CA-MNT-910

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Faunal Remains

Mammal, Bird and Reptile Remains - Shellfish Remains

MAMMAL, BIRD, AND REPTILE REMAINS

The non–piscine faunal collection from CA–MNT–910 includes 498 specimens weighing 158.31 g. Burned bones (169 specimens) make up 31.4 percent of the collection. No specimens show cut marks but several appear to have been gnawed or punctured either by rodents or carnivores. A total of 147 fragments was identified to species, genus, or family level (34.0%). The majority of the remaining bones (277 specimens or 64% of the collection) was identified to the order level although most could only be identified as large, medium, or small mammal. A few fragments (8 specimens or less than 2% of the collection) could be identified only as vertebrata.

As is typical for central California, and FHL in particular, the site produced an abundance of bones from small burrowing animals which suggests the likelihood of stratigraphic mixing. Elements representing the ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) (NISP=70) are profuse, together accounting for 14 percent of the collection. It is the single most abundant animal identified to the species level. Remains of the pocket gopher (NISP=9), a notorious burrower, are present as well.

While some fraction of the ground squirrel remains and other small animal remains are probably evidence of prehistoric diets, it is equally clear that some if not the majority are modern intrusions, and there is no way to distinguish the modern specimens from the prehistoric ones. Only the bones from the larger, non–burrowing native animals can be confidently attributed to the prehistoric occupation. Eliminating all specimens not identified to the genus level and also those representing likely intrusions, the collection is reduced to 48 specimens. Within this sample, the animal most consistently identified to the genus level was the jack rabbit (NISP=18), followed by Audubon’s cottontail rabbit (NISP=11), and black-tailed deer (NISP=9). There is no apparent vertical or spatial variation in the distribution of species although the vast majority of identifiable remains was recovered from the midden deposit in the central portion of the site.

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SHELLFISH REMAINS

Columns were excavated into the completed sidewalls of Units 1 and 4 both to depths of 70 cm. Total recovery volume from the two columns was 0.056 m3. The column samples were dominated by the remains of California mussel (Mytilus californianus) (98.7%) (Table 20) which is consistent with findings from other sites at FHL, including Late Period components at CA–MNT–237 and -879. Most other taxa are typical representatives of the high–energy rocky shores found on the Big Sur coast. Mussels were followed in importance by turban snails (5.8%) and gumboot chiton (0.9%). It is likely that the barnacles, small chitons, and platform mussels were “riders,” or shells that were carried in attached to other species. Experimentation with the so–called stripping strategy used to collect mussels throughout most of the sequence at Big Sur (Jones and Richman 1995) showed that at least ten species of riders, including barnacles, limpets, and turban snails were commonly included with the mussels when this techniques was used. The assemblage from CA–MNT–1748/H is typical of the inventory associated with stripping. The percentage of turban snail shells, however, is higher than that found in the mussel collection experiment, and it is likely that these shells represent dietary items, albeit ones of minor importance.

From a recovery volume of 0.056 m3 from the two columns, a total of 65.7g of shell was recovered. Extrapolating from the columns volumetrically, this represents a total of only 11.5 kg of shell for the full site recovery volume (9.852 m3).

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References Cited

Jones, T.L., and Richman
1995 On Mussels: Mytilus californianus as a Prehistoric Resource. North American Archaeologist #16: 33-58.