LAY OF THE LAND

Archaeology and Conservation Management

Across America, ecologists, wildlife managers, and conservationists are working to restore native species and native habitats to areas that have been heavily altered by humans. Hundreds of land trusts as well as governmental organizations are hard at work trying to recover some of America that has been damaged or lost. So how do they know what plants and animals were there prior to being disrupted by humans or changed by environmental forces like climate?

In this issue of American Archaeology (see “Where the Prehistoric Buffalo Roamed,” page 39), we examine the role of archaeology in recreating the past ecosystems of America. For the last 50 years, archaeologists have been recovering plant and animal remains from ancient sites dating back more than 10,000 years. This data can then be used to re-create the ecosystem over a long course of time and tell us what plants and animals were present in a particular time period. Using this evidence, conservationists can intelligently plan restoration projects with a high degree of accuracy.

For example, when the National Park Service studied the issue of restoring wolves to Yellowstone National Park, the archaeological record proved beyond a doubt that wolves were there for thousands of years. The archaeological record can re-create the ecosystems of Eastern rivers, telling us, for example, which mussels (now long gone) were present over time. This in turn can tell us what the river was like—warm, muddy, slow moving, etc.

This is a great opportunity for archaeologists and conservationists to join forces to better understand past environments and restore some of them for public enjoyment.

Mark Michel, President