Description
How humans adapt to life in an area at risk of natural disasters is an intriguing study for the social sciences. On this volume, experts from a few disciplines explore the adaptation process of prehistoric societies within the volcanic Arenal region of Costa Rica from about 2000 BC to the Spanish Conquest at about AD 1500.
The data On this volume come from a survey of the region conducted with the recent remote sensing technology. Sheets and his coauthors have compiled a detailed record of human settlements within the area, including dozens of archaeological sites and a network of prehistoric footpaths that reveals patterns of shuttle and communication around the region. The Arenal peoples prospered of their precarious environment it appears by making the most of food and lithic resources, keeping population levels low, and avoiding environmental degradation. These findings will interest a wide interdisciplinary audience in anthropology and archaeology, earth sciences, technology, geography, and human ecology.