Volcanic Activity and Human Ecology

1st Edition - December 28, 1979
Editors: Payson D. Sheets, Donald K. Grayson
Language: English
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 6 3 1 8 - 2

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… Read more

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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.

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