NSF Award
2312166
This study examines the small-scale coastal fisheries and the resilience of these fishing systems to global environmental changes, including changes in sea levels, land use modifications, and fluctuations in the densities of fishing stocks. This project provides longitudinal insights into the resilience of fisheries by studying the determinants of fishing behavior and outputs over the past two millennia in a coastal mangrove wetland. The research leverages diverse archaeological methods to consider multiple hypotheses for sharp declines in the productivity of the ancient fishery. More generally, the project reveals the potentially complex and dynamic relationships between ecological variables, political factors, and the culture and demography of the human populations. The archaeological methods are complemented by observations of modern fishing behavior, which provide holistic insights into the long-term resilience of past subsistence behavior. Multiple students contribute to the research, and a central aim of the project is to develop a collaborative museum exhibit that contextualizes the findings. The project also convenes a workshop to advance sustainable management of the fishery.<br/><br/>Drawing on perspectives from human ecology, the research examines fluctuations in the productivity of a mangrove fishery as a function of multiple related variables, including intrinsic dynamic variation in the ecological structure of lagoons, the political organization of local communities, and the alternation of adjacent land for agricultural activities. Complemented by sediment cores, archaeological excavations yield diverse evidence for studying the productivity of the fishery. Radiocarbon samples establish the chronology of the site, and the remains of crustaceans and pollen and other botanical remains help to characterize ecological changes over time. Zooarchaeological analysis of middens provide insights into the varying harvests of different fish species over time. Additional analyses of ceramics and stone tools are used to assess variation in social and political variation and dynamic patterns of agricultural subsistence. Collectively, these data provide insights into the causes and consequences of changes in the productivity of small-scale fisheries. In addition to contributions to archaeological theory, the findings of this study inform management strategies of contemporary fisheries. The project also contributes to the training and educational of diverse early-career scholars.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
