Subsistence patterns of prehistoric coastal California : investigating variations of early maritime adaptation
An expansive spatio-temporal approach is used to pattern variations in exploitation of faunal resources at 14 mainland coastal, island, and pericoastal sites with occupations spanning nearly 10,000 years. These sites are arrayed along 500 miles (6 degrees of latitude) of the Central and Southern California coast. An allometric method for estimating faunal biomass is used along with chronological sequences of abundance indices to explore the nature ofthe initial maritime adaptation to the West Coast ofNorth America and changes to this economic strategy over time. Data reveal that throughout prehistorY, California's coastal hunter-gatherers obtained the majority oftheir animal protein from large quantities ofmarine shellfish while vertebrate taxa played a lesser role in the diet. Unexpectedly, however, consumption ofall types of animal flesh, especially the chiefresource (shellfish), declined severely over time. This suggests that: (1) non-trivial dietary changes were \videspread along the entire coast and persisted throughout the Holocene; and (2) major lifeway adaptations involving lesser use of animal protein became the norm throughout prehistory as coastal settlements grew and populations expanded. Although
Porcasi, Judith F.
Subsistence patterns of prehistoric coastal California : investigating variations of early maritime adaptation. An expansive spatio-temporal approach is used to pattern variations in exploitation of faunal resources at 14 mainland coastal, island, and pericoastal sites with occupations spanning nearly 10,000 years. These sites are arrayed along 500 miles (6 degrees of latitude) of the Central and Southern California coast. An allometric method for estimating faunal biomass is used along with chronological sequences of abundance indices to explore the nature ofthe initial maritime adaptation to the West Coast ofNorth America and changes to this economic strategy over time. Data reveal that throughout prehistorY, California's coastal hunter-gatherers obtained the majority oftheir animal protein from large quantities ofmarine shellfish while vertebrate taxa played a lesser role in the diet. Unexpectedly, however, consumption ofall types of animal flesh, especially the chiefresource (shellfish), declined severely over time. This suggests that: (1) non-trivial dietary changes were \videspread along the entire coast and persisted throughout the Holocene; and (2) major lifeway adaptations involving lesser use of animal protein became the norm throughout prehistory as coastal settlements grew and populations expanded. Although
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