Landscapes have been fundamental to the human experience world-wide and throughout time, yet how did we as human beings evolve or co-evolve with our landscapes? By answering this question, we can understand our place in the complex, ever-changing world that we inhabit.
This book guides readers on a journey through the concurrent processes of change in an integrated natural-cultural history of a landscape. While outlining the general principles for global application, a richly illustrated case is offered through the Mariana Islands in the northwest tropical Pacific and furthermore situated in a larger Asia-Pacific context for a full comprehension of landscape evolution at variable scales. The author examines what happened during the first time when human beings encountered the world’s Remote Oceanic environment in the Mariana Islands about 3500 years ago, followed by a continuous sequence of changing sea level, climate, water resources, forest composition, human population growth, and social dynamics. This book provides a high-resolution and long-term view of the complexities of landscape evolution that affect all of us today.
Tabla de materias
Part one: Parameters of study
Chapter 1: Landscape evolution as natural-cultural history
Evolution of an inhabited landscape
The Marianas landscape as a model system
Structure and content of this book
References
Chapter 2: Global applicability of landscape evolution
Coastal China
California
Hawaiian Islands
Mariana Islands
References
Chapter 3: Environmental setting and dynamics
Geological structure
Sea-level history
Coastal geomorphology
Slope erosion-deposition patterns
Soil formation
Plant and animal communities
Climate and weather
Water sources
References
Chapter 4: Marianas archaeology in local and regional perspectives
Marianas settlement in Asia-Pacific context
Foundations of Chamorro heritage
References
Chapter 5: Coordinating perspectives of the past
Historical perspectives
Linguistics
Human biology and genetics
Faunal records
Botanical records
References
Chapter 6: Range of archaeological material culture
Artefacts
Midden
Structural features
Rock art
Caves
Landscapes
References
Part Two: Chronological sequence
Chapter 7: Building an archaeological chronology
Use of radiocarbon dating
Marianas chronological outline
References
Chapter 8: 1500–1100 B.C., initial settlement
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Chapter 9: 1100–700 B.C., changing coastlines
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Chapter 10: 700 B.C.–A.D. 1, broadened horizons
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Chapter 11: A.D. 1–500, temporary stability
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Chapter 12: A.D. 500–1000, sustained use of coastal and inland zones
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Chapter 13: A.D. 1000–1700, a sea of islands and monuments
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Chapter 14: A.D. 1700–Present, living with colonialism and globalisation
Site inventory and dating
Landforms
Resource zones
Material culture
Regional context
References
Part Three: Pursuing research questions
Chapter 15: First inhabiting of a landscape
Human migration into a new landscape
Initial inhabiting of a landscape
Origins of landscape evolution
References
Chapter 16: Long-term human-environment relations
Geology and landforms
Climate
Sea level and coastal ecology
Water sources
Plant and animal populations
Patterns of residence and resource use
Material culture
Continuity and change
References
Chapter 17: Future directions
Sobre el autor
Mike T. Carson (Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Hawaii, 2002) investigates archaeological and palaeo-landscapes throughout the Asia-Pacific region. He currently is Associate Professor of Archaeology at the Richard F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center (MARC), University of Guam, and he is co-editor of Asian Perspectives: The Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific, published by University of Hawaii Press.
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