Masters Thesis

Bone Fragmentation as an Indicator of Subsistence Stress in the North Coast Ranges of California

ABSTRACT BONE FRAGMENTATION AS AN INDICATOR OF SUBSISTENCE STRESS IN THE NORTH COAST RANGES OF CALIFORNIA by Gregory E. Collins Master of Arts in Anthropology California State University, Chico Fall 2010 Animal fat, whether in meat or in bones, plays an important role in the diet of most hunter-gatherers whether past or present. Fats have a higher caloric value than protein and carbohydrates and in a community where there is dietary stress the heavy exploitation of fat resources may be the only means of survival. A reliable source of animal fat is stored in the bones, as even when an animal is suffering from dietary stress and the meat is very lean, there is a store of fat available within the bones in the form of marrow (in the bone cavities) and grease (within the bone structure itself). This thesis posits that is it possible to determine subsistence stress in the archaeological record by examining the degree of fragmentation of freshly fractured animal bones for the extraction of bone grease. If prehistoric hunter-gatherers are foraging optimally, it should be visible in the archaeological record. In the processing of faunal remains for bone grease, more x calories are expended than extracted which is not optimal. It is expected that during times of environmental stress when prey encounter rates are lower, prehistoric huntergatherers would more intensively process each carcass. Using the highly fragmented faunal assemblage from the archaeological site CA-Teh-984 as a case study, I compare the fracture freshness and size of bone fragments between two units: Unit 1, which dates during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly; and unit 17 which post-dates the droughts.

Chico State is committed to accessibility. If you have any problems accessing this material, please contact the Accessibility Resource Center at (530) 898-5959 or submit an Accessible Content service ticket.

Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.