Explaining prehistoric variation in the abundance of large prey: A zooarchaeological analysis of deer and rabbit hunting along the Pecho Coast of Central California

Three main hypotheses are commonly employed to explain diachronic variation in the relative abundance of remains of large terrestrial herbivores: (1) large prey populations decline as a function of anthropogenic overexploitation; (2) large prey tends to increase as a result of increasing social payoffs; and (3) proportions of large terrestrial prey are dependent on stochastic fluctuations in climate. This paper tests predictions derived from these three hypotheses through a zooarchaeological analysis of eleven temporal components from three sites on central California’s Pecho Coast. Specifically, we examine the trade-offs between hunting rabbits (Sylvilagus spp.) and deer (Odocoileus hemionus) using models derived from human behavioral ecology. The results show that foragers exploited a robust population of deer throughout most of the Holocene, only doing otherwise during periods associated with climatic trends unfavorable to larger herbivores. The most recent component (Late Prehistoric/Contact era) shows modest evidence of localized resource depression and perhaps greater social benefits from hunting larger prey; we suggest that these final changes resulted from the introduction of bow and arrow technology. Overall, results suggest that along central California’s Pecho Coast, density independent factors described as climatically-mediated prey choice best predict changes in the relative abundance of large terrestrial herbivores through the Holocene.     

Traditional pig herding practices in southwest Iberia: Questions of scale and zooarchaeological implications

Archaeological interpretations are interwoven with analogical reasoning. This paper presents a large volume of ethnographic data on traditional pig husbandry in modern Iberia and discusses their zooarchaeological importance. Europe-based ethnoarchaeological studies on traditional pig husbandry (e.g., in Sardinia/Corsica and Greece) have only recently made their appearance and have been proved environmentally and geographically more relevant than similar studies carried out in Asia. This paper presents archaeologically relevant data on a great variety of themes such as pig morphology, adaptation in and exploitation of environment, herd size and composition, the relations between wild and domestic populations, castration, breeding, genetic diversity, slaughtering practices, age-at-death, home range, control and movements, diet, weight, agricultural damage and products. The results show that traditional systems of animal husbandry do survive in Europe and their study widens and improves our interpretative framework. This Iberian-based study showed that domestic pig morphology is the combined result of the breeder’s selection and the pig’s adaptation to a given environment and husbandry system. Moreover, scale is a crucial factor significantly affecting all other aspects of a husbandry system.     

Small prey hunting technology and zooarchaeological measures of taxonomic diversity and abundance: Ethnoarchaeological evidence from Central African forest foragers

Archaeological analyses of faunal assemblages often rely on rationale derived from the prey choice model to explain temporal and spatial changes in taxonomic measures of diversity and/or abundances. In this paper, we present analyses of ethnoarchaeological observations and bone assemblages created by Central African Bofi and Aka forest foragers which show that different small prey hunting technologies target specific suites of prey and that hunters vary their technological choice depending on their foraging goals. Analysis of ethnoarchaeological bone assemblages produced by the Bofi and Aka shows that variability in target prey can create spatially distinct, but contemporaneous, faunal assemblages with different diversity values and abundance indices. These data reveal important variation in how individuals within a contemporary human population rank prey and challenge current assumptions about the meaning of diversity and abundances measures in archaeological contexts. We argue that the use of diversity and abundance indices can obscure important intrasite variability in prehistoric foraging effort and suggest strategies that might enhance current techniques.     

Historical ecology of late Holocene sea otters (Enhydra lutris) from northern British Columbia: isotopic and zooarchaeological perspectives

We examined the isotopic composition (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of sea otter (Enhydra lutris) bone collagen from ten late Holocene (ca. 5200 years BP–AD 1900) archaeological sites in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada. Because sea otters are now extinct from much of this region and have not fully recolonized their former range (e.g. Haida Gwaii and most of northern BC) these data represent an important first step towards better understanding sea otter foraging ecology in BC. The isotopic data suggest a diet composed primarily of benthic invertebrates, with a very low reliance on epibenthic fish. There is very low isotopic and thus inter-individual dietary variability in Holocene BC sea otters during the late Holocene. Furthermore, zooarchaeological abundance data suggest that otters represented a widespread and significant focus of aboriginal hunting practices on the northern BC coast during the mid- to late-Holocene. The consistent reliance on a small number of low-trophic level prey and limited dietary variability in Holocene BC sea otters may reflect top-down impacts on otter populations by aboriginal peoples. As part of our assessment of sea otter diet, we review trophic discrimination factors (Δ¹³C and Δ¹⁵N) for bone collagen from published literature and find marked variability, with mean values of +3.7 ± 1.6 for Δ¹³C (n = 21) and +3.6 ± 1.3 for Δ¹⁵N (n = 15).     

Gendered divisions of labour in urban crop cultivation in a Kenyan town: implications for livelihood outcomes

This article highlights the labour contributions of men and women in urban crop cultivation in Eldoret, Kenya. Divisions of labour in urban gardening were mediated by social constructs of masculinity and femininity, gender differentials in entitlements and farming knowledge and intra-household power relations. The resulting labour distribution patterns manifested itself in the type of crops men and women took responsibility for, the specific agricultural tasks they performed and the spatial segregation of men's and women's activities and tasks. Traditional gender-related labour boundaries were also challenged and reworked. With regard to livelihood outcomes, women's labour contributed more directly to household food security, although men were increasingly getting involved in subsistence farming, which held prospects for improved productivity and therefore enhanced household food security.