5 research outputs found
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Middle Holocene Fishing and Maritime Adaptations at CA-SNI-161, San Nicolas Island, California
Along the southern California 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 southern California coast, relatively intensive fishing developed earlier than previously believed
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Radiocarbon Chronology for Corona Del Mar (CA-SBA-54): A Middle Holocene Site on the Goleta Slough, Santa Barbara County, California
The Corona Del Mar site, a subject of archaeological inquiry since at least the 1920s, was fundamental to William Harrison's development of an archaeological sequence for the Santa Barbara Coast. Harrison, a pioneer in radiocarbon dating of California shell middens, excavated 21 test units at CA-SBA-54 but obtained no C14 dates. Here, we report on a suite of C14 dates recently obtained for Harrison's collections and peripheral deposits at CASBA- 54. The radiocarbon chronology suggests that the site contains at least two discrete Middle Holocene components, one dating between about 5900 and 5400 CYBP and another dated to approximately 4800 CYBP. The younger component validates aspects of Harrison's site chronology, but the earlier dates suggest that CA-SBA-54 was occupied contemporaneously and slightly earlier than the Aerophysics site (CA-SBA-53). Our results help contextualize the Corona Del Mar assemblage in relation to other sites in the Santa Barbara Channel area and the southern California Coast
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A Radiocarbon Chronology for the Arozena Site (CA-SBA-141), Eastern Santa Barbara County, California
Located above Rincon Creek on the Santa Barbara coast, CA-SBA-141 produced an artifact assemblage that was important in the development of a cultural historical sequence for the Chumash region (Harrison 1964). This report documents the first radiocarbon dates for Harrison's collections, which suggest that the site was occupied at least twice, once at roughly 7,600 years ago and again around 5,000 years ago. What Harrison interpreted as an intermediate site dating to the Middle Holocene appears to have been a multicomponent site mixed by bioturbation, grading, and agricultural practices
Where were the northern elephant seals? Holocene archaeology and biogeography of \u3cem\u3eMirounga angustirostris\u3c/em\u3e
Driven to the brink of extinction during the nineteenth century commercial fur and oil trade, northern elephant seal (NES, Mirounga angustirostris) populations now exceed 100 000 animals in the northeast Pacific from Alaska to Baja California. Because little is known about the biogeography and ecology of NES prior to the mid-nineteenth century, we synthesize and analyze the occurrence of NES remains in North American archaeological sites. Comparing these archaeological data with modern biogeographical, genetic, and behavioral data, we provide a trans-Holocene perspective on NES distribution and abundance. Compared with other pinnipeds, NES bones are relatively rare throughout the Holocene, even in California where they currently breed in large numbers. Low numbers of NES north of California match contemporary NES distribution, but extremely low occurrences in California suggest their abundance in this area was very different during the Holocene than today. We propose four hypotheses to explain this discrepancy, concluding that ancient human settlement and other activities may have displaced NES from many of their preferred modern habitats during much of the Holocene