Great Basin Hunting Patterns: A Quantitative Method for Treating Faunal Remains

Abstract

AbstractRecent excavation and subsequent analysis have been undertaken for the express purpose of deriving quantitative techniques for the analysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites. Experiments were conducted which indicate that significant amounts of bones are lost through the various meshes of screen used by archaeologists. Factors were then calculated to alleviate this problem and to yield results amenable to rigorous quantitative treatment. Results obtained in this manner can add accuracy to most salvage operations and credibility to the more ideal excavation conditions. The proposed method was applied to data from Smoky Creek Cave, a Medithermal site approximately 40 mi. north of Gerlach, Washoe County, Nevada; results indicate a pattern of cottontail rabbit and mountain sheep hunting similar to the model which Flannery has proposed for the Tehuacán Valley, Mexico.