Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology

Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology deals with dating, chronology, stratigraphy, volcanic activity, and with the impacts of volcanism on animals, plants, human populations, and the environment. Some of the chapters explain how such findings must be weighed against other causes that influence human behavior and survival, such as factors of social customs, climatic change, shifting biogeographic patterns, disease, and the ability to adapt. Each of the chapters that assess the possible human response to volcanism does so by searching for multiple explanations of the archaeological record, avoiding the simple argument that people were dramatically and inevitably overcome by catastrophic geologic events.
The book begins with discussions of volcanism as seen by geologists and pedologists. These include s a general overview of volcanoes and volcanism; a review of the production, dispersal, and properties of tephra and of the geologic methods used to study tephra; and the nature of volcanic soils and their economic impact. Subsequent chapters use the geologic and modern records to examine volcanoes as hazards to people. The final series of papers deals with the interrelationships between volcanism and human occupations as seen through the archaeological, paleobotanical, and paleozoological records.

Contenu

List of Contributors
Foreword
1 Introduction
The Study of Natural Disasters
Volcanic Phenomena
The Study of Modern Volcanic Hazards and Disasters
An Overview of the Contributions
References
2 Volcanoes and Their Activity
Introduction
What is a Volcano?
Products of Volcanoes
Cones, Craters, and Caldera
Types of Volcanic Eruptions
Distribution and Geologic Relationships of Volcanoes
References
3 Geologic Methods in Studies of Quaternary Tephra
Introduction
Production and Dispersal of Tephra
Properties of Tephra
Discrimination among Tephras
Summary
References
4 Soils Derived from Tephra
Introduction
Geographical Distribution
Morphology
Chemical and Physical Properties
Soil Genesis and Weathering
Soil Classification
Soil Fertility
Land Use
References
5 On the Damage Caused by Volcanic Eruptions with Special Reference to Tephra and Gases
The Ranges of Volcanic Damage
Tephra Fall
Volcanic Gases
The Lakagigar Eruption of 1783
References
6 Volcanoes as Hazard: an Overview
Introduction
Three Volcanic Hazard Situations in the United States
Risk Assessment of Volcanic Hazard
Volcanic Hazard Identification
Risk Estimation
Social Evaluation
Summary and Conclusion: Toward a More Balanced Approach to Volcanic Hazard
References
7 Volcanic-Hazards Studies in the Cascade Range of the Western United States
Introduction
Method of Volcanic-Hazards Assessments
Recent Eruptive Histories of Five Cascade Volcanoes
Exan1ples of Volcanic-Hazards Assessments
Discussion
References
8 Contemporary Responses to Volcanism: Case Studies from the Cascades and Hawaii
Mount Baker Experience
Hawaiian Experience
Summary Comment
References
9 Effects of the Eruption of Parícutin Volcano on Landforms, Vegetation, and Human Occupancy
Introduction
Summary History of the Parícutin Eruption
Review of Literature Dealing with Parícutin
Pre-Eruption Settlement and Economy
Impact of Airborne and Water-Transported Ash on the Rural Economy from 1943 to 1945
Changes in Human Settlement Caused by Ashfall and Lava Invasion
Changes in Drainage and Groundwater Caused by the Lava Field
Ash Deposition and Removal up to 1965
Pre-Eruption Vegetation
Vegetation Destruction and Recovery
Recovery of Grazing following Return of Vegetation
Recovery of Agriculture
Posteruption Forestry Activities
Summary and Conclusion
References
10 Impact of Parícutin on Five Communities
Community Life before the Volcano
The Time of the Eruptions
Community Life after the Eruptions
The Parícutin Eruption as a Hazard Event
Discussion and Conclusions
References
11 The Significance of Volcanism in the Prehistory of Subarctic Northwest North America
Introduction
History of Research
General Characteristics and Consequences of Alaskan Volcanism
Volcanism in the Boreal Interior: the White River Ash
Volcanism in a Mixed Terrestrial and Marine Economic Setting: the Western Alaska Peninsula
Volcanism in a Maritime Zone: the Eastern Aleutians
Summary
Suggestions for Further Work in the Subarctic
References
12 People and Pumice on the Alaska Peninsula
The Ashes and Their Recognition
The Human Impact of the Eruptions
Summary Conclusions
References
13 Pollen Influx and the Deposition of Mazama and Glacier Peak Tephra
Introduction
Pollen Influx
Methods
Glacier Peak Ashfalls
Mazama Ashfalls
Discussion and Conclusion
References
14 Mount Mazama, Climatic Change, and Fort Rock Basin Archaeofaunas
The Fort Rock Basin
The Connley Caves Archaeofaunas
Paleoenvironmental Overview
Conclusions
References
15 Sunset Crater and the Sinagua: a New Interpretation
Introduction
The Pre-Eruptive Cultural Pattern
The Eruptions of Sunset Crater
Influx of Migrant Populations
Population Increase
Summary
References
16 Comparative Effects of Climatic Change, Cultural Impact, and Volcanism in the Paleoecology of Flagstaff, Arizona, A.D. 900-1300
Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion
Summary and Conclusions
References
17 Environmental and Cultural Effects of the Ilopango Eruption in Central America
Introduction
Climate and Flora of El Salvador
Pre-Columbian Subsistence and Export Agriculture
The Ilopango Eruption and the Southeast Maya Highlands
Possible Regional Repercussions of the Ilopango Eruption
Summary
References
18 The Eruption of Thera and Minoan Crete
Thera
Akrotiri
Crete
The Chronological Problem
The Effects in Crete and beyond
Lost Atlantis?
Conclusion
References
19 Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, A.D. 79
Pompeii before A.D. 79
The Eruption of A.D. 79
After the Eruption of A.D. 79
Ancient Authors
References
20 Volcanic Disasters and the Archaeological Record
Human Ecology, Hazards, and Disasters
Results of Hazard Research
Past Volcanism and the Archaeological Record
References
Subject Index