Holocene artiodactyl population histories and large game hunting in the Wyoming Basin, USA
- 作者：Byers ; David A. ; Smith ; Craig S. ; Broughton ; Jack M.
- 关键词：Artiodactyls ; Holocene climate change ; Middle Holocene drought ; Prey model ; Wyoming Basin
- 刊名：Journal of Archaeological Science
- 出版年：2005
- 期刊代码：137_03054403
- 类别：soc
- 出版时间：January, 2005
- 卷：32
- 期：1
- 页码：125-142
- 文件大小：455 K
摘要
Regional paleoenvironmental reconstructions and data on artiodactyl response to climate change suggest that large game densities would have expanded during the late Holocene in the Wyoming Basin. Within this context, we use the prey model of foraging theory to predict a late Holocene increase in the hunting of artiodactyls, relative to lagomorphs and rodents. This prediction is then tested against 144 dated components documenting human subsistence in the Wyoming Basin. Close fits are found between the deductively derived prediction and the empirical records: significant increases in artiodactyl hunting occurred during the late Holocene. These results have implications for the interpretation of long-term increases in large-game in Holocene archaeofaunas throughout North America.