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Palynological Evidence of the Effects of the Deerskin Trade on Forest Fires during the Eighteenth Century in Southeastern North America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

H. Thomas Foster II  and
Arthur D. Cohen
H. Thomas Foster II
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Northern Kentucky University, 212 Landrum, Highland Heights, Kentucky, 41099. 859-572-5259.tfoster@nku.edu
Arthur D. Cohen
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208
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Abstract

Three palynological cores from the coastal plain of Georgia and Alabama were analyzed for paleobotanical remains. Results show that the Indians of southeastern North America increased forest fires used in hunting as a response to the demand for deer hides during the early eighteenth century. Palynological data are consistent with known anthropogenic changes in the region. Charcoal abundance increased significantly between A.D. 1715 and 1770, which is the period of the most intensive hunting by the Indians. This study shows that forest fires from hunting had a significant and measurable effect on the evolution of the biophysical environment.

Résumé

Résumé

Se analizaron tres nucleos palinologicos de laplanicie costera de Georgia y Alabama para buscar restos paleobotánicos. Los resultados muestran que los indios del sureste de Norteamérica incrementaron los incendios forestales para cacería como respuesta a la demanda depieles de venado durante la primera parte del siglo XVIII. Los datos palinológicos son consistentes con cambios antropogénicos conocidos en la región. La abundancia de carbón vegetal aumentó de modo significativo entre 1715 y 1770, que es el período de la caza más intensiva por los indios. Este estudio muestra que los incendios forestales para la caza tuvieron un efecto significativo y mesurable sobre la evolución del entorno biofísico.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 72 , Issue 1 , January 2007 , pp. 35 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2007

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