MAN-LAND INTERACTION: 10,000 YEARS OF AMERICAN INDIAN IMPACT ON NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS IN THE LOWER LITTLE TENNESSEE RIVER VALLEY, EASTERN TENNESSEE

Stratified archaeological deposits from the Little Tennessee River watershed have yielded a 10,000-year record of vegetational change reflecting both geomorphic events and the utilization of plant resources by American Indians. Changes in composition of charred wood, fruit, and seed assemblages indi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Southeastern archaeology 1982-12, Vol.1 (2), p.115-121
Main Authors: Chapman, Jefferson, Delcourt, Paul A., Cridlebaugh, Patricia A., Shea, Andrea B., Delcourt, Hazel R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charcoal
Floodplains
Geology
Highlands
Plants
Sediments
Taxa
Terraces
Valleys
Vegetation
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Summary:Stratified archaeological deposits from the Little Tennessee River watershed have yielded a 10,000-year record of vegetational change reflecting both geomorphic events and the utilization of plant resources by American Indians. Changes in composition of charred wood, fruit, and seed assemblages indicate the progressive impact of man upon the native vegetation during the mid-and late Holocene. We hypothesize that land clearance and cultivation over the past several thousand years have increased the extent of forest edge, the transition zone between closed forest and open areas. These changes would have led to an increase in landscape carrying capacity and in the abundance and diversity of food resources available to expanding Indian populations. This would have constituted a positive feedback between man and his landscape. Paleoecological analyses of sediments from ponds in the study area will provide independent tests of our model of manland interaction.
ISSN:0734-578X