Independent or Attached Specialization: The Organization of Shell Bead Production in California

Arnold, Jeanne E.; Munns, Ann M.

doi:10.1179/009346994797175505

Cited by 65 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Sandy beach was essential for safe canoe landing and haul-out, particularly for the use of the plank canoe after 1500 years ago (Arnold, 1995(Arnold, , 2007Arnold and Bernard, 2005;Gamble, 2002). The small gastropod Olivella biplicata is also found along sandy beach habitats and this species was harvested increasingly en masse for its shell to produce beads after 1500 years ago (Arnold and Graesch, 2001;Arnold and Munns, 1994;Kennett, 2005;Munns and Arnold, 2002). The linear extent of this environmental feature was measured as for rocky intertidal.…”

Section: Environmental Analysis and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They also became an important source of Olivella biplicata used to produce immense amounts of shell bead money, particularly after 800 cal. years BP (Arnold and Graesch, 2001;Arnold and Munns, 1994;King, 1990). These patterns may help to explain the inverse relationship we detect between length of sandy beach and ESC.…”

Section: Assumptions and Confounding Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ideal free settlement of California’s Northern Channel Islands

Winterhalder

Kennett

Grote

et al. 2010

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

118

147

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a b s t r a c tThe prehistoric establishment and expansion of permanent settlements on the Northern Channel Islands of southern California generally follows a pattern predicted by the population ecology model, the ideal free distribution (IFD). We determine this by comparing the abundant archaeological record of these Islands against a careful quantification of habitat suitability using areal photography, satellite imagery, and field studies. We assess watershed area, length of rocky intertidal zone, length of sandy beach for plank canoe pull-outs and area of off-shore kelp beds, for 46 coastal locations. A simple descriptive analysis supports key IFD predictions. A Bayesian model fitted with the Gibbs sampler allows us to reconstruct the Native assessment of habitat that appears to underlie this process. Use of the Gibbs sampler mitigates the impact of missing data, censored variables, and uncertainty in radiocarbon dates; it allows us to predict where new settlements may yet be discovered. Theoretically, our results support a behavioral ecology interpretation of settlement history, human population expansion, and economic intensification in this region. They also demonstrate Bayesian analytical methods capable of making full use of the information available in archaeological datasets.Ó 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction and problemThe Native Americans who moved from the mainland to settle the Northern Channel Islands of southern California knew well the country they were settling. By first recorded permanent settlement ($8000-7000 cal. years BP) they had been exploring and seasonally exploiting the resources of the islands for as much as 5000 years Kennett, 2005;. Subsequent to that first settlement further Island colonization of coastal sites at the mouths of major drainages drew on local knowledge gained through even more lengthy experience. Settlers were familiar with the suitability of the habitats they were about to occupy and, we might predict, they established residential sites in an orderly process of adaptive decision-making: Settle first in the most salubrious location. When, with growing exploitation or crowding, its resources were depressed and its value declined to match the next-ranked locale, establish a new settlement there. As population grew this process repeated, adding further new settlements in locations ordered by habitat suitability. In parallel, we expect overall quality of life in all occupied locales declined due to reductions in the availability of or access to critical resources. This process is neatly captured in a behavioral ecology model: the ideal free distribution (IFD, Fretwell and Lucas, 1969). Analysis of environmental and archaeological data from the Northern Channel Islands indicates that colonization there follows IFD predictions. To demonstrate this, we first describe the prehistory of the Northern Channel Islands. We then introduce the IFD, with the goal of predicting how population growth, intensified use and declining suitability generate a predictab...

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Section: Environmental Analysis and Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Assumptions and Confounding Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ideal free settlement of California’s Northern Channel Islands

Winterhalder

Kennett

Grote

et al. 2010

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

118

147

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, the Callianax biplicata (purple olive) shell bead industry grew significantly, providing an important trade good (Arnold 1987(Arnold , 1990(Arnold , 1992a(Arnold , b, 2001aArnold and Munns 1994;Munns and Arnold 2002, pp. 132-133;Kennett 2005;King 1990;Rick 2007).…”

Section: California's Northern Channel Islandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These canoes provided greater connectivity with the mainland, allowing people to more efficiently obtain subsistence and nonsubsistence resources. Sandy beaches are also the habitat of C. biplicata snails, the shells of which were used to create shell beads traded for external resources (prediction 6; e.g., Arnold 1987Arnold , 1990Arnold , 1992aArnold , b, 2001aArnold and Munns 1994;Munns and Arnold 2002;Kennett 2005;King 1990;Rick 2007).…”

Section: Fig 7 A-dmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Test of Ideal Free Distribution Predictions Using Targeted Survey and Excavation on California’s Northern Channel Islands

Jazwa

Kennett

Winterhalder

2015

J Archaeol Method Theory

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Using targeted survey, excavation, and radiocarbon dating, we assess the extent to which human settlement patterns on California's northern Channel Islands fit predictions arising from the ideal free distribution (IFD): (1) people first established and expanded permanent settlements in the regions ranked high for environmental resource suitability; (2) as population grew, they settled in progressively lower ranked habitats; and (3) changes in the archaeological record associated with high population levels such as increases in faunal diversity and evenness in high-ranked habitats are coincident with the expansion to other areas. On Santa Rosa Island, the early permanent settlements were located in both high-and middle-ranked locations, with the most extensive settlement at the highest ranked locations and only isolated sites elsewhere. Settlement at a low-ranked habitat was confined to the late Holocene (after 3600 cal BP). Drought influenced the relative rank of different locations, which is an example of climate adding a temporal dimension to the model that episodically stimulated population movement and habitat abandonment. Because the IFD includes a wide range of cultural and environmental variables, it has the potential to be a central model for guiding archaeological analysis and targeted field research.

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“…By the middle Holocene (ca. 5000 years ago), rectangular to oval-shaped beads cut from the body whorl were traded over a broad region [66,76,92], providing the foundation for a manufacturing industry and exchange network that developed through the late Holocene and culminated in the monetized systems of exchange reported ethnographically and archaeologically [2,3,4,5,9,10,19,24,52,55,60,61,65,66,91].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Provenance analysis of Olivella biplicata shell beads from the California and Oregon Coast by stable isotope fingerprinting

Eerkens

Herbert

Rosenthal

et al. 2005

Journal of Archaeological Science

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While Olivella beads are a common component of archaeological sites in California, and were widely traded in prehistory, no method has been developed to trace individual beads to a point of origin. This study examines the potential of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes to source Olivella beads from the Pacific coast. The study shows that 1) the oxygen isotopic composition of modern Olivella biplicata shells faithfully varies with ambient sea surface temperature and local upwelling, lending themselves to sourcing studies; 2) oxygen isotope ratios in modern shells can be used to identify shells that grow north versus south of Point Conception, California; and 3) shell carbon isotope ratios may further subdivide these two regions into more spatially restricted source zones. Analyses on a small sample of 10 beads found at various archaeological sites within the interior of California suggest that all were made in southern California.

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Independent or Attached Specialization: The Organization of Shell Bead Production in California

Cited by 65 publications

References 4 publications

Ideal free settlement of California’s Northern Channel Islands

Ideal free settlement of California’s Northern Channel Islands

A Test of Ideal Free Distribution Predictions Using Targeted Survey and Excavation on California’s Northern Channel Islands

Provenance analysis of Olivella biplicata shell beads from the California and Oregon Coast by stable isotope fingerprinting

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