PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE UTILITY OF DUNG AS FUEL DURING THE INITIAL OCCUPATION OF BERINGIA, BASED ON ANALOGUES FROM THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

The absence of trees and brush in Beringia prior to ~12,000 RCYBP is often cited as a reason why human foragers could not have entered the New World during or prior to the last glacial maximum. Alternative fuels for cooking and heating are rarely considered, however. Here, we present preliminary data on the use of dung as fuel by Tibetan pastoralists that suggest the lack of wood plants in Beringia presented no obstacle to human occupation. The Tibetan Plateau above ~3000 m is sub-arctic steppe and tundra characterized by a variety of short-grass and herbaceous ecosystems bereft of trees and woody shrubs. Like the Berigian sub-arctic, the plateau is cold and dry, with winter temperatures averaging -10 to -15°C, absolute minimum winter temperatures less than -40°C, average summer temperatures rarely exceeding 10°C, and absolute maximum temperatures typically less than 25°C. Most of the Tibetan Plateau receives less than 400 mm per year, often less than 200 mm, and most of it falls in the summer growing season. Tibetan pastoralists survive on the plateau by collecting dung to fuel cooking and heating fires. The dung of ruminants, principally that of yaks, is preferred, but that of sheep/goats, horses, and camels is also used for specific purposes. We are currently involved in an ethno-archaeological assessment of dung collecting and use among these pastoralists. Preliminary data suggest a single dung forager can collect enough dung in about 40 days to provide fuel sufficient to last a typical family for a year (or an average of less than one hour collecting per day). While we have yet to investigate dung collecting in areas where wild yaks and other large mammal species survive, we are confident, based on data currently in hand, that the large herbivore populations that occupied Beringia produced more than sufficient fuel to supply the needs of human foragers prior to 12,000 RCYBP.