Pristine benchmarks and indigenous conservation? Implications from California zooarchaeology

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Publication Type pre-print
School or College College of Social & Behavioral Science
Department Anthropology
Creator Broughton, John
Title Pristine benchmarks and indigenous conservation? Implications from California zooarchaeology
Date 2004-01-01
Description The superabundance of tame wildlife during the early historic period in California astonished European explorers. And the historic accounts of incredible animal densities, most notably artiodactyls, have influenced a long-held perception that California Indians lived in harmony with nature. However, analyses of archaeological faunal materials from sites covering a wide range of ecological contexts provide evidence for substantial impacts on a variety of large vertebrate taxa as human population densities expanded over the last c. 3000 years. The evidence suggests that many large vertebrate species, including sturgeon (Acipenser spp.), geese (Anser, Chen, Branta), tule elk (Cervus elpahus nannodes). mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and pronghorn (Antilocapra americans), were driven to extremely low numbers by human hunting by late prehistoric times. The early historic accounts of large game superabundances almost surely reflect irruptions of those populations after preceding waves of European-based disease dramatically reduced their chief predators - the California Indians. These results have implications for conservation policies that are founded on early historic period landscape benchmarks and proposals involving the management of wilderness areas through the use of indigenous hunting and harvesting methods.
Type Text
Publisher David Brown Book Company (Oxbow Books)
First Page 6
Last Page 18
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Language eng
Bibliographic Citation Broughton, J. M. (2004). Pristine benchmarks and indigenous conservation? Implications from California zooarchaeology In: The Future from the Past: Archaeozoology in Wildlife Conservation and Heritage Management, ed. R. Lauwerrier and I. Plug. Oxbow book, 6-18.
Rights Management (c)David Brown Book Company (Oxbow Books)
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 1,295,338 bytes
Identifier uspace,17849
ARK ark:/87278/s6qj821v
Setname ir_uspace
ID 708161
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6qj821v
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