Kenneth W. Gobalet

Archaeological Perspectives on Native American Fisheries of California, with Emphasis on Steelhead and Salmon

Abstract The archaeological record of California was surveyed to gain an understanding of Native American fisheries and to locate the prehistoric distributions of freshwater and anadromous fishes. Over 152,000 piscine elements were added to prior totals. On San Francisco Bay, important prehistoric intertidal fisheries were especially well documented for bat rays Myliobatis californica, sturgeons Acipenser spp., Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, clupeids, and atherinopsids. The same sites also indicate the former presence of various freshwater species, including steelhead O. mykiss and coho salmon O. kisutch, in tributary streams from which they were extirpated prior to modern surveys. Slow-moving waters of the Central Valley were heavily exploited, with most sites dominated by Sacramento perch Archoplites interruptus, thicktail chub Gila crassicauda, Sacramento suckers Catostomus occidentalis, Sacramento blackfish Orthodon microlepidotus, hitch Lavinia exilicauda, and tule perch Hysterocarpus trask...

Fossil Razorback Sucker (Pisces: Catostomidae, Xyrauchen texanus) from Southeastern California

Analysis of a nearly complete fossil sucker (SBCM A768-1) from the Anza Borrego desert indicates that it is a razorback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus (Abbott). The age of the fossil is probably Pliocene making it the oldest Xyrauchen sample known and extends the lineage back more than five million years. Meristic counts are as follows: 16 dorsal fin rays and pterygiophores; more than nine pectoral fin rays; at least eight pelvic fin rays; seven anal pterygiophores; and about 42 post-Weberian vertebrae with a total of 46. The total length is approximately 440 mm and the standard length is 365 mm. Sixteen dorsal fin rays is at the upper end of the range for the species, and the vertebral count is one below comparative materials. Measurements of the diagnostic predorsal hump suggest that this prominent feature is somewhat exaggerated in contrast with comparative materials and indicates that the specimen may be a male.

THE MORRO BAY FAUNA: EVIDENCE FOR A MEDIEVAL DROUGHTS REFUGIUM ON THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST

A robust collection of mammal, bird, fish, and shellfish remains from an 8,000-year residential sequence at Morro Bay, a small, isolated estuary on the central California coast, shows a strong focus on marine species during the Middle-Late Transition cultural phase (950–700 cal B.P.), which largely coincides with the Medieval Climatic Anomaly (MCA). Previous studies have provided modest evidence for increased fishing and rabbit hunting during the MCA in adjacent regions, but the Morro Bay findings suggest a distinctive marine-focused subsistence refugium during the period of drought. Specifically, the sequence shows striking all-time peaks in marine and estuarine birds, fish NISP/m3, and fish/deer + rabbits during the MCA. Heavy exploitation of fish, aquatic birds, rabbits, and shellfish suggests that the bow and arrow, which seems to have arrived in the area at this time, had little impact on local subsistence strategies. La secuencia residencial de unos 8,000 años de duración procedente de Morro Bay (un pequeño estuario aislado en la costa central de California, Estados Unidos) está compuesta por un gran conjunto faunístico que incluye restos de mamíferos, aves, peces y mariscos. Dicho conjunto faunístico indica una fuerte dependencia de las especies marinas durante la fase cultural de la Transición Media-Tardía (950–700 cal a.P.), la cual coincide plenamente con la anomalía climática medieval (MCA). Algunos estudios previos han mostrado modestas evidencias sobre el incremento de la pesca y la caza de lepóridos durante la MCA en las regiones adyacentes. Sin embargo, en Morro Bay los hallazgos sugieren la presencia de un refugio basado en los recursos marinos a nivel de subsistencia durante el periodo de sequía. Específicamente, la secuencia muestra unos picos nunca antes vistos en el número de especímenes identificados (NISP) por metro cúbico de restos de aves marinas y de estuario, mariscos y peces en proporción a la cantidad de cérvidos y lepóridos durante el MCA. La intensa explotación de la pesca, las aves acuáticas, los lepóridos y los mariscos sugieren que la llegada del arco y la flecha, coincidente con el mismo periodo, tuvo un impacto reducido en las estrategias de subsistencia locales.