Hominin Palaeoecology and Environmental Archaeology

Winder, Isabelle Catherine; Heyerdahl-King, Isabelle Solange; Winder, Nick

Abstract

Reconstructing the lives of our closest fossil relatives is relevant to our understanding of the history of the human lineage, our biology, and our relationship with the environment. Further back in time, evidence of material culture dwindles until, at around 2.6 million years ago, there ceases to be any surviving record. Prior to this, researchers must work with the same record of fossils, sediments, and rocks as any paleontologist. For the period before 2.6 million years ago, an ecological perspective – as opposed to the archaeological one usually employed for Homo sapiens – is therefore necessary. But the value of the paleoecological approach is not limited to species which predate material culture. The insights to be gained from studies of trophic relationships, ecological structures, and hominin interactions with the physical environment ensure that this perspective remains important to the study of human evolution up to and including Homo sapiens.

Citation

Winder, I. C., Heyerdahl-King, I. S., & Winder, N. (2014). Hominin Palaeoecology and Environmental Archaeology. In C. Smith (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology (3450-3456). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2126

• Publication Date: 2014
• Deposit Date: Oct 22, 2021
• Publisher: Springer
• Pages: 3450-3456
• Book Title: The Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology
• ISBN: 9781441904263; 9781441904669
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2126
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3858548