Effect of Past Ecological and Oceanographic Variability on Shellfish Harvesting and Suitability of Coastal Locations. A Case Study from two Late Holocene (2200-500 cal B.P.) Sites on Santa Cruz Island, California.

Summary

The islands off California have long been recognized for their predictable and abundant shellfish resources, which provided a wealth of food for ancient people. Although fluctuations in the marine environment through time affected resource availability periodically (for example El Nino Southern Oscillation ), the effects were variable on a local scale, resulting in local marine microclimates. California mussel (M. californianus) is the most abundant shellfish species in the archaeological sites along the California coast. Isotopic analysis (δ18O) on archaeological mussel shells were used to reconstruct local sea surface temperature (SST) through the occupation of two Late Holocene (2200-500 cal B.P.) sites on the south and western coast of Santa Cruz Island. Compared with regional paleoceanographic SST records and modern long-term mean SST values, local SST sequences show variable microclimates through time, influencing marine productivity and settlement decisions. Local variability in upwelling patterns provides important insights to interpret stable isotope records obtained from archaeological sites around the Channel Islands. As spatial variability in intertidal ecology and nearshore oceanography is an intrinsic characteristic of coastal environments around the world, it is important to identify and understand the differential effects of local vs regional oceanographic fluctuations.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage