Prehistoric marine mammal hunting in context

Two western North American examples

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4621256
AutoresRoger H Colten (0000-0001-7769-2269, Yale University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2002
Volumen12
Número1
Páginas12-22
Fecha de publicación2002-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.609
OpenAlexW2059983357
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas24
Referencias citadas5

The analysis of a particular type of fauna, such as marine mammals, is best understood when all categories of fauna represented are studied. Detailed analysis of a portion of an assemblage, while interesting, can contribute to misleading interpretations of prehistoric human behaviour. Faunal assemblages from coastal shell middens in southern California and Oregon provide examples of the analysis of marine mammals and their relative importance in prehistoric subsistence, economy, and culture change. While marine mammals were important for subsistence and comprise a high proportion of the bones identifiable to the species level in these assemblages, these animals were less important than fish and shellfish in the diet and probably played a limited role in culture change in these regions. Previous studies that suggest a central role for marine mammals in cultural evolution in western North America provide minimal information on other fauna, and use limited analytical methods. Quantification methods that require species level identification (such as minimum number of individuals [MNI]) can exclude much of the faunal data available from dense coastal middens, and may over emphasize some portions of the assemblage, notably large mammals. Analysis at taxonomic levels higher than species and use of several quantification techniques, including meat weight estimates, may help alleviate some of these methodological problems and lead to a better understanding of the role of marine mammals in prehistoric economies. Copyright (c) 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeology · Assemblage (archaeology · Biology · Context (archaeology · Fauna · Faunal assemblage · Geography · Mammal · Marine conservation · Marine mammal · Prehistory · Subsistence agriculture · Taphonomy · Zooarchaeology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Marine animal studies overview · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Ecology