Explaining prehistoric variation in the abundance of large prey: A zooarchaeological analysis of deer and rabbit hunting along the Pecho Coast of Central California |
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Authors: | Brian F. Codding Judith F. Porcasi Terry L. Jones |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Anthropology, Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Building 50, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;2. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA;3. Department of Social Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USA |
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Abstract: | 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. |
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Keywords: | Foraging Resource depression Prestige hunting Paleoclimatic variability Human behavioral ecology Zooarchaeology Central California |
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