Ecosystem controls and the archaeofaunal record: an example from the Wyoming Basin, USA

Abstract

Regional palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and data on artiodactyl response to climate change suggest that large game densities would have expanded in response to increasingly mesic conditions during the late Holocene in the Wyoming Basin. We use the prey model of foraging theory to predict late-Holocene increases in artiodactyls, relative to lagomorphs and rodents, and more specifically in bison relative to pronghorn. This prediction is then tested against 284 dated archaeofaunas from the Wyoming Basin. Close fits are found between the deductively derived prediction and the empirical records. Although artiodactyls demonstrate a general increasing trend across the most recent 5000 years, during the period of most intense human occupation hunting pressure appears to have depressed large game populations.

Holocene cold storage practices on the eastern Snake River Plain: A risk-mitigation strategy for lean times

“…Moreover, these same relationships have also been documented in paleoecological and archaeological contexts from both southwest Wyoming and the Great Basin (Broughton et al, 2008;Byers and Broughton, 2004;Byers and Smith, 2007;. In sum, artiodactyls, bison and otherwise, should be more common during cooler and moister periods during the Holocene.…”

“…Byers and Smith, 2007;Smith et al, 2008). Since bison are primarily grazers and medium artiodactyls such as deer and pronghorn focus on browse, and grasslands are more sensitive to aridity than brushier vegetation communities, bison should have been relatively more common during cooler, moister periods and rarer when it was warmer and dryer (Byers and Smith, 2007). A bison index (bison/all artiodactyls) was created for each of 28 dated and non-cold storage SRP components that include artiodactyl remains of some kind (Table 5).…”

Holocene bison diminution on the Snake River Plain, Idaho, USA

“…Similar climatic trends characterize western North America (Broughton et al, 2008;Byers and Broughton, 2004;Byers and Smith, 2007;Byers et al, 2005), including the SRP. Therefore, we expected to see a similar pattern of bison diminution on the SRP.…”

Late Holocene Climate Change and the Origin of the “Figurine Complex” In Grand Canyon, Arizona

“…These studies indicate that warmer and drier conditions in the Greater Southwest during the mid-to late-Holocene would negatively impact populations of big game species that Archaic hunter-gatherers exploited (see also review by Byers and Smith 2007). Thus, it is likely that climate change at this time forced changes in Archaic culture and the development of a hunting ritual at caves in Grand Canyon.…”