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Rising Sea Level and Prehistoric Cultural Ecology in Northern New England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Dean R. Snow
Dean R. Snow*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Albany
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Abstract

Sea level has been rising over the past 4 millennia along the coast of northern New England, but the rate of rise has been faster in the direction of the Bay of Fundy. In any given locality, the rate of rise has been steadily slowing during that time. These and other concurrent changes have complicated the study of shifts in prehistoric cultural ecology. This paper utilizes archaeological data from 2 important localities to unravel the complex interaction of evolving technology, changing sea level, shifts in marine resources, and probable changes in terrestrial flora and fauna over time. Locally specific natural limitations on cultural options are discussed.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , April 1972 , pp. 211 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1972

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