Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Award: Early Prehistoric Human Ecology

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

More so than any other animal, humans are able to adapt their behaviors to meet the challenges of a wide range of environments. They also alter their environments to better suit their needs. By investigating human-environment interactions across diverse ecological settings and throughout time, archaeologists are able to identify and study precise ways in which human groups exhibit resilience in the face of change. In this project a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan, will collaborate with colleagues and local stakeholders to investigate the relationship between early humans and their prehistoric environments at a mountain - rainforest intersection. The results of this research will contribute important new information to scientists’ understanding of how humans and later developed native agricultural systems which remain important today. This project also represents an international collaboration among women in STEM, providing opportunities for publication and career advancement. Finally, by hiring from descendant communities and engaging in community outreach, the project will engage local indigenous groups in the preservation and caretaking of their own cultural heritage. Although humans have come to occupy nearly every terrestrial habitat on the planet, archaeologists have long believed that some places are more attractive than others, particularly for prehistoric hunter-gatherers who drew their daily resources for survival directly from their surroundings. Places that present the most obstacles and afford the fewest opportunities are generally referred to as “marginal,” and are epitomized by arctic tundra and tropical deserts. Archaeologists have long debated whether tropical rainforests belong in this group because much of the superabundant life there—the tremendous richness and diversity of plants and animals—is either inedible or inaccessible to humans. However, determining rainforests’ actual suitability to humans is difficult because very few hunter-gatherer sites have been found in such regions. This project will address that shortfall by investigating potential hunter-gatherer sites in a cloud forest,. Caves across two valleys will be excavated in order to locate sites of interest. By analyzing the stone tools, plant and animal remains, and other kinds of archaeological evidence uncovered, this project will evaluate whether this environment was as challenging to early humans as is widely believed. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.