Subsistence Change Among the 17Th-Century Diné? A Reanalysis of the Faunas from the Fruitland Data Recovery Project

Abstract

The question of when the Diné (or Navajo) became a distinct ethnic group has been the focus of research for over a century. Recent archaeological work in the Dinetah region of the American Southwest suggests that the Gobernador phase of Diné prehistory –roughly dated from A.D. 1650 to 1780– was a critical period for Diné ethnogenesis. Archaeological faunas from the Fruitland Data Recovery Project have been used to support this argument; these faunas seem to indicate a shift in subsistence from diets focused on small prey to those focused on larger animals between the Dinétah (A.D. 1500–1650) and Gobernador phases. A reanalysis of the Fruitland Project faunas, involving both refitting of bone and attention to taphonomic issues, does show an increase in representation of large prey during the Gobernador phase; however, this trend does not seem to be related to improved hunting efficiency or encounter rates. Rather, the increase may reflect changes in Diné subsistence and mobility in response to climate change.

Prehistoric deforestation at Chaco Canyon?

“…Although researchers attributed the paucity of dated material to tree-cutting, the decline in dated nests may reflect an absence of packrats, not necessarily an absence of trees. High rates of predation by the human population is a potential explanation for few dated nests and is consistent with archaeological and historical data for human consumption of packrats in the northern Southwest (23,24). Increases in temperature and aridity also may result in the extirpation of a local packrat population (25).…”

The ‘Columbian Exchange’ and landscapes of the Middle Rio Grande Valley, USA, AD 1300–1900

“…MacCameron, 1994). The 17th-century archaeofaunas are similar to late prehistoric MRGV archaeofaunas, a finding corroborated by research from other parts of New Mexico (Jones, 2013; Jones, in press). The introduction of Old World domestic grazing fauna by Spanish settlers did not cause a major environmental upheaval; instead, the status quo seems to have been maintained.…”

“…Documents indicate the colonists brought goats ( Capra hircus ), horses ( Equus caballus ), and pigs as well as sheep and cattle (Hammond and Rey, 1953: 210–220); zooarchaeological data suggest the presence of chicken ( Gallus gallus ) and donkeys ( Equus africanus ) as well (Pavao-Zuckerman and Reitz, 2006). While initially these domestic fauna would have been concentrated in Spanish settlements and missions, they were eventually adopted by indigenous communities living outside Spain’s reach (Jones, 2013; Jones, in press). For a threshold change, however, it is the onset of intense grazing – that is, the numbers of introduced grazers on the landscape – rather than the introduction event itself which is significant.…”

“…While there is some evidence of large herds of sheep in the early colonial period (e.g. Scholes, 1932), these activities may have been concentrated in missions or otherwise Spanish-controlled areas, while outside Spanish core settlement areas livestock were rare (Gabe and Jones, 2014; Jones, 2013; Jones, in press; Spielmann et al, 2009). If Old World domesticates were rare on the landscape in the early years of Spanish New Mexico, they likely would have had relatively little environmental (or dietary) impact.…”

Hide, Tallow and Terrapin: Gold Rush-Era Zooarchaeology at Thompson’s Cove (CA-SFR-186H), San Francisco, California

“…A nestedness analysis (Jones 2004(Jones , 2013(Jones , 2015 comparing 3.2 mm mesh specimens with hand-collected and 6.4 mm mesh specimens also helps determine the degree of differential recovery between deposits based upon the species present. Nestedness is a measure that determines the degree to which one assemblage is a subset of another based off of the presence or absence of taxonomic classifications (Atmar and Patterson 1993;Lyman 2008).…”