In this paper, we explore and integrate different currencies that may underlie large-game hunting... more In this paper, we explore and integrate different currencies that may underlie large-game hunting to guide a trans-Holocene analysis of variation in artiodactyl utilization using massive archaeofaunal data-sets from predominantly open-air sites from the Bonneville and Wyoming basins. The available empirical data continue to suggest that artiodactyls yield consistently higher return rates than lagomorphs allowing us to leverage predictions from both the prey choice and energetic risk-gain models that the relative importance of artiodactyl hunting should scale closely with climate-based change in their abundance on the landscape. We document with modeled climate data that seasonal variables correlated with the relative frequency of artiodactyl hunting, but that summer temperature had a significant overriding effect in both regions. Controlling for the negative relationship between summer temperature and artiodactyl abundances, we then document enhanced artiodactyl hunting in general a...
Abstract Although recent research of the faunal and floral remains of the Bonneville basin has in... more Abstract Although recent research of the faunal and floral remains of the Bonneville basin has increased our knowledge of biotic change at the end of the final regression of Lake Bonneville, our knowledge of avifaunal change during this period remains poorly understood. This study focuses on the bird remains from the lower strata (especially Stratum I) of Homestead Cave, the only site in the Bonneville basin that provides a substantial, well-dated avifaunal record dating to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene. Analysis of the entire Stratum I avifauna produced a sample of 4613 identified specimens; the fauna is dominated by aquatic taxa including ducks, grebes, gulls, and shorebirds. Terrestrial taxa are also well represented, most notably by Greater Sage-Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). We examine change in the taxonomic composition of the Bonneville basin aquatic avifauna as anticipated from previous research and find significant declines from 13.1 to 9.5 cal ka BP in piscivorous or deep-water taxa, such as diving ducks and Aechmophorus grebes. Our analysis captures the transition from the freshwater conditions associated with the terminal regressive phase of Lake Bonneville to the warmer hypersaline context that has characterized Great Salt Lake for much of the Holocene. We also document a dramatic loss of Greater Sage-Grouse across this period. This ~ 4000-year record of avifaunal change may prove useful in modern conservation efforts, most notably for that of Greater Sage-Grouse, as xeric conditions are forecasted to increase in the future.
El Niño has profound influences on ecosystem dynamics. However, we know little about how it shape... more El Niño has profound influences on ecosystem dynamics. However, we know little about how it shapes vertebrate faunal community composition over centennial time scales, and this limits our ability to forecast change under projections of future El Niño events. On the basis of correlations between geological records of past El Niño frequency and the species composition of bird and fish remains from a Baja California bone deposit that spans the past 12,000 years, we documented marked faunal restructuring when major El Niño events occurred more than five times per century. This tipping point has implications for the past and future ecology of eastern Pacific coastal environments.
Abstract The Associational Critique posits that extinct megafauna are scarce in North American la... more Abstract The Associational Critique posits that extinct megafauna are scarce in North American late Pleistocene archaeological contexts, contrary to expectations of the overkill hypothesis. In an analysis focusing on the period of overlap between humans and megafauna, we revealed that no such underrepresentation of extinct taxa in kill/scavenging sites exists. Instead, we found a single positive trend between paleontological and archaeological occurrences for all megafauna taxa—extinct and extant—a pattern that is consistent with expectations from the prey model of foraging theory (Wolfe and Broughton, 2020). Grayson et al. (2021), while agreeing that such equated timescales should be used, question certain aspects of our analysis and use new datasets to reaffirm the premise of the Associational Critique. However, their analysis is problematic, as they use different criteria to assemble archaeological records for extant and extinct megafauna—more strict for the latter, thereby inflating the archaeological abundance of extant taxa. More critically, by using archaeological and paleontological data that align in time and space, there is no logical warrant for their argument that extinct forms should be underrepresented in kill/scavenging contexts because they “had either already disappeared or were much reduced in abundance by the time people arrived on the landscape” (Grayson et al., 2021). Using archaeological datasets that were assembled using the same stringent criteria and further refined timescales, we again find no support for such an underrepresentation nor the Associational Critique.
Previous analyses of the Emeryville Shellmound fauna suggested that ever-expanding late Holocene ... more Previous analyses of the Emeryville Shellmound fauna suggested that ever-expanding late Holocene human populations of the San Francisco Bay area depressed a wide range of vertebrate taxa, including cormorants (Phalacrocorax), geese (Anserinae), and large shorebirds (e.g., Numenius, Limosa). Far-reaching implications for prehistoric human behavior, historical ecology, and modern conservation biology have re-sulted from that work. We test the generality of the bird-based conclusions here by documenting temporal trends in avifaunal abundances from five additional sites located on the San Francisco Peninsula. Analyses of these data reveal patterns identical to those found at Emeryville, showing significant declines through time in the relative abundances of both geese and cormorants between about 2000 and 700 B.P. New photon absorptiometric-based density data for cormorants, geese, and ducks (Anatinae) are used to determine if the declines through time in the relative abundances of gees...
Table XLI provides the numbers of identified fish specimens by element from Stratum II at Cathedr... more Table XLI provides the numbers of identified fish specimens by element from Stratum II at Cathedral Cave. The criteria used to arrive at those identifications are provided in chapter nine. A total of 547 identified fish specimens are represented in this deposit; all of those are sculpin. The mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) is represented by three preopercles. Five preopercles were identified as either Bear Lake sculpin (Cattus extensus) or Utah Lake sculpin (c. echinatus). Both C. extensus and C. bairdi are represented in the Homestead Cave fauna as well as from the Hot Springs and Black Rock late Pleistocene deposits of Lake Bonneville (Smith and others, 1968). Since C. echinatus has yet to be securely identified in any Lake Bonneville ichthyofauna, the materials identified as C. extensuslechinatus most likely represent C. extensus. That the Cathedral Cave deposits lack most of the fish species known to have occupied Lake Bonneville is intriguing and may reflect something unique ab...
In this paper, we explore and integrate different currencies that may underlie large-game hunting... more In this paper, we explore and integrate different currencies that may underlie large-game hunting to guide a trans-Holocene analysis of variation in artiodactyl utilization using massive archaeofaunal data-sets from predominantly open-air sites from the Bonneville and Wyoming basins. The available empirical data continue to suggest that artiodactyls yield consistently higher return rates than lagomorphs allowing us to leverage predictions from both the prey choice and energetic risk-gain models that the relative importance of artiodactyl hunting should scale closely with climate-based change in their abundance on the landscape. We document with modeled climate data that seasonal variables correlated with the relative frequency of artiodactyl hunting, but that summer temperature had a significant overriding effect in both regions. Controlling for the negative relationship between summer temperature and artiodactyl abundances, we then document enhanced artiodactyl hunting in general a...
Abstract Although recent research of the faunal and floral remains of the Bonneville basin has in... more Abstract Although recent research of the faunal and floral remains of the Bonneville basin has increased our knowledge of biotic change at the end of the final regression of Lake Bonneville, our knowledge of avifaunal change during this period remains poorly understood. This study focuses on the bird remains from the lower strata (especially Stratum I) of Homestead Cave, the only site in the Bonneville basin that provides a substantial, well-dated avifaunal record dating to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene. Analysis of the entire Stratum I avifauna produced a sample of 4613 identified specimens; the fauna is dominated by aquatic taxa including ducks, grebes, gulls, and shorebirds. Terrestrial taxa are also well represented, most notably by Greater Sage-Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ). We examine change in the taxonomic composition of the Bonneville basin aquatic avifauna as anticipated from previous research and find significant declines from 13.1 to 9.5 cal ka BP in piscivorous or deep-water taxa, such as diving ducks and Aechmophorus grebes. Our analysis captures the transition from the freshwater conditions associated with the terminal regressive phase of Lake Bonneville to the warmer hypersaline context that has characterized Great Salt Lake for much of the Holocene. We also document a dramatic loss of Greater Sage-Grouse across this period. This ~ 4000-year record of avifaunal change may prove useful in modern conservation efforts, most notably for that of Greater Sage-Grouse, as xeric conditions are forecasted to increase in the future.
El Niño has profound influences on ecosystem dynamics. However, we know little about how it shape... more El Niño has profound influences on ecosystem dynamics. However, we know little about how it shapes vertebrate faunal community composition over centennial time scales, and this limits our ability to forecast change under projections of future El Niño events. On the basis of correlations between geological records of past El Niño frequency and the species composition of bird and fish remains from a Baja California bone deposit that spans the past 12,000 years, we documented marked faunal restructuring when major El Niño events occurred more than five times per century. This tipping point has implications for the past and future ecology of eastern Pacific coastal environments.
Abstract The Associational Critique posits that extinct megafauna are scarce in North American la... more Abstract The Associational Critique posits that extinct megafauna are scarce in North American late Pleistocene archaeological contexts, contrary to expectations of the overkill hypothesis. In an analysis focusing on the period of overlap between humans and megafauna, we revealed that no such underrepresentation of extinct taxa in kill/scavenging sites exists. Instead, we found a single positive trend between paleontological and archaeological occurrences for all megafauna taxa—extinct and extant—a pattern that is consistent with expectations from the prey model of foraging theory (Wolfe and Broughton, 2020). Grayson et al. (2021), while agreeing that such equated timescales should be used, question certain aspects of our analysis and use new datasets to reaffirm the premise of the Associational Critique. However, their analysis is problematic, as they use different criteria to assemble archaeological records for extant and extinct megafauna—more strict for the latter, thereby inflating the archaeological abundance of extant taxa. More critically, by using archaeological and paleontological data that align in time and space, there is no logical warrant for their argument that extinct forms should be underrepresented in kill/scavenging contexts because they “had either already disappeared or were much reduced in abundance by the time people arrived on the landscape” (Grayson et al., 2021). Using archaeological datasets that were assembled using the same stringent criteria and further refined timescales, we again find no support for such an underrepresentation nor the Associational Critique.
Previous analyses of the Emeryville Shellmound fauna suggested that ever-expanding late Holocene ... more Previous analyses of the Emeryville Shellmound fauna suggested that ever-expanding late Holocene human populations of the San Francisco Bay area depressed a wide range of vertebrate taxa, including cormorants (Phalacrocorax), geese (Anserinae), and large shorebirds (e.g., Numenius, Limosa). Far-reaching implications for prehistoric human behavior, historical ecology, and modern conservation biology have re-sulted from that work. We test the generality of the bird-based conclusions here by documenting temporal trends in avifaunal abundances from five additional sites located on the San Francisco Peninsula. Analyses of these data reveal patterns identical to those found at Emeryville, showing significant declines through time in the relative abundances of both geese and cormorants between about 2000 and 700 B.P. New photon absorptiometric-based density data for cormorants, geese, and ducks (Anatinae) are used to determine if the declines through time in the relative abundances of gees...
Table XLI provides the numbers of identified fish specimens by element from Stratum II at Cathedr... more Table XLI provides the numbers of identified fish specimens by element from Stratum II at Cathedral Cave. The criteria used to arrive at those identifications are provided in chapter nine. A total of 547 identified fish specimens are represented in this deposit; all of those are sculpin. The mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) is represented by three preopercles. Five preopercles were identified as either Bear Lake sculpin (Cattus extensus) or Utah Lake sculpin (c. echinatus). Both C. extensus and C. bairdi are represented in the Homestead Cave fauna as well as from the Hot Springs and Black Rock late Pleistocene deposits of Lake Bonneville (Smith and others, 1968). Since C. echinatus has yet to be securely identified in any Lake Bonneville ichthyofauna, the materials identified as C. extensuslechinatus most likely represent C. extensus. That the Cathedral Cave deposits lack most of the fish species known to have occupied Lake Bonneville is intriguing and may reflect something unique ab...
Uploads
Papers by Jack Broughton