Identification of anthropogenic burning in the paleoecological record of the northern prairies: A new approach

Despite recent interest in the North American fire record, paleoecological evidence for the deliberate burning of grassland by hunter-gatherers has not previously been sought. Through the analysis of grass phytoliths preserved in a sequence of buried soil horizons in the Lauder Sandhills, southwestern Manitoba, Canada, this article reconstructs a local grassland fire record for the past 5,000 years. I propose that an apparent peak in fire frequency shortly after 2,500 (14)C years (B.P.) corresponds to the deliberate burning of prairie by Sonota-Besant (Plains Woodland) hunter-gatherers, rather than climatic "forcing." This practice, which is clearly documented in the historic record, may have functioned as a means of making bison-herd movements more predictable and may have enabled higher human carrying capacities in the Plains Woodland period. This hypothesis is meant to stimulate multidisciplinary discussion on a significant, but neglected, topic.