Dietary Shifts and Cultural Complexity: Exploring Late Holocene Faunal Remains and Marine Mammal Hunting on the Northern Channel Islands
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Authors
Hagerty, Summer A.
Issue Date
2024
Type
Thesis
Language
Keywords
Channel Islands , Cultural Complexity , Fishing , Late Holocene , Marine Mammal Hunting , Subsistence
Alternative Title
Abstract
In this thesis, I examine the faunal remains from 16 archaeological sites across Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San Miguel Islands to explore how dietary changes during the Late Holocene allowed for the development of increased population density and cultural complexity, particularly in relation to marine mammal hunting, on the Northern Channel Islands. I test two primary hypotheses that were formulated from the perspective of the Diet Breadth Model. To test each hypothesis, I used three lines of evidence: radiocarbon dating, faunal analysis, and shellfish diversity calculations. The first hypothesis is that as population density continued to increase throughout the Late Holocene on the NCI, the Island Chumash diversified their diets to include greater amounts of marine mammal and finfish. The second hypothesis is that changes in the observed marine diet through the archaeological record will support increased social complexity through population distribution and technological advancements. The results of the faunal analysis for this thesis revealed that throughout the Late Holocene, the trajectory of fishing continues to increase through time while marine mammal hunting experiences a less consistent pattern and is most prevalent during the Middle Period (~2,500-800 cal BP). These patterns take form following the introduction of the single-piece shell fishhook (~2,500 cal BP) and the tomol plank canoe (~1,500 cal BP). Moreover, shellfish gathering remained an important dietary component which continued to diversify throughout the Late Holocene, persisting alongside the increased consumption of higher trophic level species such as pelagic fish and marine mammals. These dietary shifts were able to support the rapid population growth that occurred on the NCI around 1,300 cal BP and was followed by shifting settlement patterns, increased production of specialized crafts, and the development of trade networks between the islands and the mainland during the Middle to Late Period Transition (MLT; 800-650 cal BP). Understanding how major demographic and cultural shifts were able to occur on the NCI is essential for grasping human decision-making processes and furthers our knowledge on the importance of technological advancements and dietary changes during the Late Holocene.