Amira F. Ainis

Expanding the Chronology for the Extinct Giant Island Deer Mouse (Peromyscus nesodytes) on San Miguel Island, California, USA

The translocation and extinction of animals and the role humans played in shaping island ecosystems has become a topic of great interest in island and coastal archaeology (Grayson 2001; Matisoo-Smith 2009; Rick 2012; Rick et al. 2012). On California’s Channel Islands a few species, including the giant island deer mouse (Peromyscus nesodytes), went extinct during the last 13,000 years while humans occupied the northern islands (Figure 1; Rick et al. 2012). This paper presents preliminary results on P. nesodytes that are part of a larger ongoing study investi-

12,000 Years of Human Predation on Black Turban Snails (Chlorostoma funebralis) on Alta California's Northern Channel Islands

Abstract Examining the ecology and archaeology of black turban snails (Chlorostoma [Tegula] funebralis), found along North Americas Pacific Coast from British Columbia to Baja California, we present evidence for 12,000 years of human predation in Northern Channel Island shell middens. Often viewed as evidence for Late Holocene economic intensification along the southern California Coast, we identified black turban middens dated to the terminal Pleistocene, as well as the early, middle, and late Holocene. Despite their small size and lower ranking as a prey species, humans harvested black turban snails because of their abundance, aggregation, and accessibility during daily tidal cycles. Examining 19 discrete archaeological components (with a total MNI of ∼7,800) from San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands, we used a Shell Weight/MNI Index to document fluctuations in the mean size of black turban shells through time, identifying patterns attributed to a combination of environmental and demographic changes, including variation in the intensity of human predation.

Chipped stone crescents from America’s Far West: Descriptive and geochemical analyses from the Northern Great Basin

Chipped stone crescents, Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene artifacts from North America’s Far West, are often found in surficial contexts as isolated finds, with many currently residing in private or museum collections with limited provenience information. Such collections have the potential to reveal metric and morphological data, and contribute to our understanding of the distribution and material source locations for this unique artifact type. We describe 43 chipped stone crescentic artifacts from two collections curated at the University of Oregon’s Museum of Natural and Cultural History. The Calvin Schmidt Collection contains crescents recovered from southeast Oregon and northwest Nevada, and the Alvord Basin Survey Collection contains crescents from southeast Oregon. We provide detailed descriptions, including material type and extensive metrical measurements, to define the shape and form of these crescentic artifacts. Seven obsidian crescents were quantitatively analyzed using x-ray fluorescence to identify their geological sources. We discuss general morphological characteristics of crescents in the region and compare the trace element signatures of the obsidian artifacts to known sources.

A Cache Within a Cache: Description of an Abalone “Treasure-Box” from the CA-SNI-14 Redwood Box Cache, San Nicolas Island, Alta California

Abstract Excavation of a cache feature eroding from a sea cliff on the northwest coast of San Nicolas Island produced two redwood boxes containing more than 200 artifacts of Nicoleño, Native Alaskan, and Euroamerican origin, along with four asphaltum-lined basketry water bottles and other artifacts. An abalone shell “treasure-box” was found inside the western box of the feature that included a large black abalone shell dish containing 20 items and a second black abalone shell that served as a lid. This “cache within a cache” contained two finely crafted eccentric abalone fishhooks, three shell pendants, an abalone nacre spangle, two bird bone pendants, two stone beads, a piece of chlorite displaying striations, two unmodified shells, and seven bifaces made from exotic chert and bottle glass. This article describes the treasure-box and its contents, addressing stylistic and functional attributes and exploring how these items might relate to one another. Similar receptacles from the Channel Islands and southern California coast are also discussed. The contents of the abalone treasure-box represent utilitarian and ornamental items from the rich Nicoleño culture, stowed during the early to mid-nineteenth century, possibly by the famous Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island.