Patrick M. Lubinski

EVIDENCE FOR LOCAL FISH CATCH IN ZOOARCHAEOLOGY

Abstract Fish bones at archaeological sites may be used to address anthropological questions about past fishing practices and trade, as well as biological questions about past species distributions. In both cases, it is important to distinguish fish caught locally from those transported longer distances to the disposal site. The necessary standard of proof may vary by the geographic scale of the study and proximity to fish habitat, but multiple lines of evidence should be brought to bear, such as regional ethnography or oral history, fishing artifacts, available local habitat, skeletal parts frequencies, and bone chemistry. An example from the American Pacific Northwest demonstrates the complexity of determining catch location. The question at the Grissom site was whether the bones could demonstrate past salmonid and other fish occurrence in the adjacent Caribou Creek. Of seven fish species identified, three species were interpreted as local catch, one as local but indicating a change in range, and three as equivocal.

Prehistoric pronghorn hunting in Southwest Wyoming.

Abstract In the Wyoming Basin of southwest Wyoming, there are more pronghorn-dominated bone assemblages and possible communal kill sites than anywhere else in North America. Ten faunal assemblages in the region are dominated by pronghorn bones (>60% of identified specimens) and six assemblages possess at least six individuals each. Two of these sites have at least 26 individuals each, and one has at least 212 animals. Three additional sites retain possible structural remnants of pronghorn traps. Based on an evaluation of 93 radiocarbon-dated regional faunal assemblages, it is clear that pronghorn were used commonly, but in low numbers, throughout prehistory. However; there was a significant shift in pronghorn hunting about 700 years ago, including an increase in communal hunts and in pronghorndominated bone assemblages.

An Introduction to Pronghorn Biology, Ethnography and Archaeology

Abstract Commonly called “antelope” in North America, biologists normally prefer to call this animal the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). Pronghorn are animals of the open plains and have adapted , to this environment with excellent eyesight, extraordinary speed, and a well-developed ability to broad-jump. Hunters of the past and present have exploited several aspects of pronghorn behavior, particularly their curiosity, reluctance to jump vertically, and predictable movements. Pronghorn were a significant food resource for native peoples across western North America, where they were hunted by a variety of methods, including communal drives of herds into corrals. Archaeological evidence for prehistoric pronghorn hunting is widespread, but evidence for large communal drives akin to those used for bison on the Great Plains is limited.

Ceramics from the firehole basin site and firehole phase in the wyoming basin

Abstract The Firehole Basin site (48SW1217), excavated in 1976 and 1977, is the type site for the Firehole phase proposed by Metcalf for the Wyoming Basin of central and western Wyoming. Given the dearth of excavated sites for the period from 700-300 B.P, and dated ceramics in Wyoming Basin in general, the Firehole Basin assemblage is an important indicator of material culture in this time period, but the artifacts have never been analyzed or reported in detail. Most researchers have characterized the Firehole Basin ceramics as Intermountain ware, but the ceramics have few affinities with this type, and this label should not be applied. Likewise, the Firehole Basin ceramics do not fit the definition of Boars Tusk Gray ware, a proposed southwest Wyoming type. The closest stylistic and technological affinities may be with Uncompahgre Brown ware or the recently proposed Waltman Brown ware.

Rabbit Hunting and Bone Bead Production at a Late Prehistoric Camp in the Wyoming Basin

Rabbit bones are common in sites of the Rocky Mountain Wyoming Basin, occurring in 85% of 111 reported faunal assemblages. They also dominate identified bones at more sites than any other taxon. Nonetheless, sites with large rabbit assemblages are rare. The Raptor site stands out in the region for its large number of rabbit bones as well as fragments of bone bead production waste. Excavations at this single component site dating about 1300-1200 RCYBP yielded 12,727 faunal specimens, principally rabbit or rabbit-sized bone fragments, including a minimum of 65 individual cottontail rabbits. The worked bone assemblage includes 108 rabbit and rabbit-sized specimens of bead production waste, primarily articular ends of tibiae, humeri, and metapodials exhibiting a transverse cut made by the “groove and snap” technique. The objective of the production appears to have been tubular beads 10-45 mm long. Similar bone bead production waste has rarely been found at other sites in the Intermountain West.

Prehistoric Fishing in the Middle Rocky Mountains

Abstract Archaeological evidence for fishing continues to be rare in the Middle Rocky Mountain region despite numerous excavations in recent years. Regional fish assemblages are few, stone netsinkers rare, and other fishing artifacts virtually unknown. The paucity of fish remains may be the result of recovery methods or excavation location bias, but recent investigations along the Green River demonstrate a terrestrial subsistence focus even along major drainages. This stands in marked contrast with Reservation-era ethnographies that describe the importance offish and other riverine resources

Comments on Evidence for Hunting of Pronghorn Herds in Prehistory

Abstract An article by Lyman (2007) in this journal provided an excellent summary of the Holocene paleozoological record of pronghorn in eastern Washington, but the discussion of hunting of herds and specifically of communal hunting prior to the written record does not capture the complexity of this issue. A bone assemblage numerically dominated by pronghorn does not alone provide adequate evidence for hunting herds of multiple animals. There needs to be a convergence of multiple lines of evidence, including indications of human-caused mortality, a single episode of bone deposition, and a single mortality event.

Bison Remains from ∼14,000 14C yr BP at the Wenas Creek Mammoth Site in Washington State

Bison remains from the Wenas Creek Mammoth site in central Washington state consist of 21 elements, comprising a near-complete left hindlimb and partial lumbar-sacral vertebral column. The remains are dated ∼14,000 14C yr BP, a time with a noted paucity of bison specimens in the paleontological record of the region. Intermingled with mammoth remains in a mixed bonebed, the specimens show broad similarities to Bison antiquus at Rancho La Brea.