Thinking outside the box: A new perspective on diet breadth and sexual division of labor in the Prearchaic Great Basin

Elston, Robert; Zeanah, David

doi:10.1080/00438240220134287

Cited by 97 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In a related study, Elston and Zeanah (2002) carried the argument further by modeling climatic and environmental conditions for the terminal Pleistocene in another part of the Great Basin, leading to a different set of predictions about preferred base camp locations, one that has not yet been rigorously tested but nevertheless seems consistent with most features of the relevant archaeological record as currently understood (e.g., Beck and Jones, 1997).…”

Section: Central Place Foraging: Alternative Goals Individual Constrmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Additional ethnographic and experimental data and attention to modeling different pursuit strategies, goals, and currencies should enhance the sophistication and realism of PCM applications to this problem. (See Elston and Zeanah, 2002;Hildebrandt and McGuire, 2002; and sections below on individual constraints and costly signaling theory; also Cannon, 2001;Lyman, 2003a,b;Stiner and Munro, 2002;Ugan and Bright, 2001; for further methodological commentary. )…”

Section: Diet Breadth and The Question Of "Intensification"mentioning

confidence: 96%

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Behavioral Ecology and Archaeology

2006

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Behavioral ecology is the study of adaptive behavior in relation to social and environmental circumstances. Analysts working from this perspective hold that the reproductive strategies and decision-making capacities of all living organisms-including humans-are shaped by natural selection. Archaeologists have been using this proposition in the study of past human behavior for more than 30 years. Significant insights on variation in prehistoric human subsistence, life history, social organization, and their respective fossil and archaeological consequences have been among the more important results.

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Section: Central Place Foraging: Alternative Goals Individual Constrmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Diet Breadth and The Question Of "Intensification"mentioning

confidence: 96%

Behavioral Ecology and Archaeology

2006

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“…A reliance on optimality modeling allows for a direct quantitative evaluation of the costs and benefits of pursuing different options. Models derived from behavioral ecology often focus on simple questions about foraging behavior such as what to eat (diet breadth) and when to leave a patch (patch choice and the marginal value theorem), but more complex types of behavior can also be fruitfully addressed with these models (Beck et al, 2002;Bird and Bliege Bird, 2000;Elston, 1992;Elston and Zeanah, 2002;Fitzhugh, 2001;Gremillion, 2002;Kelly, 1995;Madsen et al, 2000;Madsen and Schmitt, 1998;Winterhalder and Smith, 2000 ;Winterhalder et al, 1999;Zeanah, 2000).…”

Section: Central Place Foraging Models and The Zooarchaeological Recordmentioning

confidence: 98%

What Explains the Carcass Field Processing and Transport Decisions of Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers? Measures of Economic Anatomy and Zooarchaeological Skeletal Part Representation

Lupo

2006

J Archaeol Method Theory

120

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This paper uses rationale derived from central place foraging models to explore the factors that guide the carcass processing and transport decisions of modern hunters. Using data derived from butchering experiments, I test different economic indices that purportedly reflect the field processing and transport decisions of contemporary African Hadza hunter-gatherers. The results show that no single index predicts part processing and transport for the species examined in this analysis. Processing and transport decisions are, however, patterned in ways that are consistent with theoretical predictions. While similar processes likely guide carcass treatment and transport decisions among all hunter-gatherers, different ecological, social, and historical constraints define the range of solutions to problems involving carcass treatment. In this specific example, intertaxonomic differences in carcass size and bone properties constrain how the trade-offs between field processing and transport costs are resolved. I conclude by suggesting ways in which analysts might make use of central place foraging rationale and models to explain variation in skeletal representation and abundances across time and space.

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“…Although the hypotheses derived from foraging models all deal specifically with the acquisition of food, the resultant hypotheses have been used to inform larger social issues that impact foraging strategies such as the sexual division of labor (Elston and Zeanah 2002), risk avoidance (Speth 1991), and population dynamics (Boone 2002;Stiner et al 2000). I suggest that habitat modification or disturbance is another issue that could be addressed through diet breadth modeling.…”

Section: Applications Of Optimal Foraging Theory In Archaeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

Riley

2012

Journal of Archaeological Science

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were not readily available and may be considered a dependable but undesirable meal.The second menu consists of pit-baked lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla) and sotol (Dasylirion sp.) caudices, or hearts, common throughout the cool season. This menu entails high processing costs, but would provide a reliable caloric return. The third menu exhibits a monolithic reliance on prickly pear fruits, or tunas, during the summer.The ease of harvest and consumption is reflected in the seasonal dominance of this resource, which was assuredly a highly desirable meal. The dietary patterns recorded in the coprolite specimens from the Lower Pecos canyonlands demonstrate a seasonally variable diet-breadth that incorporated low-ranked resources during times of seasonal scarcity as well as a monolithic dependence on high-ranked resources when they were available in the local landscape.

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Thinking outside the box: A new perspective on diet breadth and sexual division of labor in the Prearchaic Great Basin

Cited by 97 publications

References 31 publications

Behavioral Ecology and Archaeology

Behavioral Ecology and Archaeology

What Explains the Carcass Field Processing and Transport Decisions of Contemporary Hunter-Gatherers? Measures of Economic Anatomy and Zooarchaeological Skeletal Part Representation

Assessing diet and seasonality in the Lower Pecos canyonlands: an evaluation of coprolite specimens as records of individual dietary decisions

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