A Multi-technique Approach to Investigating Reliance on Big Game Hunting in the Northwestern Great Basin

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Stability and Resilience in Zooarchaeology" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Multiple archaeometric techniques were used to inform on prey acquisition in the Archaic to Terminal Prehistoric periods (1450–4700 cal BP) in the northwestern Great Basin. Stable isotope analysis, cementum increment analysis, and AMS radiocarbon dating were performed on artiodactyl teeth excavated from Paiute Creek Shelter (PCS) in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. While cementum increment analysis has been used for decades to identify the season of death from dental remains, the addition of stable isotope analysis of oxygen and carbon provides further insight into patterns of prey capture and ranking according to optimal foraging theory. Radiocarbon dates indicate the shelter’s use spans just prior to and through the contact period in northwestern Nevada. Based on the preliminary data, there is no significant pattern seen between the season of death and stratigraphic layer, indicating no change in subsistence behavior over time. The C and O isotope data indicates no change in seasonal migration over time, also supporting the idea that there is no need for a change in subsistence choices due to changes in animal behavior or climate.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Stability and Resilience in Zooarchaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37712.0