Identifying Fremont Large Game Hunting Practices through the Modified General Utility Index and Strontium Isotope Analysis

Summary

The analysis of faunal bones from several Fremont sites have resulted in complications when compared to the Modified General Utility Index (MGUI). In this research, I explore the processing and transportation techniques of Fremont hunters at Wolf Village by comparing skeletal frequencies to the MGUI. Then, I compare these frequencies with results of strontium isotope analysis on small artiodactyl teeth from Wolf Village to determine which species were obtained locally. I also identify the strontium baseline at Wolf Village and five other Fremont sites in order to identify evidence of trade between Fremont communities. The results of this research suggests that the MGUI does not seem appropriate for measuring the utility of animal portions by the Fremont. Reverse utility curves at several Fremont sites suggest that the Fremont were regularly bringing low utility elements back to residential sites at least part of the time. The MGUI can only consider caloric reasons for prehistoric hunters to return to habitation sites with low utility elements. Only when considering the social and economic reasons for transporting so-called low utility elements can archaeologists begin to discover the reasons behind the processing and transportation techniques of Fremont hunters.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22112