In Support of Sustainability: The Historical Ecology of Vertebrate Biodiversity and Native American Harvest Practices in the Florida Keys, USA

Michelle J. LeFebvre, Traci Ardren, Victor D. Thompson, Scott M. Fitzpatrick and Sara Ayers-Rigsby
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Michelle J. LeFebvre: Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Traci Ardren: Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
Victor D. Thompson: Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Scott M. Fitzpatrick: Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
Sara Ayers-Rigsby: Florida Public Archaeology Network, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-29

Abstract: The Florida Keys are currently experiencing unprecedented loss of lifeways, biodiversity, and cultural heritage due to sea-level rise, catastrophic storm events, unsustainable traditions of resource exploitation, and land development. Yet, these islands have a long history of human occupation and socioecological systems underlying their current sustainability crisis that date back at least 2500 years. Here we report early results of ongoing zooarchaeological research from Upper Matecumbe Key designed to explore anthropogenic engagement with vertebrate fauna between AD 800 and 1250, providing an approximately 500-year window on marine fisheries and terrestrial faunal harvesting for this small island archipelago. Focusing on one of the few remaining, nearly intact Native American archaeological sites in the region, our research contributes to critically needed long-term anthropogenic perspectives on harvest patterns relevant to regional biodiversity conservation and sustainability initiatives.

Keywords: fisheries; conservation; baselines (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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