Drawing on the large body of taphonomic, ethnoarchaeological, and general zooarchaeological literature currently available, the main goal of this research report is to provide the first comprehensive taphonomic account of the fauna at Kalkbank in order to establish whether humans, carnivores, or other natural processes were the major accumulators of the assemblage. Through examination of species presence and abundance, patterns of bone breakage, various surface modifications to the bones, several aspects of skeletal part representation, and mortality profiles, it has been proven that carnivores were the main agent of accumulation. Furthermore, it has been determined that the site accumulated sometime during the late Pleistocene, but closely resembles several open-air sites dated from the Acheulean.

The Hartley site (FaNp-19) is a Late Precontact Period multicomponent habitation and bison kill and processing site located on the periphery of a sand dune environment surrounded by grasslands. The Hartley site, located within the Saskatoon city limits, was originally identified by Ken Cronk and members of the Saskatoon Archaeological Society in the 1950s. Subsequent excavations by Millenium Consulting Ltd., the University of Saskatchewan, Western Heritage Services Inc., and Stantec Consulting Ltd. have all added to the database of knowledge pertaining to this site. Radiometric dates and the recovery of artifacts characteristic of the Avonlea Horizon, the Old Womens Phase, and the Mortlach Phase have demonstrated that this region was a popular place for occupation and bison procurement during the Late Precontact Period. <p>A detailed analysis of the faunal remains recovered from the area known as the Wooded Hollow has demonstrated that this assemblage differs significantly from the remains recovered from the previously researched Brushy Depression. It appears that bison were being heavily harvested and that the use of secondary faunal sources was extremely limited. Determination of seasonality is based on cluster and discriminant function analysis of carpal, tarsal, longbone and phalange data. The resulting herd structure of almost equal numbers of males and females suggests an occupation during the rut, or the fall months. Some immature elements and non-bison remains suggest occupation may have occurred in the spring. It is therefore possible that this region was utilized over a period of time for the purposes of procuring animals from the spring to the fall months. The complete lack of foetal bone in this region suggests that, unlike in the Brushy Depression, the Wooded Hollow was not occupied during the winter months. <p>Taphonomic factors were considered in performing a complete faunal analysis of this thesis. Non-human agents and associated processes suggest that the assemblage was buried quickly after the site was vacated. The extremely fragmented nature of the assemblage, however, suggests that humans had a greater effect on the assemblage than the non-human agents. Based on breakage patterns it is determined that these remains were being processed for the purposes of both marrow and grease extraction. Application of a site determination model also suggests that it is likely that both kill and processing activities occurred in this area. <p>Location of the Hartley site within a dune environment is linked to the activities that occurred at this site. A review of ethnographic accounts of bison pounding and surrounding activities has revealed that availability of ecological resources such as wood and necessary topographic features characteristic of dune environments were essential to the success of bison procurement. Although it has been suggested that settlement of these regions is also linked to the variety and stability of resources in ecotones, or areas of resource overlap, between grassland and sandhill environments, a review of several faunal assemblages from various similar Northern Plains assemblages reveals that bison was by far the dominant species exploited. Variety in terms of faunal resources may not have been a factor at all. It is therefore suggested in this thesis that settlement on the periphery of sandhill environments is linked to the presence of bison in the surrounding grassland region, as well as to the stability of the resources in wetland areas supported by high water tables in the dune environments. Also known as ecological islands these regions may have been more stable in terms of essential resources such as wood and other botanical resources, in addition to providing areas of shelter during the colder winter months. It is concluded that settlement and large scale bison procurement activities in several sandhill environments on the Northern Plains is tightly linked to availability of bison, the availability of wood, a conducive topographic setting, and the stability of resources in these ecological islands.

The Hartley site (FaNp-19) is a Late Precontact Period multicomponent habitation and bison kill and processing site located on the periphery of a sand dune environment surrounded by grasslands. The Hartley site, located within the Saskatoon city limits, was originally identified by Ken Cronk and members of the Saskatoon Archaeological Society in the 1950s. Subsequent excavations by Millenium Consulting Ltd., the University of Saskatchewan, Western Heritage Services Inc., and Stantec Consulting Ltd. have all added to the database of knowledge pertaining to this site. Radiometric dates and the recovery of artifacts characteristic of the Avonlea Horizon, the Old Womens Phase, and the Mortlach Phase have demonstrated that this region was a popular place for occupation and bison procurement during the Late Precontact Period. <p>A detailed analysis of the faunal remains recovered from the area known as the Wooded Hollow has demonstrated that this assemblage differs significantly from the remains recovered from the previously researched Brushy Depression. It appears that bison were being heavily harvested and that the use of secondary faunal sources was extremely limited. Determination of seasonality is based on cluster and discriminant function analysis of carpal, tarsal, longbone and phalange data. The resulting herd structure of almost equal numbers of males and females suggests an occupation during the rut, or the fall months. Some immature elements and non-bison remains suggest occupation may have occurred in the spring. It is therefore possible that this region was utilized over a period of time for the purposes of procuring animals from the spring to the fall months. The complete lack of foetal bone in this region suggests that, unlike in the Brushy Depression, the Wooded Hollow was not occupied during the winter months. <p>Taphonomic factors were considered in performing a complete faunal analysis of this thesis. Non-human agents and associated processes suggest that the assemblage was buried quickly after the site was vacated. The extremely fragmented nature of the assemblage, however, suggests that humans had a greater effect on the assemblage than the non-human agents. Based on breakage patterns it is determined that these remains were being processed for the purposes of both marrow and grease extraction. Application of a site determination model also suggests that it is likely that both kill and processing activities occurred in this area. <p>Location of the Hartley site within a dune environment is linked to the activities that occurred at this site. A review of ethnographic accounts of bison pounding and surrounding activities has revealed that availability of ecological resources such as wood and necessary topographic features characteristic of dune environments were essential to the success of bison procurement. Although it has been suggested that settlement of these regions is also linked to the variety and stability of resources in ecotones, or areas of resource overlap, between grassland and sandhill environments, a review of several faunal assemblages from various similar Northern Plains assemblages reveals that bison was by far the dominant species exploited. Variety in terms of faunal resources may not have been a factor at all. It is therefore suggested in this thesis that settlement on the periphery of sandhill environments is linked to the presence of bison in the surrounding grassland region, as well as to the stability of the resources in wetland areas supported by high water tables in the dune environments. Also known as ecological islands these regions may have been more stable in terms of essential resources such as wood and other botanical resources, in addition to providing areas of shelter during the colder winter months. It is concluded that settlement and large scale bison procurement activities in several sandhill environments on the Northern Plains is tightly linked to availability of bison, the availability of wood, a conducive topographic setting, and the stability of resources in these ecological islands.

This dissertation explores geographic and diachronic variation in Great Plains and Rocky Mountain Paleoindian (12,500-7000 14C years before present) forager exploitation of animal resources in order to explore how use of different habitats influenced land-use and subsistence strategies. To accomplish this goal, this study documented the full range of variability in the Paleoindian record using a combination of published data and new data. These patterns were then compared to explicit predictions derived from behavioral ecology and animal ethology and biology studies. The results, presented in this dissertation, allow the testing of several, often contradictory, important subsistence-settlement hypotheses in current Paleoindian research, specifically the ongoing debate about Paleoindian diet breadth and human causes of megafaunal extinction. Overall, there appears to be a covariance between environmental zone and forager land use. Paleoindian foragers structured their land use according to the presence and nature of a number of important resources within major environmental zones. Specifically, this study finds sites in grassland settings with low diversity of resources have lower artifact densities and are often dominated by exotic lithic raw materials. In these same areas prehistoric groups made almost exclusive use of large fauna. Sites in foothill/mountain or alluvial valley settings with ecologically high density and high diversity have higher proportions of short-term camps than do other areas and those camps have higher artifact density than do other types of sites. These sites exhibit a mixed use of small- and medium-sized game. Overall this study shows Paleoindian hunters had only modest impact on prey species.

No description available.

Caribou have a longstanding cultural and environmental role, and have interacted with human groups across time. This thesis is a consideration of these interactions, exploring prehistoric and historic patterns of caribou usage by Cree people in northern Manitoba. Through zooarchaeological analysis, an ethnohistorical review, and community workshops and interviews with York Factory First Nation, the relationship between caribou populations and Cree use is illustrated, providing insight into abundance, movements, and the socio-cultural value of caribou over time. In doing so, context is provided for the present-day situation: connections between historical and modern herds are drawn, population and migration changes are highlighted, and the impact of hunting pressures, climatic variation, habitat changes, and food availability on caribou populations are contemplated. Caribou have long been central to the seasonal economy in northern Manitoba, and the use of these animals reflects their abundance and value.

Since their discovery 150 years ago, Neanderthals have been considered incapable of behavioural change and innovation. Traditional synchronic approaches to the study of Neanderthal behaviour have perpetuated this view and shaped our understanding of their lifeways and eventual extinction. In this thesis I implement an innovative diachronic approach to the analysis of Neanderthal faunal extraction, technology and symbolic behaviour as contained in the archaeological record of the critical period between 80,000 and 30,000 years BP. The thesis demonstrates patterns of change in Neanderthal behaviour which are at odds with traditional perspectives and which are consistent with an interpretation of increasing behavioural complexity over time, an idea that has been suggested but never thoroughly explored in Neanderthal archaeology. Demonstrating an increase in behavioural complexity in Neanderthals provides much needed new data with which to fuel the debate over the behavioural capacities of Neanderthals and the first appearance of Modern Human Behaviour in Europe. It supports the notion that Neanderthal populations were active agents of behavioural innovation prior to the arrival of Anatomically Modern Humans in Europe and, ultimately, that they produced an early Upper Palaeolithic cultural assemblage (the Châtelperronian) independent of modern humans. Overall, this thesis provides an initial step towards the development of a quantitative approach to measuring behavioural complexity which provides fresh insights into the cognitive and behavioural capabilities of Neanderthals.

The Norton Stage (2500-1000 cal B.P.) of the Norton Tradition is typically characterized as a caribou hunting and fishing culture, an idea developed by James Giddings through his formative work at the Iyatayet Site in Norton Sound. The concept of Norton fishers and caribou-hunters has been promoted by the long-term research of Don Dumond in the Naknek and Ugashik drainages on the Alaska Peninsula. While the northern Alaska Peninsula has historically productive salmon runs and abundant caribou populations, the concept that these taxa were essential to the Norton subsistence economy has not been critically evaluated. Giddings based his own assessment of Iyatayet subsistence practices on the animal harvest practices of contemporary Norton Sound Alaska Native communities, rather than directly from the faunal remains he identified during excavations. Several faunal assemblages have been recovered from southwest Alaska, which provide the opportunity to test assumptions regarding Norton subsistence practices. Most of these assemblages come from the Bering Sea coast, a vastly different environment from more temperate coast of the Alaska Peninsula. In an effort to directly document Norton subsistence practices, I procured a sizeable faunal assemblage that Robert Shaw excavated in 1985 from 49-XHI-043 and 49-XHI-044. These sites are located on Summit Island, a nearshore island 6 km from the shoreline of northwest Bristol Bay. Prior to my research, no analysis of the Summit Island collection had been conducted. As a result, an assessment of the faunal remains was not possible until I analyzed field notes to establish stratigraphic relationships and procured radiocarbon dates from the sites. I was able to confirm the presence of three discrete analytical components associated with Norton culture including Early Norton I (2740-2380 cal B.P.), Early Norton II (2400-2000 cal B.P.), and Late Norton (1390-980 cal B.P.). My analysis of 9,981 mammal and bird bone specimens resulted in the documentation of an intensive marine-focused subsistence economy. Over approximately 2,000 years, generations of Norton peoples harvested seals, walruses, murres, cormorants, and eiders from the Walrus Island chain. Terrestrial and riverine species were not well represented in the assemblage, despite the proximity of the mainland.

No description available.

Site 38CH1693 is a coastal site located in Charleston County, South Carolina. Thom’s Creek ceramics place the site in the Late Archaic/Early Woodland Period and radiocarbon dating corroborates this, placing the features present between 3650 and 3950 BP. Faunal analysis was undertaken to assess seasonality in order to understand the occupations that occurred at the site. Faunal seasonality, botanical seasonality, and sedentariness indicators are used to determine the sedentariness of the site. The presence of certain marine fish species is one of the most important seasonality indicators used. It is determined from the available evidence that at least one short-duration, year-round occupation is represented by the materials recovered at 38CH1693. Site 38CH1693 does not fit into the current Late Archaic settlement pattern models for the coast, calling for a reevaluation of these settlement pattern models and the sedentary sites within them.