Historical tropical forest reliance amongst the Wanniyaleeto (Vedda) of Sri Lanka: an isotopic perspective

Journal article

In 1991 it was argued in Human Ecology that tropical rainforests could not support long-term human foraging in the absence of agriculture. Part of this thesis was based on the fact that supposedly isolated ‘forest’ foragers, such as the Wanniyalaeto (or Vedda) peoples of Sri Lanka, could be demonstrated to be enmeshed within historical trade networks and rely on crops as part of their overall subsistence. Yet, in that edition, as well as in the years that followed, ethnographic and archaeological evidence, including from Sri Lanka itself, have countered this proposition, demonstrating the occupation and exploitation of tropical rainforest environments back to 38,000 years ago (ka) in this part of the world. However, archaeological and ethnohistorical research has yet to quantify the overall reliance of human foragers on tropical rainforest resources through time. Here, we report stable carbon and oxygen isotope data from historical Wanniyalaeto individuals from Sri Lanka, in full collaboration with the present-day members of this group. The data suggest that, while a number of individuals made use of agricultural resources in the recent past, others subsisted primarily on tropical forest resources as late as the 1800s.

Authors: Roberts, P; Gillingwater, T; Lahr, M; Lee-Thorp, J; MacCullum, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: Human Ecology
• Volume: 46
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 435–444
• Publication date: 2018-04-24
• Acceptance date: 2018-04-05
• DOI: 10.1007/s10745-018-9997-7
• EISSN: 1572-9915
• ISSN: 0300-7839
• Keywords: tropical rainforest; hunter-gatherers; stable light isotopes; indigenous peoples