Late Holocene Coastal Intensification, Mass Harvested Fish, and the Historical Ecology of Marine Estuaries: The view from Manila (CA-HUM-321), a Wiyot Site on Humboldt Bay, Northwestern Alta California. (original) (raw)
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2015
Author(s): Tushingham, Shannon; Christiansen, Colin | Abstract: This paper presents a synthesis of fish-bone data from archaeological sites located in southwestern Oregon and northwestern California to further a better understanding of indigenous fishery use during the Late Holocene. The data reveal a focus on mass-harvested smelt (osmerids) at coastal sites in Humboldt Bay and Del Norte County. Other sites reveal an emphasis on small to medium intertidal fish (e.g., pricklebacks, greenling, rockfish, sculpin) and surfperch, likely taken on an encounter basis. We examine the archaeology of fish and the development of mass-harvest techniques, technology, and storage. We also address the importance of fine-fraction sampling as a means of better understanding Late Holocene coastal subsistence and socio-economic developments in the region.
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2016
Decades of systematic archaeological investigations highlight the importance of fish and fishing for prehistoric people along the central coast of California, but to date temporal and spatial trends remain unsynthesized. An evaluation of 202,177 fish remains from 86 sites on the central coast of California yielded a sample of 75,532 NISP from temporally and methodologically controlled contexts. Seventynine temporal components demonstrate a 10,000-year history of fishing within estuaries, along the open rocky coast, and on the Monterey Peninsula. Fishes within six taxa dominate the record throughout including New World silversides, small surfperches, and members of the herring family which almost certainly were caught with nets, and rockfish and cabezon which were amenable to individual hook and line capture. The persistent dominance of these fishes suggests that nets and hooks/gorges were employed throughout the sequence along with watercraft. Only very modest changes are apparent between 10,000 and 300 years ago, suggesting continuous harvest of a relatively productive, stable resource that was too abundant to be seriously impacted by pre-European harvesting practices. There is no evidence for gradual or incremental intensification in fishing, rather there are three intervals of change in fish remains and inferred fishing practices that reflect changes in human population and/or environment. There is no compelling evidence for depression of the prehistoric fishery and the record seems to reflect epiphenomenal sustainability related to low human populations and a highly productive, upwelling-fueled, under-exploited fishery. Comparison of the prehistoric record with enormous yields recorded historically further supports this conclusion. .
Prehistoric Native American fisheries of the central California coast
Transactions of the American Fisheries …, 1995
Over 77,000 fish remains from 51 archaeological sites on the central California coast between San Mateo and San Luis Obispo counties, deposited between 6200 B.C. and A.D. 1830, were studied to assess prehistoric species distribution, diversity, and Native American fisheries. Remains were obtained from exposed rocky coastal sites, lagoon-estuaries at Elkhorn Slough and Morro Bay, and the freshwater drainages of the Pajaro and Salinas rivers. On the rocky coast, 58.4% of the remains represented large inshore species, 26.9% were small schooling species, and 11.8% were surfperches (family Embiotocidae). Large inshore species included rockfishes Sebastes spp., lingcod Ophiodon elongatus, kelp greenling Hexagrammos deeagrammus, cabezon Seor paenichlhys marmoratus, and monkeyface prickleback Cebidichthys violaeeus. At Elkhorn Slough and Morro Bay, about half of the remains of marine species represented moderately small schooling species, includi ng Pacific herring Clupea pallasi, Pacific sardine Sardinops sagax, northern anchovy Engraulis mordax, topsmelt Atherinops afjinis, jacksmelt Atherinopsis ea/ifomiensis, and California grunion Leuresthes tenuis. Surfperches also were common, and specialized local fisheries for flounders or sharks and rays were suggested. Aquatic conditions at Elkhorn Slough were dra matically different from those that exist today. Sites on Elkhorn Slough had both marine and freshwater fishes.~Lnd showed site occupation when the Salinas River entered the slough and did not follow its present course into Monterey Bay. Sacramento perch Arehoplites interruptus was the most abundant species found at freshwater sites, and remains of extinct thicktail chub Gila crassicauda confirm its presence in the Pajaro and Salinas rivers. Surprisingly rare are the remains of steelhead (the anadl'Omous form of rainbow trout) Oncorhynchus mykiss. As is the case today, Pacific salmon were apparently absent from central coast streams south of the San Lorenzo River. Presumably the remains reflect local species availability, Acipenser medirostris A. transmolllllllllS Clupeldae Clupea pallasi Sardinops sagax Ellgraulis l110rdax Cyprinidae Gila crassicauda Lavinia exilicauda Mylophal'Odoll cO/lOcephalus Orthodoll microlepidotus Pogollichth)'s macrolepidotus Ptychochei/us gralldis' Carostomus occidemaUs Osmeridae Spirincllll" sta rksi Salmonidae Oncorhyllchlls mykiss O. ts"mv)'tscha Mel'iucdLls productus Microgadus proximlls Chi/ora taylori Porichthys lIl)'ri"ster P. no/atus GoMeso.>! maealldricus Atherinidae AtheritlOps affillis Atherinopsis califomfensis Leuresthes tent/is
Middle Holocene fishing and maritime adaptations at CA-SNI-161, San Nicolas island, California
Journal of California and Great …, 1999
OR 97403-1218. Along the southern Califomia coast, the development of intensive fishing has long been considered to be a relatively recent phenomenon. In this article, we present dietary reconstructions from CA-SNI-161, a multicomponent San Nicolas Island archaeological site occupied between about 5,400 and 2,900 years ago. We focus on the contribution of edible meat and animal protein to the diet of the islanders and examine dietary changes through time. Our dietary reconstructions suggest that fish and shellfish provided most of the meat and protein consumed at the site. Birds were of minor dietary significance and sea mammals of intermediate importance. The data suggest that at some localities along the southem Califomia coast, relatively intensive fishing developed earlier than previously believed.
Seasonal stability in Late Holocene shellfish harvesting on the central California coast
2008
Oxygen isotope determinations from 92 California mussel (Mytilus californianus) shells from ten archaeological sites in central coastal California show relatively stable seasonal harvesting patterns between 3600 CAL BP and historic contact (AD 1769). Coastal occupants harvested mussels nearly yearround and seem to have occupied individual residential bases throughout the seasonal cycle. Interior groups returned with mussels from the coast mostly in the spring and early summer, but almost never in the late summer/early fall when nut crops were harvested. These findings suggest two interdependent groups with distinct seasonal settlement strategies: inland people, reliant on acorns and other nut crops harvested in the fall, and coastal inhabitants who were less involved with acorns. This pattern is sup ported by accounts recorded by the first Spanish explorers in AD 1769. While some interior groups may have been seasonally migrating ''collectors,'' coastal populations were less mobile, inhabiting individual residential sites throughout the year, albeit not necessarily on a permanent basis. These findings high light the strong influence of coastal environments and resources on hunter-gatherer mobility.
Prehistoric Fisheries of Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo County, California
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 2016
Author(s): Jones, Terry L.; Gobalet, Kenneth W.; Mikkelsen, Patricia; Hadick, Kacey; Hildebrandt, William R.; Jones, Deborah A. | Abstract: An 8,000-year sequence of sh remains from Morro Bay, a shallow, 8.1km.2 coastal estuary in San Luis Obispo County, has been compiled during recent investigations. The sample, obtained from nine sites and 14 components (total excavation volume=275.86 m.3), includes 19,226 sh elements recovered via 1/8-inch dry-screening and 718 elements from 1/16-inch water-screened columns. The archaeological ndings are generally consistent with species inventories from the 1970s, although northern anchovies are under-represented in the prehistoric record. Remains show a consistent focus on the netting of small schooling shes in the calm backwaters of the bay. A signi cant decrease in bat rays is attributed to a shift in seasonality, although overexploitation cannot be ruled out. Remains show only modest changes between 8,000 and 950 cal B.P., but a dramatic spi...
A Radiocarbon Chronology of Hunter-Gatherer Occupation from Bodega Bay, California, USA
Radiocarbon, 2005
We present a Holocene radiocarbon chronology of hunter-gatherer occupation based on contemporaneous samples of charcoal and Mytilus californianus shell recovered from 7 archaeological sites near Bodega Bay, California, USA. A series of 127 14C ages reveals a chronological sequence that spans from 8940–110 cal BP (1 σ). This sequence serves as a foundation for the interpretation of behavioral change along the northern California coast over the last 9000 yr, including the adaptive strategies used by human foragers to colonize and inhabit coastal areas of this region. These 14C ages will also permit us to explore major dimensions of temporal change in Holocene ocean conditions (via marine reservoir corrections) and their potential effect on the resources available to ancient hunter-gatherers.
Institutionalized differences in social status developed on California’s northern Channel Islands from the Late Middle (A.D. 650-1150) to Late (A.D. 1300-1782) periods. This is associated with the proliferation of sedentary communities along the coasts of these islands and a number of important socioeco- nomic changes, including a greater emphasis on fishing and the production of non-food craft items. These changes were particularly rapid during the Middle to Late Period Transition (MLT; A.D. 1150-1300) and partly attributed to significant environmental change during this interval. Population-resource imbalances caused by decreased marine productivity, drought, or some combination of the two have been suggested as possible environmental triggers for the sociopolitical changes evident in the archaeological record at this time. Shell midden deposits at CA-SRI-15 provide a unique opportunity to test whether elevated sea surface temperature (SST) reduced marine productivity during the MLT and contributed to these population resource imbalances. This is because the site was occupied relatively continuously from the Late Middle Period through the Late Period. Faunal records and associated oxygen isotopic data from the site do not support the hypothesis that increased SST reduced marine productivity during the MLT.
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2002
During the Late Holocene, a number of new technologies (single-piece fishhooks, toggling harpoons, plank canoes, etc.) are thought to have significantly enhanced the fishing capabilities of California coastal peoples. The single-piece fishhook, perhaps the most common of these artifacts, appears to correlate with a regional intensification of marine fishing and a period of increased population growth. Determining the antiquity of the single-piece fishhook has been complicated by a variety of taphonomic and methodological factors. Consequently, age estimates for the initial appearance of these artifacts range from about 5500 to 2500 cal-. To help clarify the chronology of this important artifact type, we had eight of the potentially oldest shell fishhooks in the region AMS radiocarbon dated. These dates indicate that the single-piece shell fishhook appeared throughout the southern and central California Coast by at least 2500 cal-. Our data illustrate the utility of direct AMS dating of individual artifacts as a method of documenting site disturbances (bioturbation, historical land use, etc.) and refining artifact, site, and regional chronologies.
Prehistoric Shellfish Exploitation Around the Goleta Lagoon, California
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 1989
The reconstruction and interpretation of prehistoric subsistence has been a focus of Santa Barbara-area archaeology for many years, and the analysis of faunal remains is an integral part of this research. Shellfish remains are an abundant and visible constituent of local sites. The role of shellfish in subsistence, and their relative contribution to the prehistoric diet, have been topics of recent literature (Erlandson 1988a;. To understand the role of shellfish in the prehistoric diet, it is necessary to document the nature of shellfish remains in archaeological sites.