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TITLE: Indigenous landscape stewardship on the Santa Cruz Coast: A historical ecological approach
ARF Brownbag | October 27 | 12:10-1 p.m. | Virtual event
SPEAKER:
Alec Apodaca, Department of Anthropology, UC Berkeley
Sponsor: Archaeological Research Facility
Abstract: This talk outlines three collaborative projects that are contributing to the historical ecology of Indigenous stewardship practices on the Central California Coast. More than a decade of ecologically oriented archaeology has been carried out by teams composed of Amah Mutsun Tribal Band members and UC Berkeley researchers. This work has now branched out into applied efforts, including the development of an integrative cultural landscape survey methodology and the on-going restoration of coastal grasslands. The low impact, but fine-grained eco-archaeology has provided critical information to help guide Amah Mutsun’s ecological restoration program, the planning of cultural burns, and cultural resource management carried out through the participation and perspectives of the Tribe. While previous eco-archaeological research has focused primarily on coastal sites and the revitalization of grasslands, the recent eco-archaeological efforts presented here emphasize learning more about how Native people used natural resources and employed cultural burning at interior sites in oak woodlands.