Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: The Role of Fire in Long Term Human Niche-Construction

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Nearly a century of fire prevention and suppression in the United States has resulted, counterintuitively, in larger, more frequent wildfires with negative impacts on natural, cultural, and recreational resources. In response, new research focuses on alternative ways to manage the lasting effects of fire, rather than prevent it. To understand the role of fire in modern ecosystems, the long-term history of human influence on fire regimes and biome productivity must be considered. Archaeological and paleoecological research demonstrates that humans have intentionally set fires for millennia to transform the arrangement and diversity of resources within their landscape, with global consequences for terrestrial and atmospheric systems. Anthropogenic fire, meaning fire intentionally set and controlled by humans, has played a vital role in transforming and maintaining agricultural landscapes. Consequently, the beginning of agriculture often coincides with changes in fire frequency and vegetation communities. This project combines multi-dimensional research on anthropogenic burning with archaeological measures of prehistoric agricultural land-use to investigate the origins and evolution of Neolithic (7,700-4,500 cal. BP) agricultural landscapes in three case study areas in eastern Spain. This work integrates new field and laboratory methods, quantitative models of wildfire and its ecological effects, and an "off-site" archaeological perspective to study the impacts of anthropogenic fire on the human and environmental aspects of ancient agricultural landscapes. The Mediterranean landscape is uniquely suited to investigate prehistoric anthropogenic fire due to its long-term history of agricultural land-use, infrequent naturally caused fires, and fire-sensitive ecosystems. This research encourages international collaboration between archaeologists and fire scientists with implications for long-term management of similar fire-prone ecosystems around the world, including southern California, coastal South Africa, southern Australia, and the entirety of the Mediterranean Basin. Fieldwork for this project is conducted in collaboration with American and Spanish archaeologists, paleoecologists, and fire scientists. This diverse, international team combines multiple perspectives on the role of anthropogenic fire in forest ecosystem function, maintenance, and sustainability. Laboratory work conducted at Arizona State University also provides scientific training and mentorship to undergraduate students studying archaeology, paleoecology, and fire science.