‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon
The role of plants in early human migrations across the globe has received little attention compared to big game hunting. Tropical forests in particular have been seen as a barrier for Late Pleistocene human dispersals due to perceived difficulties in obtaining sufficient subsistence resources. Arch...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Quaternary |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/3/26 |
| _version_ | 1797517455716777984 |
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| author | Mark Robinson Gaspar Morcote-Rios Francisco Javier Aceituno Patrick Roberts Juan Carlos Berrío José Iriarte |
| author_facet | Mark Robinson Gaspar Morcote-Rios Francisco Javier Aceituno Patrick Roberts Juan Carlos Berrío José Iriarte |
| author_sort | Mark Robinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The role of plants in early human migrations across the globe has received little attention compared to big game hunting. Tropical forests in particular have been seen as a barrier for Late Pleistocene human dispersals due to perceived difficulties in obtaining sufficient subsistence resources. Archaeobotanical data from the Cerro Azul rock outcrop in the Colombian Amazon details Late Pleistocene plant exploitation providing insight into early human subsistence in the tropical forest. The dominance of palm taxa in the assemblage, dating from 12.5 ka BP, allows us to speculate on processes of ecological knowledge transfer and the identification of edible resources in a novel environment. Following the hypothesis of Martin Jones from his 2009 work, “Moving North: archaeobotanical evidence for plant diet in Middle and Upper Paleolithic Europe”, we contend that the instantly recognizable and economically useful palm family (Arecaceae) provided a “gateway” to the unknown resources of the Amazon forest. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:16:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e72943c420eb43ce82203ea73c70cc39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-550X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:16:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary |
| spelling | doaj.art-e72943c420eb43ce82203ea73c70cc392023-11-22T15:02:10ZengMDPI AGQuaternary2571-550X2021-08-01432610.3390/quat4030026‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian AmazonMark Robinson0Gaspar Morcote-Rios1Francisco Javier Aceituno2Patrick Roberts3Juan Carlos Berrío4José Iriarte5Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, 222 Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE, UKInstituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Av. Carrera 30 # 45-03 Edif. 476—Facultad de Ciencias, Bogotá 111321, ColombiaDepartamento de Antropología, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín 050010, ColombiaMax Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 07745 Jena, GermanySchool of Geography, Geology and Environment, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UKDepartment of Archaeology, University of Exeter, 222 Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter EX4 4QE, UKThe role of plants in early human migrations across the globe has received little attention compared to big game hunting. Tropical forests in particular have been seen as a barrier for Late Pleistocene human dispersals due to perceived difficulties in obtaining sufficient subsistence resources. Archaeobotanical data from the Cerro Azul rock outcrop in the Colombian Amazon details Late Pleistocene plant exploitation providing insight into early human subsistence in the tropical forest. The dominance of palm taxa in the assemblage, dating from 12.5 ka BP, allows us to speculate on processes of ecological knowledge transfer and the identification of edible resources in a novel environment. Following the hypothesis of Martin Jones from his 2009 work, “Moving North: archaeobotanical evidence for plant diet in Middle and Upper Paleolithic Europe”, we contend that the instantly recognizable and economically useful palm family (Arecaceae) provided a “gateway” to the unknown resources of the Amazon forest.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/3/26AmazonLate Pleistocenearchaeobotanypalmecological knowledgeplant exploitation |
| spellingShingle | Mark Robinson Gaspar Morcote-Rios Francisco Javier Aceituno Patrick Roberts Juan Carlos Berrío José Iriarte ‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon Quaternary Amazon Late Pleistocene archaeobotany palm ecological knowledge plant exploitation |
| title | ‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon |
| title_full | ‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon |
| title_fullStr | ‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon |
| title_short | ‘Moving South’: Late Pleistocene Plant Exploitation and the Importance of Palm in the Colombian Amazon |
| title_sort | moving south late pleistocene plant exploitation and the importance of palm in the colombian amazon |
| topic | Amazon Late Pleistocene archaeobotany palm ecological knowledge plant exploitation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/4/3/26 |
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