This study is concerned with the exploitation of resources by human groups in the Carmel area ove... more This study is concerned with the exploitation of resources by human groups in the Carmel area over a period of about 50,000 years. To this end an attempt is made to evaluate the changing economic potential of the ‘catchments’ of individual sites, for this enables us to make a comparative analysis of hunting-gathering and agricultural economies.Although the study of prehistoric sites is now usually complemented by some treatment of their setting, the situation in their immediate vicinity—the principal concern of the inhabitants—tends to be neglected or at any rate overshadowed by generalized statements regarding the physiographic, vegetational, climatic or kindred zones of which they form a (not necessarily typical) part. The difficulty that is encountered by attempts to harmonize the findings of the various specialists who nowadays contribute to archaeological studies may, in fact, be due to the limitations of a zonal approach, for the populations or phenomena with which each of them is concerned do not necessarily refer to a single ‘catchment’ area and may have little connection with the picture of the exploited territory that is imprinted on the site record.
Tectonic movements – continuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activi... more Tectonic movements – continuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activity of underlying plate motions – are rarely taken into account when assessing landscape change, except as an exotic hazard to human life or a temporary disruption in longer-term trends. Active tectonics also create and sustain landscapes that can be beneficial to human survival. The tectonic history of northwest Greece shows Palaeolithic sites located to take advantage of tectonically created features at both local and regional scales.
Tectonic movementscontinuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activity ... more Tectonic movementscontinuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activity of underlying plate motionsare rarely taken into account when assessing landscape change, except as an exotic hazard to human life or a temporary disruption in longer-term trends. Active tectonics also create and sustain landscapes that can be beneficial to human survival. The tectonic history of northwest Greece shows Palaeolithic sites located to take advantage of tectonically created features at both local and regional scales.
A method is offered by which maps of Palaeolithic geography can be drawn. The central objective i... more A method is offered by which maps of Palaeolithic geography can be drawn. The central objective is to look at palaeoecology but the difficulties — largely of imprecise numerical data — of this approach are accepted. Instead we urge archaeologists to remove their site blinkers; to consider not the areas around their sites but the area in which their sites occur; and not to place humans automatically at the centre of their landscapes. Initially we discuss the ways in which areas are defined, and the amount and effects of landscape change are assessed. Particular emphasis is placed on the relatively new field of tectonics as an agent of short‐term landscape change in certain areas. After deciding what species are to be analysed, the basis of the maps is proposed as a mosaic of terrain (how steep or flat is the ground?) and edaphic factors (does the ground grow good plants, or good food for herbivores?). From the analysis of this mosaic, the relevant species are placed in the landscape. In good cases the quality of the data allows numerical estimates of the species to be made, and in any case the choices, options or strategies available to Palaeolithic humans can then be assessed on the basis of a map which shows the dispersion of resources and the relation of the site(s) to them. The distinction is stressed between this method and that of site catchment analysis, which may be largely irrelevant to mobile Palaeolithic economies. The authors draw their practical examples from their work as part of the Klithi research project in Epirus.
The objective of any taxonomy deployment must be to ensure that real benefits are delivered to th... more The objective of any taxonomy deployment must be to ensure that real benefits are delivered to the organisation. But the experience of the last few years has illustrated the risk that law firm taxonomy projects do not deliver real benefits, but instead consume substantial time ...
Field-work in 1984 and 1985 centred on the Klithi rockshelter has combined excavation and analysi... more Field-work in 1984 and 1985 centred on the Klithi rockshelter has combined excavation and analysis of finds with palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical studies of the wider regional setting. Radiocarbon dates show that the deposits so far excavated extend from 10,000 BP to 17,000 BP. Excavations have concentrated on the uppermost levels (10,000 BP to 12,500 BP) immediately accessible below the surface, in order to develop methods for investigating spatial variation in the distribution of materials in the deposit. They have revealed a large hearth area in the back of the shelter as a major focus of activity. New details of the flint industry and faunal remains are presented, along with preliminary indications of spatial patterning. There is evidence for the performance of a wide range of subsistence activities based on locally available resources as well as evidence, in the form of exotic flint and marine shells, for contacts over a wide area. Palaeogeographical methods of analys...
We explore the relationship between the edaphic potential of soils and the mineral properties of ... more We explore the relationship between the edaphic potential of soils and the mineral properties of the underlying geology as a means of mapping the differential productivity of different areas of the Pleistocene landscape for large herbivores. These factors strongly control the health of grazing animals irrespective of the particular types of vegetation growing on them, but they have generally been neglected in palaeoanthropological studies in favour of a more general emphasis on water and vegetation, which provide an incomplete picture. Taking the Carmel-Galilee-Golan region as an example, we show how an understanding of edaphic potential provides insight into how animals might have exploited the environment. In order to simplify the analysis, we concentrate on the Lower Palaeolithic period and the very large animals that dominate the archaeofaunal assemblages of this period. Topography and the ability of soils to retain water also contribute to the differential productivity and accessibility of different regions and to patterns of seasonal movements of the animals, which are essential to ensure a supply of healthy fodder throughout the year, especially for large animals such as elephants, which require substantial regions of good grazing and browsing. Other animals migrating in groups have similar needs. The complex topography of the Southern Levant with frequent sudden and severe changes in gradient, and a wide variety of landforms including rocky outcrops, cliffs, gorges, and ridges, places major limits on these patterns of seasonal movements. We develop methods of mapping these variables, based on the geology and our substantial field experience, in order to create a framework of landscape variation that can be compared with the locations and contents of archaeological sites to suggest ways in which early hominins used the variable features of the landscape to target animal prey, and extend the analysis to the consideration of smaller mammals that were exploited more intensively after the disappearance of the elephants. We consider some of the ways in which this regional-scale approach can be further tested and refined, and advocate the development of such studies as an essential contribution to understanding the wider pattern of hominin dispersal.
The presence of chamois in fauna1 assemblages from a low altitude, Epipaleolithic rockshelter in ... more The presence of chamois in fauna1 assemblages from a low altitude, Epipaleolithic rockshelter in Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, has altered our conception of the ecology of chamois and of the history of the Herzegovinan karst during the last 15,000 years. We infer that on the low-altitude plateaus of southern Herzegovina, the chamois appear to have exploited a Late Glacial equivalent of "angry karst", a "degraded" karst landscape formed primarily by solutional processes on harder limestones. This would imply that one cannot assume a stable alpine ecology for chamois. The possibility of a nonalpine adaptation of chamois has led us also to reconsider the history of karst landscapes in Herzegovina during the last 15,000 years. We conclude that if the Holocene degradation of the Herzegovinan karst is viewed in a wider, Late Pleistocene, time window, the exceptional circumstance is not the modern landscape of "angry karst". but the short period in the Early Holocene when the landscape was more heavily vegetated.
Fossil remains are embedded in a continually evolving landscape. Earth scientists have the method... more Fossil remains are embedded in a continually evolving landscape. Earth scientists have the methods and approaches to study the processes that shape the landscape at various temporal and spatial scales. Some of these methods can generate insights that are of potential use for researchers in other fields, such as archaeology and palaeoanthropology. Here we present two case studies to illustrate how a broader landscape perspective can provide new insights into the land use by Pliocene hominins in southern Africa, and more recently, by Palaeolithic hominins in the southern Levant. Key landscape attributes can help explain why humans, hominins and the wider animal community exploit certain types of landscapes in predictable ways. Our first case study examines how active tectonics or volcanism appears to be important in creating fertile regions with reliable water sources and complex topography. While relatively easy for agile primates such as hominins to negotiate, zones of complex topography are harder for certain predators and prey animals to traverse. In the second case study, we consider that differences in soil edaphics can exert a major control on animals by supplying or failing to supply necessary trace elements, such as selenium, copper, phosphate and potassium (Henkin et al., 1995). We show that the pattern of trace element distribution can accurately map animal movements between areas of suitable grazing. This predictability could have enabled Levantine humans to ambush megafauna during these seasonal migrations. By studying the landscape attributes around fossil site locations, Earth scientists can offer new insights and perspectives into the past, particularly on the ways in which the inhabitants would have used their landscapes.
This study is concerned with the exploitation of resources by human groups in the Carmel area ove... more This study is concerned with the exploitation of resources by human groups in the Carmel area over a period of about 50,000 years. To this end an attempt is made to evaluate the changing economic potential of the ‘catchments’ of individual sites, for this enables us to make a comparative analysis of hunting-gathering and agricultural economies.Although the study of prehistoric sites is now usually complemented by some treatment of their setting, the situation in their immediate vicinity—the principal concern of the inhabitants—tends to be neglected or at any rate overshadowed by generalized statements regarding the physiographic, vegetational, climatic or kindred zones of which they form a (not necessarily typical) part. The difficulty that is encountered by attempts to harmonize the findings of the various specialists who nowadays contribute to archaeological studies may, in fact, be due to the limitations of a zonal approach, for the populations or phenomena with which each of them is concerned do not necessarily refer to a single ‘catchment’ area and may have little connection with the picture of the exploited territory that is imprinted on the site record.
Tectonic movements – continuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activi... more Tectonic movements – continuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activity of underlying plate motions – are rarely taken into account when assessing landscape change, except as an exotic hazard to human life or a temporary disruption in longer-term trends. Active tectonics also create and sustain landscapes that can be beneficial to human survival. The tectonic history of northwest Greece shows Palaeolithic sites located to take advantage of tectonically created features at both local and regional scales.
Tectonic movementscontinuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activity ... more Tectonic movementscontinuously re-moulding the surface of the earth over the inexorable activity of underlying plate motionsare rarely taken into account when assessing landscape change, except as an exotic hazard to human life or a temporary disruption in longer-term trends. Active tectonics also create and sustain landscapes that can be beneficial to human survival. The tectonic history of northwest Greece shows Palaeolithic sites located to take advantage of tectonically created features at both local and regional scales.
A method is offered by which maps of Palaeolithic geography can be drawn. The central objective i... more A method is offered by which maps of Palaeolithic geography can be drawn. The central objective is to look at palaeoecology but the difficulties — largely of imprecise numerical data — of this approach are accepted. Instead we urge archaeologists to remove their site blinkers; to consider not the areas around their sites but the area in which their sites occur; and not to place humans automatically at the centre of their landscapes. Initially we discuss the ways in which areas are defined, and the amount and effects of landscape change are assessed. Particular emphasis is placed on the relatively new field of tectonics as an agent of short‐term landscape change in certain areas. After deciding what species are to be analysed, the basis of the maps is proposed as a mosaic of terrain (how steep or flat is the ground?) and edaphic factors (does the ground grow good plants, or good food for herbivores?). From the analysis of this mosaic, the relevant species are placed in the landscape. In good cases the quality of the data allows numerical estimates of the species to be made, and in any case the choices, options or strategies available to Palaeolithic humans can then be assessed on the basis of a map which shows the dispersion of resources and the relation of the site(s) to them. The distinction is stressed between this method and that of site catchment analysis, which may be largely irrelevant to mobile Palaeolithic economies. The authors draw their practical examples from their work as part of the Klithi research project in Epirus.
The objective of any taxonomy deployment must be to ensure that real benefits are delivered to th... more The objective of any taxonomy deployment must be to ensure that real benefits are delivered to the organisation. But the experience of the last few years has illustrated the risk that law firm taxonomy projects do not deliver real benefits, but instead consume substantial time ...
Field-work in 1984 and 1985 centred on the Klithi rockshelter has combined excavation and analysi... more Field-work in 1984 and 1985 centred on the Klithi rockshelter has combined excavation and analysis of finds with palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical studies of the wider regional setting. Radiocarbon dates show that the deposits so far excavated extend from 10,000 BP to 17,000 BP. Excavations have concentrated on the uppermost levels (10,000 BP to 12,500 BP) immediately accessible below the surface, in order to develop methods for investigating spatial variation in the distribution of materials in the deposit. They have revealed a large hearth area in the back of the shelter as a major focus of activity. New details of the flint industry and faunal remains are presented, along with preliminary indications of spatial patterning. There is evidence for the performance of a wide range of subsistence activities based on locally available resources as well as evidence, in the form of exotic flint and marine shells, for contacts over a wide area. Palaeogeographical methods of analys...
We explore the relationship between the edaphic potential of soils and the mineral properties of ... more We explore the relationship between the edaphic potential of soils and the mineral properties of the underlying geology as a means of mapping the differential productivity of different areas of the Pleistocene landscape for large herbivores. These factors strongly control the health of grazing animals irrespective of the particular types of vegetation growing on them, but they have generally been neglected in palaeoanthropological studies in favour of a more general emphasis on water and vegetation, which provide an incomplete picture. Taking the Carmel-Galilee-Golan region as an example, we show how an understanding of edaphic potential provides insight into how animals might have exploited the environment. In order to simplify the analysis, we concentrate on the Lower Palaeolithic period and the very large animals that dominate the archaeofaunal assemblages of this period. Topography and the ability of soils to retain water also contribute to the differential productivity and accessibility of different regions and to patterns of seasonal movements of the animals, which are essential to ensure a supply of healthy fodder throughout the year, especially for large animals such as elephants, which require substantial regions of good grazing and browsing. Other animals migrating in groups have similar needs. The complex topography of the Southern Levant with frequent sudden and severe changes in gradient, and a wide variety of landforms including rocky outcrops, cliffs, gorges, and ridges, places major limits on these patterns of seasonal movements. We develop methods of mapping these variables, based on the geology and our substantial field experience, in order to create a framework of landscape variation that can be compared with the locations and contents of archaeological sites to suggest ways in which early hominins used the variable features of the landscape to target animal prey, and extend the analysis to the consideration of smaller mammals that were exploited more intensively after the disappearance of the elephants. We consider some of the ways in which this regional-scale approach can be further tested and refined, and advocate the development of such studies as an essential contribution to understanding the wider pattern of hominin dispersal.
The presence of chamois in fauna1 assemblages from a low altitude, Epipaleolithic rockshelter in ... more The presence of chamois in fauna1 assemblages from a low altitude, Epipaleolithic rockshelter in Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, has altered our conception of the ecology of chamois and of the history of the Herzegovinan karst during the last 15,000 years. We infer that on the low-altitude plateaus of southern Herzegovina, the chamois appear to have exploited a Late Glacial equivalent of "angry karst", a "degraded" karst landscape formed primarily by solutional processes on harder limestones. This would imply that one cannot assume a stable alpine ecology for chamois. The possibility of a nonalpine adaptation of chamois has led us also to reconsider the history of karst landscapes in Herzegovina during the last 15,000 years. We conclude that if the Holocene degradation of the Herzegovinan karst is viewed in a wider, Late Pleistocene, time window, the exceptional circumstance is not the modern landscape of "angry karst". but the short period in the Early Holocene when the landscape was more heavily vegetated.
Fossil remains are embedded in a continually evolving landscape. Earth scientists have the method... more Fossil remains are embedded in a continually evolving landscape. Earth scientists have the methods and approaches to study the processes that shape the landscape at various temporal and spatial scales. Some of these methods can generate insights that are of potential use for researchers in other fields, such as archaeology and palaeoanthropology. Here we present two case studies to illustrate how a broader landscape perspective can provide new insights into the land use by Pliocene hominins in southern Africa, and more recently, by Palaeolithic hominins in the southern Levant. Key landscape attributes can help explain why humans, hominins and the wider animal community exploit certain types of landscapes in predictable ways. Our first case study examines how active tectonics or volcanism appears to be important in creating fertile regions with reliable water sources and complex topography. While relatively easy for agile primates such as hominins to negotiate, zones of complex topography are harder for certain predators and prey animals to traverse. In the second case study, we consider that differences in soil edaphics can exert a major control on animals by supplying or failing to supply necessary trace elements, such as selenium, copper, phosphate and potassium (Henkin et al., 1995). We show that the pattern of trace element distribution can accurately map animal movements between areas of suitable grazing. This predictability could have enabled Levantine humans to ambush megafauna during these seasonal migrations. By studying the landscape attributes around fossil site locations, Earth scientists can offer new insights and perspectives into the past, particularly on the ways in which the inhabitants would have used their landscapes.
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Papers by Derek Sturdy