistically impossible, task. Available data
highlight that we need to think of house clusters and
terraces as forming a multi-temporal landscape where
select practices were materialized in the archaeological
Figure 5. Archaeological house compounds in La Ciénega ravine (3000 metres above sea level). © Julián Salazar
record. With repeated use, moreover, they were modified,
cleared and created a complex palimpsest of human action
(Bailey, 2007). The continuity of these practices in the
construction of houses, settlement layout and agricultural analysis is a proper tool to think about spatial structural as long of lines as possible, in such a way that all convex
features illustrates a long-term social logic and a period principles especially spatial distribution, access, freedom spaces and axial lines were crossed without repetition.
of stability. It is possible that these dwelling clusters were and restriction for movements around and control over
spontaneously produced by autonomous households certain places and features within landscapes. Alpha In LB1, 36 built islands (15 X y 21 x) and within outdoor
organized around distinct roofed residential and non- analysis (Bermejo Tirado, 2010; Hillier and Hanson, space, 64 convex spaces and 33 axial lines were identified
roofed courtyard spaces. This is seen in three ways. 1984) is the study of settlement space through axiality (Figure 7). This quantification allows us to calculate some
and convexity, and we think it could be a useful way to indexes which describe the distribution and symmetry of
First, residential compounds were always built as distinct understand how people moved throughout these particular inhabited settings: Convex Articulation (N Convex Space
isolated units, separated from other dwellings. Each village landscapes. / N Island) = 1.78; Axial articulation (N Axial Lines / N
one formed a cell, separated from the next one by Islands) = 0.92; Convex Space Axial Integration (N Axial
distances from 2m up to more than 100 m. When viewed This methodology recognizes four spatial categories that Lines / N Convex Spaces) = 0.52. These indexes show that
from outside the building they constitute clear units, constitute a bipolar sequence from built environment to ‘y’ space (open spaces within settlements) on LB1 was
desegregated from the other residential compounds. exterior areas of the site: ‘X’ (primary settlement cells, in neither divided nor hierarchized. There are no segregated
From inside, the experience of sensorial features such as this case dwelling compounds); ‘x’ (secondary limits, as open spaces; all spaces are accessible both for circulation as
sound, view or smell coming from neighbouring houses is gardens or productive structures); ‘y’ (settlement open well as for perception. If we consider space syntax in terms
totally restricted. The spatial separation of these household space) and ‘Y’ (exterior). The spatial structure of ‘y’ is of distribution and symmetry, LB1 is a distributed system,
units supports arguments for a degree of privacy and considered in terms of axiality, maximum extension of where several possible paths link convex spaces between
independence from other households. linearly unified system of space and convexity, maximum each other. This system is symmetric because there are no
extension of bi-dimensionally unified spaces. In order to obliged places to cross in order to have access to another
Second, space within the Tafi Valley Formative communities trace the convex map, minimum number of convex spaces one. In Hillier and Hanson’s terms (1984), this kind of spatial
was symmetrically organized and distributed. Spatial syntax covering ‘y’ were drawn. In turn, axial map implied drawing structure, characterized by non-exclusivity, weak rules and
215

borders and absence of hierarchical differentiation of places

maximizes encounters between settlement inhabitants.
Space syntax analysis (Hillier and Hanson, 1984; Mañana

Borrazás et al., 2002; Vaquer and Nielsen, 2011) has
demonstrated that the village open space settings are rarely
divided or hierarchically organized. All of these spaces are
accessible by physical movement of the human body and
by line of sight. There are no plazas or public places in
the settlements, nor any other feature connected to a
centripetal growing pattern.
The presence in another alluvial fan with first millennium

occupation which may have served as a gathering place
for community members, in LB2 reinforces this idea.
This earthen mound is located in an outdoor space, far
away from any other roofed residential or work structure
and is characterized by open access and good visibility.
The mound, still unexcavated, seems to be built by the
sequential accumulation of natural soils and cultural
deposits.
Third, non-residential space is also organized in a patterned

way. Agricultural outbuildings were often rebuilt with a Figure 6. LB1
continuity of design and placement within the alluvial settlement. On
the top, a sight of
landscape. Field systems are not large but rather clearly the alluvial fan.
form delimited plots defined by stone wall enclosures On the bottom,
archaeological
(canchones), as well terraces shaped by perpendicularly mapping.
attaching several containment walls to elongated clearing © Julián Salazar
fields rock mounds. Recorded field plots average size is
near 400m² and they are always spatially associated with
at least one dwelling compound (Franco Salvi, 2012).
Field plots are easily distinguishable owing to the visibility
of associated material features including rock mounds,
terraces or enclosures (Figure 8).
Settlement pattern tendencies across this kind of

landscape were reproduced by multiple agents’ strategies
and practices in the context of quotidian life rather
than decisions made by a centralized authority or the
adaptation principle of the overarching system. If we
want to understand the social logics of this kind of
social configuration, which we are describing on a large
scale, we should address the practices of the people and
especially the places and material settings where these
practices were produced and reproduced. With regards to
the relationships between practices and material settings,
we should consider the groups that are being formed,
Figure 7. Axial and
transformed and disarticulated in these social processes. convex map of LB1
dwelling compounds
cluster.
© Julián Salazar
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6
Material Settings for Daily Practices
Residential structures were the central nodes around

which daily life in the Formative period of the Tafi Valley
was organized. Even today, with their high and thick walls
and large artificial foundations, these buildings are highly
visible in the landscape even though they are covered
with thick layers of soil. These buildings are found on all
alluvial terraces and are a recurrent feature in early village
settlements in the Tafi Valley and in neighbouring valleys
and ravines (Figures 4, 5 and 6).
Enduring for almost a millennium, this architectural

domestic pattern consists of circular or sub-circular semi-
subterranean rooms, ranging in size between 2 and 20
m2, probably roofed and connected by formal pathways
to a circular larger unroofed courtyard or patio. A single
entrance connected the patios to the outside areas. At
times other irregular and larger structures were attached
to the unroofed courtyard. These clusters vary in size
and number of structures attached to the central patio
courtyard (from 3 to 15, with an average or 5), but in all
cases the structures maintain the same spatial organization
of circular rooms connected to a large central patio.
Excavation of one of these residential compounds provides

us with a detailed stratigraphic and temporal understanding
of building lifespan, the sequence of construction and
eventual abandonment. Residential cluster unit U14, for Figure 8. Crop growing structure, North Sector of Tafí Valley. © Julián Salazar
example, is located in the densely occupied area of the LB1
settlement (Figure 6). It is formed by seven stone structures,
four circular rooms (R2, R3, R4 and R6) attached to the Analysis of architectural features, artefact distribution, The presence of storage facilities in front of the burial
main courtyard (R1) and two peripheral irregular enclosures soil chemistry and silicon phytoliths identification allow chambers is remarkable (Figure 11). The characteristics,
(R5 and R7) (Figure 9). us to define residential compound activity areas from scale and control of food storage are all key aspects in
around 800 ad (Gazi and Salazar, 2013; Molar, 2014). The understanding social organization and social agents’
The entrance into the patio was located on the southern peripheral and small enclosures highlight specific activity capacities to make decisions in regards to the consumption
wall of courtyard R1, although it is much more informal areas including food processing, cooking and storage. and distribution of the products. Understanding these key
and narrower than the interior doors between rooms. Also In R6 and R4 a few cooking vessels were found broken factors is a paramount aspect of early village societies.
seen in residential cluster U10 (Salazar et al., 2007), this around a central stone hearth with maize (Zea mays) silicon Communitarian sharing of storage or household hoarding
entranceway illustrates greater fluidity within the house phytoliths identified in associated soil samples. Diverse of surplus define a different kind of access to material
than between the interior of the house and exterior areas. activities were detected in the central unroofed courtyard, resources and even some neo-evolutionist social types
This dwelling was separated from, yet integrated with, R1, including maize grinding, food storage within clear have been proposed resulting from the analysis of this
outdoor space. Consideration of the organization of architectural features and ritual deposition of clay animal characteristic (Bird and Bliege, 2009; Flannery, 2002). Food
internal space, such as with a gamma analysis (Blanton, representations (Figure 10) and foreign pottery fragments, storage facilities in this case are within dwelling structures,
1994; Hillier and Hanson, 1984), illustrates an asymmetric all discarded around a central feature: a burial cist. This in what is clearly a household controlled space.
and hierarchical spatial distribution, with the courtyard highlights the centripetal organization of domestic activities
as an obliged setting when entering into, exiting from within nodal open courtyard spaces, as well as the symbolic Micro-history of house and building cluster life history
or circulating through the house. Therefore, co-residents and physical placement of ancestral deceased residence in also provides evidence of the complex and enduring
shared interior space and this interior setting was private the centre of the courtyards. occupation of several centuries. On one hand, this fact
and distinct from the exterior. illustrates that the village landscape exists as a multi
217

Figure 9. LB1 U14

Residential Compound with
some details of features
detected on excavations.
© Julián Salazar
218

6
temporal construction, and on the other hand, a compacter stratum, Level III, where the
that these social structures and habits were vestiges of another burial were present. It was
embodied and reproduced in material settings composed of an adult’s bone remains, in very
over the long-term. The duration of these trends poor conservational condition, associated with
also has to be considered: this house has a long three coarse fabric vessels. The human remains
history that begins at least around 1800 bp and consist of fragments from both a cranium and
finishes around 1200 bp, when the house was a jawbone in the west margin of the cist base,
abandoned. The compound was intentionally along with hundreds of unidentified bone little
closed off around ad 800, with doors to the pieces. The skeletal vestiges were accompanied
two rooms blocked and hearths being covered by a cup (made in ordinary red clay with a rough
by huge rocks. Although the complex phasing surface finishing, with a lip handle vertically
made it difficult to understand these micro- attached and a modelled anthropomorphic
scale changes, we were nonetheless able to face decoration applied on the opposite side),
reconstruct the long-term development of the a jar (technologically similar, with a uniform
building cluster. surface finishing, without decorations and
a thick soot layer on the outer face) and
numerous fragments of vessels with similar
characteristics. None of the pottery presents
Ancestors´ Materiality complex decoration nor does it correspond to
and Kinship Relations what is known as ‘fine’ craft for this period.
Charred wood was recovered from this level
This house also demonstrates the close and dated to 1799 ± 37 bp, Cal. ad 130 – 260,
relations between dwellers and their ancestors making it the earliest date for LB1–U14.
in quotidian life. There was an oval feature
located in the central portion of this open patio. The disposition of these materials provides
It was an underground bell shaped stone walled evidence for an intentional disturbing of the
chamber, with a false dome closure protruding earliest burial event, before the depositing the
30 centimetres above the occupational floor. final burial. Bone remains were disposed of next
This structure, called ‘Cista 1’, was identified as to the structure’s wall and the ceramic jar was
a cist, a typical tomb type in the first millennium found between the jaw and the cranium.
contexts of the Tafí Valley.
Archaeological traces registered in the burial
Upon first glance, the cist is seen as one single structure of household compound LB1–
feature, interpreted as an individual reference U14 allow the proposal that the burial was
made to a one household ancestor worshiped generated by many events of digging, opening,
Figure 10. Clay figurines representing animals, possibly
for different reasons (power, wealth or relations Andean domestic Camelids: Llamas. All of them were found depositing, firing, closing and burying, forming
accumulated in his/her life). This interpretation is usually in U14 patio occupational floor. They were fragmented in a material palimpsest. Although palimpsests are common
their neck and limb zones, maybe purposely broken before
made in similar cases. Nevertheless, the excavation their deposition. © Julián Salazar archaeological contexts, they are typically viewed as a
of this burial showed that it was the result of complex handicap, an unfortunate consequence of having to
depositional processes. Just after the cist closure was rely on a material record that is incomplete. Contrarily,
removed, about 30 cm below the patio occupational floor, fragments. Studies of the roots of the teeth and wear traces we highlight the informative capacity of this particular
a little figurine was detected. It was an anthropomorphic allowed this person to be identified as an adult. Hundreds mixture (Bailey, 2007; Lucas, 2005; Olivier, 2000). It shows
stone statuette whose face is interpreted to be a crying of unidentified little bone specimens were recovered from that the ancestors’ corpses were not socially dead: they
woman. A flaking negative in the lower portion of this the central area of the burial. Within this sediment, maize were continuously taken out from their tombs, showed,
artefact suggests that it was intentionally broken or ‘killed’ (Zea mays) and cucurbit (Cucurbita sp.) silicon phytoliths worshiped, fed and buried again. But even more, this
before the deposition. Next to the Level II base (80 cm where identified, and could be interpreted as the person’s archaeological bundle indicates that they were part of daily
below the occupational floor) we found human bone diet remains or as part of the burial offerings. The ceramic activities. The material configuration of the burial feature
remains, in very poor conservational condition (having bowl, disposed of horizontally, is a fine pottery vessel generated a permanent interaction with the living. It was
been affected by the high acidic soils), associated with a without decoration, which could be typologically dated to located in the centre of the house, a place of necessary
grey pottery bowl. Two cranial fragments and twelve teeth c. ad 500 – ad 900. Below this level, a thin layer of burnt passage, the locus where vital practices were carried out,
from the east portion of the cist were the only identifiable clay covered all the structure. After its removal we detected such as maize grinding and food storage. Major parts
219

of quotidian life took place there. Gillespie (2001) states

that the construction of social persons derives from acting
within a social context as part of an experience and daily
practices. This includes relations between people, both
death and alive, and groups and material objects. The
‘mortuary palimpsest’ analysed in LB1–U14 is precisely the
materialization of a particular practice that creates and
strengthens kinship relations through the interaction with
materiality referencing ancestors´ memory. These practices
related to death have a long duration, lasting from the first
centuries ad up to c. ad 850.
This particular interaction between living and dead people is

not limited to the presence of burial features within houses
but is also materialized in several monolithic references of
the corpses of ancestors called huancas. Monolithic stone
sculptures, which mix animal, anthropomorphic, phallic
and abstract features, appeared in several important places
of the Tafí Valley, as ceremonial mounds, house clusters
and crop-growing structures. These can be interpreted
as a variation of the Andean huanca myth, according to
which, after death some people were turned into stone,
maintaining all their living capabilities. These rocks, when
considered to be the ancestor, were believed to have
fertility power and therefore were located near fields.
They were also used as material marks of territoriality and
ownership of land and therefore associated with residence
places or critical resource locations (Duviols, 1979; García
Azcárate, 2000).
The mediation of ancestors and their materiality in the

negotiation of land, resources and decision-making
is a key aspect to understanding early village social
reproduction strategies in the Tafí Valley. The construction
of kin groups with high internal competitive identity is a
possible explanation for the formation of a complex society
with a lack of political centralization, a process that was
characteristic of the first millennium in this study area.
Tafi Valley Early Village Landscapes

on a Regional Scale
The general characteristics of spatial distribution of

dwellings, internal organization of activities and house
clusters and the importance of ancestors´ materiality in
Figure 11. A view within LB1-U14 patio. At first sight,

opened burial chamber. Behind, storage structure.
At the back, main wall and R1-R6 doorway. © Julián Salazar
220

6
the Tafi Valley support the argument that a patterned
archaeological landscape was the result of a situational
construction, shaped by household decision making and
spontaneous settlement growth, rather than a planned
communitarian dynamic. Almost all the inhabitable terraces
in the northern Tafí Valley, as well as those of other regional
valleys, are covered by spatially segregated residential
clusters. This seemingly dichotomous statement emphasizes
that on one hand, there was the need to share labour and
social relationships with the development of social codes in
creating homes and villages, and on the other hand people
needed to create individual space, separate from others.
So far this paper has examined a long-term perspective of

the household in the first millennium of the Christian Era,
with the aim of addressing the articulation between the
material settings of daily life and the social and economic
structure at a wider settlement and on a regional level.
Nevertheless, when we think of early village societies we
have to think of some kind of communities, which are
collectives broader than the aggregation of households.
We could think of communities, as according to Yaeger
and Canuto (2000), as an ever emergent social institution
that generates and is generated by supra-household
interactions that are structured and synchronized by a
set of places within a particular span of time. In these
terms several north-western Argentinian early village
communities seem to have been fluid and heterogeneous
collectives where decisions were not taken as result of
centralized organizations but from negotiation of a small
community of practices organized around quotidian space
and ancestor worship, that is to say, some kind of group
analogous to what we call households.
Similar situations can be found in other areas. In the Suni oasis,

Tebenquiche features a particular pattern where household
cells were built clearly spaced between themselves and each
one was associated with a single hydraulic irrigation network
which was fed by the main water course. This landscape was
interpreted as a fragmented communitarian setting where
decision making was managed on a household level (Haber,
2007; Quesada, 2006). Aldea Piedra Negra, in Laguna Blanca
presents an interesting case of negotiation where peasant
households had control of their productive infrastructure,
especially of their irrigation channels and networks, but in
this case the general supply of water had to be negotiated
Figure 12. Huancas of
and shared at the supra-household level (Delfino et al., 2012). Tafí Valley. Monolithic
stone sculptures
representing and
In the high valleys of Keshua, Morro Relincho (Bolsón Valley), believed to be the
household labour was not enough to carry out several tasks household ancestors’
corpses themselves.
and therefore several work sharing groups were formed, © Julián Salazar
221

but there was no hierarchy or managing elite (Quesada and clusters were characterized by an unplanned growing Bandy, M. S. 2001. Population and History in the Ancient
Korstanje, 2010). In the Cajón Valley, several conflicts were pattern, in which each residential unit was built and occupied Titicaca Basin. California, University of California.
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escalas sociales de la producción agrícola en el 1 er milenio DC G. Schachner, R. H. Wilshusen, and J. Allison (eds), Crucible of
(Tebenquiche Chico, Puna de Atacama). Estudios Atacameñs. Pueblos: the Early Pueblo Period in the Northern Southwest,
Arqueología y Antropología Surandinas 31: 31–46. Los Angeles, University of California Press, pp. 1–13.
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7
Regions where Agriculture was Introduced: North-West Europe

7 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced: North-West Europe
The Neolithisation of Britain and Ireland: the Arrival of

Immigrant Farmers from Continental Europe and its Impact
on Pre-existing Lifeways
Alison Sheridan
National Museums Scotland, UK
Abstract whether to adopt the new lifestyle or not, and in the case 2.9) by a stretch of water that is now 33.1 km (20.6 miles)
of the earliest dated domesticated animals in the archipelago wide at its narrowest point and which, at certain times and
Britain and Ireland, located in the north-west corner of (cattle at the Late Mesolithic camp site at Ferriter’s Cove, south- in certain areas, can be treacherous, is a major factor that has
Europe and separated from the Continent since the seventh west Ireland), it appears that the indigenous groups did not, arguably influenced the timing and nature of the process of
millennium bc by the sea (and much longer, in the case choosing instead to hunt and eat the farmers’ cattle. Other, Neolithisation in this north-west corner of Europe (cf. Garrow
of Ireland), were among the last areas in Europe where an later encounters between indigenous groups and immigrant and Sturt, 2011).
agricultural – more specifically, agro-pastoral – lifestyle became farmers seem to have resulted in a fairly rapid adoption of the
established. There was a gap of around a millennium between farming lifestyle and disappearance of subsistence strategies The current author has already set out her own, multi-strand
its appearance on the near Continent and its spread to that based solely on the use of wild resources. model for the Neolithisation of this archipelago (Figure
archipelago. The reason for this delay and the question of 1), and her critique of the other models, in considerable
agency in the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition (as well as the detail in previous publications (most recently Sheridan,
characterisation of the transition process) have long been 2011a, 2012, 2013, 2015; Sheridan and Pailler, 2011;
debated, even though all must agree that the domesticated Introduction Sheridan and Pétrequin, 2014), and so only a summary of
plants and animals involved – various kinds of wheat, barley, the main points will be repeated here. In order to facilitate
flax and probably some legumes, plus cattle, sheep, goats The question of how, when and why an agro-pastoral comparison with the process of Neolithisation elsewhere
and pigs – must have been imported in boats across the subsistence strategy and its associated way of life appeared around the world, which forms the topic of this overall
sea. Regarding agency, the debate revolves around whether in Britain and Ireland has long been discussed (for example, publication, it is proposed to present the evidence in terms
the prime movers for the change had been the indigenous Childe, 1925, 1940; Piggott, 1954), with the debate becoming of the ‘What?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’ and ‘Why and How?’
hunter-gatherer-fisher groups in Britain and Ireland, or else increasingly vigorous, intense and at times acrimonious over big questions, and to explore the various responses to these
immigrant farmers from various points along the coast of the past 15 years or so (for example, Thomas, 2013, 157–184; questions that have been proposed in the different current
northern and north-western France. This contribution sets Sheridan, 2015). At the heart of the matter is whether the models, explaining why the multi-strand model offers the
out the background, sketching a picture of fifth-millennium prime movers for this change were the indigenous hunter- best fit for the evidence. Underpinning all that is stated
Late Mesolithic communities in Britain and Ireland and of gatherer-fisher groups who had been present on these islands below is the conviction that we cannot understand the
contemporary farmers across the water, and examining the for millennia (for example, Thomas, 2013), or were small groups process in Britain and Ireland without first understanding:
processes of demographic and ideological change affecting of immigrant farmers from Continental Europe (for example, i) the nature of Late Mesolithic society and subsistence
those farmers which could have led to some groups choosing Sheridan, 2010a), although there are also a variety of views strategies in this archipelago and ii) late 5th and early 4th
to relocate, ending up in Britain and Ireland. It then outlines concerning the ‘When?’ and ‘Why?’ questions as well, with millennium developments in farming communities on the
the novelties which accompanied the establishment of an several models currently offering different perspectives on the near Continent, and so a brief consideration of these will
agro-pastoral lifestyle in Britain and Ireland – that is, a range matter (for example, Bonsall et al., 2002; Collard et al., 2010; be presented first.
of radically new, alien practices, traditions and technology that Tipping, 2010; Whittle et al., 2011). On one point, however, all
can be traced to the Continent – and reviews the chronology of must agree: the domesticated plants and animals that formed
the appearance of these novelties. The principal interpretative the basis of the agro-pastoral way of life in Britain and Ireland
models are then summarized. The author’s own model of a can only have arrived through being transported by boat, since The Background: Late Mesolithic
multi-strand process, featuring several episodes of small-scale the wild progenitors of most of the species in question do not Communities in Britain and Ireland, and
population movement from different parts of northern and exist there, and where they do (in the case of aurochsen in Developments on the Continent during
north-west France to different parts of Britain and Ireland Britain and boars in Britain and Ireland: Woodman, 2012, 15), the Second Half of the Fifth Millennium
between c. 4300 bc and c. 3800 bc, undertaken for different it is clear that the domestication process did not take place in to the Early Fourth Millennium bc
reasons and with differing outcomes, is presented as offering this archipelago (Bollongino et al., 2014). The fact that we are
the best fit with the currently-available data. In this model, the dealing with a set of islands, separated from the Continent Anyone who compares subsistence activities and lifestyles
indigenous groups are neither passive nor victims: they chose since the seventh millennium bc (Sturt, 2015, 20 and Figure between Britain and Ireland and the near Continent
226

The Neolithisation of Britain and Ireland:
the Arrival of Immigrant Farmers from Continental
7
Europe and its Impact on Pre-existing Lifeways
around 4500–4300 bc could not fail to be struck by

the contrast between the two. On the north side of the
English Channel, we are dealing with diverse and sparse
communities of mainly semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer-
fishers, whose subsistence strategies varied according to
their location (Saville, 2004). Thus, on the small island of
Oronsay in the Hebridean archipelago off the west coast
of Scotland, for example, we find small groups who
relied heavily on the exploitation of marine resources
(namely fish, shellfish and marine mammals) and who
also hunted wild deer, boar, other mammals and birds
and gathered wild plant resources, moving around the
island, and off the island, at different times in the year
as different resources became abundant (Mellars, 1987).
In Ireland, where the range of large mammals and fish
was narrow due to the island’s relatively early separation
from Britain and the Continent c. 12,000 bc (Woodman,
2012; Sturt, 2015), the exploitation of a few types of fish
and of eels appears to have formed a major component
of many communities’ subsistence strategies. Other Late
Mesolithic communities in Ireland had a different diet, as
reflected in the carbon and nitrogen isotopic signatures
of human bone from different areas (Meiklejohn
and Woodman, 2012), and dietary variability is also 1 2
attested in the equivalent data for Wales (Barton and
Roberts, 2004, 349), and will also have occurred among
communities in England (Milner et al., 2004).
In terms of the technology used by these indigenous

groups, pottery was wholly unknown, and the only
use of ground (as opposed to flaked) stone axeheads
comes from Ireland (Cooney et al., 2011) and from Nab
Head in south-west Wales (David and Walker, 2004,
325–327). The small-lithic assemblages in use in Britain
had diverged from their Continental counterparts from
the time of the formation of the Channel between
7000 and 6200 bc (Ghesquière and Marchand, 2011),
suggesting a probable rupture in inter-community
contacts between what is now England and what is now
France (but see below), and within Britain and Ireland a
Figure 1. The author’s model of the multi-strand nature of

the Neolithisation process (with the arrows representing the ?
direction of small-scale movements of immigrant farmers). 1: ?
?
‘False start’, from north-west France to south-west Ireland,
third quarter of fifth millennium bc ; 2. The Breton, Atlantic
façade Neolithic, from the Morbihan area of Brittany, arriving
along the west coast of Wales and Scotland and around the
northern coast of Ireland at some time between 4400/4300
bc and 4000/3900 bc ; 3. The Carinated Bowl Neolithic,
arriving from north France to various parts of eastern and
southern Britain between the 41st and 39th century bc ; 4.
‘Trans-Manche ouest’, from Normandy (and possibly north
Brittany) to south-west England, arriving some time between 3 4
4100/4000 bc and 3800 bc . © Alison Sheridan
227

and the Continental coast between the Seine and the

Netherlands (Anderson-Whymark et al., 2015); and,
most controversially, right across the Continent from
Bouldnor, off the Isle of Wight, to the Mediterranean
(Gaffney et al., 2015; Smith et al., 2015 and see below).
However, overall the overwhelming impression is of
communities that are both literally and metaphorically
insular, lacking extensive networks of contacts and cut
off from developments on the Continent, separated by
the sea even though some groups were clearly capable
of sailing in deep waters, as the Manx (Isle of Man)-
Irish connection implies (McCartan, 2004). As for their
treatment of the dead, while relatively little is known
about Late Mesolithic funerary practices, it is clear
that these included deposition in caves (Meiklejohn
and Woodman, 2012; Meiklejohn et al., 2011) and on
Oronsay, exposure on platforms constructed on shell
middens (Meiklejohn et al., 2005; Mellars, 1987). There
was no use of funerary monuments and indeed, no
monumental architecture relating to the Late Mesolithic
inhabitants of Britain and Ireland can be identified.
In contrast, across the Channel in northern and north-

west France, by 4500 bc agro-pastoral farming had
been established for well over half a millennium (Allard,
2007; Ghesquière and Marcigny, 2011), having spread
westwards as part of a late expansion of an ultimately
Figure 2. Reconstruction images of Early Neolithic houses Danubian agro-pastoral tradition, and northwards into
associated with the Carinated Bowl Neolithic tradition. Top:
large (23 x 10.4 m/75.5 x 34.5 ft) communal house at Doon southern Armorica, north-west France, as part of an
Hill, East Lothian, Scotland, shown being burnt down before Atlantic expansion (Marchand, 2007). By 4500 bc , a
its occupants ‘budded off’ to establish smaller households.
(Reproduced by courtesy of Historic Scotland: Crown distinctive and highly socially-differentiated society had
copyright). Left: example of a ‘normal’-sized house (c. 12 x emerged in the Morbihan region of Brittany (Cassen
7m/39.5 x 23 ft), probably built for a single family: Llandygai,
north-west Wales. (Reproduced by courtesy of the Clwyd- et al., 2012) and its emergence relates to the selective
Powys Archaeological Trust). © Alison Sheridan adoption of elements of the agro-pastoral lifestyle by
fisher-hunter-gatherer communities. The theocratic
Big Men who controlled these communities were
responsible for the construction of enormous standing
stones and gigantic funerary mounds (the Carnac
marked contrast can be seen between the Late Mesolithic the more substantial structures of the Early Mesolithic mounds), and they obtained exotic items from as far away
assemblages from Ireland and the Isle of Man on the one (for example, Howick, Northumberland: Waddington, as the north Italian Alps (namely axeheads of jadeitite, a
hand, with their distinctive broad, butt-trimmed flakes 2007) – but who were moving around smaller territories tough metamorphic rock) and northern Spain (beads of
(Woodman, 2012), and those on the larger landmass than had been the case during the preceding millennia variscite, a type of gemstone, and axeheads of fibrolite,
of Britain on the other, along with variability within the (Barton and Roberts, 2004; Warren, 2015). There was a a metamorphic rock: ibid.). These inhabitants of the
British material (Warren, 2015). Regarding raw material certain amount of inter-group interaction, as reflected Morbihan had a long tradition of sailing in deep waters,
procurement strategies, commentators have noted that for example in the commonality of the lithic toolkit in and it is likely that the links with Iberia were effected
there appears to be a greater use of local raw materials Ireland and the Isle of Man (McCartan, 2004) and in the through long-distance sailing across (or around) the Bay
in parts of Late Mesolithic Britain and Ireland than had movement of seashells and certain stone types between of Biscay (ibid.; Herbaut and Querré, 2004).
been the case in preceding millennia (for example, coastal and inland southern Britain (Barton and Roberts,
Woodman, 2012, 31). This pattern is consistent with a 2004, 351, 352). There have also been claims for long- Over the course of the second half of the fifth
model of groups that were highly mobile – as reflected distance Late Mesolithic links, within Ireland (Kador, millennium and the beginning of the fourth, these
in their lightly-built dwelling structures, contrasting with 2007); along the Channel coast between the Scilly Isles diverse communities in northern and north-west France
228

7
Figure 3. Reconstruction image

of a non-megalithic monument
belonging to the Carinated Bowl
Neolithic tradition, showing a
rectangular mortuary structure,
fronted by a deep façade, before
the structure and the area behind
were sealed by a long barrow:
Street House, North Yorkshire.
Reproduced by courtesy of Blaise
Vyner and the Prehistoric Society.
© Alison Sheridan
underwent changes that were to have a profound may, in part, be due to seismic activity which could
influence on the Neolithisation process in Britain and have caused the toppling and breakage of several large The ‘What?’ (and ‘Where?’)
Ireland. In the Paris Basin, a process of landscape infilling standing stones (Bonniol and Cassen, 2009, 697). Parts of the Mesolithic–Neolithic Transition
due to population growth appears to have led to social of those stones were then deliberately reused in passage in Britain and Ireland
stress (as reflected in the construction of defensive sites) tombs – a new style of funerary monument – and it has
and ultimately to a degree of population movement, both been argued that the male-orientated system of power, To cut a very long story short, this transition involved, on
westwards towards Normandy (Ghesquière and Marcigny, with its explicit phallic symbolism, gave place to one in the one hand, the appearance, from the near Continent, of
2011) and north-eastwards, towards the Low Countries which female concepts of fertility were promoted and a novel resource base – domesticated plants and animals,
and quite possibly beyond (Jeunesse, 1998; Crombé symbolized (Cassen, 2001). Further north, in Normandy, plus the knowhow to manage them – along with a variety
and Vanmontfort, 2007; Louwe Kooijmans, 2007). This it has been argued that the process of population growth of novel practices, beliefs and traditions and a wholly new
appears to have taken place during the currency of and stress that had previously occurred in the Paris Basin technology (namely pottery manufacture); and, on the
Chassey and early Michelsberg-type pottery, and to the occurred there as well between 4500 bc and 3800 bc , other hand, the disappearance of lifestyles based solely
north-east of the Paris Basin the pottery that was made as reflected once more in the construction of overtly on exploiting wild resources. As will be seen below, these
by these putative emigrants combines both Chasséen defensive structures, and that this was followed, around processes of appearance and disappearance were neither
and Michelsberg elements (as seen, for example, in the 3800 bc, by a significant change, possibly involving some simple nor synchronous in different areas; arriving at an
Spiere Group in Belgium: Vanmontfort, 2001). In some emigration (Ghesquière and Marcigny, 2011; Marcigny et agreed characterization of what actually happened, and
areas the appearance of these new settlers represents a al., 2007, 93). how, remains a highly contentious matter.
re-Neolithisation of the landscape, following the initial,
much earlier establishment of farming during the late It is against this background of change in northern and As for the domesticated plants and animals that must
sixth or early fifth millennium (Crombé and Sergant, 2008; north-west France, and apparent insularity and regional have been brought over in boats – as seed corn and as
Crombé and Vanmontfort, 2007; Louwe Kooijmans, diversity in Late Mesolithic Britain and Ireland, that the immature creatures – the former comprise various types
2007). Meanwhile, in the Morbihan, during the third spread of ‘Neolithic things and practices’ (to use a term of wheat (namely emmer, Triticum dicoccum, einkorn,
quarter of the fifth millennium, the theocratic Big Man- employed by Whittle et al., 2011) across the sea is to be Triticum monococcum L. and naked or bread wheat,
type social system appears to have collapsed – and this understood. Triticum aestivum/durum/turgidum L.) and of barley
229

(namely naked, Hordeum vulgare var. nudum, and

hulled, Hordeum vulgare L.), along with flax (Linum
usitatissimum L.) and probably also some cultivated
legumes (Bishop et al., 2009; Jones and Rowley-Conwy,
2007; McClatchie et al., 2014; Whitehouse et al., 2014).
A further imported species – the grape (Vitis vinifera) –
is represented by a single pip found at the causewayed
enclosure at Hambledon Hill in Dorset (radiocarbon
dated to several generations after the first appearance
of other domesticates), and provides a tantalizing hint
of possible viticulture in southern England, although not
necessarily for making wine (Jones and Legge, 1987;
Whittle et al., 2011, 130). The novel animal species are
domesticated cattle, sheep, goat and pigs, with cattle
bones predominating in many faunal assemblages
(Tresset, 2003).
The co-occurrence of cereals and domesticated animal

bones at many sites suggests that a mixed agro-
pastoral regime was followed, and detailed studies of
the use of cereals in Neolithic Britain and Ireland have
concluded that, rather than practising mobile, slash-
and-burn agriculture as had previously been claimed
(for example, Thomas, 1999, 23–32), the farmers
cultivated crops in small, fixed fields, close to their houses
(Bogaard and Jones, 2007; McClatchie et al., 2012).
This accords with the conclusion drawn from a detailed
palaeoenvironmental study associated with a large, Early
Neolithic house at Warren Field, Crathes, Aberdeenshire,
near the east coast of Scotland (Lancaster et al., 2009). As
for animal husbandry practices, the analysis of absorbed
lipids in pottery has shown that, as a food source,
cattle were exploited not only for their meat but also
for their milk from at least as early as the early fourth
millennium bc (Cramp et al., 2014), and there are hints
that transhumance was practised in some areas, as in
Glendaruel in western Scotland, where small upland hut-
like structures may represent summer shielings (huts used
when pasturing animals) (Sheridan, 2013). There are also
indications that in some areas, cattle herding became
a key element, if not the mainstay, of the subsistence
economy: in County Mayo, north-west Ireland, it has
been claimed that a huge field system was established
during the first half of the fourth millennium, designed to
manage and optimize grazing (Caulfield, 1988; Caulfield
et al., 2010; Whittle et al., 2011, 615–625. See, however,
Whitefield 2017 for a proposed re-dating of this field
system to the Bronze Age). That cattle were not simply a
food resource but were important in the maintenance of Figure 4. Two-phase Breton-style megalithic monument at Achnacreebeag, Argyll & Bute, western Scotland: polygonal closed
social relationships – through feasting – is reflected in the chamber (featured in photograph) with added simple passage tomb. Map shows distribution of similar megalithic monuments,
and area of origin. Photograph: the late J N Graham Ritchie; plan: RCAHMS, reproduced courtesy of the Society of Antiquaries of
abundance and numerical predominance of their remains Scotland; map: based on original by Frances Lynch. © Alison Sheridan
230

7
in the faunal assemblages of Early Neolithic as sturdily constructed, however: other, more
causewayed enclosures (Whittle et al., 2011). lightly-built structures (some circular, some
Anne Tresset’s study of the kill-off patterns in trapezoidal) could, as indicated above, have
these assemblages shows a marked similarity been used as seasonal accommodation during
in herd management strategies with the transhumance (ibid., 294).
users of similar enclosures in northern France
(Tresset, 2003; Tresset and Vigne, 2007). • The use of funerary monuments, indicating
a concern with commemorating the dead
Hunting of wild animals, and foraging for wild (or rather, certain dead individuals) and with
plant resources, was clearly an integral part of memorializing, and maintaining links with,
the subsistence strategy of these early farmers, the ancestors. These take different forms in
as it had been on the Continent (Bishop et different parts of Britain and Ireland. A non-
al., 2009; Sheridan, 2007, 451 and Figure 5, megalithic tradition appeared over much of
2011b). And just as fishing and the exploitation eastern and parts of southern Britain, south-
of marine mammals had not formed part of west Scotland and north-east Ireland, the
the subsistence strategies of farmers in late elements of which comprised:
fifth millennium northern and north-west
France (except perhaps in the Morbihan • i) the use of rectangular timber mortuary
(Schulting, 2011, 28) and, it would appear, at structures, in which the dead were laid out
the causewayed enclosure at Escalles, Pas-de- – presumably until some decomposition had
Calais (Praud, 2015), so it was among the early occurred (Figure 3). Often these structures were
farming communities in Britain and Ireland. burnt down, and covered by long rectangular
This includes communities who lived on the or circular earthen or stone mounds, with
coast, as Richards and Schulting’s isotope- concave forecourts, that sealed the deposits
based dietary studies (for example, Richards (Kinnes, 1992; Sheridan, 2010a). At Eweford,
and Schulting, 2006; Schulting, 2013) and East Lothian, Scotland, two such mortuary
Lucy Cramp et al.’s lipid analyses of Neolithic structures had been built and burnt before the
pottery have shown (Cramp et al., 2014.). mound was erected (Lelong and MacGregor,
2008, 21–31);
Growing crops and herding animals would
have represented wholly alien subsistence • ii) the construction of long, rectangular
practices when compared with those followed enclosures, resembling the outer edge of long
by the indigenous Late Mesolithic communities barrows, which may well have been used as
of Britain and Ireland (Schulting, 2013). They mortuary enclosures for laying out the dead
Figure 5. Plan of partly drystone-built simple passage tomb at Broadsands, Devon.
would have required the transformation of the Drawn by Floss Wilkins on basis of original excavator’s plan. © Alison Sheridan
(for example, Inchtuthil, Perth and Kinross,
landscape through forest clearance (to create Scotland: Barclay and Maxwell, 1991);
cultivation plots and pastures) and would have
dictated a greater degree of sedentism than had • The use of rectangular or square, timber-built • iii) the use of open air cremation pyres for the
been the case with the Mesolithic lifestyle (Rowley-Conwy, houses, designed for year-round occupation (Figure apparently simultaneous cremation of several
2004). 2) (Sheridan, 2013; Smyth, 2014). The earliest examples individuals, which were then sealed over by
of these are enormous, with the largest (at Carnoustie, round mounds (Sheridan, 2010b); and
As indicated above, these new subsistence resources and Angus, Scotland) being 35.5 x 7.7 to 9.35 m (c. 116 x c.
practices were not the only novelties to appear on the 25 to 31 feet; Pitts 2017; Bailie, pers. comm.) in size; as • iv) a rectangular sub-surface timber chamber,
scene. A whole range of other new Continental practices, discussed elsewhere (Sheridan, 2013), these could have used to inter a single individual, found at Yabsley
objects and traditions appeared that indicate a radically housed pioneering groups of immigrant farmers, who Street, London (Coles et al., 2008). (Note that
different lifestyle (or lifestyles), identity, social organization, lived together until they felt sufficiently well established non-megalithic funerary practices also included
ways of making sense of the world and of dealing with to bud off into smaller, single-family houses. Both the the placing of bodies in caves and rivers, in
the dead, from those that characterized the indigenous large and the smaller houses would also have served as various parts of Britain and Ireland (Dowd,
communities of Britain and Ireland. These novelties may statements of identity, differentiating their inhabitants 2008; Milner and Craig, 2009, tables 15.3, 15.4;
be summarized as follows: from the hunter-gatherer-fishers who lived in temporary Schulting, 2009; Schulting et al., 2013); the
encampments. Not all the new dwelling structures were deposition of human remains as a foundation
231

deposit under a house at Yarnton, Oxfordshire

(Hey and Barclay, 2007, 413); and even the
deposition of cremated remains in a logboat,
at Old Parkbury Farm, St. Albans, Hertfordshire
(Niblett, 2001, 159). These locales arguably
do not fall under the category of ‘funerary
monuments’, however.)
• Megalithic (and drystone-built) funerary monuments

are also known from the Early Neolithic period, and these
show marked variability in different parts of Britain and
Ireland. Arguably the earliest of these are the polygonal
closed chambers and simple passage tombs (Figure 4)
of the Atlantic fringe of Britain and Ireland, as discussed
below (and at length elsewhere, for example, Sheridan
and Pailler, 2011). Other versions of these monument
shapes, built wholly or partly in dry stone and surrounded
by small round mounds, constitute the earliest funerary
monuments in south-west England (Figure 5; Darvill,
2004, 60–66, 2010; Sheridan, 2011b; Sheridan et al.,
2008; cf. Scarre, 2015), and their relationship with
the Atlantic façade megaliths is discussed below. Also
present, and associated with the earliest evidence of
a ‘Neolithic’ presence in south-east England, is a small
group of chamber tombs, the ‘Medway group’, at and
around Coldrum in Kent, south-east England (Whittle
et al., 2011, 381–3). The best-preserved example, at
Coldrum, consists of a single, above-ground rectangular
chamber surrounded by a rectangular setting of sarsen
stones, and like many non-megalithic monuments, this
chamber tomb was used communally, to house several
individuals. Other kinds of Early Neolithic megalithic
chamber tomb represent subsequent developments of the
earliest Neolithic monument types. Thus, for example, a
process of translation into stone of the rectangular timber
mortuary structure can be seen in south-west Scotland,
with the earliest versions featuring simple rectangular
stone chambers associated with round or trapezoidal
mounds (as, for example, at Mid Gleniron (Henshall,
1972, Figure 2) and Cairnholy II respectively, Dumfries
and Galloway: Figure 6) and slightly later versions, from c.
3700 bc, featuring segmented chambers associated with
rectangular or trapezoidal cairns. The latter are known
as ‘Clyde cairns’ (ibid., 15–110) and their congeners in
the northern half of Ireland are known as ‘court tombs’
(Cooney, 2000; Schulting et al., 2012). A further example Figure 6. Cairnholy II, south-west Scotland: monument showing translation into
stone of the rectangular timber mortuary structure format. Also shown is a
of a monument type that may represent a different variant fragment of a deliberately broken and burnt axehead made of jadeitite from
of the same phenomenon of translation into stone, this Mont Viso, Northern Italy, found in the ‘antechamber’ area, and reconstruction
of a ‘traditional Carinated Bowl’ vessel whose sherds had been found in the
time featuring the use of a gigantic capstone (the latter forecourt. © Alison Sheridan
232

7
perhaps inspired by the massive capstones of the Atlantic

façade polygonal chambers), is the portal tomb, found
around the Irish Sea (Cummings and Whittle, 2004;
Sheridan, 2003). The radiocarbon dating of human
remains from Poulnabrone portal tomb in County Clare,
in the west of Ireland, indicate that it must have been
constructed early in the fourth millennium (Lynch, 2014)
and this particular monument appears to pre-date court
tombs. Space does not permit a discussion of other
megalithic monument types that emerged during the
first half of the fourth millennium, such as the Severn-
Cotswold tombs of southern England (Bayliss and
Whittle, 2007; Whittle et al., 2011).
• The use of causewayed (and other)

enclosures – large enclosures whose
construction would have involved collaboration
by many communities, and whose various
functions will no doubt have included periodic
gatherings involving large numbers of people.
As Whittle et al.’s magisterial study of Early
Neolithic enclosures has demonstrated (2011,
chapter 14), there seems to be a chronological
gap between the first appearance of Neolithic
‘things and practices’ and the construction
of these enclosures, although the example
at Magheraboy in County Sligo, north-west
Ireland, may be the exception, with its early
dates (ibid., 574–585).
• The use of pottery (Figure 7) – a wholly

novel and alien technology as far as the
Mesolithic inhabitants of Britain and Ireland
were concerned. As explained in considerable
detail elsewhere (for example, Sheridan, 2007,
2010a, 2011b), there is variability in the
earliest Neolithic pottery in different parts of
Britain and Ireland, with three different French
ceramic traditions being represented, namely:
• Breton Middle Neolithic II Late Castellic

pottery (and associated Breton-style
pottery): this is represented at the
Atlantic megalithic simple passage
tomb of Achnacreebeag, on the west
coast of Scotland (Sheridan, 2010a);
Figure 7. Early Neolithic pottery whose origins lie in three different traditions in northern and north-west France. Top left:
Breton, Late Castellic style bowl from Achnacreebeag, western Scotland. (Photo: National Museums Scotland). Top right: pottery
• The Middle Neolithic II Chasséo- found beside the Sweet Track wooden trackway (built 3807/3806 bc ), and arguably relating to the Middle Neolithic II pottery in
use in Normandy. (Drawing reproduced by courtesy of John and Bryony Coles). Bottom: examples of vessel forms in the Chasséo-
Michelsberg tradition, whose Michelsberg, Carinated Bowl repertoire. (Drawings mostly by Marion O’Neil.) © Alison Sheridan
233

expression in Britain and Ireland is

known as Carinated Bowl pottery
(Sheridan, 2007). It is suspected
that in northern France and Belgium
several regional and local variants
of the Chasséo-Michelsberg ‘mix’
existed (such as the Spiere Group in
Belgium: Vanmontfort, 2001), and
that the area where the British and
Irish variant developed is most likely
to be found in the Nord-Pas de Calais
region of northern France (Sheridan
and Pailler, 2011). Support for this
view comes from recent discoveries at
the causewayed enclosure at Escalles,
Pas-de-Calais, within sight of the
English coast (Praud, 2015; see also
Philippe et al., 2011 on similar pottery
from elsewhere in this region). The
Escalles ceramic repertoire, like that
of Carinated Bowl pottery, is notable
for the absence of several features
(including the use of flat ‘baking
plates’) that are a feature of Chasséo-
Michelsberg pottery elsewhere. The
Carinated Bowl ceramic tradition is
found over much (but by no means
all) of England, parts of Wales and
Scotland, and much of Ireland; this is
the type of pottery found in the non-
megalithic funerary monuments (and
in some of the megalithic monuments)
mentioned above; and
• The Middle Neolithic II pottery of

Lower Normandy and northern
Brittany, found in south-west England
and associated (inter alia) with the
drystone closed chambers and simple
passage tombs (Sheridan, 2011b).
This pottery has been confused with
Carinated Bowl pottery (for example, Figure 8. Selection of
Neolithic stone artefacts.
by Whittle et al., 2011, 516, repeated Top: flint items including
by Anderson-Whymark and Garrow, leaf-shaped flint arrowheads
and plano-convex knife
2015, 71) and this is doubtless due (reproduced from Warren,
to the fact that superficially similar 2006, courtesy of Graeme
Warren); bottom: axe with
vessels of carinated bowl shape were ground stone axehead of
made both in the Middle Neolithic porcellanite from north-east
Ireland, found at Shulishader
II repertoire in Normandy and on the Outer Hebridean island
north Brittany and in the Chasséo- of Lewis, Scotland. © National
Museums Scotland.
Michelsberg repertoire further along
234

7
the Channel coast. This is because both

traditions had been influenced by Paris
Basin Chassey pottery (as discussed in
Sheridan, 2011b, 29). Nevertheless,
some clear differences can be made out
between the earliest Neolithic pottery of
south-west England and the Carinated
Bowl tradition pottery found elsewhere
in Britain and Ireland, including the
occasional use (as at the Sweet Track,
Somerset, south-west England) of a
specific technique of applying a carbon-
based paint to the outside of pots to
create a waterproof, shiny black coating
(Coles and Orme, 1984, 44).
• The use of new styles of lithic artefact, of new

styles of knapping, and the extensive use of ground
stone axeheads (Figure 8). The new styles of lithic
artefact include leaf-shaped arrowheads, plano-convex
knives and various scrapers, along with a range of novel
shapes for stone and flint axeheads. The new knapping
styles included the use of both platform and bipolar core
reduction routines (Warren, 2006) and, with the exception
of some pitchstone blades (which are suspected to have
been special-purpose artefacts: Ballin, 2011; Sheridan,
2007), the production of microliths is not a characteristic
feature of Early Neolithic lithic artefact production, in
contrast to Late Mesolithic knapping traditions over
much of Britain (for example, at Fir Tree Field Shaft,
Dorset: Allen and Green, 1998; Whittle et al., 2011,
152, 155). The most spectacular novel lithic artefacts
are the ground and polished axeheads of Alpine jadeitite
and other Alpine stones (Figure 9), which had originated
up to 1800 km (c. 1100 miles) away in the north Italian
Alps but which were brought to Britain and Ireland by
the farmers from locations along the northern coast of
France, as old and treasured heirlooms (Sheridan et al.,
2010; 2011; Sheridan and Pailler, 2012; Pétrequin et al.,
Figure 9. Selection of axeheads made of jadeitite from the

North Italian Alps, brought to Britain by immigrant farmers
from northern France. Top, left to right: Greenlaw, Scottish
Borders, Scotland; Monzievaird, Perth & Kinross, Scotland;
Breamore, Hampshire, England. Bottom: Sweet Track,
Somerset, England. Bottom right: the Sweet Track axehead
in situ beside a wooden trackway constructed 3807/3806 bc .
Note: the Breamore and Sweet Track axeheads had had their
shape modified in the Morbihan area of Brittany before they
arrived in England. Photographs at top: National Museums
Scotland; Sweet Track axehead photograph: Pierre Pétrequin
for Projet JADE; bottom right: John and Bryony Coles.
© Alison Sheridan
235

2013). These were not utilitarian axeheads, but instead the underground was a liminal location, associated with The earliest indubitable evidence for the presence of any
were probably regarded as sacred and talismanic objects, supernatural forces (Topping, 2005). ‘Neolithic’ trait in Britain and Ireland comes from seven
capable of protecting their owners. The depositional bones of domestic cattle, found in a Late Mesolithic coastal
practices associated with these axeheads echo those seen campsite at Ferriter’s Cove in County Kerry, south-west
on the Continent, with many taking place in wetland Ireland (Woodman and McCarthy, 2003; Woodman et al.,
locations (as was the case with the famous Sweet Track, • The establishment of extensive networks of contacts, 1999). One of these bones has produced a radiocarbon
Somerset axehead, deposited beside a wooden trackway over which raw materials, artefacts, ideas and no doubt date of 5510±70 bp (OxA-3869, 4500-4180 cal bc at
constructed in 3807/3806 bc: Figure 9, bottom). Some people travelled and were exchanged. Once again, this had 95.4% probability: Sheridan, 2010a, 90; Woodman et
had been deliberately broken and/or burnt before been a feature of the Middle Neolithic II on the far side of al., 1999, 219); an earlier date from another bone has
deposition (as with the fragment deposited in the the English Channel, and had not been a feature of Late been rejected as it was determined from charred bone,
antechamber to the simple chamber tomb at Cairnholy, Mesolithic groups in Britain and Ireland, (pace Anderson- a notoriously unreliable source of radiocarbon dates.
Dumfries and Galloway: Figure 6); it is as though there Whymark et al., 2015). As noted above, the only way that domesticated cattle
was a necessity to return these axeheads to the realm of could have appeared in Ireland and Britain was by their
the gods and ancestors, whence they were believed to physical import in a boat, either as livestock or, as some
have originated. have suggested for Ferriter’s Cove (for example, Thomas,
The ‘When?’ of the Transition 2013, 267, repeated by Anderson-Whymark and Garrow,
2015, 67), as joints of meat – presumably preserved in
As indicated above, the appearance of these novelties was some manner, to survive the long sea journey. Either way,
• A strategy of resource procurement which featured, not simultaneous – and indeed in some areas, including the cattle are most likely to have come from north-west
in addition to the use of local resources, the targeting the Northern Isles of Scotland, the earliest appearance France, probably Armorica.
and exploitation, in some cases on a large scale, of of Neolithic traits seems to have related to a secondary
specific rock types such as pitchstone (a kind of expansion from within Britain (Sheridan, 2014). There is no consensus on what constitutes the next earliest
obsidian) from the Isle of Arran in Scotland (Ballin, evidence for the presence of any Neolithic traits in Britain
2011; 2015), Antrim flint and south coast English flint Several models for the appearance of ‘Neolithic things and Ireland, since not all commentators accept the current
(Barber et al., 1999, 69; Saville, 1999; Topping, 2004), and practices’ exist (as recently reviewed in Sheridan and author’s argument for a Breton, Atlantic façade strand of
tuff from Great Langdale in north-west England (Davis Pétrequin, 2014). Regarding the very earliest appearance Neolithisation arriving at some point between 4400/4300
and Edmonds, 2011) and porcellanite (a blackish-blue of any ‘Neolithic’ trait, a claim has recently been made – as bc and 4000/3900 bc (and quite possibly towards the end
metamorphic rock) from Tievebulliagh and Rathlin Island noted above – for the presence of einkorn wheat as early of this date range). This strand is represented by the use of
in north-east Ireland (Cooney and Mandal, 1998; Cooney as c. 6000 bc, at a submerged site, Bouldnor Cliff, off the closed megalithic chambers and simple megalithic passage
et al., 2011). The mode of extraction (for all materials Isle of Wight on the southern coast of England (Gaffney et tombs, associated with Late Castellic and related pottery
except, arguably, pitchstone) included quarrying and, al., 2015; Smith et al., 2015). This is some two millennia (Sheridan, 2010a; 2012; Sheridan and Pailler, 2011;
in southern England, the opening of flint mines (Barber earlier than the appearance of cereal grains in Britain and Sheridan and Pétrequin, 2014). The absence of directly-
et al., 1999, 69; Topping, 2004; Whittle et al., 2011, four centuries earlier than the appearance of cereal grains dated material for this phenomenon in Britain and Ireland
255–62) – once again, practices that were wholly alien on the near Continent and has, predictably, proved to be a means that dating currently has to rely on comparison with
to the Mesolithic lifestyle. The products travelled over highly controversial claim. It is based on sedimentary ancient the well-dated sequence for Late Castellic monuments and
considerable distances. The reasons for targeting these DNA, rather than on the presence of actual cereal grains, material culture at Locmariaquer in the Morbihan area
specific resources were not solely related to the functional and its dating is based on radiocarbon dates on wood and of Brittany – the likely area of origin for this strand of
quality of the raw material. As argued elsewhere, the plant remains from sediment cores. The authors posit that Neolithisation. Cassen et al. (2009, 761, Figure 13) have
beliefs and mythology surrounding the use of Alpine the wheat arrived through long-distance contacts between modelled the dates for this as lying between 4400/4300
axeheads – ‘green treasures from the magic mountains far the Mesolithic inhabitants of what is now Britain and the cal bc and 3900 cal bc (the use of italics indicating that
away’ (Sheridan et al., 2011) – may well have motivated users of Cardial Impressed Ware pottery, perhaps as far these are Bayesian-modelled date estimates) and an
individuals to seek out stone, preferably green in colour, away as the Mediterranean. If this wholly remarkable claim additional source of dating for the specific type of Late
from mountains since such locations were believed to be for a hitherto unprecedented long-distance connection is Castellic pot found at Achnacreebeag comes from the
liminal between the world of the living and the world of correct – and in order to validate it, far more substantive, dating of human remains from a drystone simple passage
the gods and ancestors, and hence any stone from those well-dated evidence is required – then it would indeed shed tomb at Vierville, Normandy, where a strikingly similar pot
locations would be imbued with supernatural power new light on the activities of Mesolithic communities around was found. These dates lie between c. 4300 bc and c. 4050
(ibid.). Similarly, while it was not necessary to sink deep 6000 bc. The total absence of evidence for the use of bc (Scarre, 2015, 81, Figure 6.3). However, Whittle et al.
shafts to obtain flint for making axeheads, there had cereals elsewhere in Mesolithic Britain and Ireland suggests (2011, 850) chose to remodel the Locmariaquer dating
been a tradition of mining for flint in northern France that even if there had been this precocious use of wheat evidence to argue that Late Castellic pottery did not go
and the Low Countries and, as with mountains and other around 6000 bc, it certainly did not herald the start of cereal out of use there until 4120–3610 cal bc and, by extension,
unusual locations, there may well have been a belief that agriculture in this archipelago. to imply that it (and its associated monuments) did not
236

7
Figure 10. Whittle et al.’s model

of the Neolithisation of Britain
and Ireland, from Whittle et al.,
2011, reproduced courtesy of
Alasdair Whittle.
© Alison Sheridan
237

appear in Britain and Ireland until the first half of the took place, once again there is debate, a lack of consensus, domestic cattle bones at Ferriter’s Cove; the claim for fifth-
fourth millennium. This somewhat arbitrary reworking of and a need for new information. It is hard to identify any millennium bc cereal-type pollen around the Irish Sea; and
the French data ignores the fact, however, that decorated sites or assemblages that are purely ‘Mesolithic’ in nature also Alpine axeheads, which are known to have been made
closed bipartite bowls that are clearly derived from the which date much beyond 3900/3800 bc (Charlton et al., (and in some cases modified) during the second half of
Late Castellic tradition have been found in Clyde cairns 2016; Milner, 2010). The impression that the lifestyles of the fifth millennium (ibid., 266–267, 273–283). Thomas
and court tombs in Scotland and Ireland (for example, at the indigenous inhabitants of Britain and Ireland were argues that, as a result of these claimed interactions and
Blasthill, south-west Scotland: Cummings and Robinson, being transformed shortly after the beginning of the growing familiarity with farming lifestyles on the near
2015), and so a terminus ante quem of at least as early as fourth millennium is reinforced by the isotopic evidence for Continent, some Mesolithic communities were ‘developing
the thirty-seventh century bc exists for the Achnacreebeag diet in human remains (Schulting, 2013), which suggests an interest in the accumulation of collective property’
pottery from its simple megalithic passage tomb. Likewise, a cessation in the exploitation of marine resources, at (ibid., 423). This trend continued, with indigenous groups
the set of radiocarbon dates recently obtained for finds least for some considerable time, around that point (cf. selectively adopting certain subsistence practices, artefact
from the Atlantic-style megalithic tombs in the cemetery Milner, 2010). That said, there is a pressing need for more types, practices and traditions from the Continent, filtering
at Carrowmore, County Sligo, in north-west Ireland, radiocarbon dates for Late Mesolithic material in general, and recombining them in an insular manner, to create
provide a terminus ante quem for the construction of and a need for the reassessment and better dating of shell cultural bricolage (ibid., 424). Finally, during the 40th and/
these monuments of 3775–3520 cal bc (Hensey and Bergh, middens, some of which have produced fourth millennium or 39th centuries bc ‘some component of the change from
2013). The current author stands by her claim that the or later dates, and some of which include the remains of Mesolithic to Neolithic was not only relatively swift, but
Breton, Atlantic façade strand of Neolithisation could have domesticated animals (for example, Dalkey Island, on the was fully understood by the participants at a discursive
arrived during the last quarter of the fifth millennium or at east coast of Ireland, where a sheep humerus from a low level. In other words, there must have been an active
the very beginning of the fourth. level has produced a radiocarbon date calibrated to 4040– decision to ‘become Neolithic’ (whatever that entailed)...
3640 cal bc: Woodman et al., 1997, 138). Such sites may What this probably involved was an identity process, in
While there remains disagreement about exactly what had arguably reflect the acculturation process. which a social group resolved to immerse itself in one
arrived in Britain and/or Ireland before 4000 bc, there is network of contacts and relationships, while relinquishing
consensus about the presence of at least some ‘Neolithic’ another: ceasing to ‘be Mesolithic’’ (ibid., 425). While some
traits around 4000 bc. Collard et al.’s model (2010), based movement of individuals from the Continent to Britain and
solely on the examination of radiocarbon dates in isolation, Narratives for the Mesolithic–Neolithic Ireland is accepted within Thomas’ model, immigration of
concluded that ‘the Neolithic’ (in the form of immigrant Transition: Differing Perspectives farming groups is not regarded as being the key reason for
farmers) arrived first in Wiltshire and the surrounding the change of lifestyle.
counties of southern England around 4000 bc, and then As suggested above, several models are currently in play
in Scotland around 3900 bc. The obvious flaws in their to account for the changes sketched above. So much A slightly more prominent role for immigrant farmers is,
model have recently been explained in detail (Sheridan and ink has recently been used to present and debate these however, proposed by Whittle et al., (2011). As noted
Pétrequin, 2014), so the critique will not be repeated here. models that one recent commentator has rightly referred above, according to their model, small groups crossed
to ‘transition fatigue’ among readers (Anderson–Whymark the Channel from northern France at its narrowest point
On the basis of the existing radiocarbon dating evidence – and Garrow, 2015, 66). For that reason, and because the during the forty-first century bc and successfully established
but not without consideration of the ‘things and practices’ relevant publications are easily accessible, only a summary an agro-pastoral way of life in south-east England,
upon which the British and Irish Neolithic is defined – of the current position will be offered here, and the focus mixing with indigenous groups as they did so. Through
Whittle et al., (2011) have offered a different chronological will be on the three principal models – of Thomas, Whittle the aforementioned process of ‘chain migration’ and
model. They have argued for an initial appearance of et al., and the current author. indigenous acculturation, ‘Neolithic things and practices’
such ‘Neolithic things and practices’ (which translates as then spread northwards and westwards through the rest of
Carinated Bowl pottery and associated novelties) in south- In his latest and most substantial presentation of the Britain and Ireland, this process accelerating around 3800
east England, at the point nearest to the Continent, during ‘indigenous groups as prime movers’ argument, The Birth bc (ibid., Figure 14.177). However, in order to account for
the forty-first century bc, followed by a northwards and of Neolithic Britain, Julian Thomas argues that the Late the marked variability in material culture and monumental
westwards spread, through a process of ‘chain migration’ Mesolithic communities of Britain and Ireland were not architecture in different parts of Britain and Ireland which
and indigenous acculturation, picking up speed around cut off from developments on the Continent; rather, ‘it could not be accounted for in terms of variability between
3800 bc and changing somewhat in its characteristics as is probable that there were contacts between the Irish Late Mesolithic groups, Whittle et al., also presented a
it spread (ibid., Figure 14.16). Their model is described in Sea zone and north-west France during the later fifth more nuanced version of that model, in which continued
more detail below, and issues with it have already been millennium bc, and...these involved both British [sic] and contacts with the Continent, at various points along the
discussed in detail elsewhere (Sheridan, 2012; Sheridan Continental mariners’ (Thomas, 2013, 268). Elsewhere he north and north-west coast of France, were invoked (ibid.,
and Pétrequin, 2014). writes of ‘a complex and overlapping web of innumerable Figure 15. 8; this, and their Figure 14.16, are reproduced
contacts between British people and populations dispersed here as Figure 10).
As for the question of when the Mesolithic–Neolithic from Armorica to Jutland and Scania’ (ibid., 424).
transition can be said to have ended, and how rapidly it The evidence cited to support this view consists of the
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7
The current author’s multi-strand model proposes that we within the date brackets of 4400/4300 bc and 4000/3900 the communal dwellings of immigrant farmers, who lived
are not dealing with a single (albeit complex) process of bc . This featured movement from the Morbihan region together until they felt sufficiently well-established to bud
Neolithisation, but with several, all driven ultimately by the of Brittany northwards, up the Atlantic façade of Britain off into smaller, single-family households. They, and the
processes of change in France alluded to at the beginning and around the coast of the northern half of Ireland. This non-megalithic funerary monuments, will have signalled
of this contribution. It is proposed that there were several movement is reflected in the construction of the megalithic the settlers’ presence and acted as prominent expressions
small-scale movements of farmers, from different parts closed chambers and simple passage tombs, and the use of their identity; and the ceremonial burning of the large
of northern and north-west France to different parts of of Late Castellic and related pottery (Figs. 1 top right, 4, houses when the community dispersed will have signified a
Britain and Ireland, between the third quarter of the fifth 7 top left). Once again, the number of immigrants may metaphorical ‘burning of bridges’ with the past (Sheridan,
millennium and c. 3800 bc (Figure 1). These occurred well have been small – a few hundred, at most – and 2013). Furthermore, the construction of causewayed
for different reasons and had different outcomes. This they may have decided to leave Brittany because of the enclosures – be it relatively soon after the arrival of the
accounts for the observed variability in material culture, pressures associated with social changes following the putative immigrants (as may be the case at Magheraboy) or
monuments and practices in different parts of Britain and collapse of the theocratic Big Man system. It appears that else several generations later – represents the continuation
Ireland. As for the indigenous Late Mesolithic groups, they the groups who built these monuments on the south- of a long-standing practice familiar from the north
were not passive onlookers or even hapless victims of ‘a west and north-west coast of Wales failed to take root, French homeland, as seen for example at Escalles, Pas-
massive, co-ordinated seaborne invasion’, suffering total and either died out or became acculturated with the Late de-Calais (Praud, 2015). Building such enclosures would
displacement or annihilation, as Thomas has previously Mesolithic inhabitants, whereas the ones who settled on have been undertaken when a critical mass of farming
(and wholly incorrectly) portrayed this author’s model the west coast of Scotland and in parts of Ireland went groups had been achieved in a region, and when the need
(Thomas, 2004, 117; 2008, 65). Instead, they played an on to flourish: their simple monuments stand at the for a supra-local gathering place was felt. It is a moot
active role, either choosing to adopt the novel lifestyles – beginning of the long, complex and divergent trajectories point whether this process of Carinated Bowl Neolithic
possibly in the belief that agro-pastoral farming allied with of passage tomb developments in Scotland and Ireland, immigration involved an initial settlement in south-east
hunting and foraging offered a more secure source of year- and continuation of the Late Castellic ceramic tradition England, followed by expansion from there as Whittle et
round food than just hunting, fishing and gathering – or can be traced in the equally complex trajectories of pottery al., argue or whether it took the form of a longer-term,
else rejecting them. development in Scotland and Ireland (Sheridan, 1995, more extensive diaspora from the Nord-Pas de Calais
2004). The population density, both of these putative region right along the east coast of Britain, as far north
In this model, the first movement was from north-west immigrants and of the indigenous Late Mesolithic groups, as Caithness in northern Scotland, followed by expansion
France, probably Armorica, to south-west Ireland during may have been so low that both could have co-existed in from points along this coast. It appears that its spread
the third quarter of the fifth millennium (Figure 1, top the same areas in ignorance of each other for some time to Ireland was probably from south-west Scotland, and
left). It may be that it related to the social and ideological (cf. Charlton et al., 2016; Milner, 2010); but once contact this is highly likely to have occurred before the so-called
changes that in the Morbihan region of south-east had been made, it appears that the distinctive lifestyle as ‘house boom’ in Ireland of 3715–3625 bc (ibid.; Cooney
Brittany, as mentioned above. It appears that not enough recorded for the indigenous group/s based on and around et al., 2011; Smyth, 2014; cf. Lynch, 2014 on the dates
immigrant farmers travelled across the sea to achieve a Oronsay ceased, implying that these communities chose to for the Poulnabrone portal tomb). Rapid acculturation
critical mass, and to set down roots; it also appears that adopt the new lifestyle and thereby to acculturate. of indigenous groups who came into contact with these
a local group of fisher-hunter-gatherers based at Ferriter’s putative immigrants would account for the disappearance
Cove were not interested in adopting their lifestyle, but The third strand of Neolithisation is that which brought the of the purely Mesolithic lifestyle in the regions in question.
instead perceived their cattle as fair game, and hunted Carinated Bowl Neolithic to Britain and Ireland from the
and ate them, thereby bringing ‘the Neolithic’ in the area forty-first century bc at the earliest (Figure 1, bottom left). Finally, the fourth strand of Neolithisation, the ‘Trans-
to a premature end. There are plentiful examples of similar It probably came from the Nord-Pas de Calais region of Manche ouest’ (western cross-Channel) strand, seems
hostile encounters between indigenes and incomers from northern France and may well have involved the movement to have involved one or more episodes of small-scale
the more recent past around the world (Rowley-Conwy, of more people than the other three strands. This strand immigration from Normandy (and possibly northern
2014). The fact that no other evidence of these putative is associated not only with the Chasséo-Michelsberg, Brittany) to south-west England, and the presumed
immigrants has yet been found in the area – a criticism Carinated Bowl ceramic tradition (Figure 7 bottom) acculturation of indigenous groups, probably at some point
levelled at this model (Anderson-Whymark and Garrow, but also with the non-megalithic (and subsequently between 4100/4000 bc and c. 3800 bc (Figure 1 bottom
2015, 66) – ignores the fact that no systematic prospection megalithic) funerary tradition described above (Figure right; Sheridan, 2011b; Sheridan et al., 2008, 2010; cf.
for such evidence has been undertaken, and in any case, it 3), and with most of the other novelties described on Scarre, 2015). The construction and use of the simple
can be hard to find the traces of a short-term, small-scale the list of ‘Neolithic’ traits, including the importation of dry-stone and megalithic passage tomb at Broadsands
immigration, especially in a region where so much of the old and treasured axeheads of jadeitite and other Alpine in Devon, south-west England (Figure 5) – the only such
present-day landscape is under pasture. rocks (Figs. 6, 9), the exploitation of mountain (and other monument on the Devon and Cornwall peninsula, its
liminal zone) sources of stone for making axeheads, and initial deposits of human remains dating to 4121–3712
The second strand of Neolithisation in this model may be the opening of flint mines. As noted above, the large cal bc (Sheridan et al., 2008, 15) – points strongly towards
related to the first, and could have been contemporary houses (or ‘halls’) that appeared at the beginning of the Lower Normandy as a point of origin, where closely similar
or slightly later: as noted above, it will have occurred Carinated Bowl Neolithic (Figure 2) can be understood as monuments were built between 4410–4180 cal bc and
239

3920–3710 cal bc (Scarre, 2015, 81). The drystone closed The problems with Whittle et al.’s model have already Anderson-Whymark, H. and Garrow, D. 2015. Seaways
chambers and simple passage tombs of the Severn Estuary been rehearsed elsewhere (Sheridan, 2012; Sheridan and shared ways: imagining and imaging the movement of
could have been built by other settlers from Normandy. and Pétrequin, 2014) so will not be repeated here. As for people, objects and ideas over the course of the Mesolithic-
Some Alpine axeheads, especially those whose shape the author’s own multi-strand model, there are indeed Neolithic transition, c. 5,000–3,500 bc . H. Anderson-
had previously been modified in Brittany, may well have outstanding questions to be addressed. These include: Whymark, D. Garrow and F. Sturt (eds), Continental
arrived in England as part of this strand of Neolithisation why were only leaf-shaped arrowheads, and not others Connections. Exploring Cross-Channel Relationships from
(Figure 9, top right and bottom). Continued contact that had been in use in northern and north-west France, the Mesolithic to the Iron Age. Oxford, Oxbow Books, pp.
with Normandy over the next few centuries is attested in used in Britain and Ireland? Where are the exact matches 59–77.
several ways, including the selective adoption of elements for elements of the non-megalithic funerary monuments
of Norman pottery design (notably trumpet lugs) and the of the Carinated Bowl Neolithic – do they lie (as suspected) Anderson-Whymark, H., Garrow, D. and Sturt, F. 2015.
importation, probably during the thirty-sixth century bc, of in the unexcavated long barrows of northern France and Microliths and maritime mobility: a continental European-
a quern made of rock from near Evreux, Normandy, to the Belgium? What were the settlements and subsistence style Late Mesolithic flint assemblage from the Isles of
causewayed enclosure at Maiden Castle, Dorset, south- practices of the Breton, Atlantic façade putative Scilly. Antiquity, Vol. 89, pp. 954–71.
west England (Peacock et al., 2009). immigrants? How far west did the users of Carinated Bowl
pottery spread in England? Addressing these questions, Ballin, T. B. 2011. The Scottish Archaeological Pitchstone
and advancing the debate, can only be done through fresh Project: results. International Association for Obsidian
targeted fieldwork and detailed, collaborative material Studies Bulletin, No. 45, pp. 8–13.
Conclusions and Outstanding Issues culture studies, on both sides of the Channel. For the
meantime, however, it is this author’s belief that her multi- Ballin, T. B. 2015. Arran pitchstone (‘Scottish obsidian’) –
Here is not to explain in detail why the author’s multi- strand model of small-scale immigration, with a range of new dating evidence. PAST, Vol. 79, pp. 1–3.
strand model of Neolithisation is believed to offer the responses by indigenous communities, offers the most
best fit with the currently-available data. Suffice it to robust narrative of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Barber, M., Field, D. and Topping, P. 1999. The Neolithic
note that Thomas’ suggestion of long-standing, two-way Britain and Ireland. Flint Mines of England. Swindon, English Heritage.
maritime contact between indigenous groups in Britain
and Ireland and France – an argument repeated by others, Barclay, A. 2014. Re-dating the Coneybury Anomaly and
for example, Garrow and Sturt (2011) – does not stand up its implications for understanding the earliest Neolithic
to close scrutiny and his characterization of Late Mesolithic Acknowledgements pottery from southern England. PAST, No. 77, pp. 11–13.
communities as proactive cultural bricoleurs is wholly at
odds with the evidence. The alleged pollen evidence for Nuria Sanz is thanked for her invitation to participate in Barclay, G. J. and Maxwell, G. S. 1991. Excavation of a
fifth-millennium cereal cultivation is highly contentious the 2014 UNESCO conference in Puebla, which gave rise to Neolithic long mortuary enclosure within the Roman
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Whitehouse, N. J., Schulting, R. J., McClatchie, M., Barratt,

P., McLaughlin, T. R., Bogaard, A., Colledge, S., Marchant,
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245

Food, Culture and Identity in the Neolithic: the Agricultural

Transition in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site
Mike Parker Pearson
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK
Abstract and even as late as the next two centuries. In contrast, the from west Wales, 200 km to the west (Parker Pearson et
Neolithic way of life was established in south-east England al., 2009). Other cut features associated with this first
Stonehenge was built shortly after 3000 bc and went around 4050-3900 bc. There may also have been a similarly stage include post holes, larger stone holes and cremation
through four more stages of construction over the next early start for agriculture in Ireland and parts of western burials, many of them placed within the Aubrey Holes.
1,500 years, the most significant of these being its Stage Britain. Yet the record of actual transition is fragmentary,
2 at the end of the Neolithic around 2500 bc. Its initial discontinuous and dislocated. Not a single site reveals a Around 2500 bc (within the period 2620–2480 bc; the
construction was a thousand years after the arrival of stratigraphic sequence of unbroken continuity across the second stage) Stonehenge took on the form that we
farming in Britain, when domesticated animals and transition to agriculture. Whether such sites remain to be largely see today. Large stones of silcrete (known locally as
cereals were adopted along with ceramics, polished stone discovered is uncertain though particular wetland regions ‘sarsens’) were brought most probably from the Avebury
axes, rectangular architecture and other elements of the still retain potential. Another line of investigation currently area of the Marlborough Downs, 30 km to the north. They
continental European Neolithic. Although many aspects of being explored is that of extracting ancient DNA from were dressed smooth, using sarsen hammer-stones, outside
the diet, notably wild game, wild plants, fruits and nuts, British Mesolithic and Neolithic human remains to examine the enclosure’s north entrance, and were then arranged
continued to be consumed by Britain’s early farmers, they the degree and extent of population replacement across inside the enclosure as a horsehoe-shaped setting of five
appear to have dropped marine fish from their diet. Unlike the transition. tall trilithons (paired uprights with a lintel) surrounded by a
the agricultural transitions along the North Sea coasts of circle of 30 uprights linked by lintels. The lintels, weighing
the European continent, British Late Mesolithic hunter- around 4 tons each, are held on top of the uprights by
gatherers’ material culture shows no definitive overlap mortise-and-tenon joints, and the curve-ended lintels of
or integration with the material culture of Early Neolithic Introduction the sarsen circle fit together with tongue-and-groove joints.
farmers. The transition in Britain was also much quicker, This work, also done with hammer-stones, is presumed to
lasting 300 years or less. This lack of material continuity Stonehenge is part of the Stonehenge and Avebury World imitate woodwork. Most of the sarsen uprights weigh
makes interpretation of the processes of transition difficult, Heritage Site, two separate locales 30 km apart on the around 20 tons and are about 5.5 m long but the uprights
leading to a range of divergent theories that are only now chalk downlands of central southern England, a region of the giant trilithon were 9 m and 10 m long, weighing
being resolved. known historically as Wessex. The Stonehenge WHS over 35 tons.
covers an area of 26.6 square kilometres, roughly 8 km
The evidence for the agricultural transition in the east-west by 3.5 km north-south, and forms one of the Around 2300 bc (within the period 2480–2280 bc; the third
Stonehenge WHS is even more problematic than in other densest concentrations of surviving prehistoric monuments stage) the side ditches and banks of a ceremonial avenue,
parts of Britain. While there is a wealth of evidence for in Europe. These include burial mounds, large-scale almost 3 km long, were dug from Stonehenge to the River
long-lived Mesolithic occupation in the Stonehenge earthwork monuments known as cursuses and henges, Avon. This avenue, varying between 21.5 m-34.5 m wide,
environs to around 4000 bc, the earliest Neolithic activity field systems and settlements that date from the Mesolithic terminated at West Amesbury henge, 30 m in diameter,
dates to after 3700 bc, and the Stonehenge area’s Early (c. 8000–4000 bp) through the Neolithic (c. 4000–2500 bc), at the riverside. The first 500m length of the Stonehenge
Neolithic monuments – a causewayed enclosures and long Chalcolithic (c. 2500–2200 bc) and Bronze Age (c. 2200– Avenue is aligned towards the midsummer solstice sunrise:
barrows – are unusually late for their kind. There is virtually 750 bc), continuing into the Iron Age and later (Figure 1). excavations in 2008 revealed that the avenue’s banks were
no evidence for a human presence in the Stonehenge built upon pre-existing natural chalk ridges (about 200 m
area for a 300 years across the transition; only further Stonehenge itself dates to the period c. 3000–1500 bc long) coincidentally on this solstitial alignment (Allen et al.,
investigation will reveal whether this absence was real. (the Late Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age; 2016).
With Early Neolithic dates before 3800 bc in the regions Figure 2), having been constructed in five stages, the first
to the east and west of Stonehenge, it is possible that dated to 3000–2620 cal bc (Darvill et al., 2012; Marshall Around 2200 bc (within the period 2280–2020 bc; the
Stonehenge was located on a long-term cultural boundary et al., 2012), during the Late Neolithic. This initial stage fourth stage) the bluestones were rearranged in a circle and
that ran along the high chalk from the south coast to the consisted of a circular ditch-and-bank enclosure about 100 an inner oval. This inner oval was subsequently modified at
Middle Thames valley and thence to the Wash. m in diameter with entrances to the north-east and south. an unknown date to form a horseshoe, imitating the plan
Inside the line of the bank, a circle of 56 pits (known as of the five sarsen trilithons. Finally, two rings of pits were
In various parts of Britain, particularly uplands and remote the Aubrey Holes) is now thought to have held a ring of dug outside the sarsen circle, the Z Holes and the Y Holes
coastal areas, the Late Mesolithic continued to 4000 bc small standing stones known as ‘bluestones’ and brought in 2020–1520 bc (fifth stage).
246

Food, Culture and Identity in the Neolithic:
the Agricultural Transition in the Stonehenge World Heritage Site
7
Neolithic seafarers, leading to processes of agricultural appears that the imported species of emmer, einkorn and
The Transition to Food adoption that were, on the one hand, introduced from the barley were not accompanied by pulses in Neolithic Britain.
Production in Britain Continent and, on the other, taken up by indigenous British However, the discovery of a carbonized grape pip and vine
communities as and when they were ready to make the fragments from the causewayed enclosure of Hambledon
Stonehenge’s first stage was begun around 3000 bc, about change. Hill, dating to c. 3700 bc, reveals that domesticated
a thousand years after the first appearance of agriculture grapes were cultivated at this time (Jones and Legge,
in Britain. It thus dates to long after the period when It might seem curious that a short-term transition in an 1987). Preserved seeds of Papaver somniferum from the
domesticated species of cereals and animals were first archaeologically well-studied part of the world should waterlogged ditches of an Early Neolithic long barrow
brought to Britain by boat across the English Channel and attract such divergent theories from leading scholars, but at Stanwick, Northamptonshire, indicate the presence of
other seaways around Britain’s south-west and south-east one of the reasons for this is that the archaeological traces opium poppy (Harding and Healy, 2007: 24).
coasts. of the transition are exceedingly ephemeral and ambiguous.
Such difficulties are all the harder to understand because For foodstuffs deriving from imported animal species, as
The transition to food production in Britain, lasting less the transition in Britain and Ireland is characterized not well as the meat (and presumably blood) of domesticates,
than four centuries between c. 4050 and c. 3700 bc, was only by changes in subsistence practices but also by the there was also exploitation of secondary products in the
one of the fastest in the Old World. Some would argue switch from a Mesolithic material culture of narrow-blade form of milk (Salque et al., 2013), although the genetic
that this transition took much longer, not being fully microlithic industries and tranchet stone axes to a Neolithic mutation permitting lactose tolerance was probably not yet
effected until the agricultural intensification of the Middle ‘package’ of polished stone axes, ceramics, rectilinear widespread by this period (contra Itan et al., 2008). Yet
Bronze Age, around 1500 bc, when wild plant resources domestic architecture, flint mines and non-microlithic blade the absence of spindle whorls, loom weights or other such
had largely been replaced by the domesticated cereals industries, as well as earthen, timber and stone monuments evidence for textiles during the British Neolithic suggests
that had been growing in Britain since 4000 bc. However, (although the latter tend to be dated to a century or two that little new use was made of animal products other than
the importation of emmer, einkorn and barley, along with after the earliest stages of the Neolithic). their skins.
domesticated cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, in the early
fourth millennium bc is generally taken as the moment in The traces of hunter-gatherer settlement in the half- There might well have been a considerable degree
which the transition to farming was effected, even though millennium prior to 4000 bc are difficult to find and date, of continuity across the agricultural transition in the
wild resources continued to be managed for millennia consisting generally of scatters of microliths, with few pits consumption of certain wild species of plants and
afterwards. or other cut features in which they might be found with animals. Aurochsen, wild pigs, red deer and roe deer, and
dateable animal bones or charcoal. Similarly ephemeral, the apparently beavers, were hunted and eaten by Neolithic
Britain had become separated from the European traces of the earliest Neolithic have been best recovered communities. Even so, it is rare to find Neolithic faunal
continent in the mid-seventh millennium bc, and it is as thin layers within preserved ground surfaces protected assemblages in which wild species such as deer dominate
something of a mystery that there was a time-lag of up beneath colluvium or alluvium. In many regions of Britain, over domesticates.
to 700 years between the adoption of agriculture along monumental Early Neolithic structures such as long
the Atlantic coastline of Brittany and northern France and barrows, chambered tombs and causewayed enclosures A wide variety of tubers, edible roots, stems and shoots,
its arrival in Britain. We can be certain that domesticated are not found in these earliest moments of the Neolithic. young leaves, seeds, nuts and fruit was consumed
livestock and cereals had to be conveyed by boat across Furthermore, unlike Scandinavian and other continental by Mesolithic and Neolithic populations alike. Those
the English Channel, 35 km wide at its narrowest point, sites, there are very few locations where Final Mesolithic documented from Early Neolithic contexts include pignut,
but in what circumstances and why so late is unknown. layers can be found stratified beneath those of the earliest fat hen, hazelnut, hawthorn, hazelnut, crab apple and
Three hypotheses have been proposed to account for the Neolithic, or where Mesolithic artefacts are stratified with raspberry/blackberry (Parker Pearson, 2003). To this list can
process of transition. Whittle et al. (2011) propose a single Neolithic ones. Of course, such tantalizing absences may also be added honey and fungi; although their remains
direction of agricultural adoption, across the narrowest be the result of post-depositional survival and recovery are near-impossible to infer archaeologically, they will most
part of the English Channel into south-east England and but they may also be telling indicators of the somewhat likely have been part of Mesolithic and Neolithic diets. Most
then spreading outwards into northern and western Britain disconnected nature of the transition processes in Britain Neolithic carbonized plant assemblages are dominated by
and Ireland. Sheridan (2003; 2004; 2010; this volume) and Ireland. hazel nutshells and other wild plant food remains, with
has proposed a multiple series of colonisation attempts carbonized cereals in lower proportions (Entwistle and
by Continental farmers, with an initial failed attempt in Grant, 1989). This discrepancy has been explained by
southern Ireland around 4300 bc, a second movement into the relative rarity of circumstances in which cereal grains
west Wales, western Scotland and north-west Ireland, a Food, Culture and Identity are burnt, leading to the under-representation of cereals
third movement to south-west England and, finally, the as opposed to nutshells in Neolithic contexts (Jones and
crossing to south-east England. The third hypothesis is that The transition to agriculture in Britain consisted not only Rowley-Conwy, 2007). The difference is particularly
of Thomas (2013) who proposes a long, initiating period of the adoption of certain domesticated foodstuffs with marked, not in the Early Neolithic, but in the Middle
of maritime interaction between indigenous sea-faring origins ultimately in south-west Asia but also of changes and Late Neolithic (3400-2500 bc) when the number of
Mesolithic communities in Britain and continental European in procurement of certain locally available wild foods. It radiocarbon-dated cereal grains falls dramatically (Stevens
247

and Fuller, 2012) though whether as the result of sampling

bias or a real decline is uncertain.
Where there does seem to have been a marked change in

consumption of wild foods with the onset of the Neolithic
is in the use of marine resources. Isotopic analyses of 13C
and 15N in human bone from across Europe indicate that
fish and shellfish were not a significant part of the Neolithic
diet except for rather atypical groups such as the Pitted
Ware cultures of the Baltic (Schulting, 2011; Fornander
et al., 2007). Even in maritime environments such as the
Northern Isles of Scotland, Neolithic communities preferred
terrestrial foods to those of the sea. At the Middle-Late
Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae in Orkney, shellfish and
fish were eaten but their quantities (in terms of net weight
of ‘meat’) were limited and fish species consumed were
mostly those that could also swim in freshwater, such as
salmon, trout and eel (Jones, 1993). On Shetland, isotopic
analysis combined with human osteological analysis of
pathologies has revealed that Neolithic communities were
prepared to endure food shortage and even starvation
rather than switch to a marine diet (Montgomery et al.,
2013).
This general avoidance of marine fish across Atlantic

Europe during the Neolithic (and extending into the
Bronze Age) has been considered as a signature of
these early farming societies, with the exception of the
Middle Neolithic seal-hunters of the Pitted Ware Culture
(Fornander et al., 2007). Not all Mesolithic communities
of Atlantic Europe, let alone Britain, were fish-eaters; for
example, the high 15N isotope value from the femur of a
Late Mesolithic woman from Staythorpe, Nottinghamshire,
reveals that her diet was unusually high in terrestrial animal
protein (Richards, 2001). Yet this switch at the beginning
of the Neolithic to avoidance of marine resources has
overtones of a cultural change in attitudes if not, as in the
case of Neolithic Shetland, a food taboo. The avoidance of
fish was as much part of the Neolithic transition in Britain
as was the consumption of domesticate flesh, milk and
cereals.
The impact of a Neolithic way of life on Britain’s Figure 1. The Stonehenge environs, with sites mentioned in the text shown in red (drawn by Josh Pollard).
environment can be measured by changes in forest cover

as indicated by stratified sequences of pollen assemblages
from a variety of locations (Woodbridge et al., 2014). in the previous two or more millennia. Stock-rearing and boom that required and/ or accompanied the large-scale
During the Late Mesolithic (6500–4000 bc), deciduous cereal-cultivation might well have been largely responsible clearance of woodland (Shennan et al., 2013). In the longer
woodland across Britain declined on average from for these changes though the elm decline during this period term, that rate of woodland clearance, however, was not
90% to 80% of total vegetation cover. During the Early was almost certainly the result of a complex mix of factors sustained; during the Middle Neolithic (3400–3000 bc) the
Neolithic (4000–3400 bc) it declined from 80% to 65%, including elm disease (Batchelor et al., 2014). The onset process was reversed and deciduous woodland increased
a quantitatively greater change over a few centuries than of the Neolithic might well have stimulated a population from 65% back to 80%. Nonetheless, the initial period of
248

7
Figure 2. Stonehenge, viewed looking southwest towards the direction of midwinter solstice sunset © Adan Stanford, Aerial-Cam Ltd.
widespread deforestation reveals the dynamic nature of the The Mesolithic in the Stonehenge attracting only a slow and delayed growth of woodland
Neolithic transition, in terms of subsistence change, land World Heritage Site during the Mesolithic (French et al., 2012). Most of that
use and likely population growth. woodland was cleared during the fourth millennium bc (if
Stonehenge is located on Salisbury Plain, an area of rolling not the early part of that millennium), leaving largely open
grassland that forms part of a high plateau of chalk geology grassland from 3000 bc onwards.
running from the southern edge of the Thames valley in the
north to the English Channel in the south. Pollen diagrams The lightly wooded grasslands of Salisbury Plain would have
from Durrington, near Stonehenge, indicate that Salisbury provided good grazing for native wild cattle or aurochsen
Plain was never heavily forested in the post-glacial period, (Bos primigenius), wild pig (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus
249

elaphus) that roamed southern Britain during the early charcoal from one of the postholes date to 8820–7730 bc) reveals a 300-year long absence of any human activity
Holocene. The more wooded banks of the River Avon bc and 8090–7690 bc, broadly contemporary with the in this area before the earliest Neolithic remains in the
also provided access to water for these herds, making this beginning of activity at Blick Mead. Mesolithic monuments thirty-seventh century bc, from the large pit known as the
ecozone an ideal location for Mesolithic hunters to exploit are exceptionally unusual in Europe; a large posthole was Coneybury Anomaly about a kilometre east of Stonehenge
for wild game, hazelnuts, freshwater fish and plant foods. identified at the Late Mesolithic cemetery of Skateholm II (Richards, 1990, pp. 40–61; Barclay, 2014).
in southern Sweden (Lars Larsson, pers. comm.) but the
Traces of Mesolithic occupation sites have been found at Stonehenge Early Mesolithic posts appear to be unique for Although the Neolithic deposit within the Coneybury
many locations along this stretch of the River Avon and their period. Anomaly contains Carinated Bowl ceramics, recent high-
its higher ground (Wymer, 1977). At the site of West precision radiocarbon-dating of articulated animal bones
Amesbury, Mesolithic narrow-blade tools and microliths Just why these massive posts were erected here has been and cereal grains reveals that they fall late in the period
were found in a remnant brown forest soil preserved something of a mystery. Yet in 2008 and 2013, excavations of Carinated Bowl use (Barclay, 2014). Similarly, primary
beneath the eroded bank of West Amesbury henge across the solstice-aligned stretch of the Stonehenge occupation of the causewayed enclosure of Robin Hood’s
(Parker Pearson et al., 2010; Allen et al., 2016). The most Avenue revealed that this initial length of the avenue was Ball, 5 km north-west of Stonehenge, falls relatively late
remarkable evidence for Mesolithic occupation comes laid out on top of a geomorphological feature of unusually in the sequence of British causewayed enclosures at
from Blick Mead, located north-east of this site within wide and deep periglacial fissures running parallel and 3640-3500 cal bc (91% probability; Whittle et al., 2011,
a spring-fed tributary on the north bank of the River constrained within two natural ridges of chalk (Allen et pp. 194–99). This is very shortly before the beginning of
Avon. Excavations at Blick Mead at what may have been al., 2016). The close proximity of the Early Mesolithic cursus monuments in southern Britain (long enclosures
the water’s edge beside a spring have produced a large postholes and pit to this natural landform, coincidentally with parallel banks and ditches). The same lateness of
assemblage of many thousands of Mesolithic worked flints, aligned on the midsummer solstice sunrise and midwinter construction can also be seen in the 3 (out of more than
together with over 300 bone fragments from wild cattle, solstice sunset, raises the possibility that this natural feature 15) long barrows within the Stonehenge environs that have
pig and deer (Jacques and Phillips, 2014). Radiocarbon was noticed by Early Mesolithic people who invested this been dated: Amesbury 42’s ditch was dug in 3520–3350
determinations on single animal bones from this deposit spot with cosmological significance, marking its position cal bc (SUERC-24308; 4645±30 bp), Winterbourne Stoke’s
provide a relatively even sequence of dates spanning the in monumental form. No Early Mesolithic remains have primary burial was deposited in 3630–3360 cal bc (SUERC-
eighth-early fifth millennia bc (Figure 3). Such long-term been found within the site of Stonehenge itself except for 42530; 4680 ±29 bp; Susan Greaney, pers. comm.), and
persistence of occupation, albeit almost certainly sporadic, a residual piece of pine charcoal dating to 7330–7070 cal Netheravon Bake was constructed in 3776–3350 cal bc
is unparalleled in the British Isles, and may be due to the bc (Darvill and Wainwright, 2009: 12). (Richards, 1990: 259). It is more likely that these tombs
site’s ideal location for obtaining food and the long-term were constructed in the time of the Greater Cursus (3630–
hydrological and environmental stability of this water 3370 cal bc) and Lesser Cursus (3500–3340 cal bc) – the
source during a period of substantial climatic change Middle Neolithic (3500–3000 bc) – than the Early Neolithic
during the early-middle Holocene. The Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in the period of causewayed enclosures and perhaps the majority
Stonehenge World Heritage Site of Britain’s long barrows (see Whittle et al., 2007).
Numerous Mesolithic sites in various parts of Britain have
been noted as ‘persistent places’ (Barton et al., 1995) The earliest radiocarbon date from Stonehenge is 4360– Just why the Stonehenge area and other localities in this
but Blick Mead is so far the most persistent of all. Whilst 3990 cal BC (OxA-4902; 5350±80 bp; Allen and Bayliss, part of Wessex appear to have such a late appearance of
notions of seasonally occupied base camps and hunting 1995, p. 522) on a cattle/ deer-sized longbone fragment Neolithic activity and monuments has never really been
camps are now being questioned for the British Mesolithic from the packing fill of Stonehenge’s Sarsen Stone 27 addressed before. It could be dismissed as a problem of
(Milner, 2006), it is likely that Blick Mead and environs (Figure 4), erected much later in 2620–2480 cal bc (Darvill sampling – that the earliest Neolithic sites have simply not
were a popular aggregation site for groups of hunter- et al., 2012). The precise species of animal cannot be yet been found – but this would not account for why the
gatherers across southern England. A Horsham point made ascertained macroscopically (Dale Serjeantson, pers. three long barrows and Robin Hood’s Ball fall late in their
from Welsh slate indicates that Blick Mead was part of an comm.) and it is unlikely to preserve ancient DNA; it could respective monument sequences. We will return to this
exchange network that might have stretched as far as slate- be from a wild or a domestic animal. Presumably left lying question later on, but firstly we examine the evidence for
bearing geologies to the west, over 100 km away. on the old ground surface and eventually disturbed by transition to agriculture at the end of the fifth millennium
Stonehenge’s builders, it would have been incorporated bc elsewhere in Britain.
The Blick Mead site helps to explain one of the great some 1,500 years later into its residual context (Parker
enigmas of Stonehenge. Just 100 m or so to the north- Pearson, 2012b).
west of Stonehenge, archaeologists in 1967 discovered an
east-west line of three Early Mesolithic postholes that had If it is human food waste (and there is no way of being The End of the Mesolithic outside
contained posts or tree-trunks one-metre each in diameter certain), the Stonehenge longbone fragment is tantalizing the Stonehenge World Heritage Site
(Vatcher and Vatcher, 1973). Another Early Mesolithic pit evidence for a human presence at the monument around
was later found nearby, with charcoal dating to 7700–7420 the time of the appearance of agriculture in Britain. Yet Even outside the Stonehenge area, the evidence for
bc and 7580–7090 bc (Allen, 1995). Two samples of pine the lack of dates for the earliest Neolithic (c. 4000–3700 a Mesolithic presence through to the end of the fifth
250

7
millennium bc is meagre. Of more than a hundred known
Late Mesolithic scatters from the Thames valley and its
tributaries, only Charlwood in Surrey (115 km east of
Stonehenge) has produced a radiocarbon date, on charcoal
dating to 4340–3940 cal bc (HAR-4532; 5270±90 bp),
falling in the last centuries of the fifth millennium bc (Hey
et al., 2011: 211).
At Down Farm on Cranborne Chase in Dorset, 25 km

south of Stonehenge, the upper fills of a natural swallow-
hole at Fir Tree Field preserved a stratified sequence across
the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (Figure 5; Allen and
Green, 1998; Allen in Green, 2000: 40-5). Seventeen
radiocarbon dates from organic materials including
skeletons of two roe deer, chart the rate of accumulation
of sediments in the shaft, indicating that over 4 m of chalk
rubble accumulated over a few centuries in the late fifth
millennium bc. Within the finer sediments deposited within
the shaft’s weathering cone, above the rubble deposits, a
date of 4340–3990 cal bc was obtained from an aurochs
bone in stratigraphic association with a cluster of seven
rod microliths interpreted by the excavator as remains of a
composite flint tool or projectile. The date of deposition of
the microliths has recently been modelled as 4160–3980
cal bc (95% probability; Griffiths, 2014: 233). About 0.5 m
above this layer there were sherds of Early Neolithic Plain
Bowl pottery, likely to date to around 3700 bc.
Another late date of 4270–3930 cal bc (OxA-1412) cal

bc for Mesolithic projectiles comes from the bones of a
wild pig with two broken rod microliths in the region of
its neck at Lydstep in Pembrokeshire, Wales (Schulting,
2000; Griffiths, 2014). The wild pig skeleton was found in
1917 pinned down beneath a tree trunk; in 2010 human
footprints of adults and children were recorded from
the same deposit close to the original findspot (Ings and
Murphy, 2010).
In northern England there are two key sites with secure

dates on materials associated with Late Mesolithic rod
microliths. Multiple dates on short-lived material from a
hearth sequence at March Hill Top on Marsden Moor in
Yorkshire (Spikins, 2002) have been modelled as 4190–
3970 cal bc (at 91% probability) (Griffiths, 2014: 231). At
South Haw on Marsham Moor further north in Yorkshire,
short-lived materials from two hearths associated again
with rod microliths were dated to 4180–3970 cal bc (Beta-
189653) and 3960–3730 cal bc (Beta-189652) (Chatterton,
2007).
Figure 3. Radiocarbon dates from the Stonehenge environs, from the Early Mesolithic to just before the first stage
of Stonehenge c. 3000 bc (compiled by Chris Stevens).
251

Griffiths’ recent overview of this material indicates that rod A recent review of the evidence from Cannon Hill argues A third is the so-called ‘banana barrow’, an 8m-long
microliths were a late type of Late Mesolithic technology, that the Mesolithic tools were in use by Neolithic people oval enclosure ringed by quarry pits and later slighted by
in use until the forty-first -fortieth or thirty-ninth centuries or, more likely, that they were added in a deliberate act of Crickley Hill causewayed enclosure (Dixon, 1988), where
bc across southern Britain (Griffiths, 2014: 239). She also deposition (Thomas, 2013, pp. 239–40). animal bone re-deposited from the mound into the pits is
compares modelled latest Mesolithic dates with modelled dated to 4185–3990 (at 68% probability); since the bone
dates for earliest Neolithic dated assemblages (Whittle Mesolithic deposits have been recovered from beneath could well have been residual within the mound (similar to
et al., 2011) to show that, whilst there were likely gaps Early Neolithic long barrow mounds/cairns at Hazleton, the situation of the bone in the stone hole of Stone 27 at
between the two in certain regions such as south Wessex Gloucestershire (Saville, 1990), Ascott-under-Wychwood, Stonehenge, above), its association with this structure is
and Wales, there is the probability of overlap in Yorkshire Oxfordshire (Benson and Whittle, 2007), Gwernvale, problematic (Whittle et al., 201, p. 446).
and Humberside. She concludes that Mesolithic technology Powys (Britnell and Savory, 1984), Biggar Common,
might have continued in use in the northern and upland South Lanarkshire (Johnston, 1997) and Eweford In Gloucestershire, in the environs of the Upper Thames
parts of England well into the period in which Neolithic West, East Lothian (Lelong and Macgregor, 2007). The valley, Whittle et al. (2011) posit the spread of the
material culture was in use in lowland and southern Britain. stratigraphic relationships on these five sites have been Neolithic by 3900 cal bc. Yet one of the burials (chamber
usefully summarized by Thomas (2013, pp. 230–46), who 4) in the Neolithic transepted tomb of Burn Ground (in the
This picture of a Late Mesolithic way of life continuing into concludes that none provides any indication of continuous Cotswolds in the same county) dates to 4230–3970 cal
the early fourth millennium bc is also documented in the activity across the Mesolithic-Neolithic divide but, on the bc (Smith and Brickley, 2009: 53). The date is, admittedly,
Inner Hebrides of Scotland’s west coast. Radiocarbon dates, other hand, the evidence for re-use of place is unlikely to anomalously early in comparison with those of the other
corrected for δ13C values affected by marine reservoir have been entirely coincidental (ibid., pp. 255–7). eight individuals from the same tomb; ideally this burial
effect, from the Mesolithic shell midden of Cnoc Coig on should be re-dated for full confidence to be placed in its
the island of Oronsay fall within the range 4300–3800 cal There now seems little doubt that the earliest radiocarbon early date.
bc (Meiklejohn et al., 2005: 98). dates so far obtained for the Neolithic in Britain come from
south-east England, from Kent and the Lower Thames Any statistical model is only as good as the data that it
valley, where they indicate a start in the forty-first-fortieth employs. The substantially calcareous geology and soils
century, around 4050–3990 cal. bc (Whittle et al., 2011). of south-eastern and southern England provide excellent
The Beginning of the Neolithic Outside These early sites are a grave at Yabsley Street (Figure 6; conditions of preservation of bone and antler that are
the Stonehenge World Heritage Site Coles et al., 2008), a timber building at White Horse Stone generally not found in the acidic soils of western Britain.
(Figure 7; Hayden n.d.), and Coldrum megalithic tomb Consequently, it has been much harder to retrieve suitable
The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Britain and Ireland (Whittle et al., 2011: 379). Non-monumental graves are material for dating of monuments and occupation sites
presents none of the processes or patterns of mixing not common in the British Early Neolithic but a second in that part of the world. Sheridan (this volume) argues
material cultures, inter-stratification and interaction found example is a cremation burial in a log-boat at Old Parkbury, that there was Neolithic activity in the west as early as and
in Scandinavia (Larsson, 2007), Brittany (Scarre, 2011) or St. Albans, north of London, with dates on the charred even earlier than in the south-east of Britain; she identifies
the Netherlands (Louwe Kooijmans, 2007). An argument hull of 4035–3705 cal. bc and 3980–3790 cal bc (Figure ceramics from the passage tomb of Achnacreebeg,
has been made for continental Neolithic jadetite axes of the 8; Niblett, 2001). A group of three radiocarbon dates on Argyll, and the closed-chamber tomb of Carreg Samson,
fifth millennium bc reaching Britain during the Mesolithic domesticated cattle bones and ceramic residue from an Pembrokeshire (Lynch, 1975), as being Castellic Ware styles
(Thomas, 2013) but none have been found in any British Early Neolithic midden at Eton Rowing Course area 6, in of Breton origin. Neither tomb has material for radiocarbon-
Mesolithic contexts. In contrast, a fifth-millennium bc the Middle Thames valley, fall largely within or even earlier dating; the cremated bone from Carreg Samson is too small
jadetite axe is known from a fourth-millennium context than this period around 4000 bc (Lamdin-Whymark, 2008: to provide a large-enough sample.
with Neolithic material, beside the Sweet Track prehistoric 50, 178) but have had to be rejected because of laboratory
trackway in Somerset dated by dendrochronology to error (Allen et al., 2013). Across the Irish Sea in Ireland, there are indications of
3807-6 bc (Coles et al., 1974; Hillam et al., 1990). Neolithic activity around and even before 4000 bc; it is
Whittle et al. (2011) model the spread of the Neolithic generally accepted that the Neolithic was established by
Similarly, no claims for assemblages of microliths stratified across Britain as a chronological gradient falling away this date (Cooney, 2000: 14). The radiocarbon date of
with polished stone axes, ceramics or leaf-shaped from Kent towards the west and north, with Neolithic 4407–4326 cal bc for one of seven domesticated cattle
arrowheads have survived critical review. One of the monuments not appearing until the thirty-eighth century bones from a Mesolithic site at Ferriter’s Cove, Co. Kerry
strongest cases for such a circumstance is Cannon Hill in bc. This generally works well except for a number of early (Woodman et al., 1999) indicates cross-channel movement
Berkshire where a natural shaft similar to that from Fir Tree anomalous dates within their local sequences. One of between mainland Europe and Ireland well before 4000
Field contained a deposit of Carinated Bowl and other these is West Cotton long mound, Northamptonshire, bc (see Sheridan this volume). Another early date on a
Neolithic pottery with Neolithic lithics and diagnostically constructed in 3940-3780 cal. bc (Harding and Healy, 2007: domesticated cattle bone is 4070–3940 cal bc (OxA-4296)
Mesolithic flints (Bradley et al., 1976). Unfortunately the 54). Another is Coldrum, Kent, where the earliest deposits from Kilgreany Cave, Co. Waterford (Dowd, 2002; Thomas,
radiocarbon date, centring around 4000 bc, cannot be of human remains in this tomb date to the second half 2013: 267). Whilst early dates in the fifth millennium bc
accepted because it was derived from a bulked sample. of the thirty-ninth century bc (Whittle et al., 2011: 379). from Burenhult’s excavations at the Carrowmore passage
252

7
tomb cemetery, Co. Sligo, are now considered to be
unrelated to the tombs’ construction (Bergh and Hensey,
2013), the nearby causewayed enclosure of Magheraboy
has produced a suite of early dates indicative of a start
date around 4000 bc (Danaher, 2007, pp. 89–127), making
it potentially the earliest causewayed enclosure beyond
continental Europe.
On a more general scale, the pollen record in Ireland reveals

large-scale woodland clearance and the appearance of
cereal pollen in the three centuries before 4000 bc (Molloy
and O’Connell, 1988; Monk, 1993). Cooney (2000: 13)
favours a model for Ireland of small-scale colonisation
by farming groups setting up on-island interaction with
indigenous inhabitants. More recently, Cummings (2009),
Garrow and Sturt (2011) and Thomas (2013, pp. 259–83)
argue for a long-lived maritime zone of interaction between
seafarers from continental farming communities and island-
based hunter-gatherer communities across the English
Channel and Irish Sea during the late fifth millennium bc.
Yet the record of actual transition in Ireland, as in Britain,

remains fragmentary, discontinuous and dislocated. As
in Britain, it is difficult to find any single site with clear
evidence of a stratigraphic succession from Mesolithic
hunting and gathering to Neolithic farming. Wetland sites
offer potential for the future. For example, Inch Island in
Lough Gara, Co. Roscommon, has remains of a crannog
with a radiocarbon date of 4230–3970 cal bc on short-lived
timber (Fredengren, 2002, p. 120), indicating the possibility
of organically preserved sites with stratification across this
period of transition. In Britain, similar wetlands such as the
eastern English Fenlands may still offer similar potential.
The previously deeply buried Neolithic levels, occasionally
exposed at sites such as Peacock’s Farm, Cambridgeshire
(Clark et al., 1935), are now much nearer the surface as
a result of large-scale soil erosion and peat extraction;
as they become exposed in the years to come, we may
well find stratified occupation sites there that straddle the
fifth–fourth millennia bc. Similar prospects await further
investigations of floodplains along the Middle and Lower
Thames valley, similar to those at Eton Rowing Course
Figure 4. Plan of
(Allen et al., 2013). Stonehenge’s stones,
showing the location of the
bone fragment from the fill
In conclusion, although the British and Irish Mesolithic- of Stone 27
Neolithic transitions have received considerable investment © Adam Stanford and
Dale Serjeantson; plan
of intellectual effort to explain how they happened, with permission of English
the elusive, fragmentary and ephemeral nature of the Heritage.
archaeological evidence has resisted any firm explanation

of the processes involved, other than that they are certain
to have been complex. The main theories involved have
253

Figure 5. Fir Tree Field shaft, Down Farm, Cranborne Chase, Dorset; the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition is near the base of the dark soil in the weathering cone of the shaft © Martin Green.
been elegantly and extensively developed; it is not possible where ‘key sites’ could provide significant insights into the Infectious Disease Loads, from the origins of agriculture
to decide which of them is likely to be closest to the transition. to the present’, which is exploring genetic changes in the
reality, though each has its partisan following among population of Britain from the Upper Palaeolithic onwards.
different researchers. Rather than choosing between, say, Another line of enquiry, now coming to publication, is Initial results reveal little evidence within Britain of any
the models of Whittle et al. (2011), Sheridan (2010) and that of analysis of ancient DNA extracted from Mesolithic appreciable genetic mixing between incoming continental
Thomas (2013), it may be more productive to consider how and Neolithic human remains (e.g. Cassidy et al., 2016). Neolithic farmers and indigenous Mesolithic hunter-
archaeologists in future might gather evidence that refutes One such project is currently underway at UCL and the gatherers (Ian Barnes pers. comm.).
or supports each of the models. As suggested above, Natural History Museum in London. This is the Wellcome
one solution is to focus on those archaeological contexts Institute-funded project ‘Human Adaptation to Diet and
254

7
Figure 6. Yabsley Street Early

Neolithic burial, London, with
grave goods of worked flint
and Carinated Bowl pottery
(with permission of the
Prehistoric Society).
255

Figure 7. Plan of White Horse Stone Early

Neolithic house, Kent (from Hey et al.
2011).
256

7
The Arrival of the Neolithic and its Conclusion

Monuments in the Stonehenge Area: a
Boundary Phenomenon The adoption of agriculture in Britain involved certain
transformations in diet – consumption of beef and pork
Returning finally to the Neolithic of the Stonehenge area, (both from domesticates), mutton, milk and cereals, and
it is worth confronting the puzzle of why there is such a avoidance of fish and shellfish – whilst most wild foods –
gap in the evidence at the start of the Neolithic in the three venison, aurochs meat, wild boar, tubers, greens, nuts and
centuries after 4000 bc on Salisbury Plain. fruits, and presumably also fungi and honey – continued
to be consumed as they had been by hunter-gatherers
Early Neolithic dates before 3700 bc such as that from Burn beforehand. The transition was also accompanied by the
Ground in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds contrast with disappearance of Mesolithic material culture, notably
a somewhat late start for Neolithic monuments further microlithic industries and tranchet axes, and the adoption of
south-east in Wessex, contrary to expectations of a smooth ceramics, polished stone axes, leaf-shaped arrowheads and
expansion outwards from south-east England. This could a new range of architectures associated with rectangular
be explained merely by a lack of the right monuments houses, flint mines and mortuary structures.
having been excavated. It could also be explained by a
leap-frogging effect, in which an adjacent region was, for The lack of ‘transitional’ sites and the relatively poor
the time being, avoided in favour of a more distant region. evidence for any overlap either chronologically or regionally
Another explanation could be Sheridan’s identification of of Mesolithic and Neolithic assemblages argue for a cultural
an Early Neolithic emerging in the Irish Sea region of Ireland break that was swift, at least in terms of the passage of
and western Britain, with the two Neolithic advances – two or three centuries. The Mesolithic way of life night
from the south-east and from the west – meeting in the have continued alongside Neolithic introductions for a
Wessex area and Middle Thames. few generations but probably in upland environments far
from the lowlands and river valleys where earliest Neolithic
Support for this third interpretation comes from the activity has been recorded. It is possible that the chalk
growing evidence that Stonehenge and the other Wessex upland of Salisbury Plain, and the Wessex chalklands more
chalkland monument complexes lay on a boundary generally, was one of these areas where a Mesolithic way
between east and west. After Carinated Bowl styles were of life continued, and where the Neolithic was slow to take
Figure 8. Old Parkbury Early Neolithic burial, St. Albans,
replaced by more regional ceramic styles, this was an with cremated human remains in a burnt log-boat (with
hold. Unfortunately the evidence is still too poor in the
interface between Southeastern Decorated Wares and permission of the International Journal of Nautical Stonehenge WHS to evaluate this possibility.
Archaeology).
Southwestern Plain Wares (Alistair Barclay, pers. comm.;
see also Darvill, 2010: Figures 33 and 37). The density of Interpretations of the transition are strongly divided, in
causewayed enclosures within this zone and stretching part because of the lack of evidence for transition or
north-eastwards to the Wash is also notable (Figure 9; over territories. Many are located on natural routeways or overlap. Explanations that have been universally rejected
half of Britain’s 70 or so causewayed enclosures lie within a river confluences where separate territorial communities (or, at least, considered unlikely) are, on the one hand,
50 km wide corridor running from the Wash to the south- might have met for collective gatherings. Although many the notion of a large-scale single colonisation event by
west). Since these sites appear to have been centres for of these monuments have been found to be eerily devoid immigrant farmers and, on the other, an ‘indigenist’ theory
gathering, alliance formation and conflict resolution, it is of occupational debris, they are often close to zones of acquisition of the Neolithic package by Mesolithic hunter-
reasonable to expect them to have been built in those areas with evidence for dense human habitation where those gatherers without any impact from Neolithic communities.
where such needs were most pressing. There has been a gathering in these places actually resided during their That leaves us with different models that each implies
tendency to consider them as central places but they may stays. The distribution of Middle and Late Neolithic major varying degrees and forms of social interaction. The main
be best interpreted as ‘peripheral places’; in southern monuments in Wessex and the Middle Thames is, however, three are: multiple small-scale colonisations by seafaring
England, they occupy the zones between groups of long somewhat different to that of the rest of Britain. Whilst continental farmers (Sheridan, 2010), arrival of small
barrows or on the edges of those groups. They are thus some are certainly on routeways, their overall distribution is numbers of immigrant farmers in south-east England
more likely to have served as places of interaction between that of a linear spread from south to north, with an overall followed by widespread adoption of farming innovations
social territories rather than each serving a single territory. shift of up to 10 km to the east of the centre of distribution by indigenous communities (Whittle et al., 2011), and
of Early Neolithic causewayed enclosures (Figure 10). Thus long-term cross-Channel maritime interaction followed by
In this respect, it is likely that certain types of Middle and it would seem that the north-south territorial boundary on a social transformation involving indigenous and immigrant
Late Neolithic monuments – cursuses, henges and stone which Stonehenge sat was maintained into the Middle and communities (Thomas, 2013). Studies of ancient human
circles – also served as foci for gatherings from different Late Neolithic. DNA are now revealing a high degree of population
257

Figure 9. Early Neolithic long

barrows (burial mounds)
and causewayed enclosures
in central southern England
(drawn by Irene Deluis).
258

7
Figure 10. Late Neolithic cursuses,

henges and stone circles in
central southern England (drawn
by Irene Deluis).
259

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Case studies in North America

8 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced: North America
Niches, Networks and the Pathways to the Forager-to-

James M. Vint, Desert Archaeology, Inc., USA
Barbara J. Mills, University of Arizona, USA
The region of North America that lies in the US Southwest later in the sequence. We emphasize that there were likely for plants and animals. Moreover, the technological
and north-west Mexico (SW/NW) is well known for its multiple reasons for the lag between early adoption and accoutrements normally associated with the ‘Neolithic
highly visible archaeological sites such as Chaco Canyon, demography. It is this diversity—environmental and social— package’ such as ceramics, intensified storage, population
Mesa Verde and Casas Grandes. These are settlements of that makes the SW/NW a particularly interesting case study growth and village scale settlements do not appear
fully committed farmers during the last millennium. What for understanding the forager to farmer transition. contemporaneously in the SW/NW. One of our major
are not as well known are the many sites in the region— goals in this brief overview, then, is to provide an overview
many of which have only been discovered and/or excavated In this chapter we outline current knowledge of the of the timing of these different additions that ultimately
in the last twenty-five years—that have revolutionized transition from foraging to farming in the SW/NW, resulted in the agricultural economies of the NW/SW.
archaeological knowledge of the forager-farmer transition highlighting the differential introduction of cultigens and
in the SW/NW. Data from these sites have accumulated at a associated technological changes. As with other areas of A second goal is to evaluate how well models for the
rapid rate and provide details about the pace and pathways the world, processes associated with this transition included process of adoption and later intensification fit with the
of the transition to farming. a number of different technological innovations that were data from the SW/NW. One model that has recently been
not contemporaneous. The development of ceramic suggested to be of great value for understanding the
Our chapter focuses largely on the Late Archaic or what technology for storage, cooking and serving food is one of transformation of foragers to farmers (and herders) is niche
has become known as the Early Agricultural period in the the more significant outcomes of agricultural practice. In construction theory (NCT) (for example, Odling-Smee et
SW/NW (Huckell, 1995). Not all archaeologists agree that fact, even within the SW/NW region, there were differential al., 2003), which we see as a particularly useful way of
the use of Early Agricultural period is appropriate because rates of adoption and intensification of farming owing to thinking about how people and plants co-evolved before
the transition was neither contemporaneous nor its effects environmental, social and demographic diversity during and during the domestication and/or adoption process.
immediate. Here, we treat it primarily as a temporal unit the Middle and Late Holocene. We discuss the backdrop Another set of models that has not been as widely applied
(c. 2000 bc to ad 150–200) and consider the variation for this variation within the region and then discuss how to archaeological case studies of the transition is network
within it to comprise aspects of the transition to farming the process unfolded with particular attention to recent theory and especially the transmission and diffusion
still in need of modelling and explanation. The early end is archaeological work in the Santa Cruz Valley of southern of innovations (for example, Centola, 2015; Rogers,
roughly defined by dates for the adoption of Mesoamerican Arizona in the US (for example, Mabry, 1998, 2005, 2008b; 2003[1962]; Valente, 1998, 2005; Watts, 2002; Watts
cultigens (but see exceptions below) and its culmination in Roth 1992; Vint, 2015b; Vint and Nials, 2015; Whittlesey and Dodds, 2007). Network approaches provide ways
the shift to farmers committed to substantial dependence et al., 2010). of thinking about how plant species—and knowledge
on maize. As this long time span indicates, the period of associated with their growth and use—are transmitted
early cultigen adoption and experimentation was long. The case study of the SW/NW forager to farmer transition into new areas and what network structures promote or
The extended nature of its impact has been tied to slow is one of cultivation of many weedy annual plants, impede that transmission. Rather than seeing these as
population growth, which did not reach what has been followed by limited, but spatially widespread adoption of antithetical, in the way that niche construction theory has
called the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT) until well maize from Mesoamerica. We outline current knowledge been compared to optimal foraging theory models (for
over 2,000 years after initial maize adoption (Kohler and about the rate, causes, contexts and consequences of example, Smith, 2015), we see network approaches to
Reese, 2014). its adoption along with a suite of other plants that also diffusion and adoption as complementary to and implicit
were adopted from Mesoamerica. Contrary to previous in niche construction theory. We outline a possible scenario
What this long period suggests to us is the need to consider interpretations, we argue that these crops were not for further modelling and testing that combines the two
the Early Agricultural period within an historical framework adopted as a ‘complex,’ suggesting that there were approaches.
that begins with the Middle Archaic and ends with the different motivations, social networks and geographic
fully committed farmers of the ‘Formative’ period. At the pathways involved with each. Maize was not a major part
same time, we highlight that there were places within the of Southwest diet and economies until well after initial
region where farming was intensively practiced before adoption, suggesting that economic models (especially
others, especially in southern Arizona and New Mexico optimal foraging theory) do not provide a good analogue.
and northern Sonora and Chihuahua. In addition, there Not all processes are adequately modelled by energetic
were several areas that never fully adopted maize until returns of foods, including a wide range of social uses
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animal kingdom, human niche construction drives cultural human manipulation of their local environments. Recent
Niche Construction and Network evolution through manipulation of material culture and work in the Amazon (for example, Clement et al., 2015),
Models: Complementary Approaches to the structuring of social interaction among community one of the most diverse areas on the planet, exemplifies
the Forager to Farmer Transition members. Culture itself is central to the ‘ecological how human management of landscapes resulted in
inheritance’ of niche construction (Kendal et al., 2011:790), domestication and its social consequences.
In a recent overview, Smith (2015) has argued that niche for it encodes the behaviours and knowledge necessary
construction theory (NCT) provides a more robust approach to propagate itself. Change effected by cultural evolution Modification (or ‘improvement’) of land for plant or animal
to understanding the forager to farmer transition than is transmitted via heritable environmental traits—built or production is just one aspect of human niche construction.
does optimal foraging theory (OFT) (see also Smith, 2007, engineered environments—and associated technological As noted by Widgren and Håkansson (2014), society itself
2011). We agree with his assessment but we think that a knowledge and material culture, and the social practices is constructed and reconstructed by the cohesive group
complementary approach from network science bolsters that reinforce, perpetuate and modify the socio- practices, cooperation and social structures needed to
the use of NCT by pointing out how network structure cultural environment. Through deep time, human niche maintain our built environments. The process of cultural
helps to understand how crops and traditional knowledge construction can result in genetic change, but cultural evolution works both lineally—from one generation to the
about those crops were transmitted. In the case of the SW/ evolution typically operates on a temporal scale that occurs next—and laterally, among members of a given group.
NW we argue that the diffusion of maize that defines the more quickly than that of the genome. It is significant to note that the transmission of heritable
beginning of the Early Agricultural period was conditioned change can and does occur among non-biologically related
by the specific structure and distribution of niches created Niche construction affects not just the organisms that individuals. Among the powerful engines of cultural
in the mid-Holocene Archaic, which set into motion a engineer their environments, but also other organisms evolution are social networks, which connect individuals,
trajectory toward intensification in the Late Holocene. living within that modified environment (which also may families, corporate groups and communities at different
be modifying their own niches within the greater physical spatial and social scales. The importance of social networks
sphere). ‘Niche-constructed species’ arise from the actions is that they are the medium that transfers heritable cultural
of other organisms through unintended and deliberate knowledge through time and over space. Network theory—
Niche Construction Theory (NCT) manipulation. In the case of agriculture, domesticated which nests well within NCT—explicitly recognizes this and
plant and animal species are one result of human niche is discussed further below.
NCT serves as a unifying theoretical approach that construction. Within agricultural landscapes—non
accommodates the many ways evolutionary theory is industrialized ones in particular—the ripple effect of
applied in different sciences, reconciling their different niche construction is seen in the coevolution of ‘weedy’
emphases on scales of time and physical resolution plants that thrive in disturbed soils and which may be Network Theory and Diffusion
(Jablonka, 2011; Odling-Smee et al., 2003). NCT tolerated, encouraged or eliminated by farmers (Snir et al.,
recognizes the agency of organisms in their environment 2015). Animals also take advantage of human-modified Network theory specifically addresses how the structure of
and that behaviour is a causal, endogenous process in landscapes and may similarly be tolerated and taken networks promotes or impedes the flow of information and
evolutionary change (Kendal et al., 2011). Organisms advantage of through ‘garden hunting,’ or considered things. Diffusion models, once thrown out with migration,
actively modify their environment to ameliorate adverse or and treated as pests. Irrigated fields and their canal are now recognized as important for understanding
to enhance positive conditions and in turn can affect the systems are miniature riparian ecosystems themselves, social processes such as the spread of social movements,
evolutionary trajectories of other organisms. In contrast with water and dense plant growth concentrated into a technologies and ideas (for example, Rogers, 2003;
to traditional Darwinian natural selection, which operates densely focused area. Valente, 1998, 2005; Watts, 2002; Watts and Dodds,
through external selective pressures on the phenotype, 2007). Renewed archaeological interest in transmission
niche construction is deliberate, directed and can be goal Niche construction can occur in all economies, albeit at processes open up many possibilities for learning from
oriented. Classic examples include the built environment different intensities and scales. Foragers are well known models based in network approaches to diffusion (Mills
of a beaver pond and its effects on the immediate riparian to clear, burn, prune, transplant and divert water, among and Peeples, 2017).
setting, or the effects of animal burrows in creating a other activities that modify landscapes (Smith, 2011; Terrell
living environment that buffers the animal from extremes et al., 2003). These activities, especially when spatially Diffusion generally adheres to a logistic curve (Rogers,
in temperatures and weather (Odling-Smee et al., 2003). concentrated, can result in dramatic changes including 2003; Ryan and Gross, 1943) but the rate of adoption
Humans are the epitome of niche constructing animals and those that set plants and animals on pathways toward can vary, producing different slopes in the curve. Some
are indeed the consummate domesticated animal. domestication. Smith (2015) has argued that cultural things may be resisted and not adopted at all—knowledge
niche construction (CNC) is a more robust theory than diet alone does not mean that an idea or practice will spread
Human niche construction operates in the physical and breadth models (DBM) for archaeological cases because (something called the ‘knowledge-attitude-practice
social worlds (Laland and O’Brien, 2011; Odling-Smee et these models are built around assumptions of resource gap’ [Valente and Myers, 2010]). Diffusion processes are
al., 2003; Shennan, 2011). We modify the environment depression. Instead, there is more evidence that both initial different from other kinds of transmission such as those
for purposes of shelter, food, defence and extraction domestication and adoption of cultigens occur in resource involving contagious diseases, where it only takes a
and control of other resources. Perhaps uniquely in the rich habitats and/or where there is evidence for beneficial single one-on-one connection to cause a transfer. Several
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different social factors promote whether diffusion will take 9. Population size, in that increasing population size results
place and how extensive it might be (see especially Rogers in a greater likelihood of multiple social groups within The Mosaic of the SW/NW
[2003] and Centola [2015]): the population and higher probabilities for consolidation,
both of which promote diffusion. The process of adoption and later intensification of
1. The nature of the idea or thing being diffused, ranging agriculture in the Southwest is constrained by the region’s
from simple to more complex. Complex practices include Centola’s (2015) simulation models have shown that rather environmental and social diversity. We think that part of
skilled or special knowledge, which may slow or impede than a monotonic effect of social cohesion and likelihood the reason for differing pathways to farming in the SW/
widespread diffusion. of diffusion, there is an inverse U-shaped distribution. NW lies in the contrasting environmental settings of the
High and low degrees of social cohesion put a damper region (Figure 1). There are three broad physiographic
2. The frequency of contact between people. This may be on diffusion, whereas moderately cohesive groups have regions: (1) the Colorado Plateau, which is an upland
conditioned by spatial distance but it is dependent on how the highest probabilities. As he put it, ‘mesolevel patterns area in the northern Southwest; (2) the Basin and Range,
often people aggregate—high frequencies or periodic of overlapping groups, connected through wide bridges, which encompasses the southern Southwest including the
aggregations promote diffusion. establish the necessary social fabric to support the spread Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southern Arizona and
of shared norms and practices throughout a population’ New Mexico and significant portions of northern Mexico;
3. The nature of the activities, including their performativity. (Centola, 2015:1297). This is because of the interaction and (3) mountainous zones that include the southern
High performativity may act as mnemonics for repetition, of social cohesion with another social factor: the degree portion of the Rocky Mountains and the northern Sierra
such as those associated with religious practices. to which social groups are consolidated. Thus, ‘potentially Madres of Mexico. In addition to these is a broad ‘Transition
minor changes to social institutions that reduce or increase Zone,’ which lies at the southern edge of the Colorado
4. The status or position of those who have and/or are the level of social consolidation within a society can be Plateau and includes mountains of largely volcanic origin.
conveying information, which can be dependent on the unintentionally amplified through the vehicle of social The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse area
heterogeneity in the number of different status positions networks into significant consequences for a population’s within the region, and strong east-west contrasts are
within the group (Centola, 2015). High status nodes collective capacity for social diffusion’ (Centola, present within both the southern and northern Southwest.
promote acceptance of new innovations. 2015:1302).
Regional differences are strongly correlated with elevational
5. The number of different social groups, each with their contrasts as one moves through the region because
own network. elevation correlates with two other environmental
Combining NCT and Network variables: precipitation and the number of frost-free days
6. How closed the groups are, that is, their degree of Models of Diffusion per year. These place constraints on seasonality, plant and
homophily or tendency to create linkages with people animal productivity, and even the number of crops that
more similar to themselves (McPherson et al., 1987) and Our basic premise is that human niche construction creates may be grown per year. Moving from west to east in the
how disembedded from each other they are (Borck et al., social conditions for diffusion in multiple, beneficial ways. southern Southwest takes one from true deserts (less
2015). This is strongly correlated with how frequently Although it can be argued that humans have always than 250 mm of rain) at the coast, where foraging and
people interact with others outside their social groups and engaged in niche construction activities, activities that fishing predominated, to the semi-arid Sonoran and then
may be referred to as social cohesion (Centola, 2015), form the basis for cultivation, incipient domestication Chihuahuan deserts further east. Within these zones are
which limits transmission across groups. and the adoption and intensification of agriculture (and major and minor river systems that create rich zones of
in other cases herding) include changes in the number, riparian vegetation and diverse animal species. These river
7. The degree to which social positions are correlated size and structure of social groups that may be especially systems provided natural pathways for the movement of
with each other. For example, how much memberships conducive to diffusion. These conditions include spatial people (and plants), as well as tethering past communities
in different social groups overlap (for example, work aggregation, the development of specialized traditional to critical water resources. Dramatic elevational differences
settings, kinship and voluntary organizations). Centola knowledge surrounding environmental management, of the ‘sky island’ mountain ranges present environmental
(2015) calls this the ‘level of consolidation,’ and argues periodicity of social group interaction and the formation zones ranging from desert scrub at their base to alpine
that moderate consolidation produces ‘wide bridges’ that of different kinds of social groups between and within forests at their summit.
are more effective than long, narrow ties in diffusion (for niches—for example, for water management, construction
example, a single, ‘weak’ tie). of upland terraces and rock piles—each with their own
positions of status. There is no need for a strictly cause and
8. The density of social ties between people within each effect model. Instead we suggest that diffusion through Middle to Late Holocene Environmental
social network. Extremely sparse networks, in which social networks and niche construction intersected in and Archaeological Change
there are many isolated or relatively unconnected nodes several interesting ways that created opportunities for the
or agents, do not promote diffusion. transformation of foragers into farmers. We explore how It is clear that understanding the transition from foragers to
these models provide a better understanding of the Early farmers requires a long-term historical and environmental
Agricultural period in the SW/NW. perspective. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions for the
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region point to a general warming trend during the Middle are patches within each area, such as the mountainous Cruz River corridor of the Sonoran Desert, at almost 5000
Holocene (or Middle Archaic). This pattern was originally ‘sky islands,’ coppice dune fields and riparian settings that bc (Vint, 2015b; cf. Merrill et al., 2009:Table S2). Other
identified by Ernst Antevs (1948) based on correlations contribute to complex environmental mosaics within each Mesoamerican cultigens, including pepo squash (Cucurbita
with varve dating and which he termed the Altithermal. area. sp.), beans (Phaseolus sp.) and chiles (Capsicum annuum
Specific manifestations of the Altithermal in subareas of the L.), have thus far been dated later in the SW/NW. In New
Southwest have been debated but multiple climate proxies Archaeological documentation of Middle Holocene Archaic Mexico, pepo squash dates as early as about 500 bc and
have verified that the period from 5000-2500 bc was hot foragers is hampered by large gaps. The lack of evidence common bean 2500 bc. In southern Arizona, both have
and dry, and correlated with lower frequencies of El Niño- may be because of the high residential mobility practiced been dated to about 650 bc. In general, then, maize arrives
Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events (for example, Anderson by some groups, including movement spurred by high in the SW/NW region at an early date, well before the
et al., 2008; Conroy et al., 2009; Menking and Anderson, degrees of aridity that affected water resources, as well as two other significant domesticated Mesoamerican plant
2003). Many water sources disappeared, including lakes primary and secondary plant and animal productivity. Other foods—beans and squash.
and springs. Throughout the period, an expansion of factors may be taphonomic in that high aridity set the stage
pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) forests occurred in the northern for later erosion once mesic conditions resumed. With more Second, sites with relatively early maize dates are
and upland Southwest at the expense of ponderosa pine recent and areally extensive cultural resource management widespread in the SW/NW (Figure 1). Until the most
(Drake et al., 2012; Hall, 1988), while mesquite (Prosopis (CRM) projects, larger numbers of sites have been identified recent early dates from the Santa Cruz corridor (including
spp.) trees became one of dominant trees in the desert and excavated. These projects have documented Middle the site of Las Capas), the occurrences of maize in such
scrub environments that developed in the southern Archaic architecture in a diversity of areas of the Southwest diverse settings as south-eastern Arizona, Jornada area
Southwest (Van Devender, 1987). By about 2500 bc, there (for example, O’Laughlin, 1980; Schmader, 2001), often of south-west New Mexico (for example, Tornillo Shelter),
was a shift to a cooler and wetter climate, corresponding accompanied by intensive use of mesquite and succulents the Transition Zone (such as, McEuen Cave), the southern
with the end of the Middle Holocene, although the timing such as agave. This processing has been especially present Colorado Plateau (for example, Old Corn Site) and north-
varied across the Southwest. Some of the climatic shift is in the southern Southwest (for example, Gregory, 1999; eastern Arizona (such as, Three Fir Shelter) were considered
related to a higher frequency of ENSO events, especially by Mabry, 2005; Miller et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2001). Many to be unusual because of their relative synchrony. Now,
about 2200 bc. of these sites have extensive middens, storage pits and the earlier dates in the river valleys of the southern US fit
evidence for processing with ground stone and pit ovens. the more expected south to north pattern through time,
Both pinyon and mesquite were important to Middle and The overall picture is still emerging but there were some although there is still an unusual and more widespread
Late Archaic period foragers, but in different parts of the areas where more intensive (albeit still seasonal) exploitation distribution after 4000 bc . The earlier dates for the
Southwest. They provided reliable, nutritional and storable was practiced, particularly in the southern Southwest. Also southern valleys of the Sonoran desert fit well with the
resources, and likely initiated more tethered settlement important is the fact that within subareas of the Southwest expectation that the first appearance of corn should be
patterns for at least part of the year and even new systems there was social diversity, based on technological indicators in lower elevation and more well watered settings (for
of territoriality (see Drake et al., 2012 for a discussion such as projectile points (for example, Bayham and Morris, example, Matson, 1991; Mabry and Doolittle, 2008). The
of the northern Southwest). Across the greater SW/NW, 1986). Thus, the social landscape should be considered to new dates from the Santa Cruz corridor on maize from
however, each resource would have encouraged different have been heterogeneous at the time that initial adoption the sites of Las Capas and Los Pozos now point to an
mobility patterns and adaptations, with pinyon growing of cultigens occurred. even longer period of low-level use in the south before
at higher elevations, and mesquite growing in lower its adoption in other areas. It is likely that earlier dated
elevations and highly correlated with washes and riparian maize will be found at other sites throughout the region,
environments, especially during the Late Archaic (Van but for now we take the evidence to indicate that foragers
Devender, 1987:63). Thus, lower elevation foragers in the The Early Agricultural Period: Overview in southern Arizona were among the first in the region
southern Southwest exploiting mesquite would have been to adopt maize and integrate it into their use of riverine
increasingly concentrated along river valleys while northern In comparison to archaeological work on the Middle resources for what may have been several hundred years
and upland foragers would have been more likely to spend Archaic, extensive recent excavations have been conducted before other areas of the Southwest.
time further from river valley settings for at least part of the at Late Archaic/Early Agricultural period sites in the SW/NW
year (and where game would have been more abundant). region. A majority of these are the result of CRM projects Third, even within areas where there are relatively early
that have exposed deeply buried sites that were otherwise maize dates (for example, around or before 3000 bc),
North-south generalizations must be tempered by west not visible on the landscape. Several general observations there were contemporaneous or even later sites without
to east differences. In contrast to southern Arizona, come out of recent work in the area. any evidence of maize use. Although some of this diversity
for example, Middle to Late Holocene climate brought could be because of functional differences in sites, some
about changes from a desert scrub to grassland settings First, of the several plants that were domesticated in of them are not just short-term camps. Thus, maize did not
in southern New Mexico (for example, Monger, 2003). Mesoamerica and adopted in the SW/NW, maize remains spread like ‘wildfire’ as one might expect if it provided a
These differences persist today in the contrast between the earliest (Table 1). Maize dates have been pushed earlier key subsistence item, higher ranked than other competing
the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. It should be noted, and earlier in the SW/NW and as we discuss in more detail resources, as optimal foraging models predict. The early
however, that these are broad characterizations and there below, currently the earliest dates are from the Santa maize, which arrived in the Southwest and continued to be
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used for the next 1000 years or more, had relatively small
kernels and ears (Huckell, 2009). Like its progenitors in
Mesoamerica, it was relatively unproductive in comparison
to later varieties—unless one considers its sugar content
and potential for consumption in feasting contexts (see
below).
The Early Agricultural Period in the Santa

Cruz Corridor of the Sonoran Desert
The Santa Cruz Corridor in the Tucson Basin provides one

of the best-documented examples of the Early Agricultural
period in the SW/NW and shows how different parts
of the ‘Neolithic package’ were sequential rather than
simultaneous. Early maize was first documented in the
Tucson Basin in the mid 1980s, with direct radiocarbon
dates on carbonized maize remains from the archaeological
sites of Tumamoc Hill and Milagro (Figure 2; Fish et al.,
1986; Huckell, 1995, 1996). Over the past two decades,
the number of known sites in the Tucson Basin with
documented early maize has increased to more than 25, in
large part due to research projects conducted in advance
of highway and other infrastructure development. Most
of these sites are located on the floodplain of the Santa
Cruz River, which in ancient times had perennial surface
flow. Elsewhere in the valley, Early Agricultural sites are
located along streams that watered fields with runoff
from seasonal storms (‘ak chin’ farming, as is described
by Nabhan, 1983, 1986). The site of Las Capas is the most
extensively excavated site of this age and provides many of
the examples discussed below.
Early maize land races grown in the SW/NW region were

flinty popcorn-like varieties. Cobs were small and had
anywhere from 8 to 14 rows of cupules (Figure 3). Phytolith
Figure 1. Overview of geography/topographic elevation with key sites. (Map by Catherine B. Gilman, Desert Archaeology, Inc.)
analysis of carbonized maize cobs and field sediments (key to Table 1). © James M. Vint
recovered from the site of Las Capas sheds some light
on the nature of early maize in the region (Figure 4).
Morphological attributes of rondel phytoliths extracted 2, Table 1). Several maize specimens from either disturbed grains from domesticated maize and squash in contexts
from these cobs indicate that they were most similar to or uncertain contexts date much earlier than this. Direct as early as 7920 ±40 bp (Piperno et al., 2009; Ranere et
flinty popcorn types such as Reventador and Chapalote and dates on maize from the site of Las Capas of 4930 ±30 al., 2009). Early dates for maize elsewhere in the SW/
some exhibited morphological traits similar to teosinte, the bp, 4640 ±30 bp and 3990 ±30 bp, and a maize specimen NW are essentially coeval with those documented in the
wild progenitor of maize (Scott Cummings et al., 2013); from Los Pozos dated to 4050 ±50 bp, suggest that maize Tucson Basin, though the dates from Los Pozos and Las
they are completely unlike modern Zuni and Tohono was probably grown and used some 1,500 years earlier Capas certainly suggest potentially earlier arrival here than
O’odham flour corn. than what is currently well-established in the Tucson Basin. elsewhere.
These ages are intriguing when compared to the early
The earliest maize in the Santa Cruz Valley from an dates on maize from Guilá Naquitz in Mexico of 5420 Domesticated beans and pepo squash have not been
undisturbed archaeological context dates to 3690 ±40 bp ±60 and 5420 ± bp , and recent research in the Rio Balsas identified in contexts older than about 650 bc in the Tucson
(2200 – 1950 bc) and is from the Clearwater Site (Figure Basin of Mexico that has identified phytoliths and starch Basin; in other words, the ‘Mesoamerican Crop Complex’
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of maize, beans and squash apparently did not arrive in the encompassed 15 hectares (Figure 5; Nials, 2015a). Main have been a means of hiding food stores or serve to lessen
region at the same time. Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) canals in this system averaged 1.5 m in width and .75 m predation by pests like rodents, but probably would not
and maize phytoliths, however, have been identified in in depth. Smaller canals branched from these and fed a have been a viable long-term strategy. Successful long-
archaeological field sediments that date to around 800 bc network of field cells averaging 4 m by 6 m in dimension. term storage, longer than 30 days, depends on the grain
(Yost, 2015). The site of La Playa, Sonora, has a similar system of fields being properly dried, undamaged, and kept in cool and dry
(Carpenter et al., 2005; Copeland et al., 2012). It is conditions (Proctor, 1994). Seed corn would have had to
currently unknown if this field arrangement is typical of be stored above ground in basket or hide bag containers.
Early Agricultural irrigation technology, but it persisted
Canals, Technology and Labour in use for some 400 years at Las Capas, indicative of its
Investment efficiency and functionality.
Subsistence, Health and Demography
Technological changes that occurred in the Early
Agricultural period include investment in canals and Seasonal foraging and hunting contributed the majority
agricultural fields—some of which show continued use Architecture, Storage and Ownership of the diet, with maize comprising perhaps 30% of the
over centuries (if not millennia). It is most likely that maize plant-based diet from about 1250 to 800 bc, after which
was first grown in floodplain environments and other Irrigated fields were the most prominent capital investment time it increased in importance. Wild plants and those that
settings with reliable high-water tables and persistent moist during the Early Agricultural period, and reflect increasing thrive in the disturbed soils in and around agricultural fields
soil conditions (Doolittle and Mabry, 2006), which required commitment to place, community identity and territoriality. remained important to the diet, combined with animal
little labour beyond planting, tending and harvesting crops. The degree of residential mobility versus sedentism protein primarily from rabbits and deer (Diehl, 2005b).
As the reliance on (or desire to continue growing) maize practiced by early farmers remains unresolved, though Much is made about the complementary nutritional values
became entrenched in the subsistence economy, more it is clear that at least a few people lived year-round at of maize, beans and squash, in particular the contribution
elaborate and labour-intensive agricultural technologies these small settlements (Mabry, 2008a; Whittlesey, 2010). of lysine and tryptophan from beans, which are deficient
were developed. Built agricultural environments include Houses were constructed in shallow pits oval to circular in maize. As noted above, beans and squash do not
simple dams and weirs that capture water from flowing in floor plan, typically two to three metres in maximum enter the repertoire of early farmers until after around
streams or storm run-off, directing it onto fields. Canal dimension. The dome-like superstructure was made of 2900 bp. Palaeobotanical analyses have demonstrated the
irrigation is the quintessential example of engineered willow, cottonwood or mesquite branches covered with importance of chenopod and amaranth seeds in the diet,
environments and such systems are an investment that brush thatch. Large bell-shaped pits were constructed both species that grow vigorously in agricultural fields.
requires close social cooperation to maintain and operate adjacent to houses (Figure 6) and features such as roasting Amaranth is of consequence because it is rich in lysine and
(Doolittle, 2014; Mabry, 1996; Widgren and Håkansson, pits located a bit further away. Starting around 800 bc, tryptophan and thus provides those amino acids just as
2014). Labour and organizationally intensive agricultural storage pits were constructed within houses, rather than do beans. Maize may not have been used in the diet in
practices, such as canal irrigation, generally develop after in open public space. The large pits have been argued to significant enough quantity to cause nutritional imbalances,
agriculture has been integrated fully into an economy. indicate production and storage of surplus maize and thus but the incorporation of maize with the wild grains would
an indicator of year-round settlement (Huckell et al., 2002). help provide a nutritionally complete combination of plant
The earliest known canal in the Tucson Basin is found at the Inhumation burials are typically located near houses as well foods.
Clearwater Site and dates to about 1500 bc (Mabry, 2006). (Watson and Byrd, 2015) and although no true ‘cemeteries’
By 1200 bc, irrigation was practiced at a number of other have been identified, their presence is another indicator of Studies of skeletal human remains from Las Capas show
sites including Las Capas, Costello-King, the Dairy Site and people’s anchoring to place. little sign of nutritional stress. Most pathologies are lesions
Stewart Brickyard (Brack, 2013; Ezzo and Deaver, 1998; from arthritic degeneration, injury and strenuous activity
Mabry, 2008b; Whittlesey et al., 2010). This technology Long-term storage of maize and other seed in subterranean (Watson and Byrd, 2015). Males in particular show evidence
appears some one thousand years after maize was adopted pits may well have been practiced, but is a questionable of bone modification caused by long-distance travel, likely
in the region. It is interesting to note that the earliest known means of banking food surplus. Viability of grain rapidly associated with hunting excursions and other logistical
canals and water diversion systems in Mesoamerica date to deteriorates in the anoxic conditions, mould and fungus forays (Watson and Stoll, 2013). A regional analysis of
around 1200 bc (Doolittle, 1995), around the same time as contamination makes it inedible, and nutritional qualities cranial attributes of individuals in burials from multiple
in the SW/NW region. Irrigation technology was most likely diminish over time (Ahmed and Alama, 2010; Food and communities in the SW/NW region found traits suggestive
developed independently in these two areas rather than it Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1983). In of male exogamy (Byrd, 2014). Population movement (and
being introduced to the SW/NW from the south, based on floodplain settings, such as at Las Capas and Costello-King, thus gene flow) among communities thus appears to have
its relatively sudden appearance (Doolittle, 1995; Doolittle high water tables and generally damp conditions present occurred at the level of individuals in many cases, and is
and Mabry, 2006; Mabry, 2008a). additional adverse conditions for storage over any length illustrative of cooperation and social ties among near and
of time. Alternative means of storage such as in baskets distant communities.
The site of Las Capas revealed an extensive system of canal- or wicker granaries may have been used, but are not
irrigated fields, which at its apogee (900 – 800 bc) probably visible archaeologically at open-air sites. Pit storage may
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Table 1. Radiocarbon Ages for Selected Regional Early Agricultural Period Sites Shown in The practice of agriculture apparently did not result in or
Figure 1. (Radiocarbon Ages Calibrated Using OxCal 4.2.3 Using the IntCal13 Calibraiton develop in response to, population increases in the Tucson
Curve (Bronk Ramsey 2015; Reimer et al. 2013) Basin or elsewhere throughout the SW/NW until at least
Conventional Age and Calibrated Age B.C./A.D. ad 500, some 3,000 years after maize was incorporated
Site Reference
Error, 14C Years bp (95.4% probability) into local food economies (Kohler and Reese, 2014).
Las Capas 4930 ±30 3780 - 3650 Vint 2015 From 1200 bc to 800 bc in the Tucson Basin, hunting
Woodrat Midden CC-3 3890 ±40 2480 - 2210 Hall 2010 pressure seems to be minimal on both large and small
Old Corn 3810 ±50 2460 - 2060 Huber 2005 game animals, suggesting the local human population
Clearwater 3690 ±40 2200 - 1950 Mabry and Doolittle 2004 remained fairly constant over this time period (Waters et
Three Fir Shelter 3610 ±170 2470 - 1540 Smiley 1994 al., 2015). Similarly, plant resource breadth also remains
Square Hearth 3505 ±65 2020 - 1660 Mabry 1998 fairly constant, with variation in resource use attributable
Lukachukai 3455 ±45 1900 - 1650 Gilpin 1994 more to environmental variation than to over-harvesting
Los Pozos 3340 ±60 1860 - 1460 Gregory and Baar 1999
(Diehl, 2005a, 2015).
Tornillo Shelter 3225 ±240 2140 - 900 Upham et al. 1987
Valley Farms 3145 ±50 1520 - 1270 Huckell 2000
San Luis de Cabezon 3125 ±45 1500 - 1280 Huckell and McBride 1999
Community Organization
Bat Cave 3120 ±70 1600 - 1130 Wills 1988
and Ceremonialism
El Taller 3080 ±50 1450 - 1210 Wocherl 2007
Cerro Juanaquena 3080 ±40 1440 - 1230 Roney and Hard 2002 Changes in community organization accompanied the
Woodrat Midden CC-2 3030 ±50 1420 - 1120 Hall 2010 adoption and intensification of agricultural practice.
Jemez Cave 2990 ±40 1390 - 1050 Vierra and Ford 2006 Consequences of agriculture include increased territoriality,
La Playa 2975 ±51 1390 - 1020 Carpenter et al. 2008 land and water rights, intra- and intercommunity
Fresnal Rockselter 2945 ±55 1380 - 990 Tagg 1996 cooperation in labour and resource allocation, and the
Milagro 2930 ±45 1270 - 1000 Huckell et al. 1995 potential for increased vulnerability to local environmental
Rillito Fan 2860 ±40 1190 - 910 Mabry 2008b conditions (Bowles and Choi, 2013; Crawford, 1988;
Solar Well 2835 ±85 1230 - 810 Mabry 2008b Doolittle, 1991; Hunt, 1988; Hunt et al., 2005; Mabry,
Fairbank 2815 ±80 1210 - 810 Huckell 1990
2002; Strang, 2008). The potential for conflict also rises,
as the need for protecting (or appropriating) land and
Cortaro Fan 2790 ±60 1110 - 810 Mabry 2008b
resources become relevant to community survival.
Costello-King 2780 ±60 1090 - 810 Ezzo and Deaver 1998
West End 2735 ±75 1090 - 790 Huckell 1990
In the case of irrigation communities that depended on
LA 18091 2720 ±265 1600 - 200 Simmons 1986
the Santa Cruz River, negotiating and scheduling water use
Salina Springs 2630 ±45 910 - 590 Gilpin 1994 along the stream was crucial to the success of irrigated
Camp Geronimo 2510 ±60 800 - 430 Ruble et al. 2015 farming. Recent research has modelled potential sizes of
Donaldson 2505 ±55 800 - 430 Huckell 1995:30 irrigation systems and the amount of water needed to
Kin Boko 2500 ±90 800 - 400 Smiley 1994 water the fields (Nials, 2015a; Vint, 2015a). With optimal
Tumamoc Hill 2470 ±270 1270 B.C. - A.D. 60 Fish et al. 1986 stream flow conditions, no more than six contemporary
Santa Cruz Bend 2440 ±50 760 - 400 Mabry 1998 farming communities, each with field systems of 10 to
Stone Pipe 2390 ±50 760 - 380 Mabry 1998 15 hectares, could have been supported along the 25
Sheep Camp Shelter 2290 ±210 890B.C. - A.D. 130 Simmons 1986 kilometre stretch of river flowing through the Tucson Basin.
Los Ojitos 2170 ±170 770 B.C. - A.D. 140 Huckell 1995:30
Currently, 10 such communities have been identified on
this stretch of the Santa Cruz that date from between
Larder Site 2130 ±40 360 - 40 Ahlstrom 2008
1200 to 800 bc (Mabry, 2008a:Table 12.1). Water use
Turkey Pen Cave 2050 ±80 360 B.C. - A.D. 130 Matson and Chisholm 1991
by communities upstream of others would have affected
Tularosa Cave 1940 ±90 180 B.C. - A.D. 320 Wills 1988
when each could tap the river without reducing stream
Chama Alcove 1840 ±50 A.D. 60 - A.D. 330 Vierra and Ford 2006
flow to those downstream. A local chronology built using
McEuen Cave ca. 1200 cal B.C. Mabry 2005b
Bayesian modelling of radiocarbon dates from these sites
Kin Kahuna by 400 cal B.C. Geib and Spurr 2000 suggest that no more than four or five may have been
White Dog Cave by 600 cal B.C. Geib and Spurr 2000 coeval at any given time (Vint, 2015a), which suggests that
Sand Dune Cave by 600 cal B.C. Geib and Spurr 2000 demands on available river water were significant enough
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8
to limit how many farming communities could successfully with houses arranged around open space (a ‘plaza’ of sorts) Southwest; after about ad 50 they become spatially
irrigate off of the Santa Cruz River. that typically included a large circular structure several times restricted to the Colorado Plateau region of northern
the size of typical habitation. These have been interpreted Arizona and the Pueblo region of northern New Mexico
Geomorphic evidence also indicates that communities had as communal structures used for ceremonial and political (Adams, 2015).
to relocate or coalesce in response to flood events and gatherings—indicating the practice of more secretive and
periods of stream entrenchment. Floods could severely controlled decision making by members of household Figure 7 summarizes the differential timing of additions to
damage canal intakes and main canals that carried water corporate groups of the village (Mabry, 1998). the ‘Neolithic package’ at Las Capas. This case study is in
from the river. Entrenchment would have lowered the the area with the earliest maize dates, but evidences a long
stream to depths below ground surface that made directing Perhaps the most visible yet archaeologically unrecognized period in which domesticated plants were grown and used
water into the canal impossible (Nials, 2015a, b). Irrigated public ritual space was the expanse of irrigated fields built, in smaller quantities than previous models have suggested.
farming may have allowed concentrated production of re-built and perpetuated by the community; these fields Wild plant foods remained dominant for over 1000 years (or
maize and cultivated weedy plants, but at the same time were the essence of the community itself, the source more). Even so, the site shows remarkably well-preserved
rendered communities vulnerable to local environmental of its identity and sustenance. The practice of planting, examples of intensive cultivation by 1200 bc; cultivation of
conditions. The social environment may have also been tending and harvesting crops was a display of community weedy annuals in the fields may have been as important
unpredictable and dangerous at times, as suggested by life, the definition of who the people were. Today, the as growing maize. Residents were engaged in constructing
several inhumations of individuals who died violently, and fields of modern acequía communities in northern New canals, agricultural fields, storage pits and houses—a
were buried in deviant fashion, found at the site of Las Mexico are the destination of processions from the village significant investment in place that led to creating different
Capas (Watson and Byrd, 2015). church following services dedicated to bringing a successful networks of social groups. These groups revolved around
farming season (Rodríguez, 2006); they are the place where residence, water control, religious practices, hunting and
Estimating site and regional populations is difficult if communities come together seasonally to repair canals, continued tending of non-domesticated plants outside of
nearly impossible due to insufficient data on site sizes, share news, resolve conflicts, celebrate life events and look the floodplain. Social diversity is also present in marriage
the numbers of houses and other census proxies. Again, to their future (Crawford, 1988; Eastman et al., 1997). patterns with men more mobile and showing the diversity
Las Capas provides the best source of information for It would be surprising to find this to be any different in expected of male exogamy.
reconstructing population of the Santa Cruz River valley. significance 3,000 years in the past.
Based on modelled labour requirements for canal and field
construction, and potential productive maize yield from Other ritual performances are reflected in fired-clay
fields under ideal conditions, the maximum population of figurines and pipes and these, too, appear to be strongly The Transmission Process in the SW/NW
Las Capas was between 75 and 120 people at around 800 related to agriculture. Figurines may have been part of an
bc (Vint, 2015a). If the estimate of five or six contemporary Uto-Aztecan animist belief system that perpetuated the The available spatial, temporal, functional and social
irrigation communities being able to operate on the Santa tie between farmers and their crops, linking human and evidence suggests that maize was not a major part of the
Cruz River is accurate, then the basin-wide population nonhuman beings—maize in particular—in a reciprocal diet until much later in the SW/NW sequence than its earliest
at around 800 cal. bc may have ranged from 375 to 720 path of existence (Heidke, 2015). They were often coated adoption, practised unevenly throughout the region, and
people; the lower end of the range is most likely. Estimating with red ochre, a treatment also done to deceased yet had important social and ceremonial roles. The areas
population for earlier and later time periods is not possible humans at the time of burial; this treatment may reflect with both the earliest and most intensive cultivation were
at this time. the recognition of human and nonhuman agency among in river valley systems in the southern Southwest, including
beings in the Early Agricultural metaphysical world. Maize the Santa Cruz corridor of south-eastern Arizona. Other
Several classes or categories of artefacts are used to infer is typically described as female and associated with female Early Agricultural sites in riverine settings include the La
aspects of Early Agricultural period ritual practice. These deities, in Uto-Aztecan and Southwest Pueblo narratives Playa site in northern Sonora (Carpenter et al., 2005) and
include specialized architecture, fired-clay figurines, pipes, (Anschuetz, 2010; Black, 1984; Ford, 1994; Lumholtz, trincheras sites such as Cerro Juanaqueña lying next to
stone trays and the use of red ochre. Performance of ritual 1900). Although not distinctly anthropomorphic, the rivers in northern Chihuahua, southern New Mexico and
took place in both public and private space, and was figurines do show bilateral symmetry of features, and, southern Arizona (Hard and Roney, 1998, 2005; Hard et
probably structured by gender (Adams, 2015; Heidke, when sex is indicated, appear as female. The treatment of al., 2006) — although the earliest dates for adoption are
2015; Watson and Byrd, 2015). figurines as individuals is very apparent. not as early as in the Santa Cruz corridor. In addition, there
is evidence for early maize in the Jornada area, near the
Village structure and architectural styles changed relatively Pipes and smoking have been documented ethnographically Rio Grande (Tagg, 1996). These river valley systems were
slowly over time, and reflect changes in how and where as important in healing and cleansing ritual, and in in areas with abundant, perennial water sources especially
certain events took place. From around 1250 – 800 bc, ceremony to bring rain (Fewkes, 1894; Parsons, 1939; during the ameliorating conditions of the Late Holocene.
settlements are small and comprised of loosely clustered Stephen, 1936); they are typically associated with males They were areas of abundance, not scarcity, and include
brush houses; no ‘specialized’ forms of architecture were in both social and ritual contexts. It is interesting to note areas where people were already creating productive niches
built and public space was shared by all people. Starting that in the SW/NW archaeological record, pipes are found through spatially concentrated activities on hill slopes and
around 800 bc, settlement structure becomes more formal, only during the Early Agricultural period in the southern valley bottoms in the Middle Archaic period.
271

Although the plateau, transition zone and mountains of

the northern SW/NW show slightly later dates for the first
adoption of corn than the Santa Cruz corridor, the locations
of sites with cultigens were more variable. Many of the early
dates are from cave sites but some are open sites—also in
higher water table settings or near springs. Canals appear
in several locations by 1000 bc (Damp et al., 2002). Like the
southern Southwest, however, maize ubiquity in the northern
Southwest was not high until much later. For example, Vierra
(2008) shows how maize ubiquity on the Colorado Plateau
was low from c. 1000–500 bc, increasing after this period to
nearly 40% (and highly variable within the area). The presence
of early corn in cave sites, many of which were excavated
early in the history of Southwest archaeology, must be
taken in the context of how these caves were used. Current
interpretations of their use during the Early Agricultural period
have overlooked caves as important for ceremonial activities
throughout the SW/NW sequence.
In the Santa Cruz corridor of south-eastern Arizona wild

plant (and animal) resources were more important than
corn for nearly 2000 years and perhaps longer. Even while
canals and gardens were being constructed to enhance
the cultivation for maize, corn did not become a dominant
part of the diet until after the Early Agricultural period,
corresponding with the use of ceramic containers for
storage and cooking after about ad 200 (and now called
the Early Ceramic Period). The earliest ceramic containers
were tecomate shapes with size ranges that indicate their
use as storage jars (Heidke and Habicht-Mauche, 1998).
Diehl and Waters (2006) have argued that it was the use of
these ceramic containers that made intensification of maize
production and consumption possible in the southern
Southwest because storage of corn in pits was extremely
risky. Seepage of moisture would have resulted in spoilage
and loss of nutrients. In the northern Southwest, at about
the same time, ceramic containers were used for cooking
that promoted higher nutritional benefits than provided by
stone boiling (Blinman et al., 2017).
Although we agree that ceramics and more intensive

consumption of maize go hand and hand, such a long pre-
ceramic period suggests that there may have been multiple
Figure 2. Map of Early Agricultural period sites in the Santa Cruz River Valley. Map by Catherine B. Gilman, Desert Archaeology, Inc.
factors contributing to the continuation of a low level of © James M. Vint
cultivation and use. In fact, what we think needs to be
explained is why maize persisted at all, especially in the
very places where there was abundance of wild resources, more understandable if we consider maize adoption and An alternative explanation for the importance of maize
not scarcity. Large numbers of roasting pits at La Playa in use in the Early Agricultural period not just in terms of relates to its properties of sweetness and the related offshoot,
Sonora, for example, have been found in association with dietary contributions but also in terms of its taste, social fermentation. The ‘sugar hypothesis’ for maize (Blake, 2006;
a diversity of plants, including maize, especially after 1200 contributions and perhaps associations with Mesoamerican Iltis, 2000; Smalley and Blake, 2003) is based on the high
bc (Carpenter et al., 2005, 2008). Such a lag becomes religious practices. sugar content of the plant’s stalk, apparent selection for a
272

8
gene tied to sweetness and ethnographic documentation of
the production of maize beer in Mesoamerica and northern
Mexico. Fermented beverages were and are central to feasts
and the cultivation of maize and preparation of beverages
would have been important ways to facilitate social
interaction (Blake, 2006:69). However, current evidence
suggests that fermentation did not increase relative to other
food resources until the development of ceramics, at least in
the Sonoran desert, and Piperno and her colleagues (2009)
have questioned whether maize stalk sweetness persisted.
Nonetheless, maize may have been considered as a special

food and been a prominent part of feasting. In addition,
it may have retained its association with Mesoamerica and
aspects of Mesoamerican ceremonialism. Raymond and
DeBoer (2006) point out how maize was an important
ceremonial food among all of the mobile farmers in their
South American sample. It provided food during seasonal
gatherings, could be prepared in number of ways and may
have spread quite quickly even before sedentism. Exactly
how maize came into the SW/NW and continued to be
cultivated may therefore be importantly related to its social
and ceremonial roles.
Debates over the process and routes of adoption have

swung between migration (Bellwood, 1997; Berry and
Berry, 1986; Hill, 2001) to small-scale interaction and
exchange models (for example, Mabry, 2008a; Merrill et
al., 2009; Wills, 1988). Added to this is the widespread
distribution of Uto-Aztecan language speakers, who
ethnographically range from the Great Basin to central
Mexico. Followers of the migration hypothesis, such as
Bellwood (1997; Hill, 2001) further suggest that language
and farmers moved together.
There are several reasons to question the long-distance

migration of farmers bringing maize to the SW/NW.
First, there were already people living in the well-watered Figure 3. Examples of early maize
from Las Capas. Photographs by Alan
southern valleys where the first maize appears, in fact, Denoyer, Desert Archaeology, Inc;
at many of the same sites. Second, there is continuity line drawings by Rob Ciaccio, Desert
Archaeology, Inc. © James M. Vint
in everyday material practices without the technological
changes one might expect with large-scale migration.
Figure 4. Phytoliths recovered from
Third, none of the other domesticates from Mesoamerica agricultural field sediments at Las
came at the same time (Merrill et al., 2009). And finally, Capas. a, b, maize rondel side and
top view; c, bottle gourd (Lagenaria);
there is continuity in Middle Archaic subsistence practices. d, undifferentiated cucurbita; e,
There isn’t evidence for large-scale farming until hundreds freshwater sponge gemmosclere,
which is indicative of clean and
and perhaps thousands of years later and no evidence that perennial or near perennial flow
farmers pushed out foragers from their highly productive of the Santa Cruz River; f, modern
Tohono O’odham bottle gourd
niches. Indeed, Diehl (2005a, 2015) considers early farmers reference. Photomicrographs by Chad
to be ‘farmagers’ who were as reliant on wild plants, if L. Yost, Department of Geosciences,
University of Arizona.
not more so, than maize. Early agriculture was thus © Barbara J. Mills
273

more a concentration of production—maize and weedy

annuals together—than intensification. Instead, maize
is added to the repertoire—a repertoire that has many
commonalities with Middle Archaic subsistence practices.
Thus, we are inclined to agree with Merrill et al. (2009)
that maize agriculture diffused primarily via group-to-group
transmission of seeds and knowledge.
The actual route of diffusion has also been debated. Da

Fonseca et al. (2015) have recently published genetic
comparisons of highland US maize from caves dating to
about 2000 bc and conclude that these samples are more
similar to highland varieties from Mexico than they are to
lowland samples from Mexico. They did not compare any
samples from the Santa Cruz corridor, which could be up to
1000 years earlier. Nor is it necessary for there to have been
a direct route from highland Mexico to the highlands of the
northern SW/NW. In fact, the Sierra Madres end around
the current international border. Maize could have diffused
east and west, and north and south, once it reached the
basin and range country, traveling along river corridors
rather than simply through the highlands. Moreover, Figure 5. Aerial view of bordered fields and irrigation canals (both outlined in white paint) at the site of Las Capas.
maize that was adapted to Mesoamerican temperate, © Henry D. Wallace, Tucson.
montane environments may not have been so quickly and
easily transferred to areas in the Southwest’s mountains at
elevations over 5000 feet, with their cold winters and short women raised crops and thus information about how to
growing seasons. While a mountain origin in Mexico seems plant was shared among women, perhaps through events
to be supported by the genetic analyses, an alternative and that brought families of different backgrounds together.
currently untested scenario is that maize travelled up the Again, feasts are one of these events and might have
mountains and then where the Sierra Madre ends around been especially important contexts for the transmission
the present day US/Mexico border or even further south, of knowledge about both production and consumption,
that it spread in multiple directions in the basins, reaching as well as seeds themselves.
SE Arizona by 3050 bc. Only later did maize reach the
highland caves in the US that were included in the samples Thus, we conclude that the diffusion of maize likely
analysed by Da Fonseca et al. (2015). involved group-to-group transmission, probably through
marriage networks, may have followed the mountains
Additional evidence for networks of diffusion are suggested for part of its route (but not necessarily all) and did not
by bioarchaeological analyses of Early Agricultural period involve a large number of people. It had to cross linguistic
individuals suggesting that (1) men married into matrilocal groups because maize was adopted in so many areas of
households in the southern Southwest (Byrd, 2014); and the SW/NW during the Early Agricultural period. Keeping
(2) men continued to maintain greater foraging distances— in mind that these areas are highly diverse in terms of
even to the extent of having different diets than women projectile point styles, technological adaptations, use of
(McClelland, 2005; Ogilvie, 2005; Watson and Stoll, 2013). maize and other material practices, it seems likely that
These results point to men as the potential links between marriage networks may have been an important way
communities and as vectors for diffusion. Men would have in which maize dispersed. In fact, the causal arrow may
been more mobile and the diffusion of crops followed go both ways in that aggregations and their associated
their movements. This pattern also helps to explain why feasts may have helped to create marriage networks and
there are multiple projectile point forms found at sites facilitated the flow of people and plants.
in the same region (Sliva, 2015)—and even how people
living contemporaneously might have practiced different We think that niche construction during the Middle Archaic
Figure 6. Large bell-shaped pits at the site of Las Capas.
levels of corn adoption. On the other hand, it is likely that was one of the most important foundations for establishing © Gregory J. Whitney, Desert Archaeology, Inc.
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8
Figure 7. Summary of Early Agricultural Period Changes at Las Capas. © James M. Vint.
networks of transmission of domesticated plants leading to positions, even perhaps becoming more entrenched in places social events, which would have both created and periodically
the Early Agricultural period. Concentration of use in more where they had an advantage and investment. Las Capas, for brought together different social groups.
well watered and productive areas would have focused example, is where the water table is the highest in the valley
landscape alteration in particular areas. As conditions and where we have the longest and most robust record of These are exactly the conditions in which network theory
improved c. 2550 bc, these were places that would have been continuous use. These would have been areas of surplus, not predicts that diffusion operates especially well. Returning
even more productive. While ameliorating climate conditions scarcity, and with the highest likelihood of developing new to the different factors that promote diffusion presented
could open up new areas, those living in the highest areas modes of territoriality as well as having the resources to host earlier, it is important to recognize that maize was unlike
of productivity would have little incentive to give up their most other plants that were cultivated during the Early
275

Agricultural period. Unlike succulents, it was an annual. elevation river valleys in the region put them in that middle Bellwood, P. 1997. Prehistoric cultural explanations for
And unlike many other seed bearing annuals it required ground between low and high degrees of social cohesion widespread linguistic families. P. McConvell and N. Evans
much more attention from farmers, for it cannot reproduce creating wide social bridges that enhanced the adoption (eds), Archaeology and Linguistics: Aboriginal Australia in
without deliberate human action. It was a more complex of maize and set foragers in the SW/NW on an extended Global Perspective. Melbourne, Oxford University Press, pp.
process of diffusion than simply presenting seeds as gifts. pathway toward farming that took over 2000 years. 123–134.
Thus, in terms of the complexity of the innovation, it lies
somewhere in the middle of the continuum between Berry, C. F. and Berry, M. S. 1986. Chronological and
very simple and very complex because it entailed the conceptual models of the Southwestern Archaic. C. J.
transmission of knowledge about the plant’s behaviour, but Bibliography Condie and D. D. Fowler (eds), Anthropology of the Desert
not too complex that it required a long period of learning. West: Essays in Honor of Jesse D. Jennings. Salt Lake City,
Adams, J. L. 2015. San Pedro phase grinding technology at University of Utah Press, pp. 253–327. (Anthropological
Network theories of diffusion favour the more rapid spread Las Capas, AZ AA:12:111 (ASM). J. M. Vint (ed.), Implements Papers, No. 110.)
of ideas through high status nodes, which leads us to how of Change: Tools, Subsistence, and the Built Environment
status might have been established and maintained in of Las Capas, an Early Agricultural Irrigation Community in Black, M. E. 1984. Maidens and mothers: an analysis of
Late and Middle Archaic societies. Likely it varied, but as Southern Arizona. Tucson, AZ, Archaeology Southwest, pp. Hopi corn metaphors. Ethnology, Vol. 23, pp. 279–288.
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281

Was there a Neolithic ‘(R)evolution’ in North America’s Pacific

North-West Region? Exploring Alternative Models
of Socio-Economic and Political Change
Anna Marie Prentiss The University of Montana, USA
Matthew J. Walsh Aarhus University, Denmark
Abstract Introduction study of descent with modification in cultural and biological

taxa is useful for evaluating alternative scenarios regarding
The Pacific Northwest region of North American has The Pacific Northwest region of North America is widely evolutionary change. In this case we are able to ask if the
long been recognized by ethnographers for its dense recognized for the development of dense aggregate villages, ethnographic pattern characterized village life throughout
aggregate villages, monumental architecture, elaborate intensive harvest and storage of marine and anadromous the past 5000 years within the Fraser drainage or if some
artistic traditions, complex social organization, and food resources, complex socio-political organization and other pattern of change is more likely. If the latter, we test
intensified food harvest and storage. Not surprisingly, practice of elaborate ritual traditions (Ames and Maschner, for a range of scenarios spanning slow gradual evolution
archaeologists have been equally interested in the culture 1999; Matson and Coupland, 1995). Given this pattern, to short-lived patterns of change and subsequent stability.
historical and evolutionary processes that gave rise to these ethnographic Pacific Northwest societies have often been
societies. Ethnological and archaeological materials from used as analogues for more ancient complex fisher-forager We propose the hypothesis that while Middle Holocene
the region are of global importance for their analogical societies spanning the Mesolithic of northern Europe to cultural traditions were undoubtedly ancestral to those
value in interpreting more ancient records such as the the Middle and Late Jomon period of Japan. However, by of the later Holocene, they were also organizationally
Scandinavian Mesolithic, Levantine Natufian and Japanese citing examples spanning ‘clam gardens’ to management quite different. At least one early village population was
Early-Late Jomon cultures. Gaining an understanding of the of critical plant resources, scholars in the region have supported by intensified plant production along with a
variability and evolutionary history of the region’s cultures begun to portray Pacific Northwest societies as food diverse diet of other marine, riverine and terrestrial foods.
is equally valuable from the standpoint of understanding producers structurally similar to many Neolithic societies They also engaged in elaborate public rituals involving large
indigenous history and for theoretical development (for example, Moss, 2011). New archaeological research scale geophyte cooking (i.e. plants with an underground
within anthropological archaeology. One major emerging in the Lower Fraser River valley now suggests that as early storage organ) and display of material goods including
discussion concerns evidence for food production within as 4000 years ago at least one local group was engaged hundreds of thousands of stone beads. Late village
the Pacific Northwest region and its implications for in food production involving large scale wetland gardens groups, in contrast, were supported by salmon and other
viewing some pre-modern cultures of the region as relevant (Katzie Development Corporation, 2014). This raises new marine resources and engaged in a very different range
to understanding variability in Neolithic cultures in general. questions regarding the role of intensified food production of rituals. These results suggest that the evolutionary
In this paper we explore alternative models of Neolithic in the evolution of Pacific Northwest societies. pathway to the ethnographic pattern was not progressive
evolution by drawing from the archaeological record of the or gradual (Prentiss, 2011). In effect, Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest. This permits us to ask first if this record A wide range of models seeks to explain the evolution of peoples explored alternative strategies for village life at
does contain Neolithic attributes and second, how such socio-economic and political organization in this region. different times and places. An implication is that current
cultures evolved. We accomplish this with a review of a Most recognize a relatively linear pattern of change based culture historical systematics offer unrealistic models of
select set of key archaeological sites from the Fraser River generally upon hunting and fishing innovations, the the region’s cultural history. A more global implication is
and Salish Sea regions of British Columbia, Canada. We test standard being that optimization of salmon procurement that, as argued by Zeder (2009a, 2009b), Neolithic cultural
alternative evolutionary hypotheses with a phylogenetic eventually permitted larger populations, which in turn evolution elsewhere was similarly unlikely to have been a
analysis. Finally we close with a discussion of implications supported increasingly complex socio-political structures simple gradual or progressive process.
for better understanding cultural evolutionary history (Croes and Hackenberger, 1988; Matson and Coupland,
within the region. We also offer recommendations for 1995). The new data raise the distinct possibility that In summary, we have two major goals in this paper.
archaeological landscape management and future research. plants played a far more significant role in socio-economic First, we introduce the archaeological record of North
evolution than has been previously considered. In this paper America’s Pacific Northwest as relevant to wider
we review the evidence for change in socio-economic and discussions of Neolithic cultural variability. Second, we
political organization in the Pacific Northwest. In doing so, seek to use a select sample of critically important sites
we highlight critical contributions of select well studied from this region to examine some general models of
sites and follow with phylogenetic assessment of alternative ‘Neolithization’ or evolution of Neolithic-like cultural
models of evolutionary process. Phylogenetic analysis or the patterns. Conclusions reflect our analytical results and
282

Was there a Neolithic ‘(R)evolution’ in North America’s
Pacific North-West Region? Exploring Alternative Models
8
Figure 2. Cultural chronology and associated sites.
theoretical concerns but also implicate the importance of

heritage preservation in the Pacific Northwest on the scale
of landscapes.
Archaeology of the Pacific Northwest
Childe (1951) defined ten fundamental characteristics of

Neolithic societies that continue to find relevance among
scholars today (Zeder, 2009a, 2009b). As researchers
have shown in, for example, the Near East, Childe’s list
provides a useful start for evaluating variability in the
archaeological record of societies engaged to varying
degrees in sedentism, food production and storage,
complex social arrangements, rituals, exchange and
specialized goods manufacture (Table 1). Given that Pacific
Northwest scholars have begun to view Middle to Late
Holocene communities as food producers (Moss, 2011),
we suggest that it is useful to explore the degree to which
the record actually reflects a Neolithic-like pattern. This also
provides us with the opportunity to assess the adequacy
of current data for drawing such conclusions. We review
the archaeological record of the Gulf of Georgia or Salish
Sea portion of the Northwest Coast, Fraser Valley and
adjacent Canadian Plateau region with a particular focus
on a limited number of sites with adequate data to reflect
on Childe’s Neolithic rubric (Figures 1 and 2).
Figure 1. Regional Map illustrating approximate locations of Dionisio Point, DhRp52, Xá:tem /Hatzic Rock, Qithyil/
Scowlitz, Maccallum, Bridge River, and Keatley Creek. © Anna Marie Prentiss
283

Figure 3. Maccallum housepit plan view (redrawn

from original plan view in Lepofsky and Lenert 2005).
© Anna Marie Prentiss
Figure 4. Plan view of structure at the Hatzic Rock site

(redrawn from plan view map provided in Ames and
Maschner 1999). Gary patches are hearths and black are
post holes. © Anna Marie Prentiss
The first glimmers of semi-sedentism occur during the late Given evidence for routine intensive use of fisheries it The Charles Culture, spanning c. 5500–3500 cal. bp (Borden,
Old Cordilleran phase (c. 5500–6500 cal. bp) (Chatters et makes some sense to expect Old Cordilleran local groups 1975; Matson and Coupland, 1995) is geographically and
al., 2012; Matson and Coupland, 1995) as reflected in the to have also engaged in some degree of food storage temporally diverse. Charles Culture groups have typically
Maccallum site (Lepofsky and Lenert, 2005). Excavations and winter sedentism. Instead, however, it appears more been interpreted as generally egalitarian, broad-spectrum
at Maccallum reveal a single small house pit with an likely that these gatherings were more likely focused on foragers exploiting an increasingly intensified harvest of
associated large hearth feature and food refuse midden making good use of abundant food to underwrite major select marine resources (Matson and Coupland, 1995;
within a background of scattered lithic debitage and tools social events. Thus, evidence for winter villages at this Prentiss and Chatters, 2003). However, new research has
(Figure 3). It has long been known that Old Cordilleran time is lacking. Seen in this light, Maccallum appears to begun to suggest that a nearly complete re-evaluation
foragers aggregated for fishing in select contexts such as be part of a pattern of shorter time residential occupation of this time in the Fraser valley and Salish Sea will be
the Milliken site on the Fraser River or Five-Mile Rapids on quite different from what was to develop in subsequent necessary. We have known for some time now that Fraser
the Lower Columbia (Ames, 1998; Chatters et al., 2012). centuries. Valley Charles sites typically included above ground house
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8
Figure 5. DhRp52 excavation plan map from Katzie Development Corporation (2014). © Katzie First Nation.
structures associated with a variety of cooking features and dated rectangular, multi-family house structures directly an anthropogenic rock pavement covered in water-logged
potential storage features (Mason, 1994; Ormerod, 2002; associated with roasting ovens likely used for cooking anaerobic sediment preserving hundreds of wapato bulbs
Schaepe, 2003). The Hatzic Rock or Xá:tem site provides plant materials (Figure 5). Substantial accumulation of (Figure 6) and wooden digging stick tips. While it is not
our best example of evidence for increasing sedentism diverse stone tools and development of middens implies clear if wapato had undergone genetic changes associated
(Figure 4) during early (c. 4900–6000 cal. bp) Charles times long-term use. The Late Component (c. 4100–3200 cal. with domestication, it is clear that DhRp52 occupants
(Lepofsky et al., 2009). By the period post-dating c. 5000 bp) at DhRp52 (Figure 5) features a smaller oval house were engaged in some form of intensified manipulation
cal. bp there is evidence for rectangular house structures structure, smaller roasting ovens, abundant lithic tools, of plants for purposes of food production, a strategy not
associated with very large roasting ovens (Ormerod, midden deposits and most significantly, what is evidently so far identified for later times in this region despite the
2002). The Middle Component (c. 5300–4250 cal. bp) at an extensive wapato (Saggitaria latifolia, water plantain presence of other forms of environmental enhancement
the DhRp52 site (Katzie Development Corporation, 2014) family, an edible geophyte) garden-like feature (Katzie (for example, use of fire, creation of clam gardens, etc.;
located in the Lower Fraser valley illustrates two similarly Development Corporation, 2014). The ‘garden’ consists of Moss, 2011). The presence of approximately 100,000
285

stone beads in isolated contexts near the house and other

features imply a significant ritual component within this
occupation quite unlike anything recorded from later
times in the region. Significant numbers of beads have
also been recovered from Charles Culture burials within
the same region also in late Charles times (for example,
Arcas Consulting Archeologists, 1994).
The subsequent Locarno Beach phase (c. 3600–2500 cal.

bp; Matson and Coupland, 1995) is not well known for
the presence of house structures within obvious village
contexts. The frequent presence of middens, occasional
small pit houses (for example, Crescent Beach), evidence for
food storage and some innovations in tool forms (toggling Figure 6. Ancient wapato bulbs from the wetland Figure 7. Panoramic view of completed excavation of Structure
harpoons, slate knives) does imply the likelihood of winter garden at DhRp52. © Katzie First nation. 3 at Qithyil/Scowlitz. © Michael Blake, Dana Lepofsky, David
Schaepe and Natasha Lyons
sedentism (Matson and Coupland, 1995). However, some of
the distinctive developments of Charles Culture times had
apparently faded and subsistence appears to have shifted
more towards marine foods compared to the evidently Table 1. Childe’s (1951) list of Neolithic characteristics (‘rubric‘) and matching measures
strong emphasis on plants as exemplified at DhRp52, relevant to the Pacific Northwest region.
though it is also possible that the emphasis on production
of plant foods could have continued to some currently Childe’s Rubric Measures Relevant to the Pacific Northwest
unknown degree in the Pitt Meadows area (as at DhRp52). Food Production Gardens; Evidence for intensive plant processing
By c. 2500 cal. bp, during the early Marpole phase, we (farming and/pastoralism) (large plant–related roasting ovens)
begin to recognize arrangements of large house structures Population Growth Multi–family houses; multiple co–occupied houses
again. Despite the fact that large numbers of Marpole
Storage Cache pits and other markers of food storage
phase (c. 2500–1200 cal. bp) sites have been identified
Sedentism Houses with architecture; Formal wood–working tools
(Clark, 2010; Lepofsky et al., 2005), relatively few have
(axes, adzes, wedges); Middens
been investigated on such a scale that permit assessment of
Trade for Non–essential Non–local goods that are non–utilitarian (jewellery, statuettes)
Neolithic characters. The residential component at Qithyil
Items
(also known as the Scowlitz site; Figure 7), located in the
Communal Actions Plazas and special function houses; Formal house arrangements; Large–scale communal
Fraser Valley and dating c. 2000–2700 cal. bp, includes a
cooking (e.g. large scale outdoor communal ovens)
row of large above-ground house structures, extensive
Magico–religious traditions Non–utilitarian ritual artefacts (e.g. fertility)
and diverse lithic tools (particularly groundstone items),
evidence for storage, trade goods and ritual items (Blake, Groundstone tools Formal grinding slabs (not small abraders or abraded cobbles)
2004; Lepofsky et al., 2000, 2009). Another extensively Containers (e.g. pottery) Groundstone vessels (no pottery in the region)
investigated site, Dionisio Point (Figure 8), located on the Weaving Spindle Whorls, shuttles, dogs bred for hair
Gulf Islands and dating c. 1500–1600 cal. bp includes an
arrangement of five rectangular houses, middens, extensive
numbers of artefacts including distinctive groundstone
items for mundane and ritual uses, along with trade and of the early Marpole communities (Prentiss and Kuijt, 2012). 2008, 2012). The Bridge River 3 period (c. 1300–1000 cal.
ritual items (Grier, 2003, 2006). Neither Qithyil/Scowlitz nor Termed the Classic Lillooet period by Hayden and Ryder bp) at the same site (Figure 10) includes nearly double the
Dionisio Point has evidence for intensive plant processing (1991), villages of the Middle Fraser dating c. 1000–2000 number of co-occupied house pits arranged in two formal
on a scale comparable to DhRp52. Salmon fishing was cal. bp include many characteristics of Marpole villages circular groupings with central plaza-like space (Prentiss
likely central to subsistence at Qithyil (Lepofsky et al., 2005) along with a range of additional characters. The Bridge et al., 2008). This occupation is also characterized by at
and Dionisio Point (Grier, 2003) as it was at many Marpole River 2 period (c. 1600–1300 cal. bp) at the Bridge River site least one special-use structure, extensive trade goods and
phase villages (Matson and Coupland, 1995). (Figure 9) includes geometric arrangements of house pits ritual items, groundstone vessels, indicators of weaving and
of multiple sizes (10–17 m maximum diameter), plaza-like the use of large external roasting ovens for cooking fish
Dense aggregate villages appear in the Middle Fraser spaces within arrangements of houses (Figure 10), house and meat (Dietz, 2005; Prentiss et al., 2012; Prentiss, Cail
Canyon of British Columbia during the late portion of the middens, extensive stone tool assemblages with frequent and Smith, 2014). The late Classic Lillooet (CL) period (c.
Plateau Pithouse tradition (PPt) shortly after the appearance groundstone, trade goods and ritual items (Prentiss et al., 1200–900 cal. bp) occupation of the nearby Keatley Creek
286

8
site (Hayden, 1997; Prentiss et al., 2007) has many of the

characteristics of Bridge River during Period 3 (Figure 11),
but so far lacks external meat/fish roasting ovens, large
grinding slabs, groundstone vessels and indicators of
weaving.
This brief qualitative review of key Pacific Northwest

archaeological sites implicates the presence of Childe’s
defining Neolithic characteristics, though not all
simultaneously. Current data also suggest that the role
of plants may have changed from more critical in Charles Figure 8. Excavation of House 2 at DgRv–3 (Dionisio Figure 9. Excavation of Housepit 54 at the Bridge River
Point) in summer 1998. © Colin Grier site during 2014. This is a housepit stratified with an
Culture times to less so later on in Marpole and Classic estimated 16 superimposed anthropogenic floors dating
Lillooet contexts, while villages with large houses and to periods 2 and 3. © Anna Marie Prentiss
complex ritual spaces were present both earlier and later.
These patterns thus could reflect complex historical/
evolutionary dynamics not unlike that suggested by Zeder
(2009a, 2009b) for the Upper Pleistocene Near East. We
examine this formally in the next sections.
Neolithic Evolution and the Pacific

Northwest
Archaeologists have proposed a range of models seeking to

explain the evolution of Neolithic societies with emphases
generally placed on processes associated with animal
and plant domestication and subsequent establishment
of communities reliant upon agricultural and pastoralist
food production (for example, Binford, 1968; Childe,
1951; Kennett and Winterhalder, 2006; Richerson et al.,
2001; Rindos, 1980). Zeder (2009a, 2009b) recognizes
that different theoretical approaches have very different
implications for how we understand evolutionary tempo and
mode. This led her to ask whether the Neolithic developed
as a gradual or geologically sudden evolutionary process;
thus her term, ‘(R)evolution’ (Zeder, 2009a). Archaeologists
have for decades viewed the beginnings of the Neolithic as
a ‘Revolution,’ a rapid (thus, ‘punctuational’) transformation
Figure 10. Maps of the Bridge River site illustrating
of mobile hunting and gathering societies to sedentary distributions of house pits dated to periods 2 (left)
food producers due to environmental circumscription and 3 (right). © Anna Marie Prentiss
associated with climate change and aridification (Childe,

1951), population packing (Binford, 1968), technological
revolutions and competitive feasting (Hayden, 1981;
1995), or high order macroevolutionary turnover(s) (Kuijt
and Prentiss, 2009; Rosenberg, 1994). More gradualist
perspectives assert a slow co-evolution between plants
and human culture leading first to domestication and later
farming (for example, Rindos, 1980; see also Richerson
et al., 2001). Contemporary ecological perspectives Figure 11. Keatley Creek site in 2014, view facing
(for example, Kennett and Winterhalder, 2006) point to west. © Anna Marie Prentiss
287

gradual behavioural shifts linked to optimization of food correct in his critique of general (Neo-evolutionary) models, We use three approaches to phylogenetic analysis in order
resource acquisition, processing and consumption in Darwinian approaches actually require variation and offer to provide independent assessment of outcomes (c.f.
particular ecological contexts. Zeder (2009b) notes that the opportunity to understand particularistic history and Prentiss et al., 2014; Tehrani, 2013). Parsimony analysis
microevolution (for example, Rindos, 1980) and human general principles simultaneously. Prentiss et al. (2014), seeks to define cladogenetic history by tracking patterns
behavioural ecology (for example, Kennett et al., 2006) for example, present a phylogenetic analysis of Middle of descent in derived characters by generating multiple
help us to understand the slow changes operating on Holocene data illustrating the importance of regional equally parsimonious trees and from those defining a
the scale of finite populations on particular landscapes variation to understanding evolutionary history. We pursue short consensus tree that theoretically limits the number of
while macroevolutionary models (for example, Rosenberg, a similar approach here. character changes (O’Brien and Lyman, 2003). Parsimony
1994; Spencer, 1997) aid us in identifying linkages and analysis permits us to test for coherence within the tree
interactions across scales spanning persons engaged structure. Trees may be compromised by tokogenetic
with artefacts to populations and landscape level cultural processes (i.e., those arising from non-hierarchical genetic
phenomena. She cautions however, that data driven Examining Alternative Evolutionary or cultural inheritance relationships) including homoplasies
engagement with spatio-temporal variation is critical to Models with Phylogenetic Analysis (i.e. characters shared by a set of different species or groups
modelling efforts. but not present in their common ancestor) as might occur
We examine three alternative models (gradual progression, with reinventions and reversals, as well as inter-taxa
Archaeologists have a long history of interest in evolutionary ecologically constrained change and revolutionary change) borrowing. We rely upon two commonly used measures,
change in the cultures of the Pacific Northwest (many of socio-economic evolution in the Pacific Northwest the Consistency and Retention Indices. The Consistency
models are summarized in Matson and Coupland, 1995). using phylogenetic analysis with the goal of enhancing Index (CI) provides an estimate of potential borrowing
Interest has focused on the underpinnings of traditional our understanding of this region, but also in order to and homoplasies such that a score of 0.5 would imply
socio-economic strategies and socio-political structures reflect on the wider debate over processes of Neolithic twice as many steps to a successful tree compared one
(especially inequality). We focus here on the former. Pacific evolution. Phylogenetic analysis (O’Brien and Lyman, resulting entirely from descent with modification (Farris,
Northwest societies were traditionally organized around the 2003) can provide output that will permit us to offer a 1989a). However, the CI can be impacted by sample size.
production of a variety of goods to support winter village preliminary evaluation of the potential validity of each Consequently it is also useful to also calculate a Retention
sedentism particularly via intensive food storage. For coastal hypothesis. In order to accomplish this we need to explicate Index (RI) to measure similarity in synapomorphies (i.e.
groups, marine resources in the form of shellfish, fish and associated test expectations (for example, Lycett, 2009). a shared derived character or trait that distinguishes a
sea mammals were fundamental along with a secondary The incremental model predicts steady change over time clade from other organisms, or in this case, cultural taxa)
array of terrestrial resources (Ames and Maschner, 1999; such that a hypothetical cladogram would have a simple (Farris, 1989b; O’Brien and Lyman, 2003). Collard et al.
Schwarcz et al., 2014). Interior groups made intensive use series of distinct single entities branching progressively (2006) demonstrate that cultural and biological trees can
of anadromous salmon but also hunted and gathered a from the oldest cultural taxon to most recent (Figure 12). be equally impacted by homoplasy. They suggest that RI
variety of interior game and plant foods (Prentiss and Kuijt, Presumably, the pattern of change would reflect steady scores can be as low as 0.4 can still reflect trees resulting
2012). One perspective asserts that the evolution of this innovation and progressive addition of cultural characters substantially from descent with modification. We test
winter-village collector-like strategy (Ames, 2002) gradually eventually reflecting a pattern close to Childe’s Neolithic the outcome of the parsimony analysis using Neighbour-
unfolded in phases (c.f. Charles, Locarno Beach, Marpole pattern. The ecological model would predict economically Joining (NJ) and Split Graphs. NJ is a phenetic approach
and Gulf of Georgia) as technological innovations favoured rational behaviour organized in reference to ecological that replicates trees generated by parsimony analysis using
increasingly efficient harvest of food resources, eventually contingencies. Consequently, we could expect over time to a distance matrix approach and has been recognized as
favouring salmon and sea mammals as the keystone see clade-like clusters of cultural variants organized around highly effective in reconstructing accurate tree topologies
resources permitting the occupation of densely packed adaptation to particular ecological context (for example, (for example, Milhaescu et al., 2009). We employ PAST
and socially complex villages (Croes and Hackenberger, island, coastal river valley, interior river valley) (Figure 12). 2.04 (Hammer et al., 2001) to produce phylograms with
1988; Matson and Coupland, 1995). An alternative Under this scenario we would still expect to see the advent Jaccard distances (i.e. the degrees of similarity between
macroevolutionary model proposes that the organizing of some Neolithic-like patterns, but in this case contingent finite sample sets) as they have proven most useful in
principles of this strategy (collecting and food storage) economic decision-making would trump regional scale previous studies of assemblage level cultural phenomena
evolved during a period of cultural diversification in the cultural transmission. Finally, the revolution model in the Pacific Northwest (Prentiss et al., 2014). Finally, we
Middle Holocene, eventually defining the basic structure suggests punctuated change whereby we might expect the employ Split Graphs also known as Neighbornet Networks
of subsequent developments (Prentiss, 2009; Prentiss and chronology to be distinctly marked by the development of a (Bryant and Moulton, 2004) to graphically illustrate
Chatters, 2003). Later changes depended on highly local clade group that includes all winter-village pattern taxa not patterns of branching and blending. Like NJ, Split Graphs
ecological contingencies, demographic variability and necessarily tied to particular ecological contexts (Figure 12). are developed using a phenetic procedure that depends on
socio-economic and political decision-making (Prentiss et This assumes that the spread of a radically new approach a system of agglomerative clustering and weighted splits
al., 2005). Some Pacific Northwest archaeologists now to the nature of village life would not be significantly (Jordan, 2009). It is effective for its ability to visually depict
argue against general models, favouring particularistic constrained by ecological zones. branching and tokogenetic factors like borrowing. Boxy
histories to account for the wide degree of variation evident graphs with frequent interconnections between taxa reflect
across the region (Grier, 2014). While Grier is undoubtedly homoplasies and borrowing. Graphs with long stems and
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Figure 12. Hypothetical

trees depicting alternative
models of cultural
evolution (A=gradual
evolution; B=ecologically
constrained evolution model;
C=Punctuation model).
© Anna Marie Prentiss
289

limited box forms reflect the higher possibility of branching.

While Split Graphs cannot be rooted, they may still illustrate
time-like pathways between evolutionarily related taxa and
thus serve as a useful check of other approaches. We rely
upon bootstrapping (i.e. a process of random re-sampling
with replacement) to assess strength of individual branches
(Felsenstein, 1985). This is particularly important in this
study as for purposes of hypothesis testing we need to
be able to assess not only the presence of cladogenesis
(i.e., where a parent group or species splits, leading to two
groups or species) but also specific cladogenetic patterns
between taxa. Bootstrapping will thus provide critical
insight as to the likelihood that branching evident on our
trees actually reflects significant cultural evolution.
As our goal in this study is to explore alternative models of

Neolithic evolution using Pacific Northwest data and given
that significant discussion has focused on Childe’s Neolithic
trait list, we begin with Childe’s list as a basis for defining
our Pacific Northwest character matrix (Tables 1 and 2). This
approach offers some challenges and significant prospects.
First, we use specific components of archaeological sites as
taxa. This permits us to measure variation in the integrated
logic of a socio-economic strategy as manifested in
elements of subsistence acquisition and storage, village
permanence and structure, trade economy, ritual and
communal activities. In pursuing this objective we recognize
that while aspects of this array of cultural traditions could
vary and evolve semi-independently, the core logic of the
strategy could be transmitted between persons and thus, Figure 13. Parsimony tree illustrating branching pattern whereby Charles Culture components are ancestral to Marpole and
evolve as a package (Prentiss, 2009; Prentiss et al., 2014; Classic Lillooet components. © Anna Marie Prentiss
Prentiss et al., 2015; Rosenberg, 1994; Spencer, 1997). To
accomplish this, we must convert Childe’s ten expectations suggest that artefact and feature counts would provide to develop studies that monitor change on scales of entire
to characters relevant to the archaeological record in the better insight, we counter that this would actually redirect village landscapes (for example, Prentiss et al., 2008) before
Pacific Northwest (Table 1). While most of Childe’s Neolithic our analyses towards synchronic behavioural variation, a looking in detail at idiosyncratic aspects of occupations.
markers translate well into Pacific Northwest characters, very different concern from the focus of this paper. Finally,
pottery is not found in aboriginal contexts within the we chose nine well studied archaeological site components
region. Thus, we substitute stone vessels recognizing that (seven actual sites) as taxa (i.e. archaeological reflections of
other forms of containers such as baskets were likely in evolved organizational strategies) (Table 2; Figures 1 and 2). Results of Phylogenetic Analysis
use throughout the Holocene but are not well reflected Our choice of sites depended on gaining examples from
in the archaeological record. Using a diverse combination Middle to late Holocene times, in the Fraser River drainage We conducted a strict consensus parsimony analysis
of features (gardens, houses, ovens, middens and cache and adjacent Salish Sea, with adequate data available to rooted in our oldest taxon (Maccallum site) that returned
pits), spatial patterns (for example, house arrangements) code for Neolithic characters. In establishing this short-list a single cladogram (Figure 13) with a CI of 0.75 and an
and artefacts (wood-working tools, ritual items, grinding of sites it became abundantly evident that Pacific Northwest RI of 0.7727 clearly indicating that the tree has a strongly
slabs, groundstone vessels and weaving tools) allows us to archaeological research is rarely conducted on such a scale branching pattern. We followed with a Neighbour- Joining
avoid potential bias that could come from exclusive focus that we can confidently code for village-scale attributes. analysis using Euclidean distance and also rooting the tree
on just one class of items such as lithic artefacts (Prentiss et Even with this set of intensively studied sites we were still with the Maccallum site (Figure 14). The consensus and NJ
al., 2014). Our character matrix (Table 2) relies upon binary required to occasionally extrapolate most likely landscape trees reflect a common pattern whereby an initial set of
data (i.e., present or absent), a necessity for examining characters (for example, formal arrangements of houses branches are associated with Charles Culture components.
evolution in cultural entities as a process of inheritance, at Keatley Creek, Dionisio Point and Qithyil/Scowlitz). We These generally come in temporal order with the exception
loss and addition of traits over time. While some might encourage scholars working to understand village histories of minor variation in arrangements of sites associated with
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Figures 13–15 to the hypothetical trees depicted in Figure

12 permits us to draw a number of conclusions regarding
the evolution of villages in the Pacific Northwest.
Our results clearly do not match a model of simple

progressive change over time on a regional scale
that ignores ecological factors and complex cultural
relationships. While there is clearly a time-like structure to
the trees, the pattern of change suggests that process of
change was considerably more complex. The ecological
hypothesis suggests that phylogenetic branching would
be structured by adaptive decisions unique to particular
ecological conditions. Phylogenetic results suggest that
local ecological conditions likely did play a role as indicated
by the Charles Culture clade found in the Fraser valley and
distinctions between Marpole and Classic Lillooet sub-
clades that correspond to different environments. However,
the latter case has more complex underpinnings given that
the taxa within the clade span all environments (island,
coastal river valley and interior valley). The revolution
hypothesis has greatest support though it is not a perfect
fit either. This hypothesis suggests a single rapid transition
from small, residentially mobile foraging groups to semi-
sedentary, village scale, food producers. Results of this study
suggest that there were more likely two periods of relatively
rapid change associated with the emergence of the Charles
Culture and the later development of the Marpole/Classic
Lillooet pattern. Given early dates on Qithyil/Scowlitz it is
most likely that the latter strategy emerged in the Fraser
Figure 14. Neighbour joining tree illustrating similar outcome to that of Figure 13. Superimposed bootstrap scores of 100 and Valley before spreading into both the Gulf Islands and the
90 highlight the likelihood of two punctuation events. © Anna Marie Prentiss
Fraser Canyon.
the Charles Culture. All later dating sites form a clade Discussion These results, while preliminary and based upon a small
branching from a common ancestor with the DhRp52 sample of sites and limited quantitative analysis, offer
Middle Component on the parsimony tree. Within this Results of the analyses converge on a common outcome, a number of implications relevant to expanding our
clade are two sub-clades consisting of the Marpole (Qithyil/ that of the emergence of a distinct early pattern (Charles understanding of cultural developments in the Pacific
Scowlitz and Dionisio Point) and the Classic Lillooet (Bridge Culture) characterized by arrangements of houses Northwest region. First, while we are still some distance
River 2 and 3 and Keatley Creek Late CL) components. We of various sizes, intensive plant food production and from being able to fully characterize the nature of the
tested the parsimony and NJ outcomes with a Split Graph processing activities (at least as reflected at DhRp52) in Charles Culture, our results do offer some interesting
(Figure 15) that lends strong support to the idea that the public and private (house interior) contexts, investment in possibilities for interpreting diachronic history. We think
Charles Culture Components represent a distinct clade-like exchange relations and engagement in significant public there is little doubt that the late Old Cordilleran tradition
group evolutionarily ancestral but quite different from the ritual activities involving public discard of thousands was culturally ancestral to the early Charles Culture as
Marpole and Classic Lillooet group. We bootstrapped the of stone beads. The Charles Culture group appears reflected at the Hatzic Rock/ Xá:tem site. If this was the
NJ and Split Graph outcomes with 10,000 replicates to test ancestral to another distinct clade group (Marpole and case, then in the centuries after c. 6000 cal. bp Fraser valley
for branch significance (Figures 14 and 15). Results suggest Classic Lillooet) characterized by arrangements of house peoples engaged in reduced residential mobility while
that the branchings between Maccallum and the Charles structures of various sizes, formal public spaces at some investing in significantly larger house structures and an
Culture group and later, the Charles Culture and the sites, long-term occupations, intensive food production and array of cooking and storage features. By around 5000
Marpole/Classic Lillooet groups are particularly significant processing emphasizing fish and meat, variable appearance cal. bp, the same groups had begun to build clusters of
given bootstrap scores respectively of 100 and 90 on the of public event-style cooking, ritual items, extensive use much larger multi-family houses within ritual landscapes
NJ tree and 84.8 and 93.5 on the Split Graph. of groundstone including bowls and evidence for weaving characterized by large plant-roasting ovens. We have no
at one site. Comparing the phylogenetic outcomes from evidence at these dates for inter- or intra-household social-
291

status distinctions and thus, for now we can only conclude Table 2. Character matrix for phylogenetic analysis
that this society was relatively egalitarian at least from the
standpoint of measurable material wealth. The spatial Taxa 1A 1B 2A 2B 3A 4A 4B 4C 5A 6A 6B 6C 7A 8A 9A 10A
organization of villages and operation of public rituals is Maccallum 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
different in a number of respects from the ethnographic
Hatzic Rock 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
pattern of the Stó:Lō people despite the fact that these
DhRp52 Mid. 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
were likely ancestors (Lepofsky et al., 2009). Organization
and participation in public ritual may have been critical DhRp52 Late 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
social ‘glue’ in maintenance of complex communities Scowlitz 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 0
during Middle Charles Culture times (Lyons et al., 2014). Dionisio Point 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0
Similar arguments are being made of other such ‘centres’ Bridge River 2 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
in other parts of North America (for example, Pauketat,
Bridge River 3 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
2007).
Keatley Creek 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
Late Charles culture (c. 4100–3200 cal. bp), as reflected 1A. Gardens; 1B. Evidence for Intensive Plant Processing (e.g. large plant–related cooking features); 2A. Multi–family houses
in the late component at DhRp52 and scattered smaller (two or more domestic activity areas); 2B. Multiple Houses simultaneously occupied (two or more); 3A. Cache pits and other
markers of storage (e.g. fish and root processing); 4A. Houses with architecture; 4B. Formal wood–working tools (groundstone
sites that include cemeteries, tentatively illustrate the adzes, axes, wedges); 4C. Middens; 5A. Non–local goods that are non–utilitarian (e.g. dentalium shell beads); 6A. Plazas and
possibility of another cultural shift with movement back special–use houses; 6B. Formal house arrangements (e.g. geometrically organized house groups); 6C. Large scale communal
cooking (large exterior cooking features); 7A. Ritual artefacts (ornaments, effigies); 8A. Grinding slabs (larger slabs that are
to smaller house structures, engagement with intensified not simple portable abraders); 9A. Groundstone vessels; 10A. Indicators of weaving (spindle whorls, shuttles, Salish dogs bred
production of plant foods via large scale wapato gardens for fur)
and special treatment of select deceased in mortuary
contexts. The shift from larger villages with public ritual
facilities to smaller scale residences accompanied by for control of food distribution and potentially political and to a warm climate and poor fisheries (for example, Hay
intensified food production and markers of some form of ritual organization. et al., 2007; Tunnicliffe et al., 2001). By the period post-
status distinction in burials is reminiscent of the Middle to dating about 1800 cal. bp new Marpole-related villages
Late Jomon chronology in Japan where much the same The Charles Culture appears to have ended in the were established in the Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands and up
process occurred at exactly these dates (Habu, 2004). It is centuries immediately before 3000 years ago. According the Fraser Canyon. These communities were organized
also similar to the chronology of early to later portions of to the standard regional chronology, it was replaced by the around the same logic as was evident in early Marpole
Period 3 at Bridge River in which the village peaked in size Locarno Beach phase, characterized by winter sedentism times though in the Fraser Valley and Salish Sea evidence
with likely over 1000 persons, entered a Malthusian ceiling supported by intensified harvest and processing for storage is abundant for the advent of hereditary inequality (c.f.
while intensifying food production (sensu Broughton, of a variety of marine resources. Notably, while Locarno Burley and Knüsel, 1989). Middle Fraser Canyon villages
1994) and began to decline demographically, while also Beach middens are common, house structures are rarer lack evidence for inter-household ranking until shortly after
exhibiting signs of socio-economic inequality (Prentiss, Cail (Matson and Coupland, 1995). Within our revised scenario, 1300 cal. bp (Prentiss et al., 2007, 2012). In essence, the
and Smith, 2014). All told, this raises the possibility that Locarno Beach reflects disaggregated settlement after the second evolutionary punctuation (Fraser Valley Charles
the Charles Culture could have peaked demographically breakup of Charles Culture polities. Populations retained an Culture to Marpole Phase) generated the ethnographically
during its Middle to early Late portion, potentially reflecting economic focus on storage processing of foods to survive recognizable winter-village pattern. The first punctuation
the development of some form of kin-based polities (sensu long winters. However, the overwhelming emphasis on (Old Cordilleran to Fraser Valley Charles Culture) resulted in
Mason, 1998) integrating a complex network of groups in plant foods had faded and marine resources especially a complex socio-economic and political strategy that while
the Fraser Valley and adjacent coastline of the Salish Sea. including salmon and herring became particularly critical. A still including winter residences, was potentially different
Within this scenario, the Late Period reflects impacts of new winter-village strategy emerged in the Fraser Valley by in several ways (subsistence economies, political networks
climate change towards colder conditions of the Neoglacial c. 2500–2700 cal. bp aggregating labour to simultaneously and ritual traditions) from the later winter-village strategy.
climate period, shorter growing season and higher winter guard and mass harvest from critical fishing places while Thus, while the Charles Culture was ancestral to later
search times for many terrestrial resources (Chatters, 1995, also maintaining available labour for obtaining resources developments it was in no way a lower and less complex
1998; Chatters and Prentiss, 2005). Thus, ramping up of at more distant locations (Lepofsky et al., 2005). Power rung in a progression towards complexity.
food production via managed plots could have been a was now formalized and predicated on control of optimal
predictable outcome of a need to insure adequate winter resource harvest locales (for example, Grier and Kim, Clark (2010) argues that the Locarno Beach cultural pattern
food to a large but perhaps now declining population (see 2012) though an ancient ethic of egalitarianism likely persisted alongside that of Marpole in portions of the Fraser
Lepofsky et al., 2005, p. 274). As recognized in the Mid- still pervaded life in early Marpole villages. The social Valley and Salish Sea regions. Our results suggest that what
Fraser context (Prentiss et al., 2012), status distinctions experiment we now call early Marpole (and related cultures) this may actually reflect is variable adoption of the fully
emerged resulting from altered alliances and competition suffered after c. 2200 cal. bp with a several hundred year blown Marpole strategy depending upon local ecology,
demographic decline (Lepofsky et al., 2005) potentially tied political alliances and cultural identities. If this is the case
292

8
then our systematics implying linear regional change may

be highly problematic. Archaeologists may wish to revisit
systematics in such a way that they reflect actually village
and polity-centred socio-cultural dynamics in the future.
The record of macroevolutionary cultural change in North

America’s Pacific Northwest permits us to offer some initial
reflections on Neolithic evolution elsewhere. Probably the
best known sequence of Neolithization is from the Near
East. Zeder (2009a, 2009b; see also Byrd, 2005; Kuijt and
Goring-Morris, 2002; Kuijt and Prentiss, 2009) points out
that the long span of Epipalaeolithic to early Neolithic
cultures in the Levant and adjacent regions could be
interpreted on one scale (perhaps years and decades) as the
result of slow and gradual change resulting from periodic
addition of innovations in technologies and organizational
strategies. When viewed from the standpoint of the
entirety of human evolution and cultural change in the
Near East, the emergence of food production and settled
life in the Near East does appear as a single punctuation.
However, when examined on an intermediate scale (say
millennia) the processes of change are evidently more
complex than what is implied by either micro- or the most
macroevolutionary scales. From this standpoint, periods
of both stability and rapid change are now recognizable.
The Early Natufian appeared at the advent of the 14.6 Ka
warming event from evolutionary precursors the Kebaran
and Geometric Kebaran. Zeder (2009b, p.191) notes that
newly stable Early Natufian communities persisted for
2000–3000 years and were held together by broad diets
and social traditions favouring cohesion. Colder conditions
of the Younger Dryas decreased stability and favoured once
again greater mobility for a thousand years. A return to
stable climatic conditions of the early Holocene led to a
host of rapid evolutionary changes associated with the
early Neolithic including adoption of domesticates and new
social structures in households and communities along with
significant change in ritual traditions implying new belief
systems. Seen from this standpoint, Neolithic evolution
was not a single event in which all of Childe’s components
appeared but rather the result of several punctuations,
each adding and subtracting from developments that had
come previously (Zeder, 2009b, p. 191).
We suggest that one of the major impacts of Zeder’s

arguments is the recognition that integrated cultural
Figure 15. Split Graph
entities did evolve, persist and eventually go culturally illustrating likelihood of two
extinct (though sometimes also being evolutionary punctuation events indicated
by superimposed bootstrap
ancestors to later developments). Most critically, such scores of 84.8 and 93.5.
ancient cultures were not stages in a progression but © Anna Marie Prentiss
unique cultural configurations that might have been quite
293

different from developments that came later. While based highly realistic and can offer abundant research dividends Berge, M. and Drahor, M. 2011. Electrical resistivity
on a limited number of sites, our chronology of Pacific without significant impacts on overall landscapes (Berge tomography investigations of multilayered archaeological
Northwest cultures reflects much the same though the and Drahor, 2011; Casana et al., 2008; Horsley and Dockrill, settlements: part 1 – modelling. Archaeological Prospection,
details are rather different. Village life, locally intensified 2002; Martindale et al., 2009; Prentiss et al., 2008). Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 159–171.
food production involving plant foods (wapato) and public
ritual developed during the Charles culture at c. 4500–5500 Binford, L. R. 1968. Post-Pleistocene Adaptations. S. Binford
cal. bp from a more ancient pattern of dispersed foraging and L. R. Binford (eds), New Perspectives in Archaeology.
and periodic short-term aggregation of Old Cordilleran Acknowledgements Chicago, Aldine, pp. 313–341.
times. Many key elements of the Charles Culture ended by
c. 3200 cal. bp, leaving in its wake populations dependent We thank Nuria Sanz for her gracious invitation to Blake, M. 2004. Fraser Valley trade and prestige as seen
on intensified marine harvesting and storage. This set the participate in the UNESCO HEADS meeting in Puebla, at Scowlitz. W. C. Prentiss and I. Kuijt (eds), Complex
stage for the rise of a new kind of winter-village pattern Mexico in August 2014 and for soliciting this article. Hunter-Gatherers: Evolution and Organization of Prehistoric
centred on marine and anadromous food resources This paper draws particular inspiration from the research Communities on the Plateau of Northwestern North
combined to varying degrees with other terrestrial foods. and writings of Melinda Zeder. We thank Ian Kuijt for America. Salt Lake City, University of Utah Press, pp. 103–
It is this latter pattern that is so well represented in the his contributions to the meetings and for his thoughts 114.
ethnographic record of the region (Prentiss and Kuijt, 2012; on our presentation. We thank all participants at the
Suttles, 1987). Interestingly, under current data, the Charles Puebla meeting for the engagement with these topics Borden, C. E. 1975. Origins and Development of Early
Culture with its village life, wetland gardening and public and feedback on our presentation. Our research at the Northwest Coast Culture to About 3000 bc. Ottawa,
rituals actually bears greater organizational resemblance Bridge River site was supported by the National Science National Museum of Man. (Mercury Series, Archaeological
to the Near Eastern early Neolithic, while the Marpole/ Foundation (BCS–0313920 and BCS–0713013) and the Survey of Canada Paper 45.)
Classic Lillooet pattern is in several ways closer to the National Endowment for the Humanities (RZ–51287–11).
Early Natufian. It is possible however, that further research We thank Colin Grier, Tanja Hoffman, Natasha Lyons, Mike Broughton, J. M. 1994. Late Holocene resource intensification
could verify a pattern of continued intensive plant food Blake, Dana Lepofsky, Dave Schaepe, Debbie Miller and in the Sacramento River Valley: the vertebrate evidence.
production in the Fraser Valley during the Marpole phase. Denise Heron for sharing photographs. We especially thank Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 21, pp. 501–514.
If this turns out to be the case then we will need to rethink Katzie First Nation for permissions to use the map and
even more of what we thought we knew about the ancient photograph in Figures 5 and 6. We thank Robin Dennell, Bryant, D. and Moulton, V. 2004. Neighbornet: an
past of the Pacific Northwest. Colin Grier and Natasha Lyons for reading and commenting agglomerative method for construction of planar
on the manuscript. We take full responsibility for research phylogenetic networks. Molecular Biological Evolution, Vol.
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Regions where Agriculture was Introduced: Southern Africa

9 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced: Southern Africa
Food Production in Southern Africa with a Specific Focus on

the Introduction, Spread and Consequences of Maize (Zea mays)
Innocent Pikirayi
University of Pretoria, South Africa
Abstract Africa. It has made a major impact on African societies, peoples (Huffman, 2002, 2004, 2006). Dating to the
and has been at the leading edge of the African agrarian sixteenth century, the grindstones have been identified as
Maize (Zea mays) was introduced into Africa in the 1500s revolution or transformation. Of the 23 countries of the proxy evidence for the spread of maize into the southern
following the continent’s contacts with the Atlantic world world with the highest percentage of maize consumed African interior. Coupled with the virtual absence in the sub-
of Europe and the Americas. Once introduced, maize in national diets, 16 are in Africa (McCann, 2005). This continent of detailed historical and archaeological studies
spread rapidly from both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean impact is very much evident today in southern Africa where on maize and other crops introduced into the region as a
coasts such that by 1600, it had become a dominant food maize consumption, measured in calories as a percentage result of the Columbian and post-Columbian exchanges, a
crop some 1000 kilometres or so inland, augmenting or of the total diet, is the highest in the world. By the last renewed discussion on African-European interaction during
replacing sorghums and millets. However, its effects on decade of the twentieth century, a tidal wave of maize the Atlantic Age is imperative. The cool climatic conditions
indigenous southern African societies for the period 1600– had engulfed the continent of Africa, apart from its driest associated with the Little Ice Age (1350/1500–1850 ad)
1850 remain unclear. Some apparently continued to grow and wettest regions, supplanting food grains like sorghum, should be factored in when attempting to understand
sorghums and millets, while others invested significantly in millet and rice. According to McCann (2001), the recent conflict and associated environmental stresses recorded
the newly introduced crop to support the European driven spread of maize has been alarmingly fast, and despite this, during the period. Some historical examples suggest maize
plantation economies, which heavily relied on slave labour. the historical and social implications of the process have played a role in this. However, the Little Ice Age remains
received very little attention from social scientists. McCann much less understood in terms of the role of climate
Maize first appears in southern Africa during the Little Ice (2005) further shows that the overall impact of maize change in accelerating or stemming the spread of maize
Age – a widespread climatic event associated with regional may be greatest in Africa where its growth as a major and the consequences associated with the process. What
cooling, notably around 1500, reaching a maximum around food source has paralleled the continent’s economic and is evident in a number of regions of southern Africa, are
1700. This event is poorly documented in terms of human nutritional crises. events associated with major population shifts, in direct
social impacts. What is evident are major population shifts, and indirect response to the Atlantic economy. I argue that
in direct and indirect response to increased European Maize’s external origins are underlined in local African some of the societal tensions witnessed in southern African
presence in southern Africa. Some of these shifts linguistic terms referring to it variously as yabeher mashela history from the late sixteenth onwards following decades
generated considerable social stresses throughout Central and mashela baher (‘sorghum from the sea’) in Amharic of sustained contact with Europeans, as well as severe
and Southern Africa from the mid-16th century onwards. and Tigrinya-speaking Ethiopia; pemba muhindi (‘Indian climatic episodes, stem from the introduction of maize as
Farther south, from Delagoa Bay and beyond, what is corn’) among the Swahili of Tanzania and Kenya; chimanga a food crop and its gradual adoption as a staple.
described as the difaqane/mfecane is widespread insecurity (‘grain from the coast’) among the Chewa of Malawi and
experienced during the early-nineteenth century, affecting maza mamputo or masimporto (‘grain of Portugal’) by the
much of southern Africa, involving raiding, migration and Kikongo in west-central Africa (McCann, 2005, pp. 33–34;
warfare, leading to considerable socio-political change and Miracle, 1965). Its resilience as a crop is least understood, The Introduction and Spread of Maize
state formation. I argue here that the underlying process let alone the process through which it became a dominant in Southern Africa
or agency linking all these developments may have been food crop if not a staple on the continent. From a historical
the increasing reliance on maize as food, especially in those point of view, maize has received inadequate discussion, I now present three case studies in the southern and
areas or regions where it became a staple. ostensibly due to the limited written and oral texts making adjacent regions of central Africa that witnessed
references to it, save for in some parts of West Africa considerable societal stresses between 1550 and 1830
Key words: maize, Portuguese, southern Africa, (see McCann, 2005, Chapter 3). Archaeological research (Figure 1). In all the areas affected, maize was introduced
climate change, societal stress, conflict associated with maize is virtually non-existent, and yet, the as a crop and increasingly became a staple. I first review
identification of maize seed and the associated evidence the historical evidence relating to socio-political and
would be critical in understanding African-European economic realignments in south-eastern Africa among
interaction in Africa during the last five centuries. the northern Nguni. Here, trading activities and contact
Introduction with Europeans in the Delagoa Bay brought the region
This chapter is prompted by recent studies on archaeological into the realms of the trans-Atlantic slave trade as well
Since its introduction from the Americas in 1500, maize identities of the Nguni people and artefacts – grindstones – as the introduction of maize to this part of Africa in the
(Zea mays) has become a predominant food crop in found on settlements attributed to Sotho-Tswana speaking second half of the eighteenth century. Of importance
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are the societal stresses experienced as a result of the
mfecane/difaqane, events associated with social, political
and economic upheaval in southern Africa during the
early nineteenth century and which triggered widespread
migrations of Nguni and Sotho speakers further north
and west of the sub-continent. I then examine the early,
sixteenth and seventeenth century Portuguese presence
in Kongo and Angola in west-Central Africa, and south-
eastern Africa especially the Lower Zambezi valley, and the
adjacent Zimbabwe plateau. Maize is closely connected
with the Portuguese in these parts of southern Africa,
but I will focus on the societal upheavals connected with
the Jaga and Imbangala in west-Central Africa during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the Zimba in the
lower Zambezi, in the late sixteenth century.
South-Eastern Africa: from

the Thukela Basin to Delagoa Bay
The first case study is the Thukela River Basin and regions
to the north towards the Delagoa Bay, in what is now
north-eastern South Africa, Swaziland and southern
Mozambique. This is home to northern Nguni speakers. A
series of events in the area or region experienced during
the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century would
generate an episode remembered in both oral and written
accounts as the mfecane/difaqane. The event which
means ‘crushing’ in Zulu was characterized by widespread
insecurity, regional migrations, warfare and large scale and
profound socio-political changes in southern Africa (see
for example, Eldredge, 1992; Omer-Cooper, 1966, 1993;
Hamilton, 1995). The causes of the mfecane/difaqane
remain a subject of considerable debate among historians,
with explanations ranging from environmental degradation,
competition for trade with Delagoa Bay, to state formation
among the Nguni people (see for example, Ballard, 1986;
Guy, 1980;Eldredge, 1992). However, while the causes
remain obscure and debatable, the effect had massive
Figure 1: Areas or regions associated with the introduction and expansion of maize in sub–Saharan Africa from the late
regional socio-political and economic repercussions. Some fifteenth century onwards. © Innocent Pikirayi
Nguni speakers left the region, eventually settling in
present day Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia
and Malawi (Cobbing, 1988; Peires, 1981). This led to the on the Indian and Atlantic coasts, which they used as for rapidly dwindling resources (Hall, 1981). This placed
displacement and dispersal of local populations in much of springboards for movement into the interior. enormous pressure on the rapidly increasing human
southern and adjacent central Africa. Clearly, those affected population, as vast areas lost their carrying capacities
were responding to the dictates of the more powerful Scholars largely point towards ecological vulnerabilities (Gluckman, 1960; Omer-Cooper, 1966; Guy, 1980). In
invading groups, the need to secure better watered and in the area where the mfecane/difaqane originated. It is response, there was increased political centralization
productive land, permanent food resources, and access to suggested that from the late eighteenth century onwards, through the formation of chiefdoms and states, ostensibly
lucrative trading opportunities with neighbouring groups the Thukela basin and regions to the north increasingly as clans and other groups competed for shrinking
as well as Europeans. The latter were increasingly settling experienced drier conditions, resulting in competition resources. However, this explanation remains largely
301

speculative, as there is very little evidence to point towards Scholars believe that this created conditions for drought- arguing that such claims of cannibalism reflected African,
human-induced degradation of the environment and induced subsistence crises and famine in at the end of rather than European perspectives, and ‘were a vernacular
the consequent depletion of resources (see evaluation in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Attempts expression of beliefs about, and critiques of political power
Hannaford et al., 2014). Other factors, both internal and to resort to the cultivation of traditional staples such as in the threatening and unsettled political environment of
external to the region, need to be considered, for example, sorghum were to prove ineffective as societies failed to the time’ (p. 211). I add here that beyond this are ecological
the growing trade with Delagoa Bay (Newitt, 1995). The foresee the prolonged arid conditions (Crais, 2011). factors, which she alluded to:
late eighteenth-early nineteenth century competition
for ivory trade through Delagoa Bay contributed to The demography and environment of the Zambesi
considerable tension. This, as well as other developments, valley in the sixteenth century militated against high
may explain the rise of King Shaka and his moulding of South-Central Africa: The Lower-Zambezi agricultural production levels; cultivation ‘rarely yielded a
the northern Nguni speakers into a strong Zulu state. This and Adjacent regions substantial surplus’, and elsewhere, communities ‘often
development is taken as a primary reason behind increased lived precariously on the frontiers of survival, threatened
socio-economic inequality in the mfecane/difaqane origin The second case study focuses on the lower Zambezi by both drought and human predators’. Environment
area, where different clans and chiefdoms were confronted Valley, in central Mozambique, and the adjacent territories and demography worked together in a dynamic: the
with unequal distribution of food in times of acute scarcity of Malawi and the northern Zimbabwe plateau. This is only way to increase production substantially was to
and severe droughts and prolonged dry spells. This affected geographically referred as south-central Africa (Birmingham, increase the number of people involved in producing
the poorer elements of society, who became increasingly 1983; Gray and Birmingham, 1970). When the Portuguese crops, but unreliable rains and low-yield soils made large
vulnerable to, and were unable to cope with, famine arrived on the Mozambican coast, the fame of the gold concentrations of people a dangerous liability in times of
(Eldredge, 1992; Hannaford et al., 2014). being traded from the Mutapa state eventually led them need. When harvests failed, due to drought, locusts, or
into the Zimbabwe plateau hinterland and to settle in the other environmental factors, closely settled communities
Perhaps much less emphasized in the discussion on lower Zambezi Valley (Axelson, 1973; Newitt, 1973, 2004; were at risk of starvation, which might be avoided by
social inequality and group re-alignment in south-eastern Pikirayi, 1993, 2001). Between the 1570s and 1600s, the pawning vulnerable family members in exchange for
Africa is human trafficking through Delagoa Bay to the Portuguese report cannibals in the lower Zambezi, who are food stocks… Toward the end of the seventeenth century,
Mascarene Islands and Brazil in response to the labour said to have ravaged it. From the Maravi state, the Zimba an Italian missionary in Angola asserted that an army’s
demands in sugar and other plantations (Newitt, 1995). reportedly moved to the Zambezi mouth, then followed the passage ‘could be sufficient to devastate a region and
The export of slaves grew considerably in the early decades Indian Ocean coast, rampaging and disrupting the eastern “exterminate a great number of people”’. That manioc
of the nineteenth century, increasing the destabilization of African littoral until they were defeated by the Segeju near (cassava) was not introduced in southern Africa until the
hinterland societies. This increased insecurity in the regions Malindi. Alpers (1975) downplayed the extent of Zimba early seventeenth century further strengthens this point.
as well. The stiff competition for trade in ivory may have destruction and plunder, arguing that their devastation Manioc, a tuber, can be left in the ground for up to two
led to the formation of the ‘amabutho’ regiment system, of the lower Zambezi and beyond had been exaggerated. years before harvesting is necessary and could survive
which eventually translated into military structures, which Instead, he saw them as emerging out of early Maravi states a plundering army if its cultivators planted strategically.
became a highly effective fighting force among the Zulu in response to Portuguese trading activities that tampered Millet, sorghum, and other common staples of the
(Smith, 1969, 1983). with the former (see also Mudenge, 1988, pp. 224–227). sixteenth century were not so flexible, and would have
Subsequent researchers (see Pikirayi, 1993, 2009; Allina, been much more vulnerable to a passing army. (Allina,
The introduction of maize in southern Africa through 2011) have called for a reconsideration of the Zimba from 2011, p. 222)
Delagoa Bay has already been discussed by a number of a careful re-reading of the Portuguese sources, particularly
scholars (Hall, 1976; Huffman, 2004). Using archaeological João dos Santos’ Ethiopia Oriental (1891) that was first The introduction of maize in eastern Africa remains poorly
and tree-ring dating evidence, Martin Hall (1976) implicated published in 1609. documented. According to Miracle (1965), linguistic names
the introduction of maize to KwaZulu-Natal through such as pemba used to refer to maize in the hinterland of
Delagoa Bay sometime around the early- to mid-eighteenth The Zimba are neither an exaggeration of the Portuguese what is today Malawi, suggest the people there obtained
century. Its cultivation possibly had two-fold implications. nor European myth making (see for example, Newitt, it from the island of that name – Pemba, off the coast of
Firstly, as a result of the high yields of maize, the region 1995). Rather, they reflect the unsettled times, the political Tanzania. Also the Sena of the lower Zambezi valley called
experienced increased capacity for population growth. re-configurations taking place in the region, especially in maize ‘sorghum of the sea coast’ (chimanga) (McCann,
High maize yields as well as extensive cultivation were the expanding Mutapa and Maravi states (Pikirayi, 1993), 2001, 2005). The earliest reference to maize in eastern
made possible a result of increased rainfall towards the and intensified by environmental stress of widespread Africa is that by João de Barros, who mentions it with
latter half of the eighteenth century, and certainly before drought, famine and disease (Allina, 2011, p. 212). This is regards to the Land of Prester John (Ethiopia), around 1516.
drought and prolonged conditions set in during the 1790s. not to justify their cannibalistic tendencies as reported by However, the Portuguese records do not make reference
Secondly those who consumed maize became increasingly João dos Santos (1891), but rather to understand why this or mention of the crop in eastern Africa during the first
vulnerable when the region was hit by a series of droughts, was the case in the region. Allina (2011) examines this from part of the sixteenth century and even the references by
since maize requires sufficient moisture to grow and the point of view of how early modern European cultural Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese writer and Portuguese India
produce yields (Ballard, 1986; Holmgren and Öberg, 2006). outlooks played a role in producing such chilling accounts, officer between 1500 and 1516–1517, of milho several
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times along the coast and in Madagascar in 1515–16 do communities relied on sorghum and that maize was defeat of the Portuguese in battle in 1591. However, this
not specify milho zaburro, suggesting rather that he was unknown (see Antonites and Antonites, 2007; Boeyens, took another turn, some three decades later, in 1618, when
talking about millets and sorghums. References to milho in 2003). Could the introduction of this crop be associated again the Portuguese attacked the Mbundu, this time with
the account by Duarte Barbosa, who visited a number of with the societal upheavals discussed above? I now turn to the assistance of Imbangala from the upper Kwanza River.
Swahili towns in eastern Africa, may have been sorghum or west-Central Africa to discuss early Portuguese encounters Some of the Imbangala formed their own kingdom under
millets. However, later in the sixteenth century, an account with the kingdoms of Kongo and Mbundu in the sixteenth Kasanje, attacking the Mbundu separately. The Portuguese
by George M. Theal (1898–1903, Vol. 2, pp. 127) makes and seventeenth centuries, and return to this question later. were expanding their influence along the Kwanza River.
references to milho zaburro and that Fr Gonçalo da Silveira, This would eventually lead to the rise of Queen Nzinga,
lived mainly on it while at the court of the Monomotapa. who initially joined forces with the Imbangala of Kasanje,
This means that maize must have been cultivated in the but subsequently moved north and captured the Kingdom
Mozambican Plains, the Zambezi and Save basin and West-Central Africa: Lower Zaire, Kasai, of Matamba (Birmingham, 1983; Miller, 1973, 1983).
possibly the lower Limpopo Valley much earlier, although Kwango and Kwanza Basins
this escaped the notice of early travellers. Whether it was While Kongo and Portugal entered in an alliance
a common staple by then or increasingly becoming one, The history of Lower Zaire or Congo River and the Kwanza against Mbundu, the relationship between the Portuguese
remains unclear. basins in west-Central Africa since the late fifteenth century and the Kongo had deteriorated. Following Portuguese
onwards is dominated by the Kongo Kingdom, initially, and failed attempts to invade Kongo in 1622, Kongo allied with
According to Maddox (2006, p.83), maize spread in later, other kingdoms such as Mbundu (Ndongo), Matamba the Dutch to attack the latter in 1641. With the expulsion
southern and eastern Africa more slowly than in West and Kasange which developed to the south (Birmingham, of the Dutch, mutual hostility between the Portuguese and
Africa. The maize introduced in eastern and southern 1983;Miller, 1983). An outline is presented here to give the the Kongo continued culminating in the Battle of Mbwila,
Africa was brought through Portuguese trading vessels general historical context in which maize was introduced, 1665, which led to the defeat of the latter. Although
when transporting slaves around the Cape of Good Hope. as well as to make sense of the conflict, which engulfed Kongo was able to defeat a Portuguese invasion in 1670,
The growing of maize on the East African islands of Pemba the region following contact with Europeans in the early the civil war that broke out in Kongo would prevent it from
and Zanzibar was meant to supply Portuguese outposts on modern era. being a regional power again.
the coats of Mombasa. Maddox (2006) does not believe it
became a staple crop during the sixteenth and seventeenth The Portuguese arrived at this part of Africa in 1483 and There are several issues regarding the Portuguese initial
centuries in East Africa, as the traditional grains remained by 1485 there were diplomatic relations between the rulers colonisation of west-Central Africa. A major issue is the
significant. What is less clear is the situation in the more of Kongo and Lisbon. They opened up sugar plantations political instability experienced within the Mbundu and
southerly regions of the Indian Ocean coast including on the islands of São Tomé and Principe, in the Gulf of Kongo kingdoms, arising from the Jaga and the Imbangala.
Mozambique Island, the lower Zambezi, the Mozambican Guinea, which instantly created a demand for slave labour The Jaga and Imbangala may have arisen to respond, in
Plains and Delagoa Bay. Even less clear is how maize spread from the mainland, and at the same time, challenged the the manner they did from the droughts, which triggered
into the southern African interior. Some scholars use political stability of the Kongo (Paz-Sánchez, 2013). The considerable famine in their respective areas. What remains
grindstones as proxy evidence for the process (Huffman, introduction of Christianity to the kingdom was opposed unclear though is whether the famines were generated by
2006), which is not really definitive, and does not take by some members of the nobility. However, during the failure of traditional millets or whether maize had also
into account the fact that maize was also processed using reign of Manikongo [King] Afonso I (1506–1563), Kongo become involved, with such major droughts leading to
the pounding method involving mortar and pestle (duri ne became a Christian kingdom, and some of the Portuguese massive failures of the newly introduced crop. What is clear
mutswi) especially among the Karanga of Zimbabwe. These settled in the royal capital, Mbanza. Afonso I managed to is that with west-Central African rulers became increasingly
artefacts, which are very effective in processing the maize centralize his government by monopolizing foreign trade dependent on European goods such as cloth, guns, alcohol,
kernels as well as sorghums and millets, have not been and directing the sourcing of slaves to regions peripheral glass beads and ceramics, but at the expense of enslaving
recovered archaeologically. to his kingdom. and depleting demographically their own populations. This
affected hinterlands as far as some 200 kilometres away.
If maize could already be found on the Zimbabwe The stability of the Kongo was seriously challenged in These are some of the ‘paradoxes of impoverishment’ that
plateau by the early sixteenth century (see Miracle, 1965, 1568, when it was invaded by the Jaga from the interior. Miller (1983) refers to.
1966), it is possible that it may have reached the South This disrupted patterns of trade in the region, including
African Highveld by that time also (Huffman, 2006). slavery. Provincial or polities on the periphery such as the We know from Miracle (1965) and Paz-Sánchez (2013) that
However, some scholars believe that this was perhaps a Mbundu, also rose to prominence as a result, forcing Kongo maize was introduced there as a crop by Portuguese traders
much later development, linked to the upheavals termed to request for Portuguese assistance. The Portuguese, who and settlers during the early to mid-sixteenth century.
mfecane/difaqane among the Nguni and Sotho during had lost their base in the Kongo, had shifted to the mouth What may have triggered the growing of maize was the
the early nineteenth century. The proxy evidence has of the Kwanza River, on the Atlantic Coast, where a colony plantation agriculture at São Tomé, which depended on
been questioned on the basis of the available nineteenth developed at Luanda that continued from 1575 onwards. enormous amounts of slave labour from the mainland. The
century traveller accounts from the Marico and Dwarsberg This became a serious threat to Mbundu, which brought only viable means of feeding the slaves was through maize.
region of South Africa that suggest that Sotho-Tswana it into an alliance with Matamba that would result in the According to Miracle (1965, p. 45), maize may have been
303

brought by the Portuguese to the Congo sometime after The evidence for the Little Ice Age in the southern Zambezi from the 1570s onwards, further suggesting that
1493 and spread rapidly such that by 1600, it had become hemisphere is rather sparse (Figure 2). Available evidence conditions were not normal, with serious droughts and dry
established as a staple some 1000 km or so inland. Known from southern Africa indicate climate behaviour patterns spells disrupting the availability of food resources, forcing
in the Kingdom of Kongo and northern Angola as mazza markedly different from those observed in the northern some to resort to cannibalism (Pikirayi, 2003, p. 66).
manputo or masimporto (“grain of Portugal”) it spread hemisphere (Holmgren and Oberg 2006; Holmgren et
to much of the Zaire River Basin, where it is recalled in al., 2001; Jones et al., 1998; Mann et al.,1998; Tyson et The worst drought recorded by the Portuguese on the
Bushongo traditions during the first half of the seventeenth al., 2000). Several scientific works have pointed out the Zimbabwe plateau interior occurred in 1714. The drought
century. Historians suggest that maize was quickly adopted existence of cold spells and climate changes in parts of was widespread and its effects were severe. More than
by societies who, prior to this, relied mostly on millets and southern Africa and their correlation to the Little Ice Age. 200,000 people are said to have died from a devastating
sorghums. The presence of maize along the Atlantic coast Isotopic evidence from calcite deposition in stalagmites smallpox epidemic and the drought. The figure is probably
of west-Central Africa is attested from as far back as 1617 and stalactites (speleothems) from South Africa indicates exaggerated, but clearly points to the worst catastrophe
and 1621 in Benguela and Luango respectively, where it anomalously cold conditions only prior to the nineteenth to befall the region since the arrival of the Portuguese.
was already considered a principal crop (Miracle, 1965, century. Evidence from the Makapansgat Cave in northern The ongoing civil wars in the Mutapa State during the
p. 46). The importance of maize in the eastern Congo South Africa suggests a cold period from 1500 to 1800 first half the eighteenth century could have worsened the
Basin is reported by late nineteenth century European (Holmgren and Öberg, 2006; Holmgren et al., 2001). effects of the drought and the epidemic. In the adjacent
explorers, who mention that in the regions bordering Sediment cores retrieved from Lake Malawi show colder lower Zambezi region, the Portuguese report serious locust
Lake Tanganyika, though a staple, it was being replaced conditions between 1570 and 1820, indicating significantly plagues proceeding the rain seasons, especially between
by cassava, another American crop. The same process lower lake levels (Nicholson, 1998) which is regarded as 1736 and 1745. There are also reports of prolonged dry
happened among the Azande and Logo people, in the indicative of the presence of the Little Ice Age phenomenon spells during the second half the eighteenth century (Beach
northern Congo Basin. (Johnson et al., 2001). and Noronha, 1980, pp. 91–3). Clearly the eighteenth
century was ‘abnormal’ in climate-environmental terms
How do we explain all of these regional societal tensions (Pikirayi, 2003, p. 67).
during the late sixteenth and much of the seventeenth Human Responses
century west-Central, and south-central Africa, and those In south-eastern Africa, the Thukela Basin and regions
connected with the mfecane/difaqane much farther south? In terms of human experience, how may the Little Ice Age to the north experienced increased dry spells and severe
I now turn to discussing the Little Ice Age in southern Africa be characterized and understood in parts of southern droughts from the 1790s onwards. Prominent among
as a backdrop to the environmental context in which maize Africa? According to Newitt (1995, p. 253), the climate of these is the Mahlatule drought and famine, 1800–1806/7,
was introduced and then later will assess the consequences southern Africa is notoriously unstable, marked by patterns which affected even much wider areas of the Eastern Cape
of the adoption of the crop on African societies. of long and dry periods, with the dry periods building up and Lesotho. It is described by Martin Hinrich Lichtenstein
to intense droughts which disrupt normal societal life quite (1815) as resulting in a great decline in the usual quantity
severely. Coping mechanisms included intensification of of corn and heavy cattle losses (Crais, 2011). In the
hunting, gold mining and trade, and as a last resort, if the Thukela Basin, apart from political instability, there was
The Little Ice Age in Southern Africa drought became too intense, moving to better watered forced shift towards more drought resistant crops such
and fertile areas. Such may involve whole communities, as sorghum (Ballard, 1986). Mahlatule is regarded as the
The Little Ice Age in sub-Saharan Africa, and specifically triggering competition for resources. The consequences most severe drought to have affected southern Africa prior
southern Africa, was a period of cooling that occurred after are war, slavery, social instability, epidemics and so on. The to the El Nino event of 1862, which in turn caused the
the Medieval Warm Period (Medieval Climate Optimum) earliest recorded events date to 1580, described by the worst drought event in southern Africa in the nineteenth
from 1340/1500 to 1850. Not really an ice age, but cold Portuguese chronicler, João dos Santos. century (Webb and Wright, 1976). This, according to
intervals, one beginning around 1650, another about 1770 Newitt (1995, p. 254), may have led to the emergence of
and the last in 1850, each separated by intervals of slight The most important famines and droughts that affected the Zulu Kingdom among the northern Nguni. According
warming, are known to have occurred in different parts Lake Malawi and adjacent regions occurred in the 1560s, to the Environmental Software and Services (ESS, Austria,
of the world (Mann, 2002). The Third Assessment Report 1580s, 1620s and 1720s (Nicholson, 1998). Reports, 1995–2000), the period 1800–1830 saw southern African
of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, including documentary sources, suggest significantly low rivers, swamps and other water sources drying up, with
2001) considered the timing and areas affected by the lake levels during these years and periods. With regards some well-watered plains turning to semi-arid vegetation
Little Ice Age, and suggest that this period or phenomena to the Mutapa State in the Zimbabwe plateau interior, (see also Glantz et al., 2007).
were largely characterized by independent regional climate there are reports of a serious drought during the 1560s,
changes, rather than a globally synchronous increased which followed the death of Father Gonçalo da Silveira, a All in all, human experiences during the period 1500–1850
glaciation, with the northern hemisphere experiencing Portuguese missionary stationed at the court. This drought in southern Africa show a cycle of catastrophic droughts
some modest cooling. was apparently accompanied by a plague of locusts. This and famine, scarcity of resources, conflict and violence.
event in the interior is followed up by the Portuguese Conflict was exacerbated by additional encounters with
campaigns against the Zimba people in the Lower the Europeans. Generally referred to as the early Atlantic
304

9
Consequences
The introduction of maize in Africa is described by some

scholars as revolutionary, with considerable demographic
effects, both negative and positive. The following
quotation captures some of effects and consequences
connected with African European contact, post 1500:
“During the era of Columbian exchange, Africa received

new types of plants and animals that gave African societies
new options in surviving within their environments. The
introduction of maize, cassava, and tobacco reshaped
agricultural practices in different regions of Africa, while
increased exchange brought greater supplies of well-
known goods such as metals and horses. Greater contact,
especially along the western seaboard of Africa, circulated
diseases more rapidly and in a few exceptional cases led
to American style demographic crises where a majority
Figure 2: Climate change and societal development in southern Africa, ad 900–2000 (after Holmgren and Öberg 2006). Note the drier
and cooler climate for the period 1550–1800 and the variable warm and wet climate from then on, to the present. © Innocent Pikirayi of the population dies shortly after coming into contact
with Europeans and the disasters they bring” (Maddox,
2006, p. 76).
Age, Europeans began to influence beyond their continent importance of maize drops, never reaching pre-Hispanic
in markedly significant ways. Their commerce dictated consumption levels. Decline appears to be related to colder Catherine Coquery-Vidrovitch (1992, p. 8) argues that
the course of events globally with visible consequences temperatures during the Little Ice Age (Gil et al., 2014). because maize was easy to plant, it may have increased
locally (Fagan 1998, pp. 19, 23; see also Part III, pp. In north-eastern USA, Demeritt (1991) provides a general demographic capacity in some parts of Africa, especially in
217–303). Africans were active agents in the complex model of the minimum requirements for maize, arguing the Congo Basin, but this was countered by higher rates of
interconnected and interdependent processes involving the that impacts of the Little Ice Age can be evaluated in terms sickness and mortality caused by its low nutritional value.
spread of European capitalism and early forms of European of changes in the margins of agricultural possibility. While The same could be extended to other American crops
colonization (Funari et al., 1999, pp. 1–36). In Africa, it maize cultivation was possible for prehistoric New England, such as cassava, red beans and sweet potatoes. While
is local responses to the various contact settings that the cultural choices rather than any limiting environmental not necessarily embracing the point that the transition
consequences of such expansion are clearly elucidated factors determined where and when maize was grown. to agriculture accelerated population growth, there was
(Isaacman, 1972; Pikirayi, 2009). The Portuguese introduced perhaps a disturbance in the demographic equilibrium
maize to the continent of Africa and while its advantages The biggest threat to maize in Africa during the Little Ice of the sub-continent’s Later Iron Age farmers at a time
were immense from a demographic perspective, its Age seems to have been episodes of severe drought and when climatic conditions were unfavourable – leading to
negative consequences were equally colossal. prolonged dry periods, which led to massive crop failure. prolonged dry spells, droughts, natural disasters such as
This is heavily contrasted by periods of normal to high flooding and pest infestations, social stresses and so on.
rainfall, which ensured success of the crop. The serious Population increases among sub-Saharan African societies
Maize and the Little Ice Age droughts which occurred in the Mutapa state and adjacent are noticeable in the archaeological record from the early
Zambezi Valley during the sixteenth century, in the Kongo second millennium ad and were to accelerate following
Maize was introduced in Africa during the Little Ice Age, Kingdom in the mid-sixteenth century resulting in the Jaga contact with Europeans.
but no studies have been done on patterns of post 1500 invasions and among the Mbundu in the early seventeenth
consumption due to a lack or complete absence of relevant century, must have resulted in massive agricultural failures, Maize facilitated the plantation economies driven primarily
data. The few studies that exist, however, demand a better including the failure of maize, given the very high level by slave labour, with the slaves being fed on maize (Miracle,
understanding of what is agriculturally possible when of societal conflicts and stresses reported in Portuguese 1965; McCann, 2005). While maize gave Africa another
confronted with cooler to cold temperatures, as is the case written records. crop, it is not able to withstand drought when compared to
in the Americas or extremely high temperatures, as is the sorghums and millets (Maddox, 2006, p. 82). Its widespread
case in tropical and sub-tropical Africa. adoption upon introduction was therefore likely to cause
considerable stresses coupled with environmental failures
In western Argentina, isotope studies show a high as well human induced changes on nature.
intake of maize until c. ad 1400, after which the dietary
305

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economic and environmental stresses may be associated form of variable weather conditions with depressed levels of Stevens, S. Nixon, M. A. Muray and D. Fuller (eds), 2014.
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notable are the Jaga and Imbangala invasions of the and rainfall to grow, confronted droughts and prolonged Coast Press.
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Portuguese in the lower Zambezi and adjacent East African (1994), are a normal part of the region’s climate and are Axelson, E. 1973. Portuguese in South Africa, 1488–1600.
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KwaZulu-Natal Coast and Delagoa Bay. around conflict, how individuals and groups can gain or Collins, R. O. and Burns, J. M. 2007. A History of Sub-
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10
Methodological Approaches

10 Methodology
A Field Sampling Protocol for Palaeogenetic Analyses

Ruth Bollongino
University of Mainz, Germany
Introduction What Ancient DNA Can Do relationships between groups. Mitochondrial data had
a great impact on research on the Neolithic transition in
In recent decades, archaeometric and bioarchaeological It is spectacular finds like the Denisovans that have recently Europe (for example, Bollongino et al., 2013; Bramanti et
methods have experienced remarkable progress. As a increased scientific and public interest in palaeogenetics, al., 2009; Brandt et al., 2013). Mitochondrial DNA is usually
consequence, the position of archaeology has changed a relatively new field that arose in the late 1980s. In better preserved than autosomal DNA, so for samples with
from a stand-alone science to an important first step in the beginning, ancient DNA (aDNA) was mainly used a difficult preservational status mtDNA might be the only
a line of research fields. Naturally destructive methods to answer archaeological questions on species and sex locus that can be sequenced. However, mtDNA often
are being used for excavations and, as a result, there isn’t determination, as well as kinship analyses. Scientifically, allows enough insight to discover new questions and
usually a second chance to make up for shortcomings archaeology and palaeogenetics complement each other prompt future research, as the mitochondrial genome of
in the field. This leaves archaeologists with an increased in an almost symbiotic way. While archaeology mainly deals an approximately 380 thousand years old archaic hominin
responsibility not only for their own research, but also for with the material legacy of human beings, palaeogenetics from the cave site Sima de los Huesos in Spain shows
subsequent studies within other fields. investigates the history, behaviour and evolution of these (Meyer et al., 2014). MtDNA data only reflect the history
populations. The term ‘pots or people’ depicts the classic of females (mitochondria are maternally inherited). In other
A problematic aspect of palaeogenetics is that the value of application where archaeology describes the change in words, it only tells the story of one ancestor out of many.
information hidden in the DNA of a bone is invisible to the material artefacts, while palaeogenetics describes the
eye and can only be judged in retrospect. The most striking change of populations. Quite often archaeology, or rather, The last decade has seen an almost revolutionary
example of this may be Denisova Cave, Siberia, where the precise but open questions within archaeology, constitutes progress in molecular genetic techniques, which promise
DNA of a morphologically unspectacular finger bone is the the framework for aDNA studies. to overcome all the restrictions mentioned above. The
only evidence we have for a previously unknown branch of new technology, often referred to as next generation
humans known as Denisovans (Krause et al., 2010; Reich Nevertheless, palaeogenetics quickly developed a sequencing (NGS) or high throughput sequencing (HTS),
et al., 2010; Meyer et al., 2012). The ‘molecular value’ of research field of its own comprising human evolution, allows almost all molecules in a given DNA extract to
a bone cannot be anticipated by macroscopic inspection. population genetics, adaptive changes, evolution of be sequenced in parallel. This means literally all DNA
Therefore, although there may be no palaeogenetic analysis pathogens and diseases, phylogenetics, and taxonomy. molecules, comprising environmental, contaminating and
planned at the time of an excavation, it is important to Therefore, palaeogenetics is not only closely connected endogenous sample DNA alike. Despite the high amount
secure a range of well-preserved samples for future studies. to archaeology, but also to zoology, botany and medicine. of non-target sequences, a whole genome can still be
The appropriate treatment and storage of sample material So far, aDNA analyses have been mostly restricted to retrieved from very well preserved samples with a high
is crucial for the success of downstream analyses (see specific sequencing of single genetic loci, which were content of endogenous DNA. Even for less ideal samples,
chapter below). chosen according to the questions to be investigated. The it is still possible to sequence whole (or nearly whole)
disadvantage of these single locus studies is that only a genomes, but both laboratory and financial efforts will rise
This guide for sampling methods in the field aims to provide tiny fraction of the information hidden in the DNA extract considerably. A more efficient and specific alternative can
practical, unlaborious and inexpensive protocols to provide is examined, whereas the remaining molecules are lost. be a so-called enrichment or capture procedure, where
archaeologists with the necessary background knowledge. DNA extracts can only be stored for approximately one to thousands of relevant DNA fragments can be isolated from
This article focuses on ancient human DNA, as it is the three years, but the amount and quality of the DNA in the the remaining DNA extract and subsequently sequenced.
aim of most palaeoanthropological studies, and is also the extract decrease with time. Additionally, DNA extracts are This method is less suitable for yielding whole genomes,
most sensitive to contamination. These same guidelines used up quickly, especially when large volumes of extract but it ensures the coverage of high amount of various
also apply to specimens from animals and plants in order are needed for less well preserved samples. Thus studying markers of interest.
to keep the amount of contamination of non-endogenous a different genetic marker using the same samples often
DNA in the sample as low as possible. means taking more material for a new DNA-extraction. Following the current tendency, many samples will be
Furthermore, the scientific value of single locus studies screened for preservation and only the best amongst them
is limited as well. For example, studies on mitochondrial will be sequenced in-depth. Studying fewer numbers of
DNA (mtDNA) have been of great value for population individuals is not necessarily connected with a loss of
geneticists working on questions regarding migration and information. Each of us carries a genetic mosaic composed
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Figure 1: Equipment for aDNA sampling in the field. From left to right: washing bottle for water or bleach, tools (trowel, pliers, tweezers), paper towels, set of plastic bowls, bleach, mineral
water, detergent, disposable gloves. © Ruth Bollongino
of the sum of our ancestors whose signals are more and The advantage of sequencing whole genomes (or at least This saves sample material and work time, as well as
more diluted as we go back into the past. In theory, an a high amount of various markers) is that even if not all financial expenses. And, last but not least, classic markers
individual of a family that had a long tradition in a certain the information is analysed in a given study, the dataset for sex and kinship are still available as a welcome side
area can reflect the history of the whole population (for is still available and can be revisited in another context. product for archaeological studies.
example, Lazaridis et al., 2013). This is illustrated by the fact For example, if the whole genome data of five individuals
that every individual has two parents, who themselves have were published to investigate the migration and admixture The applications of whole genome studies are as manifold
two parents and so on. After ten generations, the number between different populations, then the same dataset as the datasets. Several reviews give a broad overview on
of ancestors increases to 624, and after 20 generations can be part of a different study focussing on selective the most important publications in the field (for example,
there are already 638,976 ancestors. mutations or genetic predisposition for certain diseases. Sánchez-Quinto and Lalueza-Fox, 2015; Pickrell and
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10 Methodology
Reich, 2014; Veeramah and Hammer, 2014; Kirsanow substantially. Different micro-environments can be caused
and Burger, 2012; Pinhasi et al., 2012). To mention just a by the presence, for example, of limestone or potsherds
few examples, whole genome studies allowed researchers that buffer the pH-value of the surrounding soils. Bacterial
to genetically describe Neanderthals and estimate the growth, for example, is slowed down by grave goods that
amount of admixture between non-African anatomically contain copper and if bones had been fleshed before burial.
modern humans and Neanderthals (Sankararaman et al.,
2012; Prüfer et al., 2013), as well as Denisovans (Reich DNA degradation is not equal in all parts of the skeleton.
et al., 2011). A Palaeolithic individual from Mal´ta, Siberia The mass and density of bone tissue varies, as does the
was shown to be a representative of a yet unknown metabolic turnover rate in vivo. Bones with a higher body
population, which bridges genetic affinities between turnover rate are presumably more prone to enzymatic
Europeans and Native Americans (Raghavan et al., 2014a). breakdown after death, and blood circulation systems
Even incomplete genome-wide analyses provide valuable offer an easy access for bacteria. An impressive example is
insights, as the example of a study on the population the outstanding preservation of DNA in petrous bones (see
history of arctic America shows (Raghavan et al., 2014b). paragraph on choice of samples).
Treating samples with care after an excavation is essential

in order to avoid further degrading and contaminating of
The Impact of Fieldwork Methods on the sample material, and this will be explained in detail in
aDNA Studies the following paragraphs. Severe contamination is often
irreversible and impedes downstream analyses, or even
Under favourable conditions, biological remains and cultural worse, leads to false positive results. The impact of storage
artefacts are conserved for thousands of years. During conditions might be best illustrated by the example of a
an excavation, however, these favourable conditions are 3200 years old aurochs skull. Parts of it came from a fresh
often disturbed, if not put to an impetuous end. A sudden excavation, while other parts had been in a collection for
change of environmental conditions creates thermal stress 57 years. The first sample yielded good results, the second
and enhances an accelerated degradation of biomolecules, none at all (Pruvost et al., 2007). This is an example that is
including DNA (Allentoft et al., 2012; Bollongino et al., unfortunately quite common.
2008; Bollongino and Vigne, 2008; Pruvost et al., 2007;
Smith et al., 2003).
The preservation of DNA is dependent on environmental Sources of Contamination

conditions, not on the age of the bone. The oldest DNA Figures 2 a and b: Gloves should only be touched on the rim to
that has been sequenced so far stems from a Middle All DNA molecules in a sample that do not stem from the avoid contamination of the glove surface. © Ruth Bollongino
Pleistocene horse bone that was retrieved from permafrost original organism can be defined as contaminants. Soil-
soils (Orlando et al., 2013). The conditions for good born specimens have a high degree of environmental
DNA preservation can vary, but in general it can be contamination, for example, from bacteria, fungi, plants
summarized as follows: cool, dry, dark, basic soils (low and animals. In most cases, this is less problematic, as DNA-
pH-value), anaerobic and stable environments are good; sequences that do not align to the same species as the
whereas warm, humid, acidious soils (high pH-value), sample are computationally excluded from the analyses.
high UV-radiation and unstable conditions are negative Nevertheless, environmental contamination can diminish
for DNA preservation. Waterlogged samples can be very the efficiency of DNA analyses. The greatest difficulty for
well preserved under anaerobic conditions. In coastal palaeogenetics arises when the sample and contaminant
environments, samples covered by (salt)water are usually are of the same species, especially when human samples
better preserved than those above the shoreline. Samples are concerned. Bones are traditionally excavated without
from caves are often well preserved, as caves keep an special precaution. The specimen is often touched and
all-year-round stable and low temperature. Additionally, handled by several people. Their DNA is not degraded
specimens from cave environments can be covered by a and is preferred during the enzymatic reaction of the DNA
layer of sinter. This layer serves as a perfect safe for DNA analyses and can therefore outnumber the endogenous
and protection from contamination, thus it should not be DNA of the sample. Contaminating molecules on the
Figure 3: Minimum protective clothing for aDNA sampling
removed. In general, even within the same excavation area surface of a sample can often be eliminated in the lab in the field. Additional plastic sleeves and a cleanroom
conditions for the preservation of biomolecules can vary by UV-irradiation and removal of the sample surface. suit are recommended. © Ruth Bollongino
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10
However, if the contaminant migrates deeply into the 0.3 and 20% in teeth and other long bones. Due to its Figure 2) at hand. Most palaeogenetic labs will provide
bone tissue, it will inevitably become part of the DNA solid structure, the petrous bone is often undamaged, these items on request. At least one person should be
extract. Unfortunately, this often happens when samples even when the remaining skeleton is highly fragmented. familiar with the sampling protocol. After the discovery of
are washed as tap water contains many contaminants, in Thus, whenever possible, this skeletal element is by far the a potential sample, it takes less than five minutes to put
addition to the DNA from the person washing the samples best choice and might even be suitable for whole genome on protective clothing and to proceed with the excavation
and contaminants from previous usage of the tub. When sequencing while other parts of the same individuals might under clean conditions. A quick guide for excavating,
a sample is porous or fissured, the water can penetrate not be. treating and storing samples in the field is given in annex 2.
deeply into the bone, carrying the contaminating DNA
molecules with it. One example from the field showed that The second best choice is teeth and, more specifically,
all samples that had been washed in a tub that was used their roots. Dentine is a dense and solid tissue, which
as a trough for goats were irreversibly contaminated with contains high amounts of DNA, in contrast to the enamel How to Put on Protective Clothing
the animals’ DNA (Bollongino et al., 2008). Similar effects of the crown. The crown, however, can be used for
can be caused by animal and human faeces that leach into subsequent analyses of stable isotopes. This strategy holds When putting on and wearing protective clothes, it
the soil. the advantage that both DNA and isotopic (and ideally is crucial to keep potential pathways and sources of
also radiocarbon) data from the same individual can be contamination in mind. For example, when wearing gloves,
There are also numerous sources and causes of combined for the interpretation of results. Some studies do not wipe your hair out of your face or touch skin. Only
contamination in the laboratory but their elimination and have shown that combined results of different methods clean items and tools should be touched, otherwise change
monitoring is the responsibility of the laboratory staff and yield much deeper insight into past populations, if not even gloves immediately. In order to keep the equipment clean,
is not subject of this paper. a totally different interpretation (for example, Bollongino all items in the sampling box should be stored in plastic
et al., 2013). bags and should only be touched when wearing gloves.
Put excavation tools back into the box only after they have
If neither petrous bones nor teeth are available, a long been cleaned.
How to Choose Suitable Samples bone diaphysis or other compact bones should be chosen.
Independently of the skeletal element, samples should Ideally, the person excavating the sample is wearing a
As aDNA analysis is a destructive method, it is tempting to be of a hard, heavy and solid character. Soft, porous and cleanroom suit with a hood, a hair cover, facemask and two
choose a small bone fragment, which is of lesser interest light bones are usually highly degraded. In general, at least layers of gloves (Figure 3). Wearing (and regularly changing)
for morphological studies. Unfortunately, these ‘left one bone of a different species should be chosen as a a cleanroom suit in the field is not always practical. Under
over bones’ are highly fragmented and have a less solid, contamination control sample. most conditions, a clean and freshly washed shirt with
porous and damaged structure with a poor preservation long sleeves can be used instead. However, when rare
of biomolecules. It is very likely that such samples yield a and precious samples, for example, early hominids or
negative result. This is not only an unnecessary waste of Palaeolithic specimens are to be recovered, a cleanroom
work time and budget, but also comprises the risk that the Avoiding Contamination suit should be worn and advice and support should be
preservation at a particular archaeological site is labelled as and DNA Degradation sought from a specialist.
unsuitable for aDNA studies, though in reality it may not
be. In that sense, specimens showing the best preservation Especially when human remains are studied, the avoidance After the discovery of a potential sample, the following
should be chosen for palaeogenetic analyses. If a specimen of contamination from excavation until the sequencing steps are recommended: cover your hair with a scarf or a
shows any diagnostic features, it can be clarified before of the sample can determine the success or failure of bandana; put on gloves, then a cleanroom suit or a clean
DNA testing in order to spare such areas from sampling. the analyses. In order to rule out and/or to trace back a shirt; put on a facemask, then discard the gloves and
Regarding teeth, for example, the roots can be cut off for contamination, it is useful to document every person that put on a new pair. In order to keep the gloves clean, it is
DNA analyses and the crown can be put back onto the handled a specific sample (see documentation sheet in important to touch the gloves only on the rim (Figure 4), if
alveole after sampling. annex 3). It is almost impossible to prove the authenticity bare skin is touched with the fingers of the gloves, discard
of a DNA sequence, but showing that it is not similar to any them and use new ones. If you are wearing a shirt instead
A recent study (Gamba et al., 2014, as well as our own person belonging to the field or laboratory staff is strong of a cleanroom suit, it is recommended to use plastic
data) has shown that DNA is exceptionally well preserved evidence. As a rule of thumb, the smaller the number of sleeves. Poke a hole for the thumb into the plastic sleeve
in the petrous bone of the skull (Pars petrosa, Figure 1). people handling a sample the better. to prevent it from sliding up your arm (the same can be
This observation holds true for both human and animal done with the sleeves of a cleanroom suit). Put on a second
specimens. Over all, the petrous bone yielded 4-16-fold Excavations are often carried out under simple and limited layer of gloves. Wearing two layers allows a quick change
amounts of DNA compared to teeth, and up to 183 conditions, therefore this protocol aims toward a practical of gloves in between samples while keeping your hands
fold amounts compared to compact bones of the same and inexpensive solution. It is not necessary to wear covered. Again, do not touch any skin or contaminated
individual. This led to 37-85% endogenous DNA in the protective clothing at all times. It is sufficient to have a items after you put on gloves. Change the upper layer of
analyses of petrous bones compared to ranges between box containing the necessary equipment (see Annex 1 and gloves regularly and after touching contaminated items.
313

10 Methodology
Figure 4: A) Location of the human temporal bone (Os temporale, highlighted in dark grey). The petrous bone (Pars petrosa) is the internal structure of the Os temporale which is surrounding
the inner ear. B) Internal view of the human skull. Left and right temporal bones are highlighted in dark grey. The petrous bone is encircled C) Isolated Os temporale (internal view). The
petrous bone is encircled. © Ruth Bollongino
Sample Extraction, Treatment and Subsampling for Laboratory Analyses An alternative solution can be to find a written agreement
Storage that samples can be exported for a limited time to allow
Taking the eventual sample for the laboratory analyses subsampling under controlled conditions in a dedicated
Take a clean set of tools (trowel, etc.) and excavate the should be carried out under cleanroom conditions. To cut cleanroom laboratory (Figure 5) and subsequent return
sample, roughly brush off excess soil. Especially in hot into a bone means to open up new surfaces that are prone of the remaining specimen. By doing this, the authorities
climates, proceed quickly and do not bother about soil to contamination. The surface has then to be removed of the country of origin keep control of precious sample
that is still attached to the bone. On a hot and sunny day, again, once the sample arrives in the aDNA laboratory, material, while the best scientific outcome can be ensured.
the sample can be kept in the shade by using an umbrella. which implies an avoidable loss of sample material. If this it not an option, experts can be allowed to enter
Transfer the sample into a clean bag (only one sample per Additionally, taking subsamples in the field increases the the country to carry out subsampling on-site (though
bag!), seal and label it. Store the sample in a cool place (a risk of cross contamination between samples if tools and often under compromised conditions) and then transfer
coolbox is ideal) and do not expose it to direct sunlight for a workplace are not cleaned adequately. Prior to sample the samples to the laboratory where the analyses will be
longer time. Change gloves in between samples and clean processing a photographic documentation is required. conducted.
all tools, at least when bones might stem from a different In the field this means an unprotected exposure of the
individual. specimen if it is not done under cleanroom conditions (see
Figure 5).
Getting Support
Due to the immense costs and high level of expertise that
How to Clean Tools after Usage is needed to successfully run an ancient DNA laboratory, The close collaboration between archaeologists and
the global number of palaeogenetic facilities is very paleogeneticists has proven to be very valuable for both
Wear protective clothing of at least gloves and a facemask limited. Only few countries therefore have a dedicated sides. It is recommended to seek the advice and support of
while cleaning tools. Rinse off the soil using a washing aDNA laboratory. In contrast, some countries do not allow palaeogeneticists before a field campaign is launched. Most
bottle with water; adding some detergent to the water the export of sample material in order to protect their laboratories will provide you with the necessary equipment.
enhances the cleaning effect. Put the tool into a bowl cultural heritage. This is an understandable policy in light It is also possible to train members of the archaeological
filled with bleach. The incubation time should be at least of the tradition that many archaeological artefacts end team in field sampling methods, or a palaeogeneticist might
15 minutes. A quick but far less efficient way is to soak a up in museum collections of leading western countries. even accompany the excavation team. Palaeogeneticists, in
paper towel with bleach and to wipe the tool with it or to Nevertheless, the responsibility for rare and precious return, will need archaeological background information on
rinse it with a washing bottled filled with bleach. Rinse off sample material also includes seeking the highest scientific both the site and individuals samples.
bleach from the tool with water. Put the tool between two standards. Compromising sample treatment and analyses
layers of paper towels to dry. Store the clean tool in a clean implicates compromising the quality and results of the It is the interdisciplinary collaboration and mutual exchange
sealable plastic bag. Metal tools that are regularly treated study. of information, as well as a combined discussion of all
with bleach will corrode very quickly and it is therefore results from various fields that yields the best resolution
recommended to replace tools once in a while.
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Tandon, A., Siebauer, M., Green, R. E., Bryc, K., Briggs,

A. W., Stenzel, U., Dabney, J., Shendure, J., Kitzman,
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Figure 5: Documenting and analysing samples under cleanroom conditions (here the Palaeogenetics Laboratory in Mainz, Germany).
© Ruth Bollongino
Orlando, L., Ginolhac, A., Zhang, G., Froese, D.,
Albrechtsen, A., Stiller, M., Schubert, M., Cappellini, E.,
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Raghavan, M., DeGiorgio, M., Albrechtsen, A., Moltke, I., human population history. National Review of Genetics, • When samples are not in anatomical order: try to
Skoglund, P., Korneliussen, T. S., Grønnow, B., Appelt, M., Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 149-62. doi:10.1038/nrg3625. avoid ‘multiple sampling’ by choosing only left or
Gulløv, H. C., Friesen, T. M., Fitzhugh, W., Malmström, H., right petrous bones/long bones, etc.
Rasmussen, S., Olsen, J., Melchior, L., Fuller, B. T., Fahrni, • Take at least one sample and from a different
S. M., Stafford, T. Jr., Grimes, V., Renouf, M. A., Cybulski, species and a soil sample as a contamination control
J., Lynnerup, N., Lahr, M. M., Britton, K., Knecht, R., Annex: • Consider sampling for other methods (for example,
Arneborg, J., Metspalu, M., Cornejo, O. E., Malaspinas, A. 1) Checklist for necessary equipment stable isotopes, C14, etc.) and pick samples from
S., Wang, Y., Rasmussen, M., Raghavan, V., Hansen, T. V., 2) Field manual the same individuals as for aDNA
Khusnutdinova, E., Pierre, T., Dneprovsky, K., Andreasen, 3) Sample documentation form for palaeogenetic analyses
C., Lange, H., Hayes, M. G., Coltrain, J., Spitsyn, V. A.,
Götherström, A., Orlando, L., Kivisild, T., Villems, R., Protective clothing
Crawford, M. H., Nielsen, F. C., Dissing, J., Heinemeier, • Put on gloves
J., Meldgaard, M., Bustamante, C., O’Rourke, D. H., Annex 1: Checklist for necessary • Cover hair with a scarf or bandana
Jakobsson, M., Gilbert, M. T., Nielsen, R., Willerslev, E. equipment • Put on cleanroom suit or a clean long-sleeve shirt
2014b. The genetic prehistory of the New World Arctic. Cleanroom suit or a clean, freshly washed shirt • Put on facemask
Science, Vol. 345, No. 6200, pp. 1255832. doi: 10.1126/ Lots of disposable gloves (latex, nitrile) • Discard gloves and put on a new pair (touch only
science.1255832. Facemasks the rim!)
Plastic sleeves • Put on plastic arm covers/sleeves and poke a hole
Reich, D., Green, R. E., Kircher, M., Krause, J., Patterson, Sealable bags (one per sample) and waterproof marker for the thumb
N., Durand, E. Y., Viola, B., Briggs, A. W., Stenzel, U., Clean trowel, pliers, tweezers • Put on 2nd layer of gloves
Johnson, P. L. et al. 2010. Genetic history of an archaic Clean brush (plastic, no animal hair) • Change gloves (1st layer only) in between samples
hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia. Nature, Vol. Bleach (sodium hypochlorite, for example, Javel) or after touching contaminated items
468, No. 7327:, pp. 1053-60. doi: 10.1038/nature09710. Mineral water (no tab water) • Clean tools in between samples, especially in
2 plastic bowls between samples from different individuals
Reich, D., Patterson, N., Kircher, M., Delfin, F., Nandineni, 2 washing bottles (for water and bleach, resp.)
M. R., Pugach, I., Ko, A. M., Ko, Y. C., Jinam, T. A., Phipps, Lots of paper towels
M. E., Saitou, N., Wollstein, A., Kayser, M., Pääbo, S., (Umbrella for shade in hot climates) Excavation and treatment of samples
Stoneking, M. 2011. Denisova admixture and the first Cool box (in warm climates) • Do not bend over sample
modern human dispersals into Southeast Asia and Oceania. • Quickly extract sample from the soil, brush of excess
American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 89, No. 4, pp. soil (sample does not need to be clean)
516-28. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.09.005. IMPORTANT NOTES: • In hot climates: keep sample out of sun, use an
• All equipment should only be touched when umbrella
Sánchez-Quinto, F., and Lalueza-Fox, C. 2015. Almost wearing gloves!!! • Transfer sample into a clean bag, seal and label it
20 years of Neanderthal palaeogenetics: adaptation, • Keep all items in clean plastic bags (wear gloves • Keep sample in a cool place, do not expose to direct
admixture, diversity, demography and extinction. to open bags) sunlight for longer times
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London • Change cleanroom suits/shirts and facemasks • DO NOT WASH SAMPLES !!!
Series B (Biological Sciences). Vol. 370, No. 1660, pp. regularly • Gently dry samples at room temperature (or cooler)
20130374. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0374. on a clean table between several layers of clean
paper towels, samples should not touch each other
Sankararaman, S., Patterson, N., L. H., Pääbo, S. and Reich, • Put sample into a new plastic bag for storage
D. 2012. The date of interbreeding between Neandertals Annex 2: Field manual
and modern humans. PLoS Genetics. Vol. 8, No. 10. doi:
10.1371/journal.pgen.1002947 Cleaning tools
Choice of suitable samples • Rinse off soil with water
Smith C. I., Chamberlain, A. T., Riley, M. S., Stringer, C. and • Choose well preserved specimen: hard, solid, heavy, • Soak tool in bleach for at least 15 minutes or (less
Collins, M. 2003.The thermal history of human fossils and (no fissures, caries, etc.) efficient) wipe tools with a paper towel soaked with
the likelihood of successful DNA amplification. Journal of • Best choice (in the following order): petrous bone bleach
Human Evolution, Vol. 45, pp. 203-217. (Pars petrosa), undamaged molar teeth, long bone • Rinse off bleach with mineral water (no tab water)
diaphysis, other compact bones • Leave tool between paper towels to dry (keep it
Veeramah, K. R., and Hammer, M. F. 2014. The impact • Take two samples per individual (for example, covered)
of whole-genome sequencing on the reconstruction of petrous bone and tooth or two teeth) • Put tools in a clean bag for storage
316

10
Sample storage Annex 3: Sample documentation form for palaeogenetic analyses

• Samples have to be dry for storage
• Keep sample bags in a cool, dry and dark place Archeological site ________________________________________________________________________________________
(ideal: fridge, alternative: electric coolbox or freezer)
Country_______________________________________________________Date_______________________________________
• In hot climates and when no fridge is available: bury
samples in an extra bag in a shady place Excavator`person in charge and contact details______________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Excavation year (if other than date above)__________________________________________________________________
Storage conditions________________________________________________________________________________________
Names of all persons who handled the sample_______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Species__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Skeletal element___________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Photo available [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] photo required
Sterile excavation [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] unknown
Sample has been washed [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] unknown
Sample treatment (for example, glue, please specify)________________________________________________________
Samples has been morphologically examined by_____________________________________________________________
Subsamples required for further analyses:
[ ] 14C [ ] stable isotopes [ ] other: ____________________________________________
Notes_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
To be filled in by lab staff:
Sample lab code __________________________________________________
Person in charge______________________________________________________________________________________
317

10 Methodology
Reconstruction Through Pollen Analysis of the

Palaeoecological Patterns on Java during the Last 20,000
Years: a Significant Period for the History of Homo
sapiens in Island South–East Asia in a Specific Climatic
and Geographic Environment
Anne–Marie Sémah
IRD-Sorbonne Universités-CNRS-MNHN, France
Introduction Java: Past and Present Contrasting Climatic located at a lower altitude and hence are quite representative
Zones and Disturbed Climax Vegetal of areas of ancient human settlement. They belong to the axial
The last 20,000 years represent a crucial period for human Landscapes row of volcanoes of the island and also to the karstic massifs
history in the Asia Pacific area (Bellwood, 2007). It clearly of the Southern Mountains of Java that border the Indian
postdates the colonization of the region by Homo sapiens, The island of Java is located on the margin of the Eurasian Ocean coast. We shall also discuss, mostly on bibliographical
our own species, whose earliest immigrants dispersed across tectonic plate (Figure 2A) on part of the rising mountain grounds, higher altitude sites studied by other authors in the
Asia throughout the Upper Pleistocene (Détroit, 2002). The chain called the Sunda arc. Tectonically speaking, it belongs western part of the island that are less convenient for making
earliest fossil evidence for H. sapiens might date back to to the Sunda inner volcanic arc (Figure 2B). Numerous large direct correlations with human occupation, but are significant
the very beginning of the period, during the last interglacial volcanoes are still active (Figure 4) and clearly impact on the in terms of identifying palaeoclimatically driven altitudinal
period called OIS (oxygen isotope stage) 5 (McGregor and environment: their eruptions disturb the climax vegetation and shifts of vegetal formations.
Nieuwolt 1998 - Figure 1A) and might even have coexisted fauna, and their effluents represent, as is the case throughout
with the last representatives of Homo erectus. However, it the world, an important source of fertile soils We will follow a chronological approach to these events,
appears that Homo sapiens occupied the South-East Asian beginning with the record of the LGM (Figure 5), then the
archipelagos during the late Pleistocene, as documented Presently, Java includes two major climatic zones, mostly driven progressive amelioration from the Pleistocene to Holocene,
at a limited number of sites (for example, Tabon Cave in by the annual shift of the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence and finally, the early Holocene period, concluding with the
Palawan, Philippines – Dizon et al., 2002, Figure 1B) and by Zone). The latter is situated on the island (Figure 3A) during events that reflect early cultivation practices and the historical
the earliest dates from prehistoric sites in Australia, c. 50,000 the Austral summer (inducing high precipitation) and western evolution of the landscapes across Java.
years ago (O’Connell and Allen, 2004). The period we shall Java is presently dominated by continually wet sub-equatorial
deal with therefore begins during the Last Glacial Maximum conditions. The ITCZ subsequently migrates to the north-west
(LGM), when sea levels were at their lowest, with a phase (Figure 3B), resulting in a quite pronounced dry season for
of expansion of human groups throughout the immense the eastern part of the island that is characterized by seasonal From the Last Glacial Maximum
landmass of the Sunda shelf and across narrow sea straits trade winds. to the Early Holocene Optimum
towards eastern Indonesia, facilitating dispersals for groups
who had clearly mastered seafaring techniques. Such a contrasting climatic pattern is reflected by the climax We shall briefly review the records that show the natural
vegetation: a tropical rainforest in the west and a monsoonal evolution of the environment, mostly within the framework
That was just the beginning of a complex history. We will deciduous open forest in the eastern part, together with of the major climatic oscillations that have occurred since the
see that the transition towards extant climatic conditions savannah patches in the eastern spur of the island. However, last glacial period.
at the Pleistocene to Holocene boundary resulted in a the extant and quite intensive human activity barely leaves
palaeogeographic revolution that produced the current place for such climax vegetal landscapes, owing to agricultural
archipelagic pattern. It clearly implied a dramatic redistribution (tea plantations, rice, maize, sugar cane and so on) and
of human settlement patterns, and the beginning of the reforestation practices (Casuarina junghuniana (a tall forest The Last Glacial Maximum
Holocene seems to have witnessed the early stages of the tree), Tectona grandis (teak), Hevea (rubberwood) and so
constitution of a human mosaic in Island South-East Asia. forth) that have been developed throughout the island (Backer The LGM (OIS 2, between 25,000 and 16,000 bp, see Figure
Neolithic traditions, such as early cultivation, appeared and Bakhuizen van den Brink, 1965). 1A) was marked by a severe drop in sea level, estimated
much later, notably with the dissemination of the so-called at around 120 m, resulting in the opening of previously
Austronesian groups (Simanjuntak et al., 2014), over several The sites we shall deal with are located in both regions. Those submerged areas throughout the Sunda shelf and a clear
millennia before the present era. in Central and Eastern Java are sites that I have studied, and are drop in evaporation on the regional scale (Sémah F., 2014).
318

Reconstruction Through Pollen Analysis of the Palaeoecological Patterns on Java
during the Last 20,000 Years: a Significant Period for the History of Homo sapiens
in Island South–East Asia in a Specific Climatic and Geographic Environment
10
Figure 1 A: Climatic curve: Ice Age
Temperature changes since 450
Ka. – (EPICA DC Project – Antarctic, )
°C
CNRS).
ure(
rs)
Figure 1 B: Map of South–East
erat 0y
ea
Asia Java – Palawan (star: Tabon mp 10
0
Te
V x
Cave) – Sunda and Sahul shelves, e(
1: Sumatra, 2: Borneo, 3: Papua, 4: Ag
Australia, 5: The Philippines,
-6 -3 0 3
450
6: Wallace Line. © Anne–Marie
Sémah
400
Figure 2. A: Map of South–East
Asia and tectonic plates (from 5
Whitten et al., 1996) B: Inner 350 6
volcanic arc (from Katili, 1974).
© Anne–Marie Sémah Palawan
300
250 SUNDA
200 SAHUL
2
150 1
1
OIS 5 3
100
50
OIS 2 Java
0
Ice Age Temperature
A Changes - EPICA
A 4
B
INDIAN OCEAN EXTERNAL ARC SUNDA INNER

VOLCANIC ARC
MAGMA
SUBDUCTION
B
Java Tertiary sediments Granite
Java volcanos Folded continental crust
Christmas volcanos Oceanic crust
Folded sediments
A
319
INDIAN OCEAN EXTERNAL ARC SUNDA INNER

VOLCANIC ARC
10 Methodology
It is also a privileged period in terms of describing and quite dry: a lower proportion of ferns, and a
the consequences of a glacial, even-numbered predominance of smectite among the clay minerals
isotopic stage in the area, as its sedimentary records originating from soil erosion, point to a long and
are more easily reached and studied than in earlier marked dry season. Arboreal pollen is not absent,
glacial periods. however. Refugia and galleries of tropical rainforest
persisted along the streams and on the surrounding
The example we shall deal with here is that of the hills. The pollen record includes a significant
shallow Ambarawa basin, located not far from the proportion of plants, which are presently grown at
above mentioned climatic boundary, at an altitude of higher altitudes (1500–2000 m), such as, Dacrycarpus
c. 460 m in the volcanic environment of the north- imbricatus (a species of conifer) Altingia excelsa (an
south volcanic alignment (Figure 4) of Ungaran, evergreen tree) and Engelhardia (a member of the
Soropati/Telemoyo, Merbabu, Lawu and Merapi (the walnut family) (Sémah et al., 2004a). This observation
last being one of the most active volcanoes today). Java Sea points to a downward shift of vegetation zones and
An old volcanic collapse resulted in the damming and hence to a drop in temperature.
subsequent sedimentary infilling of a smaller intra
mountain valley. The conclusions reached here may be correlated
A with other studies, mostly carried out in highlands
The strategic interest of the micro-palaeobotanical where altitudinal shifts in vegetation are recorded,
study of the Ambarawa basin, called Rawa Pening such as those in West Java or, eastwards, in New
(rawa means swamp) comes both from its moderate Guinea (Haberle, 1996; 1998, Hope 1983, Hope and
altitude and also its geomorphological context: the Peterson, 1975; Hope and Tulip, 1994, Stuijts, 1993,
sedimentary filling can reflect both the oscillations Van der Kaars, 1998). The Rawa Pening provides
100 km.
of the water level in the swamp and the basin itself a meaningful model of the important climatically
could act as a convenient receptacle of the pollen driven environmental changes that occurred at low
rain coming from the surrounding mountains (Sémah altitude in the area during a glacial stage and appears
et al., 2004a). useful for interpreting earlier records throughout
the Quaternary period, including the periods that
The deepest core that was taken in the basin, near witnessed the dispersal of Homo erectus.
Pojoksari, reached a depth of more than 41 m,
carried out stepwise with quite short –and hence
significant– core entries, several for each metre.
14C dating was carried out on organic samples and Towards the Pleistocene to Holocene
yielded ages reaching c. 21,000 bp for the deepest Transition
parts. The overall sedimentation rate throughout
the core was constant at c. 2.5 mm/year, although B In the Pojoksari core, this period covers the time range
it increased in the uppermost 10 m. Schematically, Figure 3. A: Austral summer, ITCZ on the equator (3 January 2008)
between 16,000 and 10,500 bp and encompasses
the stratigraphy (Figure 5A) is organized into a basal B: Austral winter, ITCZ to the north (3 August 2008) www.bom.gov.au/ the second half of the lower detrital series and the
weather/satellite.
detrital part (41 to 26 m), followed by an accumulation of transition to mostly organic sedimentation. The pollen
organic, peat like sequences till the top. record still shows grasses as dominant, and the last
significant presence of Dacrycarpus (a species of
The last part of the LGM is recorded in the basal part, with progressively became fine-grained and favourable to the conifer indicating cooler conditions) is located near
three major sedimentary sequences prior to 16,000 bp that development of diatoms. The Nt (nitrogen) curve indicates the sedimentological transition towards organic deposits.
include fluviatile well-rounded centimetric gravels, sands the regime of the river, which was high from 40 to 26 metres Still, we find significantly more types of trees belonging to the
(sometimes with iron coating) and clays, together with several but then decreased until the top with the formation of a peat rainforest. Many indicators point to the progressive increase in
diatomitic intercalations. swamp. Iron concretions also indicate occasional dry phases. precipitation and the installation of the Rawa Pening swamp:
Such a sedimentary pattern is characteristic of a quite open the carbon content, with the increase of the local biomass,
From the sedimentary dynamics and sedimentological landscape with severe erosional phases or even dramatic and a peak of plants such as Typha (a swamp plant) and also
point of view, the fluviatile sequences appear to begin with floods during the rainy season. Cyperaceae (sedges). The sedimentary dynamics point to
an erosional period which first carried away fine-grained less frequent dramatic floods, together with the formation
sediment previously deposited in riverbeds, followed by Grasses (especially Poaceae) are clearly dominant in the pollen of quiet-water deposits in the basin. Clay minerals are now
coarser sediment during a phase of increasing flow that spectra (Figure 5A): the landscape was open, herbaceous dominated by halloysite, indicating more permanent wet
320

10
conditions in the soil, and hence a shorter dry season. Such
an early climatic amelioration announcing the transition from
Java Sea
OIS 2 to OIS 1 is also seen c. 14,000 bp in the New Guinea
highlands, but seems to occur later, at only around 12,000
bp in western regions (West Java highlands and Sumatra’s
records, Flenley, 1979; 1985, Maloney, 1980, Morley, 1980;
1982). This point relates the Ambarawa region to eastern
1 a KH
Indonesia from a climatic viewpoint. b
c
d
SM
2
The Holocene Climatic Optimum: Inland
Swamp versus Coastal Karstic Cavities 100 km.
Indian Ocean
Records
In the Pojoksari core, this period extends from 7000 to 5000

Volcanoes
bp in the upper organic part of the series. The pollen spectra
that reflect a balanced vegetation between grassland and
Figure 4. Java sites: 1. Ambarawa, 2. Punung, KH: Kendeng Hills, SM: Southern Mountains Volcanoes: a: Ungaran, b: Soropati/
forest taxa, together with the very last occurrence of high Telemoyo, c: Merbabu/Merapi, d: Lawu. © Anne–Marie Sémah
altitude taxa, appear at levels older than 9000 bp. From this
point onwards and up to c. 7000 bp, the area underwent
almost continually wet conditions that were fully reached The transition towards the Holocene is marked by a clear mandibles (Figure 7C), sea shells (Figure 7D), and a large piece
around 8500 bp in a climatic optimum that is also reported in recommencement of karstic activity that may even have of a bovid carcass that was burnt just over the burial (Figure
highland regional studies. The pollen diagram is dominated resulted in humans abandoning caves during the most 7B), most probably after covering it with abundant ferns (as
by trees, with a more dense, swamp forest-like association, humid period (for the deposition of undisturbed clayey reflected by the specific and most varied spore content of the
along with a sharp increase in Typha, Cyperaceae and ferns. layers and speleothems, see Gallet, 2004), (Figure 7A, 7F). sediment).
The rain forest association reaches its maximal representation The faunal environment shows a dramatic evolution during
around 7000 bp, and then decreases in the diagram, probably early Holocene times (van den Bergh, 2001), with the new
as a result of the development of swampy vegetation that predominance of forest-adapted animals (Sémah and Sémah,
masks its effect, and the reduction of the detrital material 2012), such as smaller cercopithecids (Trachypithecus auratus, From Mid-Holocene to Historical Times:
contribution to the filling up of the basin. Macaca sp.) among a faunal association that was previously Natural versus Anthropic Impacts on the
dominated by large herbivores (for example, cervids, Figure Environment
As a matter of fact, riverine influence can still be pointed 7E). Such observations are corroborated by pollen studies,
out within the swampy environment; for example, we find though less significant compared to studies carried out in Several clues appear regarding the development of the
some fluviatile clayey and sandy layers coming together with a swampy basin. These reflect the evolution from an open understanding of natural processes by human groups and
a severe decrease in the organic content of the sediments; landscape toward a forested one. the impact on their behaviour during the Holocene. The
lacustrine phases also occasionally occur. Some very short dry above-mentioned privileged relationships with the abundant
events are also documented by iron concretions but they did The archaeological record points to the occupation of the Trachypithecus are but an example; their fossils dominate
not last long enough to allow the formation of soils. caves by humans who are likely to have replaced former the faunal record in many sites as source of subsistence
groups by means of coastal dissemination throughout an and raw material, and also occupied a privileged place in
This evidence from the early Holocene period is also relevant area that underwent a palaeogeographic revolution, from a symbolic behaviour. Such observations, when exploring
to the southern Mountains (Bemmelen, 1949) of Java (Figure large inland continental shelf to a scattered archipelago. They the palaeoenvironmental record of the second half of the
6), where the karstic prehistoric sites of the Gunung Sewu brought along a sophisticated bone industry that appears for Holocene period, mean that one has to take care and consider
(Thousand Mountains in Javanese) recorded the Pleistocene- the first time in the area and kept the habit of close contact both a natural and/or an anthropic cause for a given change of
Holocene transition (Sémah et al., 2004b). Though deeply with the shoreline, as attested by imported material such as the landscape. The last millennia certainly represent a complex
impacted by anthropic activity, these sites reflect the severe mangrove shells. period from such a viewpoint that, despite important studies
environmental changes that occurred in an area closer to the on archaeological sites and high resolution modelling efforts
ocean, in which the drier and cooler season can now last for The c. 9000 bp human burial (Figure 7B) found in Song Terus in sedimentary basins throughout the Asia Pacific region, is still
a very long time. Cave depicts the close relationship they developed with their far from being documented enough.
environment, the dead being accompanied by conspicuous
animal remains (for example, a cercopithecid skull and
321

10 Methodology
Ka smectite/halloysite Nt Ka AP NAP
0 m. -0,4 -0,2 0 +0,2 +0,4 +0,6 -0,4 0
AP NAP
0.5
1.5
10 m. 3
3
4
10m.
4 20%
B
7
20 m.
9
12
30 m.
16
20
40 m.
WET DRY 20 %
A
Figure 5. From A.-M. Sémah et al., 2004 Ambarawa. A: Pojoksari, AP/NAP – ArborealPollen/NonArborealPollen, Smectite/Halloysite, Nt curves B: Rowoboni Kebumen AP/NAP curve. © Anne–Marie Sémah
The Higher Part of the Ambarawa Record: Such a comparative study is meaningful: Pojoksari was located • c. 4000 bp, the swamp forest gives place to a
Two Drier Climatic Episodes in the central part of the depression (hence being able to Typhaceae-Cyperaceae association and the pollen
yield the longer record), while Rowoboni Kebumen is closer flora coming from the surrounding hills includes
Study of this period in the Ambarawa basin involves two to the surrounding slopes and shows a more pronounced open forest taxa. The duration of this shorter
different cores: the above-mentioned one from Pojoksari, representation of the hills’ vegetation. event cannot be ascertained as yet, but it is quickly
but also the Rowoboni Kebumen core (Figure 5B) that was followed by a resuming of quite humid conditions.
carried out with a vibration driller (Martin and Flexor, 1989), Two successive shorter drier episodes are noticed within these
and reached a depth of about 10 m and an age of 4000 bp. records:
322

10
• c. 2800 bp, a comparable change in the floristic archaeological site
association is observed in the same records,
together with the alternating peat and clayey lake
layers that might indicate occasional riverine 2 town
floods into the basin. 7
1
3
Traces of Anthropic Impact in the Ambarawa 5 8
during the Last 1,500 Years
6
• The second forest regression is dated to about
1500 bp and is even characterized by a strictly 4
herbaceous level at 400 cm. Poaceae are Baksoka river
9
well represented for the first time during the
Holocene. Cyperaceae and ferns are important
when arboreal pollen decreases. Nevertheless,
we do not observe any volcanic activity at this
period; therefore this drastic modification in
vegetation is due only to climatic change. A
more contrasted seasonality is associated here
with the first anthropization of the site (Sémah
et al., 1992), when Hindu monks built temples INDIAN OCEAN
during the Mataram I Javanese Kingdom. We
did not document any evidence for prehistoric 5 km.
human groups influencing the environment at
Ambarawa. Since c. 1500 bp, evidence of rapid
Figure 6. Southern Mountains – 1 Song Terus, 2 Goa Tabuhan, 3 Song keplek, 4 Ngrijangan, 5 Guyang Warak,
forest clearance, a pollen record comparable 6 Tritis, 7 Bugel, 8 Punung, 9 Pacitan. © Anne–Marie Sémah
to today’s and the occurrence of charcoal in
sediment are the main indications of human
activity. We notice no significant increase in the (Figure 6), we can identify the Neolithization of different medicinal and ritual plants (Cordyline, Morinda and so
pollen of exploited plants such as Pandanus this region. With the association of pollen, micro- forth). Unfortunately, several of them are not represented in the
(a palm-like tree), Colocasia (taro) or certain charcoals and phytolith analysis (Figure 8), we pollen profiles because of their scarcity in flowers. Nevertheless,
Arecaceae like Areca (a palm) (Haberle, 1995). reconstruct the arboreal and herbaceous vegetation palynological data give important information about regional
However, it must be noted that Pandanaceae are found around the sites and then deduce the and local vegetation pointing to climatic and environmental
often difficult to analyse statistically, owing to climatic parameters. We emphasize the occurrence changes that are often responsible for a population’s
their mode of pollen dispersal. Similarly, Araceae of plants that are economically important like rice, movement. Borings in lakes and swamps are the best source
like Colocasia, when exploited or cultivated, bananas, Pandanus and the appearance of maize, of environmental information because of the continuous
do not spread their pollen (the flowers are cut at the same time, in the three sites before the and well-dated records and also the quality of sediments for
in order to make the tubercle grow again). On claimed date of its importation by the Portuguese in the pollen preservation (peat and clays). Despite their direct
the other hand, exploited Arecaceae ought to the sixteenth century. The variations in precipitation interest, archaeological deposits are generally unsuitable for
be conspicuous in the diagrams and their poor are marked by more or less evident dry season’s palynological studies and only give qualitative data.
representation suggests that they did not play periods during the last 1500 years.
an important part in human economy around The sedimentological records supply an original richness
Ambarawa. suitable for a country, a region, or a civilization. Sediments
describe the geological story of a site with erosion, wetness,
Studying the History of Human Dispersals volcanism and soil occupation. Their content reports many
Comparison with the Doline Records in Island South-East Asia: Use and Limits types of evidence: microfauna and microflora-like foraminfera,
of the ‘Gunung Sewu’ of Pollen Analysis diatoms, pollen, phytoliths and micro-charcoals, but also seeds
and archaeological remains with bones and stone tools. This
• From a palynological study of three lakes (Guyang The history of human dispersals is linked to migration because assemblage represents the story of a place, of populations; it
Warak, Tritis and Bugel) close to Song Terus Cave migrants bring with them dietary resources like tubers and is rich in lessons and characterizes a territory.
323

10 Methodology
Figure 7. (A), Semenanjung (B, C, D, E, F) Figure 7 B: Burial and burned bovid bones (9000 years)
Song Terus
Figure 7 C: Cercopithecid skull
Figure 7 A: Stratigraphy of the west section of the Song
Terus Cave record – © A.–M. Sémah, Semenanjung Figure 7 D: Shell tool
1/2: coarse river deposit with interbedded reddish Figure 7 E: Indurate layer (4) with Cervid fossil bones
pebble, gravel and sandy layers, 1: sandy clay with in connection
gravels; 2: sandy clay without gravels
3: brown silty clay layers with limestone blocks in places Figure 7 F: Stalagmite
4: karstic activity, indurate dark clay, compacted tuff
5: dark silty clay alternating with white carbonate
laminations
or centimetric hard calcareous layers. 5b volcanic ashes
pockets
6: carbonated laminations
7: archaeological layers, heterogeneous sediment with
important anthropization
324

10
Haberle, S.G. 1998. Late Quaternary vegetation change O’Connell, J. F. and Allen, J. 2004. Dating the colonisation
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10 Methodology
Micro Categories Analysis: the Use of Micromorphology

for Site Formation and Taphonomic Studies in
Archaeological Sites
Ximena Suarez Villagran
Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract 1. Introduction 2. Micro-archaeology and

Micromorphology
Micro-archaeology is nowadays a fundamental part of Microscopic techniques have become fundamental in
archaeological science. The need to go beyond what is archaeological studies. Their recently recognized status as key The archaeological research that focuses on the microscopic
visible with the naked eye is especially significant in studies tools to better understand the intricacies of site formation archaeological record has been defined as the field of
concerning the formation, alteration and preservation of processes, tool manufacture, and other phenomena, place micro-archaeology (Weiner, 2010). According to Weiner
archaeological sites. High-resolution analysis, able to answer them under the spotlight of modern archaeological research. (2010), micro-archaeology involves the materials which the
most of the questions regarding the multiple physical, Among the realm of microscopic techniques encompass macroscopic record (i.e. everything that is visible with the
chemical and biological processes affecting the integrity the field of micro-archaeology, micromorphology is slowly naked eye) is made of, and the investigation of which in high
of the archaeological record, can only be obtained by a transforming the way we conceive archaeological science. resolution can only be attained by the use of instruments.
conjoint study of both the macroscopic and the microscopic From being a complementary, and rarely used tool for
records. The microscopic record refers to what is visible analysing undisturbed samples of soils and sediments in A caveat of micro-archaeology is that the mere use of
with the aid of instruments such as optical microscopes, archaeological contexts, micromorphology has evolved in sophisticated techniques and complex bodies of data does
scanning electron microscopes and other devices capable the last twenty years into an essential part of high-resolution not translate into ‘better’ or more ‘true’ interpretations of
of determining the chemical, isotopic and molecular archaeological research. There are a wide variety of contexts the past. As Weiner (2010) realistically puts it, despite the
composition of archaeological materials and deposits. One where micromorphology has been successfully used to solve high level of resolution of the data produced, no miracle
of the most prominent methods of micro-archaeology is questions that are mostly related to site formation processes answers are granted but only a decrease in the level of
that of soil micromorphology. Originally created as a tool and landscape evolution. However, the technique should uncertainty. Therefore, careful evaluation of the results is
for the microscopic study of soil formation processes, not be seen as a mere provider of environmental and always needed in order to make better interpretations.
micromorphology has gained a widely acknowledged role in taphonomic data to support or deny cultural interpretations
archaeological science. It has extensively proved its suitability from the study of artefacts, but should instead be viewed Among the different methods that can be grouped into the
for studies on site formation processes, taphonomy and as a source of unique data on past behaviour, transitions field of micro-archaeology, micromorphology will be further
preservation of archaeological contexts. In this paper I and adaptations. discussed here. A definition of micromorphology implies the
present different archaeological examples, geographically study of undisturbed samples of soils and sediments under a
and chronologically diverse, where micromorphology and In this short contribution, I will present the methods of petrographic microscope (Courty et al., 1989; Goldberg and
other micro-archaeological techniques have provided key micromorphological analysis in archaeological sites and Macphail, 2006). The technique has become an essential
information on essential topics related to: human evolution discuss the use of this technique in diverse contexts. aid in the study of site formation processes, site taphonomy
(for example, the earliest evidence for the use and/or control Emphasis will be given to the role of micromorphology in and preservation, among others. The observation of
of fire); the development of animal management during the research directed to the study of key transitional moments in archaeological deposits under the microscope allows the
Neolithic in central Anatolia; and the transition between the history of humankind that include the first use of fire by identification of not only the different components of soils
hunter-gatherers and food production in pre-Columbian early hominins, the earliest evidence of animal management and sediments, but also the spatial and genetic relationships
South America. The examples prove the versatility of in central Anatolia, the development of agriculture in between them (Figure 1). In this sense, micromorphology
micromorphology to answer a wide array of archaeological Amazonia and the establishment of pre-Columbian provides us with information on the history of archaeological
questions and problems not solvable with traditional, agricultural settlements in the South American lowlands. deposits, which is intrinsically linked with the history of the
macroscopic techniques, and its suitability for in-depth, human settlement in an archaeological site.
high-resolution site formation and taphonomic studies.
Examples of the potential of micromorphology to answer
questions related to major transition moments in human
history will now be presented, in order to show the potential
of the technique in archaeological research.
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10
ceramic vessels, heated clay, ceramic fragments) associated
3. The Earliest Use of Fire 4. The Transition to Animal with the concentration debris, burning residues and soot
Management in Central Anatolia inside dwelling structures (Arroyo-Kalin, 2008, 2010, 2012).
Quality and high-resolution data are fundamental in any These results are consistent with the work of other scholars
discussion of key issues in human evolution and history. One Central Anatolia is a key area for studying the transition that point at anthropogenic sedimentation as responsible
of these issues is related to the use and control of fire by between foragers and producers during the Neolithic. At for the development of dark earths. Traces of the ancient
early hominins. The site of Zhoukoudian, China, allegedly the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Aşıklı Höyük, dated from practice of slash and burn agriculture were also identified by
contained the earliest evidence of the use of fire by Homo 8400 bp, micromorphological analysis carried out by Dr Susan the micromorphological analysis of Amazonian dark earths,
erectus, in layers dated to 0.5–0.2 Ma (Layers 10 and 4) Mentzer, in combination with zoo-archaeological and botanical containing outstanding amounts of microscopic charcoal
(Guo et al., 1991; Grün et al., 1997), recently dated to 0.77 analysis, revealed evidence of the early human management fragments (Arroyo-Kalin, 2008, 2010, 2012).
Ma (Layers 7 to 10) (Shen et al., 2009). Wood ashes and of ungulates (sheep and goat) (Stiner et al., 2014). Through
burned bones were found in the sediments and interpreted micromorphology, dung deposits within the settlement
as proof of the ability to make and maintain fire by the site could be identified and interpreted as evidence of stabling.
inhabitants. However, analysis of thin sections from the site The diagnostic features of dung disclosed by the microscopic 6. The Establishment of Agricultural
showed no evidence of wood ashes, siliceous aggregates (the observation of the archaeological sediments are calcareous Settlements in the Uruguayan Lowlands
insoluble fraction of ash) and absence of charcoal remains spherulites interbedded with siliceous phytoliths, and high
(only in layer 10), precluding the interpretation of the layers amounts of secondary phosphates. The authors discuss the The Uruguayan lowlands have gained recognition in the last years
as intact combustion features (Weiner et al., 1998). The two possible ways through which dung could have entered thanks to pioneering archaeobotanical undertaken by Iriarte et al.
researchers concluded that sediments are water-lain and the site: either to be used as fuel; or via defecation of animals (2004). The study of a mound complex in south-eastern Uruguay
carried some burned material to the site, but there are no that were kept captive within the settlement. In this sense, revealed the earliest evidence of cultivars and village systems in
in situ hearths. Later, analyses by Yi (2012) found elemental the high amount of dung at the site, especially in the oldest southern South America, dated around 4000 bp.
carbon (a by-product of combustion) in Layers 4, 7 and 10, levels, cannot be explained solely by its use as fuel or mud
while Zhong et al. (2014) showed the presence of siliceous brick making. The ability to observe the sediments as they are In the Uruguayan lowlands, earthworks and earthen mound
aggregates, elemental carbon and potassium in Layers 4 and at the site, thanks to the collection of undisturbed samples and structures record the transition from hunter-gatherer
6, sparkling again the discussion for the presence of fire at that is a requisite for any micromorphological study, disclosed economies to food production in the last millennia. At the
Zhoukoudian. However, only the use of fire is evidenced by the in situ nature of the dung deposits. The distribution of the Pago Lindo archaeological complex, dated from 3000 to
the presence of combustion by-products, but not necessarily spherulites, phytoliths and secondary phosphates is indicative 700 bp, micromorphological analysis were carried out at an
its control or production by early hominins. Control of fire of intact stabling deposits and proves that animals were already intermediate area between two major earthen mounds within
can be corroborated by the consistent presence of in situ maintained inside the settlement (Stiner et al., 2014). the site (Villagran and Gianotti, 2013). Analysis identified a
hearths, something possible by the use of a micro-contextual pattern for mound growth that involves overlapping domestic
approach based on micromorphological analyses (Karkanas occupations whose spatial distribution and arrangement shifts
et al., 2007; Mentzer, 2014; Shahack-Gross et al., 2014; through time and does not follow a unilineal growth sequence.
Stahlschmidt et al., 2015). 5. The Development Surface soil horizons from the proximities were used as prime
of Agriculture in Amazonia material to build the earthen structures. An ancient hut floor
Years after the study carried out by Weiner et al. (1998) in was identified in a portion of the site that was later covered by
China, a similar approach was used at the site of Wonderwerk The debate on the formation of Amazonian dark earths has a a possibly ritual platform. An area of increased concentration
Cave, South Africa, to investigate the evidence related to the long history in archaeological and soil science research. From of plant remains was located after abandonment of the
use of fire in the Acheulian levels (1 Ma) (Berna et al., 2012). the archaeological side, the so-called dark earths or terras domestic hut and opposite to it. The lack of micro-fragments
Using micromorphology and µFTIR spectroscopy, which is one pretas are undeniable evidence of pre-Columbian landscape of charcoal and bone, common anthropogenic components
of micromorphology’s best complementary techniques, the transformation, sedentism and food production. Work carried of archaeological sediments and the absence of authigenic
authors found undisputable evidence for in situ hearths that out by Manuel Arroyo-Kalin, using a set of geoarchaeological phosphate minerals (derived from bone weathering, for
included plant ashes, bone fragments heated at temperatures techniques, including micromorphology, shows the link example), suggests the practice of regular maintenance and
above 400 ºC, clay aggregates heated at above 400 ºC., but between the development of anthropogenic soils (i.e. the dark cleaning of the settlement (Villagran and Gianotti, 2013).
no evidence suggesting water or wind transport of these earths), landscape modifications and manioc domestication
components. The continuous presence of these features all during the first millennium ad (Arroyo-Kalin, 2010). The microscopic analysis of an earthen mound complex
through the layer suggests repeated burning and knowledge exposed the dynamics involved in site formation,
of fire by early hominins. Dark earths extend over areas between 1 and 80 ha and which involve concomitant domestic occupations and
are widely known for their higher agricultural potential. ritual platforms that are later remodelled to serve new
The micromorphological work showed that the thick purposes. Mound building behaviour is enhanced after the
A horizons in the dark earths are the result of intense development of food production, with sites becoming larger
anthropogenic enrichment (bone fragments, charcoal, and more permanent.
327

10 Methodology
Uruguayan lowlands, micromorphology

7. Conclusion offered complementary data to define a
model for mound growth that stipulates
The four examples described above serve to illustrate the the temporal and spatial discontinuous
potential of micro-categories analysis and especially of soil dynamics of mound complexes, where
micromorphology, to unravel unique and crucial information domestic structures and platforms are
for the study human history. In the four case studies I occupied and abandoned, to later be
tried to exemplify the way in which micromorphological re-utilized or shifted to new purposes. The
analysis helped to solve different questions related with sites evolved from domestic settlements
the identification of diagnostic, microscopic features within of groups with mixed economies into
archaeological sediments and taphonomic information complex village systems after the
needed for large-scale behavioural interpretations. intensification of horticulture.
The detailed study of sediments at Zhoukoudian unravelled Micromorphology is a versatile technique

the reworked nature of the burned components, which and a necessary analytical tool for the
without proper taphonomic evaluation were taken as discussion of key topics in human history.
evidence for in situ hearths and of the control of fire Its ability to reveal elements of the
by Homo erectus (Weiner et al., 1998). However, at archaeological record that are invisible
Wonderwerk Cave, micromorphology proved the intact to the naked eye, coupled with the
nature of the sediments containing burned components high resolution data on site taphonomy,
(bones, clay, ashes), proving the use of fire by early hominins exemplify the current need to further
one million years ago (Berna et al., 2012). In both cases, incorporate the technique into traditional
a crucial topic for understanding cognition and brain macroscopic analysis.
evolution, such as the control and use of fire, could be
further explored, confirmed (and also rejected) thanks to Bracco, R., Delpuerto, L., Inda, H. and Castineira, C. 2005.
the incorporation of microscopic techniques. Mid-late Holocene cultural and environmental dynamics in
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Figure 1. Sampling for micromorpholgy and analysis of thin
sections. A and B) Sampling of the stratigraphic profile of a
shell mound carried out by carefully carving an undisturbed
block of sediment; C) Large-sized (mammoth) thin
sections commonly used for micromorphological studies in
archaeological sites, with constant thickness of 30 cm.
© Ximena Suarez Villagran
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International Cooperation for Research
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11 International Cooperation for Research and Conservation of the Heritage of Food Production
International Cooperation for Research

Nuria Sanz
The bilateral meeting held at la Biblioteca Palafoxiana Scientific sessions consisted of presentations by the 39 Africa, Near East, and Europe
in Puebla City, Puebla, Mexico, from 18 to 22 August invited experts from Mexico and representing 12 countries,
2014, marked an important advance in strengthening representing over 36 universities and research centres. The Concerning narratives related to the transition
international and regional collaboration. The UNESCO experts delivered presentations and engaged in discussions from hunter-gatherers to food production
Office in Mexico and the government of the State of about the transition from hunter-gatherers to food
Puebla worked together to evaluate methodologies and to production in all regions of the world, in the framework
determine the Outstanding Universal Value, establish solid of the World Heritage Convention. The presentations
actions to ensure the future recognition, conservation and approached this subject from many perspectives: human Africa:
research of international sites that mark the transition from paleontology, zoo archaeology, genetics, neolithization,
hunter-gatherers to food production. The meeting also the origins of agriculture and the domestication of maize. In Africa the transition to food production was a lengthy
critically considered the way in which sites related to this process from hunting-gathering to pastoralism between
transition are represented on the UNESCO World Heritage The scientific sessions were accompanied and enriched by 8,000 and 2,000 b.c.e. and featured movement from
List. The value of many of these sites is under-recognized, visits to sites. On 19 September 2014, the experts visited east to west. This involved the indigenous domestication
and it is often challenging States Parties to conserve this la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuictlán in Tehuacán, of donkeys and probably cattle, followed by the arrival of
heritage and manage its specific vulnerability. Puebla. A Presidential Decree declared this Biosphere domesticated sheep and goats from Southwest Asia. The
Reserve on 18 September 1998. The Valley contains use of domesticated plants was a later development; the key
The meeting was a continuation of a series of World important information regarding the origins of agriculture species were millet and sorghum. Technological continuity
Heritage Centre meetings. It addressed the discussions and in Mesoamerica and thus regarding the peopling of the built up the bridge from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene,
recommendations from the UNESCO international meetings: continent. It contains key information for developing an especially in lithics. These developments took place against
the Human Evolution and the World Heritage Convention understanding of the domestication of many species of a continually evolving landscape: the narrative of food
(21 -25 March 2009) in Burgos, Spain, the Meeting to plants (maize, chilli, amaranth, avocado and pumpkin, production is interlinked with a history of environmental and
promote African human origin sites and the World Heritage among others). The Biosphere Reserve is also home climate change. Desertification (particularly in the Sahara)
Convention (8 -11 February 2011) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. to many endemic species, both floral and faunal. The was a major driver behind the emergence of pastoralism and
Also, the Human Origin Sites in Asia and the World Heritage experts visited the Museo de la Valle de Tehuacán (the its move into more amenable ecosystems such as the Nile
Convention, held at the Jeongok Prehistory Museum, Tehuacán Valley Museum) and the Purrón Dam in the Valley, and thus laid the foundations for the later emergence
Republic of Korea (24 -28 September 2012); Human Origin Tehuacán Valley. This visit was enriched by well-informed of complex societies.
Sites and the World Heritage convention in Eurasia held at presentations by Dr. James Neely, who excavated the area
the University of Tübingen (25 February - 1 March 2013), in the 1970s under the direction of Richard MacNeish and There are different narratives for North, East, West, and
and, more recently, the First Peopling of the Americas and Dr. Blas Castellon. South Africa: In East Africa, the Sudan and West Africa,
the World Heritage Convention, (2 - 6 September 2013), herders moving out of Sahara depended on hunter-gatherer
also in the Biblioteca Palafoxiana. The working groups discussed several narratives within groups. This inter-dependence produced a complex mosaic
the contextual framework of the following criteria and of societies, including specialized pastoralists, some of
While the meeting in Burgos focused on sites related to concerns: current strategies to improve the state of whom domesticated plants in the Sahel. In South Africa,
Human Evolution from a global perspective, the following conservation, the exceptional variety of cultural and pastoralism is associated with the inception of the Iron Age
meetings provided in support of the future conservation environmental records, and the political framework of ca. 600 b.c.e. Over most of sub-Saharan Africa, there was
of early human dispersal and adaptation sites, this international collaboration. long-term co-existence of hunter-gatherers and pastoralists.
meeting furthered discussions that began in the Biblioteca The emergence of a fully settled agricultural lifestyle did
Palafoxiana in 2013. The majority of the meeting’s work not happen until the Iron Age, when there was movement
was achieved through multilateral working groups, which into the tropical forests of West and Central Africa. The
were informed by several days of scientific sessions and introduction of maize in the sixteenth century A.D. had a
site visits. major impact across Africa.
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Recommendations for future of African pastoralism. The Wadi Kubbaniya, located north Individual sites in Kenya that can be mentioned in the
in-depth research: of Aswan and is the largest wadi in the Western Desert of context of the transition from hunting-gathering to
Upper Egypt, contains evidence for intensive plant use. The pastoralism: the Crescent Island; on Lake Naivasha, in the
By their nature, pastoral and hunter-gatherer sites leave sites of Lothagam and Kanapoi in the Lake Turkana region Central Rift Valley, Prolonged Drift, which is a waterside
little tangible evidence. There are also few well-documented of Kenya are representative of early pastoralist settlements. Late Stone Age site located in Elmenteitan, in an elevated
pastoral and Holocene hunter-gatherer sites across large In the Central Rift Valley of Kenya, there are Neolithic sites stretch of the Kenya Rift Valley, Enkapune Ya Muto, also
areas of sub-Saharan Africa. One can identify areas, such as showing the transition from hunter-gatherer to pastoralism; known as Twilight Cave, which is a Late Stone Age site on
Nabta Playa (Egypt)—a large, internally drained basin in the the evidence for pastoralism can be seen from the huge the Mau Escarpment, Ngamuriak, southwest Kenya, which
Western Desert of the Sahara that was an attractive locality amount of goat and cattle remains as well as pottery. is an Elmenteitan Pastoral Neolithic settlement, Narosura,
for early and middle Holocene groups—indicates the origins which is an important Pastoral Neolithic settlement site
333

near Narok in southern Kenya that was occupied between animals, pottery and polished stone was long in the making. site on the northern bank of the wadi of Nahal Oren. In the
the 9th-5th centuries b.c.e. Gogo Falls and Wadh Lango The transition involved increasing reliance on crop plants Jordan Valley, the Neolithic village of Shaàr Hagolan is one
are Neolithic sites east of Lake Victoria and representative (chiefly emmer, einkorn, and pulses) and domestic animals of the largest and most important prehistoric settlements
of sites showing the transition from hunter- gathering to (chiefly sheep, goats, and cattle). Domestication of different in Israel.
pastoralism. species occurred at different times in different parts of the
region. The process of intensification was associated with In Jordan, ‘Ain Ghazal is an early Neolithic village site
Regarding the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, Birimi (Ghana) the social and ideological transformation of hunter- gatherer located along the banks of the Zarqa River near Amman
is a sedimentary early agricultural village and one of the society. This involved increasing sedentism and the creation that shows a complex agricultural structure. The earliest
northernmost sites of the Kintampo culture. In Botswana, of the built environment, including villages and religious settlements at Jericho featured substantial architecture in
Makgadikgadi was an enormous prehistoric lake. Finds of monuments. Social changes involved increases in the size Pre-Pottery Neolithic phases (See here, http://whc.unesco.org/
Late Stone Age Tools and pottery on the margins of the of cohabiting groups. Southwest Asia was also the source en/tentativelists/5704/).
Makgadikgadi Pans indicate the existence of early pastoral area for the Neolithic of Europe and central Asia, and for
settlements. The ancient stone structures of Nyanga in elements of the “Neolithic” in Africa (notably with the In Syria, Tell Abu Hureyra is an Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic
Zimbabwe represent probably the largest complex of ancient movement of sheep and goats into Africa). site in the Euphrates valley that shows some of the earliest
building and terraced agricultural system in southern Africa. known evidence of agriculture anywhere, and the Neolithic
Large samples of artifacts and animal remains abandoned site of Mureybet, also located in Syria, is one of the earliest
by prehistoric herder-foragers and have been recovered known agricultural-based villages. The Neolithic sites of
from open-air sites on Kasteelberg near Vredenburg in Recommendations for future Jerf el Ahmar and Tell Aswad show the development of
the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It could be in-depth research: early agricultural communities in Southwest Asia as well as
interesting to note that the mountainous Cederberg region remains of Neolithic architecture and burials.
in the Western Cape of South Africa, preserves rock art There are numerous sites across Southwest Asia that could
paintings dating from the Stone Age. be conceived as serial nominations to show the transition In Turkey, as the World Heritage Tentative List proposal for
to farming, and two truly exceptional sites, as the case inscription stated, Göbeklitepe is a Neolithic hunter-gatherer
of Çatalhöyük sites (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1405) site with substantial circular and oval-shaped structures and
and Göbeklitepe in Turkey (http://whc.unesco.org/en/ stone carvings set on the top of a hill that appears to have
Southwest Asia: tentativelists/5612/ ) that have been inscribed or submitted been predominantly used for ritual or religious purposes.
as individual. Turkish sites that document Neolithic lifeways include
Southwest Asia (a.k.s. the Near East) was the archetypal Çayonu Tepesi; this is a Neolithic site which has very early
region for the “cradle of farming”, and has been a major In Israel, Ohallo II is a submerged late Upper Palaeolithic evidence of animal husbandry, terrazzo floors (stone pieces
source of hypothesis about the agricultural origins, notably (Kebaran) site located on the southwest shore of the Sea pressed into a cement base and then polished), woven cloth
Gordon Childe’s “Neolithic Revolution”. The transition of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) in the Rift Valley of Israel that and several female figurines. The Neolithic settlement of
to farming was a long process, starting as early as Epi- has evidence of Epi-Palaeolithic plant use. Ain Mallaha, also Aşikli Hoyuk has crucial information on the history of brain
Palaeolithic and lasting at least four millennia: the Neolithic known as Eynan, is a Natufian settlement and an example surgery, early mining, craftsmanship, and the transition from
“package” of villages, sedentism, domestic crops and of hunter-gatherer sedentism; Nahal Oren is a Late Natufian nomadic to sedentary lifestyles. Haçilar is a Neolithic village
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11
site that is mostly known for its clay goddess figurines. Recommendations for future Narratives related to the transition
The Neolithic settlement of Ulucak is providing evidence in-depth research: from hunter-gatherers societies to food
of subsistence and manufacturing technologies as well as production economies
Neolithic daily life practices. There are several type of Neolithic sites in Europe. Some
of these could be incorporated into serial nominations. By food production, the academy understands the deliberate
In the area of the Zagros Mountains, we should mention In Southeast Europe, there are numerous Neolithic tell manipulation of the type, timing, and spatial distribution
Jarmo as a Neolithic village site located in northern Iraq settlements: Sesklo in Greece, Azmak and Karanovo in of plant and animal species with the express purpose of
on the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, and for a long Bulgaria, Vinča Belo Brdo, and Stačevo in Serbia that increasing direct control over the quantity and quality of
time was known as the oldest agricultural settlement in the demonstrate early village life by pottery-using farmers reliant their food supply.
world. In the Central Zagros Mountains of Iran, Ganj Dareh, on domestic crops and animals. One important transitional
Tepe Asiab, Tepe Sarab and Tepe Guran are important early site in Southeast Europe is Franchthi Cave (Greece) in the In terms of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the
Neolithic sites. Chogha Golan is a Neolithic site in the southwest Argolid that was occupied during the Upper concept could be defined as the intentional human control
foothills of the Zagros Mountains in modern Iran that has Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. During the of plants and animals to improve food security that led
evidence of wild barley as the main cereal crop. Ali Kosh is a Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods, mobile hunter-gatherers to domestication, and served as the foundation for later
Neolithic site in southwest Iran that was the first excavated and fishermen inhabited cave seasonally however, during complex societies in all the geographies of the Planet.
farming site where significant quantities of plant remains the Neolithic period their occupations were year-round.
were collected. Another transitional site is Lepenski Vir (Serbia), which is an Food Production
early Holocene hunter-gatherer-fishing site on the banks of
the Danube that had substantial structures and remarkable • It recognizes a key, unrepeatable stage in human
sculptures, and was later occupied by farmers. history
Europe:
In Central Europe, the main type of Neolithic settlement • It places an onus on the state government to
In Europe, agriculture spread as the result of the migration are those of the LBK, and are characterized by substantial conserve and protect the property
of people from Southwest Asia who introduced domestic wooden long houses: examples are Bylany (Czech Republic),
plants and animals and agricultural practices. There was Koln-Lindental, Aldenhovener Platte (Germany), Sittard • It can benefit local communities, enhance future
no indigenous domestication, although the nature of and Geleen (Netherlands), and Brzesc Kujawski (Poland). research, and could help preserve gene pool
subsistence practices became regionally variable. The Krzemionki Opatowskie (Poland) is the largest Neolithic of wild plants and animals and endangered or
direction of agricultural expansion was initially northwest flint mine in Europe, with more than 700 mines up to 11 threatened species.
and west from the Balkans along the Danube to north- m deep; a similar but smaller example is Grimes Grave,
west Europe and westwards along the Mediterranean via England. In northern France, Belgium and Germany, the Elements of the narrative/aspects include: biological and
maritime movement. The subsequent spread of farming La Hoguette Limburg sites are the results of the complex cultural processes, the co-existence and co-evolution of
across Europe involved a combination of population interactions between hunter-gatherers and farmers. different economic adaptations; the co-dependence of
increase and movement (as seen in the expansion of the people and the environment; of the invention of new
LBK [linearbandkeramik] plus regionally variable and diverse In the British Isles, the main features of the late Mesolithic technologies; strategy switching (flexible and fluid human
interactions with indigenous hunter-gatherers. Not all parts and Early Neolithic are monuments rather than farming adaptation), management and manipulation of plants
of Europe underwent the transition to farming at the same settlements. Examples of this are Warren Field, Crathes and animals (stewardship); intensification, cultivation and
time, and there was a lengthy delay in the final spread to (Scotland), which is a Mesolithic ‘calendar’ monument, domestication; social and conceptual changes; multi-
Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia. The emergence of lactose created by hunter- gatherer societies and dating back to centred locations; changes in labour, and gendered division;
tolerance in Hungary, in an early LBK context, could indicate around 8,000 BC. Achnacreebeag, Argyll (Scotland) is an population aggregation, growth, and pressure; increasing
the importance of dairy farming. important Neolithic megalithic chamber tomb thought sedentism; development of food storage (and an increased
to have been erected soon after the arrival of farming in reliance on delayed consumption); the emergence of
Society in southeast and central Europe was sedentary, with Britain shortly before 4000 BC. White Horse Stone, Kent materialized historical memory; monumentality in the built
variations, interactions and the establishment of exchange (England) is another early Neolithic megalithic monument world; the integration of life and death (on-site burials...)
networks. Regionally-variable belief systems emerged, and of the Medway Valley in Kent. Causewayed camps, such the potential emergence of social differentiation; new
monumentality was one visible expression of this. as Windmill Hill and Hembury, England, are conspicuous technologies (water management, architecture, container
features of the early Neolithic landscape. Magheraboy, Sligo technology, food processing, textiles, secondary products);
(Ireland) is a Neolithic settlement where investigations have the appearance and/or increase of new symbolic worlds
reconstructed early farming activity and woodland dynamics. and artistic expression; exchange and long-distance travel
of raw materials; interpersonal conflict; an increased sense
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of landscape and territoriality; the emergence of property value of the park and then, later, MacNeish’s pioneering have bearing on management but would also
rights, and expansion into new environmental contexts. work. There are many ‘transitions’ embodied within this help to include the archaeological waterways
landscape. and other archeological features into their
context. Investigation of the formation of
2. Human-Environment Relations natural salt deposits could also be explored in
Why is the World Heritage Convention this context. A key question: were they always
useful to preserve these narratives? There is also continuity in this landscape – movement across accessible?
or in-spite of transitions – in terms of ethnographic/ethnic
It demonstrates common humanity and celebrates diversity continuity (including plant-use). From a biological point of
through time; it also increases understanding of the view, the high levels of plant biodiversity and endemism
potential linkages between climate change and human are remarkable. Was/is the valley a significant refuge? At 5. Conservation
history; increases awareness of the past, and increases least for hunter-gatherers, early site occupation has been
public understanding of the broad and diverse narrative of linked (in Europe and the Mediterranean) to the resource Formulate a comprehensive conservation plan, particularly
human history. stability offered by refugial settings. This might have been relating to the preservation (and stabilization) of the Purrón
a factor that encouraged long-term use of the valley dam and other related features, and particularly where these
and an important part of the context in which the later are susceptible to future cumulative damage by erosion. The
development of systems of landscape management and Tehuacán-Cuicatlán valley seems to have a predominately
Why does the study and conservation adaptation occurred. marl-like surface geology that is marked by deeply incised
of this transition require international episodically active river and stream channels. The landscape
cooperation? 3. Survey today is very vulnerable to highly erosive water action. If this
was the same in the past (see item 4c above), was one of
First farming reflects global transitions, and cross- cuts It is probably wise to aim at a comprehensive landscape the original motivations to manage the water through-put
national boundaries. There is a need for a comparative and site survey (probably employing aerial photography – in the valley at least in part a response to the highly erosive
approach of a shared heritage; overcoming different national an octocopter (drone) would be probably the most cost- (and similarly episodic) damage the hydrological system
intellectual research traditions leads to the possibility of effective way of doing this, especially as this can also be caused in this geological setting? Water management could
new perspectives. There are also economic needs to share used in monitoring erosion of and damage to natural/ have been as much a response to the constraints of living
research technologies and laboratory equipment, and cultural areas). in this valley as it was a desire to harness its hydrology for
access to research/archival materials. There is also a need food production.
for multi-national teams with different research and field 4. Scientific/Archaeological Study
skills involved in comparative study through continents, but Additional recommendations for Tehuacán-Cuictlán
working at agreed international standards of investigation Attention could be focused to fulfill a comprehensive integrated conservation:
and conservation. scientific re-sampling of known (for example, MacNeish)
sites and sections with the aim of obtaining new • Complete the survey and evaluation of character, date and
AMS radiocarbon dates, alongside high resolution extent of archaeological sites
stratigraphic reconstruction, macro- and micro-botanical,
4. Recommendations for the integrated zooarchaeological, taphonomic, palynological, starch • Undertake an ethno-botanical survey of wild progenitors
conservation of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán and lipid analysis, aDNA. New excavations at one or two
Valley carefully chosen sites could be foreseen. Moreover, one aim • Undertake terrain models such as GIS, and LIDAR
should be long-term palaeo-environmental reconstruction:
1. A Landscape of ‘Transitions’
a. To assess changes through time, but specifically
While focusing on the importance of the shift from foraging for the period of the early modification of 6. Monitoring
to farming and the role played by the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Teosinte.
valley in this process, the site could highlight the wide array a. The use of octocopters (drones) would be one
(and different scales) of transitions that are in evidence here: b. Assess the impact of heavy metal from tephra effective and relatively inexpensive way to keep
from the Cretaceous/ Tertiary boundary (and thus reference fall out on other parts of the environment a check on the state of the valley’s hydrology
to the excellent fossil record), to the transition to the historic (valuable both for past reconstruction but also to and any potential points of impending or extant
period (including the Aztec arrival), to changes/transitions in fore-arm in case of any future such events). erosion damage.
the domestic sphere – for example, the periodic burning of
houses in monumental sites during the Pre-Classic, to even c. As well as palaeo-environmental evidence, a
the ‘transition’ toward early recognition of the scientific geological history of this landscape. This would
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11
337

7. Terminology Examples might be: monuments and megaliths; co-operative Criterion 9: “be outstanding examples representing
labour for public projects; the development of local building significant on-going ecological and biological
Some working group members thought it might be sensible styles and materials (for example, adobe); the first public processes in the evolution and development of
to revisit the current system of periodization of Pre-Classic, architecture; the diversity of vernacular architecture (for terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems
Classic, Post-Classic etc., as it is not focused on the forager- example, conjoined structures); the presence of sacred and communities of plants and animals”
farming transition, but uses later monumental socio- spaces, fields, terraces, irrigation systems; a technological
economics as its point of reference. While this is not about ensemble (for example, ground stone); transportation Examples might include outstanding samples of erosion,
seeking to change these classifications, it might be possible/ technologies – for example, roads, or canals . deforestation, extinctions, terraforming (“man changed the
prudent to use them sparingly (‘Formative’ might be more world”); species translocation outside of source area – for
neutral). Criterion 5: “be an outstanding example of a example, the introduction of maize into new environments;
traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use species transformation – such as the development of breeds
which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or and races.
human interaction with the environment especially
How to apply the World Heritage when it has become vulnerable under the impact of Criterion 10: “contain the most important and
Criteria to the early food production irreversible change” significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation
sites: of biological diversity, including those containing
Examples might include: terraforming, for example, field threatened species of outstanding universal value
Criterion 1: “masterpiece of human creative genius” systems; manipulating and selection of wild resources; the from the point of view of science or conservation”
development of breeds or races within domestic resources;
Examples might be: spaces, areas in which domestication settlement systems, social differentiation; private property, Examples could include the conservation of rare breeds and
of plants and animals is devoted; early systems of water- land tenure; and boats and aquaculture. land races; the maintenance of wild progenitors; and the
management; ecological engineering (terraforming); art if need to protect local rare and endangered species.
present; or monumental outstanding early work related to Criterion 6: “be directly or tangibly associated with
food production. events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs,
with artistic and literary works of outstanding
Criterion 2: “exhibit an important interchange of universal significance. (The Committee considers that Integrated Conservation for sites
human values, over a span of time or within a cultural this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction related to the origin of food
area of the world, on developments in architecture with other criteria)” production:
or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or
landscape design” Examples could include: domestication; cooking traditions,
cuisine, and food preparation; clothing traditions; farming
Examples: evidence for cosmology; spiritual and social techniques; oral histories; cosmology; fine arts (ceramics, 1. What is to be protected and major
changes (for example, changes in attitudes to the external wall painting, portable and non-portable material culture). challenges:
world; monumentality; built communities; terracing; and
canal systems The experts considered as well the opportunity to discuss Fragility: sites are often non-monumental, open-air sites;
the use of cviii, ix and x related to Neolithic traces as an asset they are often buried, difficult to observe on the surface,
Criterion 3: “bear a unique or at least exceptional within natural protected areas. and difficult to predict by means of geo-morphology/
testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization geology.
which is living or which has disappeared” Criterion 8: “be outstanding examples representing
major stages of earth’s history, including the record The threat of erosion, vegetation growth, potential damage
Examples might be found in the long-term use of of life, significant on-going geological processes in the from infrastructural development, could cause severe
monuments (e.g. Stonehenge); Tehuacán for length of its development of landforms, or significant geomorphic damages. At the same time, accessibility to the sites needs
occupation sequence; long cultural sequences; bio-archives or physiographic features” to be improved with proper paths and controlled access to
– genetic, faunal, botanical, etc., and histories of key the protected areas. A list of recommendations for visitors
resources such as maize, rice, cattle etc. Examples could include: the anthropocene if its beginning will contribute to the conservation of the site, as a code
is defined as the Holocene – and farming is integral to it; of conduct to contribute to the understanding of the
Criterion 4: “be an outstanding example of a type of the emergence of present day coast lines (see, for example, Outstanding Universal Value of the sites.
building, architectural or technological ensemble or China, South-East Asia).
landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in
human history”
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11
Palaeolandscape record(s) and multi-scale approach Recommendations • Purrón: cave that was a temporary
(from site to area) are crucial challenges. for the site of Tehuacán: collecting-hunting camp that gave its
name to Mexico’s first pottery.
Differential scales of the material traces of human activities • Compilation of documents (either the originals
have to be taken into account. The importance of the proper or copies) held internationally in Andover • Abejas: cave that contained the earliest
recording of palaeo-environments, for example, soil types, (Massachusetts), Robert Drennen (Quachilco) evidence of domesticated plants in the
the distribution of vegetal associations, geomorphological and Edward Sessons (Coxcatlán) Americas (together with Purrón cave).
features, and sedimentary records, is crucial. Ephemeral,
short-term components, such as campsites need to be taken • Future research in caves in the Tehuacan Valley as: • El Riego: maize remains from this cave
into account. The setting up boundaries and buffer zones indicates more than 4000 years of
need to be carefully undertaken, and room left for future • San Marcos: cave where cobs of the human activity and occupation.
research. earliest archaeological maize were
retrieved • San Gabriel Chilac: many plant
. specimens were recovered and this may
• Tecorral: cave that contained various indicate a center of domestication
maize specimens retrieved through
archaeobotanical sampling • San Marcos Necoxtla: this contains
what may be the oldest water well in
339

the Americas and shows the earliest The Valley has an extremely long sequence, which documents
evidence for water management in the manipulation, domestication and intensification of the
Mesoamerica. production of maize.
• Chevé Cave: a deep cave in the Sierra • Unique characteristics in the Valley: the water
Juárez mountain range in the Mexican forms, the ring of volcanoes, Cretaceous plants
state of Oaxaca known as the second that are still in existence; the faunal diversity, and
deepest known cave in the Western biodiversity; the unique landforms. Also to be
Hemisphere considered are the soil characteristics (travertine,
limestone, gypsum), the springs, irrigation canals
• Musicians’ Cave: cave at the border of and the particular climate beginning 10,000
the states of Puebla and Oaxaca that years ago, with marked periods of rain (3-4
contains several cave paintings made by months each year).
the ancient inhabitants of this region,
with some objects suggesting trumpet • Community: Ethnography/products in local
type musical wind instruments. markets; uses of biodiversity in the region; eight
dialects are spoken; note the management of
salt as a valuable resource.
Other settlements for potential future research:
Purrón Dam Complex: the Purrón Dam Complex (PDC)

is located in the southern part of the Tehuacán Valley. It
consist of various human occupation sites, caves, prehistoric
agricultural fields, and the oldest hydro-ecological system in
Mesoamerica. The dam itself is the largest prehistoric water
management structure in Mesoamerica.
Santiago Cave: cave located just south of the habitation zone

and just east of the Santa Maria Canal. The petroglyphs and
a few ceramic sherds indicate a long period of use and the
cave has a human-made terrace-like platform constructed
in front of its mouth.
“Fossilized” canals (tecuates): earliest dated prehistoric canal

systems in Mesoamerica, which were expanded through
time as the demand for agricultural intensification increased.
Lama-bordos: stone check-dams or lama-bordos are human-

produced landscapes indicating sedentary agricultural life.
Purrón ceramics: the emergence of agriculture has been

studied intensively in the Tehuacan Valley, and it is believed
that the emergence of ceramic technology was closely
related with this transition, particularly during the Purrón
Phase, from around 2,300 to 1,500 BC.
San Marcos: the San Marcos rock shelter and cave provides
archaeological and rock-art evidence.
340

Conception, edition and general coordination of this publication was carried out by the UNESCO Office in Mexico.

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The Origins of Food Production

The Origins of Food Production

Los orígenes de la producción de alimentos

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Los orígenes de la producción

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Conception, Edition and General Coordination of the project:

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State Governor of Puebla

Head and Representative, UNESCO Office in Mexico

The humankind heritage 22

The Applicability of World Heritage Criteria

3 Centres of Domestication: South-West Asia 49

The Origins of Agriculture in South-West Asia 50

A Local History: the Neolithic Transition 68

The Late Neolithic Transition. 78

The Origins of Agriculture and Neolithic Food Storage: 90

‘Zooarchaeology’ in Transitional Societies: Evidence from 98

4 Centres of Domestication: East and South-East Asia 113

Trajectories to Agriculture: 114

Foragers, Cultivators and Mariners: the Complex 126

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5 Centres of Domestication: Mexico and MesoAmerica 145

Beginnings of Water Management and Agricultural 146

On the Origins and Domestication of Maize: 160

La Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán - Cuicatlán 170

Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán 180

6 Centres of Domestication: North and South America 199

Social Complexity, Sedentism and Food Production 200

Daily Practices and Early Village Settlement Dynamics 210

7 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced:

The Neolithization of Britain and Ireland: the Arrival 226

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8 Case studies in North America 263

Niches, Networks and the Pathways to the Forager-to- 264

Was there a Neolithic ‘(R)evolution’ in North America’s 282

9 Regions where Agriculture was Introduced:

Food Production in Southern Africa with a Specific Focus 300

10 Methodological approaches 309

A Field Sampling Protocol for Palaeogenetic Analyses 310

Recommendations for Pollen Sample Analysis Protocol 318

Micro Categories Analysis: the Use of Micromorphology for 326

11 International Cooperation for Research

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The State of Puebla acknowledges the significance of Tehuacan-Cuicatlan as areas of outstanding

José Antonio Gali Fayad

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The humankind heritage

We cannot deny the abundance, variety and geographical

Clear traces of resources management are detected in some

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The neolithic phenomenon is one of the fundamental

Academics rely on new scientific methods that help our

The geographical distribution of the sites and the

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