Testing the Efficacy of Methodologies for the Estimation of Body Size of California Mussel Based on Shell Fragments

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Over the past decades, archaeologists have developed regression formulae to estimate animal body size based on shell fragments. In this study, we tested the efficacy of five different methods by measuring over 1200 mussel (Mytilus californianus) shells excavated from an archaeological site (CA-VEN-395) in the Santa Monica Mountains, located about 9 km from the coast. These formulae are based on a variety of umbo measurements to infer total length and include 1) umbo height; 2) umbo width; 3) umbo length, 4) umbo thickness; and 5) umbo length to inner hinge teeth. The umbo is the thickest and hardiest element of the mussel shell and typically remains intact in most archaeological contexts. Our results suggest that each method has its own set of limitations because of differential growth rates among mussels or allometry, habitat specific conditions like overcrowding, broad oceanographic events, and other ecological and climatic variables. Of these methods, umbo length, and umbo thickness produced the best results, whereas umbo height was the most limited in its application. Methods for the estimation of total shell length needs further research to establish reliable and effective regression formulae.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26134