Apr. 22 Lecture Series: Dr. Albert Fulton

Dr. Albert Fulton from University of Memphis conducting fieldwork.

"An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Emergence of Prehistoric Anthropogenic Ecosystems in Western and Central New York"

Dr. Albert E. Fulton II, PhD

Department of Earth Sciences, University of Memphis

DATE:                Friday, April 22
TIME:                 3:00-4:00pm
LOCATION:      Zoom 

Beyond its centrality to debates on the definition of a global chronostratigraphic geologic unit, the Anthropocene concept has served as a useful theoretical construct with which to assess regional-scale anthropogenic impacts on prehistoric ecological systems through the recognition of earlier “Paleoanthropocene” events predating the onset of modern, industrial, global-scale effects.

Archaeological, paleoecological, and historical ecological datasets from western and central New York State, USA are examined to evaluate the nature, magnitude, and timing of changing Indigenous land-use impacts over the course of the Holocene. Identification of distinct temporal phases characterized by differences in archaeobotanical, paleoecological, geoarchaeological, and paleoclimatic trends are evaluated with reference to emerging and intensifying anthropogenic influences on the regional environment. The implications of a synthetic, interdisciplinary perspective of the region’s archaeological, paleoecological, and historical ecological trajectories to niche construction theory (NCT) and the (Paleo)Anthropocene concept(s) will be discussed.

About the Presenter

Albert E. Fulton II, PhD is an instructor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Memphis. He received his doctorate in 2019 from the Department of Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences at Michigan State University. His research interests are broadly focused on prehistoric Native American-environment interactions within the Northeast and Great Lakes regions of North America. Specializations include Quaternary paleoecology, palynology, paleoclimatology, environmental magnetism, and geoarchaeological applications. He has published peer-reviewed research in journals including Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, The Holocene, Quaternary Research, and Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 

Please contact Tamara Dixon, department adminsitrator, at tmdixon2@buffalo.edu for Zoom information.