Tropical Forests in Prehistory, History, and Modernity

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Patrick Roberts (Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory, Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)

Tropical Forests in Prehistory, History, and Modernity

Patrick Roberts (Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory, Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)

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English

Oxford University Press
31 January 2019

Prehistoric archaeology; Landscape archaeology; Environmental archaeology; Forests, rainforests; Human geography

In popular discourse, tropical forests are synonymous with 'nature' and 'wilderness'; battlegrounds between apparently pristine floral, faunal, and human communities, and the unrelenting industrial and urban powers of the modern world. It is rarely publicly understood that the extent of human adaptation to, and alteration of, tropical forest environments extends across archaeological, historical, and anthropological timescales. This book is the first attempt to bring together evidence for the nature of human interactions with tropical forests on a global scale, from the emergence of hominins in the tropical forests of Africa to modern conservation issues. Following a review of the natural history and variability of tropical forest ecosystems, this book takes a tour of human, and human ancestor, occupation and use of tropical forest environments through time. Far from being pristine, primordial ecosystems, this book illustrates how our species has inhabited and modified tropical forests from the earliest stages of its evolution. While agricultural strategies and vast urban networks emerged in tropical forests long prior to the arrival of European colonial powers and later industrialization, this should not be taken as justification for the massive deforestation and biodiversity threats imposed on tropical forest ecosystems in the 21st century. Rather, such a long-term perspective highlights the ongoing challenges of sustainability faced by forager, agricultural, and urban societies in these environments, setting the stage for more integrated approaches to conservation and policy-making, and the protection of millennia of ecological and cultural heritage bound up in these habitats.

By: Patrick Roberts (Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 239mm, Width: 163mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 1g
ISBN: 9780198818496
ISBN 10: 0198818491
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 31 January 2019
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Patrick Roberts is Group Leader of the Stable Isotope Laboratory at the Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. He has pioneered the use of stable isotope analysis of human fossils for reconstructing the tropical forest adaptations of our species during its dispersal beyond Africa. Patrick has a broader interest in studying the time-depth of human impacts on tropical forests - now the most threatened terrestrial ecosystems after the polar ice-caps - and how this has varied across space and time. He is committed to current UNESCO initiatives that bring together archaeologists and anthropologists to discuss potential solutions for the conservation of ecological and cultural heritage in tropical forests today.

Reviews for Tropical Forests in Prehistory, History, and Modernity

This book is clearly designed to influence archaeologists to see beyond the ruins that make great tourist attractions, but also for anthropologists, historians, and natural scientists, especially conservationists. I think it should be required reading for all conservationists, especially for those who still think in terms of wilderness. This will become an important book for all undergraduate and graduate courses with some kind of interest in humans and their impact on the planet. * Charles R. Clement, Bioscience *