Ancient California: Reconstructing Lifeways with Behavioral Ecology Models

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Research in California has long been at the forefront in the adaptation of economic and behavioral ecology models for application to the archaeological record. This symposium presents a collection of new investigations of prehistoric foraging populations in California focused on reconstructing patterns of reproduction and population growth, subsistence and intensification, settlement patterns, and the emergence of a monetized economy. Contributors employ a range of models to demonstrate the adaptive flexibility that resulted in unparalleled hunter-gatherer population density and diversity of socio-political complexity in California.