USU archaeologists publish new research on 10,000 years of human energy consumption

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure – at least it is for Utah State University archaeologists studying human energy use 10,000 years ago.

Professors Jacob Freeman, David Byers and Judson Finley collaborated with an international team of scientists to explore whether ancient human societies decline and grow at the same rate. Their report, “Synchronization of Energy Consumption by Human Societies Throughout the Holocene,” was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on Sept. 17.

The research looks at radiocarbon records of areas all around the world to estimate waste production in populations over time. These finds, including charred wood and broken spearheads, are generally considered trash but are valuable to researchers trying to learn about the size of ancient populations, said lead author Freeman.

“Our garbage tells a story about how we live our lives,” he said.

The study considers the concept of synchrony, two societies moving in tandem with each other, especially in their population dynamics. Freeman gives the modern example of national economies around the world rising and falling together.

“We asked how far back societies were dealing with this risk,” Freeman said, referring to the risk of two communities becoming interconnected enough that the decline of one may contribute to the decline of the other. The research shows societies becoming interdependent through interactions like trade and migration as far as 10,000 years back.

Freeman said a lot of the research builds on 50 to 60 years of public archaeology, collected through federal Section 106 laws, a portion of the National Historic Preservation Act.

“We can finally use these datasets and we’re asking questions we didn’t even know we could ask,” Freeman said.

The study is available for online viewing at https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1802859115

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