Showing papers in "World Archaeology in 2010"
TL;DR: The need to bridge the gap between a Neolithic archaeobotanical focus on domestication and a focus of later periods on crop-processing activities and labour organization is highlighted and revised understanding of the innovations involved in plant domestication is highlighted.
Abstract: The origins of agriculture involved pathways of domestication in which human behaviours and plant genetic adaptations were entangled. These changes resulted in consequences that were unintended at the start of the process. This paper highlights some of the key innovations in human behaviours, such as soil preparation, harvesting and threshing, and how these were coupled with genetic ‘innovations’ within plant populations. We identify a number of ‘traps’ for early cultivators, including the needs for extra labour expenditure on crop-processing and soil fertility maintenance, but also linked gains in terms of potential crop yields. Compilations of quantitative data across a few different crops for the traits of nonshattering and seed size are discussed in terms of the apparently slow process of domestication, and parallels and differences between different regional pathways are identified. We highlight the need to bridge the gap between a Neolithic archaeobotanical focus on domestication and a focus of later periods on crop-processing activities and labour organization. In addition, archaeobotanical data provide a basis for rethinking previous assumptions about how plant genetic data should be related to the origins of agriculture and we contrast two alternative hypotheses: gradual evolution with low selection pressure versus metastable equilibrium that prolonged the persistence of ‘semi-domesticated’ populations. Our revised understanding of the innovations involved in plant domestication highlight the need for new approaches to collecting, modelling and integrating genetic data and archaeobotanical evidence.
189 citations
TL;DR: Past efforts to test Andrew Sherratt's model of the Secondary Products Revolution, which proposed that the earliest domestic stock animals in the Near East were initially domesticated during the Neolithic, are summarized.
Abstract: Andrew Sherratt's (1981) model of the Secondary Products Revolution explored the effects of changes in the scale and nature of domestic animal exploitation on Old World societies. He proposed that the earliest domestic stock animals in the Near East (sheep, goat and cattle) were initially domesticated during the Neolithic for their primary products (meat, hide and bone), but that their more intensive exploitation for secondary animal products (milk, wool and traction) appeared in the Near East much later (during the Chalcolithic) and subsequently spread to surrounding regions (Europe and Asia). While the zooarchaeological evidence largely supports the model, questions have been raised about its veracity since there is evidence for pre-Chalcolithic exploitation of secondary products (e.g. ceramic lipid analyses). This paper summarizes past efforts to test the model, presents the results of recent research on the subject (e.g. artefactual, zooarchaeological and lipid analysis) and suggests directio...
167 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an alternative model to the dualism of either trust or domination, namely the notion of a social contract between humans and animals, is explored through Bronze Age case studies from southern Scandinavia.
Abstract: Tim Ingold's seminal article ‘From trust to domination’ introduces a hypothesis in which there is a shift from hunter-gatherer cultures to agro-pastoral cultures regarding perceptions of, and engagements with, animals. Whereas hunters regard prey as kindred brothers, farmers regard, and treat, their domestic livestock as slaves. On the basis of this hypothesis, archaeologists frequently take this to be a universal given. In this article, Ingold's hypothesis is critiqued via an in-depth discussion of the concepts of trust, reciprocity and intimacy. The author suggests an alternative model to the dualism of either trust or domination, namely the notion of a social contract between humans and animals. The uses of this model are explored through Bronze Age case studies from southern Scandinavia.
117 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline the current state of the Movius Line controversy in these terms, and undertake a series of metric analyses of eastern and western biface samples, highlighting specific lines of enquiry that may be important for future attempts to address these enduring questions.
Abstract: Patterns of Palaeolithic variability between eastern Asia and western portions of the Old World continue to engender controversial discussion. Most famously, debate has focused on variability in the absence/presence of ‘handaxes’ east and west of the so-called ‘Movius Line’. However, it is becoming equally apparent that cross-regional contrasts can be made using categories of data other than handaxe presence/absence alone. This, in turn, is leading to a reconfiguration of the archaeological patterns that demand explanation. Here, we outline the current state of the Movius Line controversy in these terms, and undertake a series of metric analyses of eastern and western biface samples. This leads us to highlight specific lines of enquiry that may be important for future attempts to address these enduring questions.
92 citations
TL;DR: This article found that ancient Pembans first relied heavily on pearl millet, but subsequently became specialized producers of cotton and the Asian crops rice and coconut during the growth of the trading town of Chwaka.
Abstract: Prior to Arab and European imperialism, the farmers of eastern Africa's Swahili coast engaged in a mixed economy, including fishing, animal husbandry and trade in the Indian Ocean's early global economy. This trade network also exposed eastern Africans to new Asian foodways. Botanical data from archaeological sites on northern Pemba Island, Tanzania, show that ancient Pembans first relied heavily on pearl millet, but subsequently became specialized producers of cotton and the Asian crops rice and coconut during the growth of the trading town of Chwaka. This turn towards Asian foodways, particularly rice, was part of a broader alignment with Indian Ocean cultures during a period of urbanization and Islamization along Africa's eastern coast between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries. Rice specialization was risky due to the constraints of suitable land, rainfall, and labour supply, and it is likely that social and political rewards compelled this agricultural innovation.
92 citations
TL;DR: Agricultural innovations are primarily concerned with a need for increasing production (of food, fodder, secondary products) as well as enhancing quality (of produce, production process, growing conditions) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Agricultural innovations are primarily concerned with a need for increasing production (of food, fodder, secondary products) as well as enhancing quality (of produce, production process, growing conditions). This paper reviews current thinking on how improvements and innovations in agriculture arise, what forms they take and what agents are involved. Innovations typically affect one or more of the following areas: crops, animals, growing conditions, implements and management practices. While ‘macro-inventions’ (radical new ideas) do occur, many concern ‘micro-inventions’, that is changes or modifications to tools and practices made by skilled practitioners (farmers, craftspeople), rather than by inventors or entrepreneurs. Indeed, agricultural innovations frequently concern not so much the adoption of newly introduced technologies, but the adaptation of existing ones. The term ‘agricultural revolution’ tends to be used when a number of improvements in separate areas of the farming system co-occur...
92 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss methodological and theoretical aspects of the use of Google Earth in archaeology, through a virtual investigation of the Camp Delta prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Abstract: With easy access to satellite imagery through free applications such as Google Earth, it is now financially feasible for archaeologists to undertake remote survey in areas that are difficult or impossible to access in person. But there are ethical concerns inherent in the use of remotely sensed images, as Google Earth might be seen as a panoptic viewing technology that leaves no voice to those being viewed. Through a virtual investigation of the Camp Delta prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, I discuss methodological and theoretical aspects of the use of Google Earth in archaeology.
71 citations
TL;DR: This article described an attempt to develop an archaeology of homelessness in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, and described the acquisition, use and distribution of material culture and work collaboratively with communities.
Abstract: Archaeologists can provide useful perspectives on contemporary social problems if they are willing to engage in ‘politics’ and translate their findings into information useful for developing social policy, and if they are willing to become activists. To do this they need to emphasize the acquisition, use and distribution of material culture and work collaboratively with communities. This paper provides a brief example of how translational archaeology might work, describing an attempt to develop an archaeology of homelessness in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors draw on the granular archaeological evidence of continuity and change at Mukri to understand how pastoralist societies, in local contexts, resonated broader trends in the documentary history of Inner Eurasia and highlight the effectiveness of pastoralists' strategies in order to reconsider common paradigms of extensive nomadic migrations and episodic conquest as appropriate explanatory models for Eurasian pastoralists throughout antiquity.
Abstract: Recent excavations at the prehistoric and historic encampment at Mukri, in the foothills of the Dzhungar Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan, challenge the view that it was a small, isolated pastoralist camp situated in an ecologically marginal territory. When viewed as a strategically situated node within a dynamic ecology of pastoralist activity, the site's archaeology reveals shifting patterns of land use and networks of interaction that contributed to socio-political change and material diffusion over millennia. This article draws on the granular archaeological evidence of continuity and change at Mukri to understand how pastoralist societies, in local contexts, resonated broader trends in the documentary history of Inner Eurasia. We highlight the effectiveness of pastoralists' strategies in order to reconsider common paradigms of extensive nomadic migrations and episodic conquest as appropriate explanatory models for Eurasian pastoralists throughout antiquity.
66 citations
TL;DR: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) as discussed by the authors provides a methodology for engaging descendent and local communities as partners in archaeological research, and demonstrates a collaborative model that involves reciprocity, is action based and aims to build community capacity while engaging communities in the process of archaeological research and heritage management.
Abstract: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) provides a methodology for engaging descendent and local communities as partners in archaeological research. This article, based on a five-year comparative research project that examines CBPR's application to archaeology, demonstrates a collaborative model that involves reciprocity, is action based and aims to build community capacity while engaging communities in the process of archaeological research and heritage management. Included are details of what community-based participatory research is, the main principles involved in its practice and a demonstration of how it is being effectively applied ‘on-the-ground’ at Catalhoyuk, Turkey. Two components of the Catalhoyuk CBPR project are highlighted: the community internship program and the archaeological community theatre project.
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the recent popularity of notions of fragmentation and enchainment in archaeology and aim to further the debate of these important approaches, and suggest that there are a number of problems with the terms as they are currently used.
Abstract: In this paper we examine the recent popularity of notions of fragmentation and enchainment in archaeology and aim to further the debate of these important approaches. Although we applaud the aims, and recognize the seductive power of these concepts, we suggest that there are a number of problems with the terms as they are currently used. By unpacking these expressions, we suggest these issues can be addressed and the vocabulary can continue to develop as a powerful tool for understanding materiality, exchange and personhood in the past.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue for a "relational" rather than "domination" model of human-horse interactions, and that a necessary step toward this is a clearer understanding of horses, themselves, as social beings.
Abstract: Despite recent calls to view nonhuman animals as more than objects within archaeological studies, traditional interpretations of horses in Iron Age Inner Asian communities continue to consider them as relevant only through their functional or symbolic significance to humans. This article argues for a ‘relational’ rather than ‘domination’ model of human-horse interactions, and that a necessary step toward this is a clearer understanding of horses, themselves, as social beings. This is brought to light through ethological studies and the understandings of ‘working riders’, including the author. Using a case study of the Iron Age Pazyryk human-horse burials, it is then proposed that through this lens the outfits of the horses in the Pazyryk kurgans might be seen to reflect roles and statuses of the horses, rather than of the humans.
TL;DR: This article integrated zooarchaeological and ancient textual datasets for cattle to provide a more comprehensive picture of breed developments for Roman Italy. But, as shown in Table 1, widespread increases in cattle sizes do not occur until Republican and Imperial times, coincident with marked agricultural and demographic changes in the country.
Abstract: Integrating zooarchaeological and ancient textual datasets for cattle provides a more comprehensive picture of breed developments for Roman Italy. Widespread increases in cattle sizes do not occur until Republican and Imperial times, coincident with marked agricultural and demographic changes in the country. Distinct clusters of cattle ‘breeds’ develop during these periods. The ancient Latin texts describe physical traits for several types of cattle, separated geographically (e.g. Umbrian, Campanian, Ligurian, Latium, Etrurian, Alpine, north-plain and south-mountain and -plain). Available zooarchaeological metric data confirm modifications to cattle breeds that are generally consistent with these recordings. Several factors interplay to cause size and shape changes, including an augmented market and military demand for grain and other foodstuffs, as well as the import and export of cattle brood-stock from other areas of the Empire into and out of Italy.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the successes of the past are of equal importance, and this is increasingly recognized as early agricultural techniques are rediscovered and reinstated, and that these systems are not only more sustainable than modern technologies, but more resilient in the face of environmental extremes.
Abstract: There has been much interest in the failures of the past and the environmental disasters that ensued because of poor land management practices. I argue that the successes of the past are of equal importance, and this is increasingly recognized as early agricultural techniques are rediscovered and reinstated. Some of these systems are not only more sustainable than modern technologies, but more resilient in the face of environmental extremes. Ancient engineering and agricultural methods are often more appropriate for developing countries than modern technologies based on fossil fuel and imported materials. As global warming and desertification increase, it is crucial that we learn how to deal with marginal environments in ways that are sustainable and accessible to people in developing countries. Sustainable agriculture can also benefit the developed world by increasing yields, promoting biodiversity and supporting the rural economy.
TL;DR: In this article, a social approach to domestic animals in pre-history is advocated, one which situates herding practices in their human social context while also recognizing the status of animals of social beings in their own right.
Abstract: This paper advocates a social approach to domestic animals in prehistory, one which situates herding practices in their (human) social context while also recognizing the status of animals of social beings in their own right. Domestic animals, it is argued, represent sentient property in the sense that, despite being incorporated as ‘objects’ into property relations between humans they remain subjects whose social world overlaps with that of humans. This tension between the status of domestic animals as subject and as object is played out in highly context-specific ways, being linked both to human social organization and to material/geographical aspects of herding practices. These ideas are used to develop a model for the role of cattle in a process of social change that took place during the later Neolithic Vinca period in the central Balkans.
TL;DR: This paper constructs a conceptual framework for evaluating the competing reduction indices for estimating the extent of flake retouching and offers a new synthesis of reduction indices and the debates that have surrounded their use.
Abstract: Today studies of lithic technology almost invariably employ models of the reduction process, and often models of the extent of reduction that specimens and classes of tools have undergone. Debates about the explanation of lithic assemblage variability are based upon methods for inferring the nature and extent of reduction. In this paper, we construct a conceptual framework for evaluating the competing reduction indices for estimating the extent of flake retouching. With this framework we offer a new synthesis of reduction indices and the debates that have surrounded their use.
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that death is not taboo and that modern death scholars use archaeological source material as a way to understand the subtlety of the human experience Funerary archaeology is not a dangerous topic; rather it makes a very real and valuable contribution to modern society, providing one of the few ways that people can experience a corpse and so explore their own mortality and with it their place within the larger human story.
Abstract: Archaeologists have often taken it for granted that death is a taboo topic in modern society However, the fear of death hypothesis is contested within the social sciences, so does it still follow that the display of the ancient dead is in some way shameful or unacceptable? In this paper it is argued that death is not taboo and that modern death scholars use archaeological source material as a way to understand the subtlety of the human experience Funerary archaeology is not a dangerous topic; rather it makes a very real and valuable contribution to modern society, providing one of the few ways that people can experience a corpse and so explore their own mortality and with it their place within the larger human story
TL;DR: Evidence is presented from skeletal anatomy, mitochondrial DNA, morphology and genetics of speech and the archaeology of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe that directly contradicts all of the elements in this replacement scenario.
Abstract: Some workers have suggested that a hypothetical genetic mutation in an African population less than 100,000 years ago led to a cascade of neurological changes in the human brain that culminated in the appearance of modern language. Language then triggered the socioeconomic and cognitive changes we associate with behavioral modernity and Africans, armed with behavioral modernity, then spread out from that continent, out-competing, displacing, extirpating, outbreeding or, most generally, replacing the Neandertals and other archaic humans throughout the middle latitudes of the Old World. The Neandertals of Europe are the best-known, best-represented and longest studied test case for this theory. In this paper we present evidence from skeletal anatomy, mitochondrial DNA, morphology and genetics of speech and the archaeology of the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition in Europe that directly contradicts all of the elements in this replacement scenario. The processes leading to modernity involved the entire human species, and were based on the ethnogenic principle of communication and reticulation among populations.
TL;DR: A survey and analysis of skeletal pathologies from dog remains at Roman archaeological sites in the Mediterranean context reveals patterns of osteological health and welfare that in turn provide an indication of human treatment and care for pet animals during Roman times.
Abstract: A survey and analysis of skeletal pathologies from dog remains at Roman archaeological sites in the Mediterranean context reveals patterns of osteological health and welfare that in turn provide an indication of human treatment and care for pet animals during Roman times. Common pathological conditions include dental complications, especially pre-mortem tooth loss, healed limb fractures, osteoarthritis and infection, in patterns and frequencies similar to dog samples from other temporal and spatial contexts. Generally, Roman dogs seem to be in good condition, as regards skeletal health, with minimal osteological evidence for human abuse or maltreatment, but also no conclusive data for splinting any broken bones. Smaller ‘toy’ breeds of dogs in Roman times appear more susceptible to multiple pathological conditions, but also display signs of greater human care, especially in terms of pampering and feeding.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the question of why archaeology matters to society and argue that archaeologists have a responsibility to apply their research and ask salient questions of narrowly conceived agendas for development.
Abstract: To explore the question of why archaeology matters to society, this study turns to the recent attempt to promote economic development in the eastern steppe nation of Mongolia. The past two decades have witnessed transformation of Mongolia's largely pastoral-based economy and society according to models advocated by international development agencies and adopted by the Mongolian government. The preconceptions of nomadic pastoralism embedded in policy decisions and resource allocations are unsupportable given the archaeology, history and ethnography of the region. As a result of these embedded assumptions about nomads, Mongolia's transition to free market economics has been devastating for the rural sector. Given the unique time depth and variation available through the material record, I argue that archaeologists have a responsibility to apply their research and ask salient questions of narrowly conceived agendas for development. In Mongolia, archaeology and the material record matter because they...
TL;DR: Ethnographic and archaeological data reveal that ear bones were purposefully extracted from dugong skulls and used as hunting charms to ritually mediate dialogue between hunters and prey, providing new avenues for exploring the ontological relationship of ancient hunters to prey.
Abstract: Hunting as praxis provides an opportunity to investigate how humans and animals meet economically and ontologically. It also provides a window into how societies may ritually construct, manipulate and navigate the human-animal divide as a liminal and permeable boundary. Founded upon the ontological status of prey as kin, marine mammal hunters often establish interpersonal dialogue with prey to aid hunting success. It is usually through the senses that communicative conduits are established so hunters can better know what prey are thinking and cognitively control prey behaviour. Significantly, this dialogue is often mediated ritually by material culture that incorporates prey body parts, particularly sensory organs of the head. This spiritual dimension of marine mammal hunting is explored archaeologically using dugong ear bones found within mounded ritual deposits of dugong bones in Torres Strait, north-east Australia. Ethnographic and archaeological data reveal that ear bones were purposefully ex...
TL;DR: This article argued that the Middle Saxon period (c. 650-850 ce) in eastern England was an era of substantial social, political and economic change and argued that it was also a period of substantial innovation in animal husbandry practices.
Abstract: Historical and archaeological data suggest that the Middle Saxon period (c. 650–850 ce) in eastern England was an era of substantial social, political and economic change. This paper argues that it was also a period of substantial innovation in animal husbandry practices. Zooarchaeological data demonstrate a shift from a non-specialized system designed to meet local subsistence needs to more specialized animal husbandry, focused on specific animal products – wool production, but at some sites also pork production – and designed to produce a surplus in agricultural commodities. A similar pattern can be observed in early medieval France. Several possible explanations are examined, including its relation to state formation, the rise of the emporia (the first towns of the post-Roman West), the spread of monasticism and the possibility that this represents a bottom-up innovation pioneered at rural estate centres. The zooarchaeological data suggest that both monastic centres and secular estate centres ...
TL;DR: The formation of Christendom was associated with a standardized worldview expressing dominion over the natural world as discussed by the authors, and there is also evidence for heterogeneity in practice and belief in medieval society, and it is possible from this to consider whether trends in animal exploitation can be associated with the Christian world view of dominion.
Abstract: The formation of Christendom – of Europe – was associated with a standardized worldview expressing dominion over the natural world. While some sections of medieval society, specifically monasteries and the aristocratic class, appear to have developed this paradigm, there is also evidence for heterogeneity in practice and belief. Zooarchaeologists have accumulated vast quantities of data from medieval contexts which has enabled the ecological signatures of specific social groups to be identified, and how these developed from the latter centuries of the first millennium ad. It is possible from this to consider whether trends in animal exploitation can be associated with the Christian world view of dominion, and with the very idea of what it meant to be Christian. This may enable zooarchaeologists to situate the ecological trends of the Middle Ages within the context of Europeanization, and the consolidation of a Christian society.
TL;DR: The authors discusses innovations first seen between ad 1400 and 1650 that opened up roughly 60 per cent of the available farm land in the Hawaiian Islands, including terraced fields in narrow gulches, some using simple flooding to take irrigation water to adjacent lands and permanent rock and earthen alignments that served as windbreaks, retained soil moisture and lessened erosion.
Abstract: Agriculture was essential in providing for food security, population growth and surplus social production on Pacific Islands. This paper discusses innovations first seen between ad 1400 and 1650 that opened up roughly 60 per cent of the available farm land in the Hawaiian Islands. These innovations include terraced fields in narrow gulches, some using simple flooding to take irrigation water to adjacent lands, and permanent rock and earthen alignments that served as windbreaks, retained soil moisture and lessened erosion. The resulting expansion pushed agriculture into increasingly marginal areas and helped the transition to a surplus-driven agrarian economy. Elite competition for territory promoted the production of surplus and the resulting increased geographic scale of polities helped reduce the burden of supporting the non-producer class by spreading the cost over a broader area.
TL;DR: The authors argue that archaeologists contribute most to the contemporary "experience society" when they tell stories and that such stories well told may be either about what happened in the past or about how archae...
Abstract: I argue that archaeologists contribute most to the contemporary ‘experience society’ when they tell stories. Such stories well told may be either about what happened in the past or about how archae ...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the potential reasoning behind the absence of animal sacrifice in Talensi ritual practice and religious belief and suggested that sacrifice could have been as important in the past as it is in the present, even if as a practice it is archaeologically negative.
Abstract: The sacrifice of animals in various types of shrines is a major component of Talensi ritual practice and religious belief. The scale of sacrifice would suggest significant faunal remains might be expected archaeologically. In reality they are infrequent in comparison to other categories of material and almost wholly absent from shrine contexts. The potential reasoning behind this absence is explored in relation to the mechanics of sacrifice and the division of sacrificial animals in particular. This would suggest that sacrifice could have been as important in the past as it is in the present, even if as a practice it is archaeologically negative.
TL;DR: In this article, the human-animal relationship prevailing in Scandinavian, pre-Christian society from the perspective of representations in Nordic animal art is explored, and the investment of creativity in these motifs is taken as an indication of their essentiality in respect of ideas of a transgressive relationship between animals and humans.
Abstract: This paper seeks to explore ideas about the human-animal relationship prevailing in Scandinavian, pre-Christian society from the perspective of representations in Nordic animal art. After an introduction on art, meaning and context, it focuses on expressions of hybridity. Hybrid motifs are represented in the animal art in complex and dense expressions argued to reveal a basic transformative logic which challenges and transcends settled categories. The investment of creativity in these motifs, an investment which is argued also to be present in the periphrastic style of Old Norse poetry, is taken as an indication of their essentiality in respect of ideas of a transgressive relationship between animals and humans.
TL;DR: In this article, the adoption of horticulture during the terminal Late Archaic in eastern North America was interpreted as an unintended consequence of changing human-animal-plant relations and the invention of bulk processing techniques during the middle and late Archaic.
Abstract: Employing a dwelling perspective, this paper reinterprets the adoption of horticulture during the terminal Late Archaic in eastern North America as an unintended consequence of changing human-animal-plant relations and the invention of bulk processing techniques during the Middle and Late Archaic. The incorporation of immobile plant and animal species into the lifeworlds of Archaic individuals by 7000 bp was part of a dynamic series of changes that greatly altered the taskscapes of these hunter-gatherers. The activities characteristic of these new taskscapes were group oriented and included the bulk processing of nuts and mussels to buffer against risk of winter food shortages. Changing social relations during the terminal Late Archaic dissociated certain groups from important riverine resources; however, the adoption of bulk wild-food-processing techniques provided a technological foundation for the replacement of aquatic immobile resources with upland garden crops, leading to the advent of a st...
TL;DR: A survey of issues related to the use and relevance of archaeology, and how it can be used for the betterment of contemporary and future generations in the context of India and other developing nations is presented in this article.
Abstract: The use and relevance of archaeology are often questioned by those in developing nations where economic development has a higher priority. Although archaeology is considered useful to contemporary society, it is not considered equivalent to privileged subjects such as science and technology, healthcare and economics. However, archaeology can be used to a certain extent for the development of the community in areas of tourism and education through museums and parks, independently of, and also additional to, natural heritage tourist attractions. Applied archaeology can be beneficial to contemporary society but needs serious research and implementation. This paper surveys certain issues related to the use and relevance of archaeology, and discusses how it can be used for the betterment of contemporary and future generations in the context of India and other developing nations.
TL;DR: This paper evaluated early agronomy as evidence of innovation or diffusion associated with South American sweet potato (kumara) introductions and concluded that the evidence of discrete physical properties and environments is more consistent with innovation.
Abstract: Distant but cognate, pre-contact southern Polynesians created extensive rocky cultivation sediments and soils. This early agronomy is evaluated as evidence of innovation or diffusion associated with South American sweet potato (kumara) introductions. For South Island Maori, soil temperatures and drainage were improved in kumara cultivation under and within transported gravel and sand deposits. On Rapa Nui/Easter Island, rocky sediment was spread over cultivation fields to conserve soil and moisture against desiccating winds. While there is overlap in lithic sediment, anthrosol thickness and size classes from both distant islands, the evidence of discrete physical properties and environments is more consistent with innovation. On Rapa Nui, low-elevation lithic cultivation has continued to the present. Extensive northern South Island lithic fields were abandoned before the nineteenth century ad, perhaps because of social disruption or climate change.