Trans-Holocene Marine Mammal Exploitation on San Clemente Island, California: A Tragedy of the Commons Revisited

Abstract

Occupied from ca. 7040 B.C. to AD. 1400, the Eel Point Site (CA-SCLI-43) on San Clemente Island, California represents one of the longest sequences of near-continuous marine resource exploitation on the west coast of North America. Faunal remains suggest transitions from heavy exploitation of fur seals and sea lions during the early Holocene, to increased hunting of cetaceans at mid-Holocene, to a focus on sea otters and fish during the late Holocene. These trends are consistent with patterns of overexploitation and economic intensification on the California and Oregon mainland, but they also suggest watercraft-based hunting earlier on the island than elsewhere. Fur seal and sea lion bones mainly represent females and juveniles, indicating that exploitation of island rookeries was guided more by self-interest than by principles of game conservation. Two intervals of temporary site abandonment, ca. 6150-3970 B.C. and AD. 1020-1400, were both followed by periods of increased marine mammal exploi tation and may reflect intervals during which marine mammal populations rebounded. Broad scale diachronic trends in the zooarchaeological remains do not correlate with flux in paleo-sea temperatures and are best interpreted as products of overhunting and increased use of water craft over time.With the increasing application of opti ample, is commonly envisioned as a mal foraging and/or economic intensifica strictly natural or climatic phenomenon tion theories to models of hunter-gath routinely accommodated by simple adap erer subsistence (see Beaton 1991; Basgall tive adjustments and/or migrations by hu 1987; Broughton 1994, among others), mans (see Moratto 1984). These models long-standing cultural ecological interpre portray human/environmental relation tations of forager prehistory are coming ships as largely unidirectional; culture is under renewed scrutiny. Based on a perceived as being influenced by the nat premise of relentless human adaptation, ural environment, but there are often no many traditional cultural ecological inter catastrophes or violence and little consid pretations emphasize a limited rela eration of the possible impact of humans tionship between humans and their envi on their surroundings. In models in which ronment. Environmental change, for ex-the influence of hunter-gatherers on nat

Evolutionary Ecology, Resource Depression, and Niche Construction Theory: Applications to Central California Hunter-Gatherers and Mimbres-Mogollon Agriculturalists

“…These trends co-occur with substantial increases in the use of low-return plant resources, specifically acorns and small seeds. Similar trends have been documented in detail for many other regions of California, most notably the San Francisco Bay area (e.g., Broughton 1999;Broughton et al 2007) and the Southern California coast (e.g., Porcasi et al 2000;Rick et al 2008). These trends have far-reaching implications for other aspects of human lifeways, including those related to human health, stature, and interpersonal violence.…”

Behavioral Ecology and Archaeology

“…In most cases, test implications were immediately apparent. Many subsequent studies of prehistoric diet change and, to a lesser extent, patterns in patch choice have led to similar inferences (e.g., Cannon, 2000;Edwards and O'Connell, 1995;Erlandson, 1991;Glassow and Wilcoxin, 1988;Grayson, 1991;Jones and Richman, 1995;Mannino and Thomas, 2002;O'Connell et al, 1982;Perlman, 1980;Porcasi et al, 2000;Russell, 1988;Simms, 1987;Szuter and Bayham, 1989;Wright, 1994;Yesner, 1989;Zeanah and Simms, 1999; for additional review and discussion see Shennan, 2002;Winterhalder and Smith, 2000).…”

A Programmatic Approach to Determine Eligibility of Prehistoric Sites in the San Diego Subregion, Southern Coast Archeological Region, California, for the National Register of Historic Places

“…The focus of subsistence practices was on maritime hunting and fishing, and, as stated earlier, this adaptation was markedly different from that observed on the mainland during the analogous Millingstone period, which was dominated by ground stone equipment. The early Holocene occupants of Eel Point (CA-SCLI-43) had a very productive marine economy that included seal, sea lion, and dolphin hunting and shellfish collecting (Garlinghouse 2000, Porcasi et al 2000. Early Holocene sites are not found outside the Coastal Terrace topographic zone; however, dating of deflated shell middens in the different zones, which would be necessary to conclusively model the early Holocene settlement pattern on San Clemente Island, has been limited.…”

“…One issue that has been a consistent topic of debate is the relationship between resource intensification and declining foraging efficiency on the island during the Holocene (Porcasi et al 2000;Raab 1996;Raab and Yatsko 1992;Yatsko 2000). However, much of the data for this discussion is from Eel Point (CA-SCLI-43), and there is a clear need for data from a wider range of sites on the island.…”

“…Late Holocene sites on San Clemente Island have yielded increased quantities of small projectile points, which led scholars to hypothesize adoption of the bow and arrow as a hunting weapon to exploit sea otters Porcasi et al 2000). This pattern should be explored further through rigorous examination of artifact distribution and correlation with faunal data.…”