Shellfish Variability and Its Role in the Adaptation to Fishing Economies on the California Channel Islands

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In this study, we utilize rocky intertidal data from long-term marine biology surveys coupled with targeted archaeological sites on the California Channel Islands to explain the timing of intensified fishing strategies. The Ideal Free Distribution Model (IFD) offers a framework to test predictions relating to human decision making in varying ecological circumstances. Based on the assumptions that (1) shellfish are higher ranked than fish due to their higher post-encounter return-rates and (2) the abundance of principal shellfish taxa varies in regional settings, we hypothesize that shellfish biomass drove subsistence decisions and technological innovations. To test this hypothesis, we create a suitability index based on shellfish biomass to rank habitats. Suitability was calculated based on Mytilus californianus population densities (g) and intertidal surface area (km2). Island settings with large, bench substrates in highly productive marine environments provided ample shellfish for consumption and extended periods of time before reaching a density-dependent resource depletion threshold. In contrast, environments that are marginally poor in shellfish biomass will reach a fishing threshold sooner in time. This adaptation to intensified fishing practices has implications for emergent sociopolitical strategies and the development of social status on the California Channel Islands.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37086.0