A Story of plants, fire, and people: the paleoecology and subsistence of the Late Archaic and Early Woodland in Virginia

Stevens, J. Sanderson

essay

A Story of plants, fire, and people: the paleoecology and subsistence of the Late Archaic and Early Woodland in Virginia

late archaic and early woodland research in virginia : a synthesis • (23) • Published In 1991 • Pages: 185-220

By: Stevens, J. Sanderson.

Abstract
Stevens '…provides a biref overview of the paleoenvironment and human subsistence strategies during the Late Archaic and Early Woodland periods in Virginia … The discussion of the paleoenvironment … includes alternative explanations of existing environmental data and the impact of environmental conditions on Late Archaic and Early Woodland populations. … The paper presents two models to explain these events. Under one model … the events are environmentally induced; under the other … they are culturally induced.' (page 185). One interesting hypothesis presented accounts for aeolian deposition or discontinuities in alluvial sequences. Many researchers see this as evidence for a drier climate. Stevens proposed the rise in sea level created more floodplains which were defoliated by humans for living space and to encourage the growth of plants with high seed yeilds. They may have also burned hillsides to encourage nut production. Stevens writes about the changes that occurred in the Late Archaic and the Early Woodland, but only the material that pertains to the Early Woodland were indexed for OCM (Outline of Cultural Materials) subjects.

Theoretical orientation in research and its results

Climate

Topography and geology

Soil

Fauna

Flora

Post depositional processes in archaeological sites

Environmental quality

Settlement patterns

Eastern Early Woodland

HRAF PubDate

2000