caa a22 4500 605448590 CHVBK 20210128100137.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150301xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10437-015-9182-y doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10437-015-9182-y Parsons Isabelle Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, 0003, UNISA, Pretoria, South Africa aut Is Niche Construction Theory Relevant to the Proposed Adoption of Domesticates by Hunter-Gatherers in Southern Africa? [Elektronische Daten] [Isabelle Parsons] Potential mechanisms by which domestic animals came to be herded by stone-tool users in southern Africa after 2ka include demic and/or cultural diffusion. Neither theory is unproblematic, but robust archaeological evidence for immigrant stone-tool-using herders in the region continues to be sought. In the meantime, it seems useful to consider how cultural diffusion, or the adoption of herding practices by local hunter-gatherers, might have occurred in theory. It has been suggested that the domestication of plant and animal species by human societies represents prime archaeological evidence of humans enhancing their environment through integrated strategies of ecosystem engineering, or niche construction. This paper suggests that niche construction theory may also shed light on the proposed adoption of domestic species by southern African hunter-gatherers. To do so, it considers evidence for other niche construction activities in the local archaeological and ethnographic records. These activities include the deliberate and controlled burning of vegetation, and landscape modification strategies that limit or control a particular species' movement. Springer Science+Business Media New York, 2015 Niche construction nationallicence Southern Africa nationallicence Domestic animals nationallicence Ceramic final Later Stone Age nationallicence African Archaeological Review Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 32/1(2015-03-01), 35-47 0263-0338 32:1<35 2015 32 10437 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9182-y text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-015-9182-y text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Parsons Isabelle Department of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, 0003, UNISA, Pretoria, South Africa aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- African Archaeological Review Springer US; http://www.springer-ny.com 32/1(2015-03-01), 35-47 0263-0338 32:1<35 2015 32 10437