Stable Isotope Evidence of Seasonal Shellfish Harvesting and Consumption in Prehistoric Central California

Summary

Shellfish played an important role in the diet of prehistoric hunter-gatherers of Central California. They were the dominant visible component in the large shellmounds that once lined the San Francisco Bay shoreline. Although Bay shellfish are present at inland sites as well, little is known about the role of shellfish in the diet and lifeways of interior populations that hauled the resource in from the Bay. This study focuses on findings from CA-SCL-330, an inland Late Period site in the Diablo Range excavated by the University of California, Davis Field School in the summer of 2016. By looking at stable oxygen isotopic signatures found in the growth rings of certain mollusk species, we can estimate the season of harvest for shellfish brought to this site. Data on individual diet can further characterize consumption patterns of a marginal resource like shellfish and open pathways of inquiry into broader behavioral and social implications including the division of labor by sex and the emergence of status differentiation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Ancient California: Reconstructing Lifeways with Behavioral Ecology Models

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17023