The most influential communities in modern Caribbean history have been the enslaved Africans and their descendant populations. As such, historical archaeology in the Caribbean has often focused on black lifeways under British, Dutch, and Spanish colonial powers. The utilization of various research strategies have included but not restricted to ethnoarchaeology, historical documents, material culture, oral history sources, settlement patterns, stable isotopic study, and burial practices. As one of the first historical faunal studies of the French Antilles, my work attempts to provide a contribution to the study of slave foodways. This dissertation examines the interrelationship between foodways and identity formation during the early modern French transatlantic expansion. My material evidence, exemplified via faunal remains, was retrieved from the slave village at Habitation La Mahaudière, once a prosperous sugar plantation in Guadeloupe established during the mid-18th century, whose domestic occupation spanned over 150 years and is currently a well-preserved archaeological site that offers the potential for understanding diachronic social and cultural processes of the French plantation system. My zooarchaeological results in combination with primary and secondary sources that discuss colonial subsistence practices will assist in establishing how slave foodways and French Antillean identity is created by and shaped one another. / text

Formal models, those which explicitly specify the postulates on which they are based, the development of their 'predictions' from those postulates, and the boundary conditions under which they apply, have the potential to be useful tools in archaeological inference and explanation. Detailed examination of one such model, the mathematical model commonly referred to as the diet breadth or prey choice model, shows that its archaeological application is severely complicated by two factors that are difficult or impossible to specify for prehistoric cases: 1) limits on the amount of meat consumable by a food-sharing group before spoilage or loss to scavengers and 2) hunting failure rates. The former introduce significant uncertainties into the food yield or energetic return term of resource rankings, while the latter affect both resource rankings and the resouce encounter rates leading to prey inclusion or exclusion from the diet. Together, these factors make rigorous diet breadth / prey choice model-based inferences from ungulate archaeofaunas impractical, especially in Paleolithic cases. Following success in recent years in making diet breadth model-based inferences about Paleolithic demography from small game analyses that involved computer simulation modeling of prey species' resilience to hunting pressure, the development and employment of a similar model applied to ungulate species reveals that, in general, the differences in the abilty of populations of different ungulate species to sustain harvest rates are not sufficient to allow the relative representation of ungulate remains in archaeological sites to be a viable basis for human demographic inferences. However, in cases where ungulate remains allow the determination of both prey age structure and sex ratio, it is possible to distinguish low exploitation rates, high exploitation rates, and overhunting. In some cases, the sex ratio data may also alter relative hunting resilience levels in such a way that it may be possible to infer that one species was capable of supporting a larger human population than another.

The Tamaulipan Biotic Province (TBP) is an ecotonal community that has been characterized in the twentieth century as a mixture of plains, woodland, and desert-adapted mammalian taxa. Some authors have proposed that this heterogeneous mixture of animals is a result of human influence on the environment in the post-European contact period. Others have proposed that the characteristically disharmonious mixture of fauna has been present in south Texas since prehistory. By considering the presence of certain key taxa across the archaeological record of the area this thesis demonstrates that the fauna characteristic of the Tamaulipan Biotic Province can be followed back in time as far as the archaeological record allows. This work also provides complete lists of all vertebrate organisms present in the archaeological record of the area, organized by time period and also by archaeological site and citation.

The faunal remains from Lajia, a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age site in northwestern China reveal that sheep, a newly introduced domesticate during this time period, are the central source of meat for the site’s residents. This represents a shift from earlier modes of subsistence in the region, which were focused on pig husbandry. This project provides important information regarding food production and animal husbandry during a period in which larger centres of power were emerging and new domesticates were being exploited. Sheep were the most common domesticate in the Lajia assemblage, followed by pigs and cattle. This corresponds with a general pattern in northern China during this period, in which sheep are increasingly utilized. However, an examination of age profiles reveals that mature adult sheep were rare in the assemblage, which suggests that they were being exploited for meat. This is not consistent with evidence from other northern Chinese sites during this time period, where sheep are interpreted as being a source of secondary products such as milk and wool. In addition to this, an analysis of bone breakage aimed to determine whether remains were processed. These tests were inconclusive, revealing that the main source of fragmentation in the assemblage was related to butchery, but with no significant correlation between increased levels of fragmentation and high-utility skeletal elements. As well as providing a relevant case study for the development of animal use during the Early Bronze Age, the analysis of faunal remains at Lajia represents a building block for the continuing development of zooarchaeology in the Chinese context. / Graduate / 0324 / 0332 / dfargo@uvic.ca

The faunal remains from Lajia, a late Neolithic and early Bronze Age site in northwestern China reveal that sheep, a newly introduced domesticate during this time period, are the central source of meat for the site’s residents. This represents a shift from earlier modes of subsistence in the region, which were focused on pig husbandry. This project provides important information regarding food production and animal husbandry during a period in which larger centres of power were emerging and new domesticates were being exploited. Sheep were the most common domesticate in the Lajia assemblage, followed by pigs and cattle. This corresponds with a general pattern in northern China during this period, in which sheep are increasingly utilized. However, an examination of age profiles reveals that mature adult sheep were rare in the assemblage, which suggests that they were being exploited for meat. This is not consistent with evidence from other northern Chinese sites during this time period, where sheep are interpreted as being a source of secondary products such as milk and wool. In addition to this, an analysis of bone breakage aimed to determine whether remains were processed. These tests were inconclusive, revealing that the main source of fragmentation in the assemblage was related to butchery, but with no significant correlation between increased levels of fragmentation and high-utility skeletal elements. As well as providing a relevant case study for the development of animal use during the Early Bronze Age, the analysis of faunal remains at Lajia represents a building block for the continuing development of zooarchaeology in the Chinese context. / Graduate / 0324 / 0332 / dfargo@uvic.ca

This dissertation comprises three articles that propose explanations for the eventual extinction of Neanderthals in Europe after a period of several thousand years of coexistence with anatomically modern humans (AMH). I propose that bioenergetic differences between Neanderthals and AMH favored the persistence of AMH. This difference in energetic efficiency was augmented by any behavior that was advantageous to AMH. Consequently, such behaviors directly impacted the rate of Neanderthal extinction. The first article proposes a mathematical model that reconstructs Neanderthal and AMH energetic budgets to predict how using fire for cooking might have affected the success of each species. I first use the model to establish that energetic differences alone result in Neanderthal extinction when Neanderthals and AMH occupy the same landscape. I then establish that cooking meat increases its caloric value, and incorporate that parameter into the model. The outcome indicates that differential fire use by Neanderthals and AMH significantly affects the rate of Neanderthal extinction. The second article analyzes the evidence for marrow and bone grease extraction from reindeer carcasses by Neanderthals and AMH during cold climate phases. I analyze two assemblages produced by Neanderthals and three produced by AMH to determine how each group exploited these crucial nutritional resources. Results indicate that marrow processing intensity correlates with site function rather than with human species while bone grease may have been more intensively processed by AMH. In the third article, I integrate these studies within a new theoretical framework combining self-organizing criticality (SOC) and resilience thinking (RT). I explore Neanderthal extinction across multiple scales. SOC explores how interactions at the scale of the individual can combine to cause events such as an extinction. RT provides a systems-level framework for understanding how patterns of change among Neanderthals, AMH, prey populations, and the landscapes they inhabit may lead to instability and collapse. I identify the arrival of AMH into a landscape occupied by Neanderthals as a threshold point that set the process of Neanderthal demise in motion. I then use SOC and RT together to explain Neanderthal extinction as a slow and patchy process, rather than a sudden extinction.

Archaeological investigations of the largest urban centers in southern Mesopotamia have excluded collection and detailed interpretation of faunal remains. This exclusion has resulted in a biased interpretation of urban dynamics based largely on architecture, site planning, artifact distribution, and textual evidence. The samples that do exist from these sites are often incomplete. Additionally, textual evidence pertaining to animal exploitation is essentially silent when it comes to pig husbandry and offers little information on the exploitation of fish and other wild resources. While addressing these biases with the analysis of faunal material from the late second millennium (BCE) urban site of Mashkan-shapir, this study also aims to shed light on the complex interplay between urban life and the natural diversity of the southern Mesopotamian wetlands. The site is presented as a model for heterarchical sociopolitical organization and sustainable agroecological approach to subsistence. A fundamental link is made between sustainability and heterarchical organization and consensus. Results of the analysis of over 7000 specimens from excavation, as well as nearly 2900 specimens from systematic flotation, indicate that wetland resources were an integral part of the site economy. The data suggest pigs were a major dietary component, and suggest low intensity cultivation of free roaming "street pigs" as the likely pig rearing strategy. Ovicaprid remains indicate a strong bias towards sheep with the primary goal of wool production. The study attempts to describe and quantify the role of wetlands as a sustainable resource adding to the vitality and success of Mashkan-shapir. The data suggest an urban setting intimately linked to wetland ecosystems. This model of wetland exploitation is compared to both ancient and modern data including modern models of mixed species sustainable agroecosystems to illustrate the efficiency and sustainability of the proposed Mashkan-shapir model. The data from Mashkan-shapir suggest that a heretofore unexamined or hidden portion of the economy based on fishing, hunting, household level pig husbandry, and wetland resource exploitation, played a crucial role in the lives of Mesopotamian urbanites.

This thesis provides evidence for patterned and pervasive ritual symbolism through use of animals and animal imagery in early Mesoamerican villages. I look at the faunal remains excavated from Early and Middle Formative (1350-850 B.C) domestic and ceremonial contexts at the Mixteca Alta site of Tayata, Oaxaca. I focus on the presence of exotic and locally available fauna including: domesticated dog, fish, turtle, small bird and nine-banded armadillo. By investigating the variable use of these animals in purposeful domestication, seasonal celebrations, autosacrifice, as musical instruments and in conjunction with building dedications, I highlight their importance to understanding broader patterns in the site as a whole. Specifically, I compare the presence of these animals at Tayata to other contemporary artifact assemblages, regional iconography, linguistic data, ethnographic descriptions and ethnohistoric accounts of Oaxaca and Mesoamerica. This investigation of ritual deposits within village-level societies provides a means to understand larger socio-political dynamics in this region. Based on the evidence provided, the use of animals in ritual activity at Tayata fits into larger spatial and temporal patterns of local and exotic faunal assemblages seen throughout Formative Mesoamerica. The importance of ritual activity is seen in the association of these animals within residential, ceremonial and elite deposits across multiple sites, indicating an increase in socio-political complexity as well as the presence of a Pan-Mesoamerican belief system during the Early and Middle Formative Periods. This study integrates faunal data within larger patterns of cultural activity including architectural style and zoomorphic figurines. Finally, this approach provides a more thorough understanding of the importance of looking at the context of all artifact types, even those which exist in small quantities, to form a broader perspective on a site or region.

abstract: This dissertation research describes the hunting behavior of early modern humans through the analysis of vertebrate faunal remains from Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco. Contrebandiers Cave is located in the town of Témara and is roughly 250 meters from the current shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean. The cave was excavated in the 1950s and 1970s by l’Abbé Roche, and again starting in 2007 by Dibble and El Hajraoui with total station plotting of finds. Contrebandiers Cave contains Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits dated to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5e, 5d and 5c, ~120,000 to ~96,000 years ago. The Later Stone Age (LSA) deposits are dated to MIS 2, ~20,000 years ago. The entirety of the ~12,000 vertebrate faunal remains from Dibble and El Hajraoui’s excavation were analyzed for taxonomic and taphonomic identification. A total of 67 vertebrate taxa were identified and include ungulates, carnivores, lagomorphs, birds, tortoises, snakes and fish. The faunal remains from Contrebandiers Cave preserve surface modification that indicates both humans and carnivores acted as agents of prey accumulation. Skeletal element representation and surface modification of ungulate remains suggest that humans had primary access to small, medium and large-bodied prey. In the MSA levels, carnivore skeletal remains preserve surface modification that is interpreted as being indicative of behavior associated with skinning for fur removal. The vertebrate faunal remains from MIS 5e and 5d indicate that humans were hunting grazers and mixed feeders from open habitats and suids from mixed habitats. The faunal remains from MIS 5c indicate that humans focused less on suids and more on mixed feeders from open habitats. The vertebrate faunal remains from MIS 2 reveal humans hunting grazers from dry, open habitats. This research provides a description of human hunting behavior in North Africa, and contributes to our understanding of early modern human behavior prior to dispersal out of Africa. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2018

abstract: The ability of Neandertals to cope with the oscillating climate of the late Pleistocene and the extent to which these climate changes affected local Neandertal habitats remain unanswered anthropological topics of considerable scientific interest. Understanding the impact of climatic instability on Neandertals is critical for reconstructing the behaviors of our closest fossil relatives and possibly identifying factors that contributed to their extinction. My work aimed to test the hypotheses that 1) cold climates stressed Neandertal populations, and 2) that global climate changes affected local Neandertal habitats. An analysis of Neandertal butchering on Cervus elaphus, Rangifer tarandus, and Capreolus capreolus skeletal material deposited during global warm and cold phases from two French sites - Pech de l'Az&eacute; IV and Roc de Marsal - was conducted to assess the impact of climate change on butchering strategies and resource extraction. Results from a statistical analysis of surface modification on all marrow yielding long bones, including the 1st phalanx, demonstrated that specimens excavated from the cold levels at each cave have more cut marks (Wald &chi;2= 51.33, p= <0.001) and percussion marks (Wald &chi;2= 4.92, p= 0.02) than specimens from the warm levels after controlling for fragment size. These results support the hypothesis that Neandertals were nutritionally stressed during glacial cycles. The hypothesis that global climates affected local habitats was tested through radiogenic strontium isotopic reconstruction of large herbivore mobility patterns (e.g., Bison, Equus, Cervus and Rangifer), because it is known that in the northern hemisphere, mammals migrate less in warm, well-vegetated environments, but more in cold, open environments. Identifying isotopic variation in mammalian fossils enables mobility patterns to be inferred, providing an indication of whether environments at Pech de l'Az&eacute; IV and Roc de Marsal tracked global climates. Results from this study indicate that Neandertal prey species within the Dordogne Valley of France did not undertake long distance round-trip migrations in glacial or interglacial cycles, maintaining the possibility that local habitats did not change in differing climatic cycles. However, because Neandertals were nutritionally stressed the most likely conclusion is that glacial cycles decreased herbivore populations, thus stressing Neandertals. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2012