Rabbits, Pronghorn, Oh Deer! Oh My! A Preliminary Analysis of Subsistence Strategies at Wupatki National Monument, Northern Arizona

Summary

Wupatki National Monument is a Puebloan site located in the Sinagua region of Northern Arizona, featuring an array of wildlife available to past populations for subsistence and technological purposes. Analyzing faunal remains from Colorado Plateau sites is an important part of developing a holistic understanding of the lifeways of agricultural communities in the Southwest. This poster focuses on the zooarchaeological analysis of materials from Wupatki National Monument housed at the Museum of Northern Arizona. By determining taxa present, minimum number of individuals, animal portions utilized, cultural modifications such as butchering, pot polish, and bone tool manufacture, and natural taphonomic signatures, we provide a thorough understanding of animal use through time at the site. We further examine the Garden-Hunting hypothesis and discuss the relative frequencies of Artiodactyls and Lagomorphs in the community’s diet. Our research highlights the importance of zooarchaeology to understanding animal presence at the site and provides discussion on subsistence strategies as it relates to animal resource use in an arid environment.

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): 21824