Spatiotemporal distribution of Holocene populations in North America.
As the Cordilleran and Laurentide Ice Sheets retreated, North America was colonized by human populations; however, the spatial patterns of subsequent population growth are unclear. Temporal frequency distributions of aggregated radiocarbon ((14)C) dates are used as a proxy of population size and can be used to track this expansion. The Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database contains more than 35,000 (14)C dates and is used in this study to map the spatiotemporal demographic changes of Holocene populations in North America at a continental scale for the past 13,000 y. We use the kernel method, which converts the spatial distribution of (14)C dates into estimates of population density at 500-y intervals. The resulting maps reveal temporally distinct, dynamic patterns associated with paleodemographic trends that correspond well to genetic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric evidence of human occupation. These results have implications for hypothesizing and testing migration routes into and across North America as well as the relative influence of North American populations on the evolution of the North American ecosystem.
Laboratory for Paleoclimatology and Climatology, Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5; mchap036@uottawa.ca.
Michelle A
MA
Chaput
Institute of Stochastics, Ulm University, D-89069 Ulm, Germany;
Björn
B
Kriesche
Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, QC, Canada K1A 0M8;
Matthew
M
Betts
Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z1;
Andrew
A
Martindale
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5.
Rafal
R
Kulik
Institute of Stochastics, Ulm University, D-89069 Ulm, Germany;
Volker
V
Schmidt
Laboratory for Paleoclimatology and Climatology, Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5;
Konrad
K
Gajewski
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D003710:Demography; D017753:Ecosystem; D049690:History, Ancient; D063426:Human Migration / Q000266:history*; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009656:North America; D010163:Paleontology / Q000379:methods*
D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes
Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database; Holocene; North America; paleodemography; paleoecology