Abstract
Recent studies of faunal assemblages from archaeological sites in the Sacramento Valley, California have illustrated substantial anthropogenic impacts to local game populations and distributions during the late Holocene. Resource intensification analyses document a decrease in foraging efficiency and suggest populations of profitable mammals and fish were increasingly depressed through the late Holocene. Yet, limited research on the impacts of harvest pressures on prehistoric bird resources exists for the region. Modeling a similar study of avifauna exploitation in the San Francisco Bay, I test the hypothesis that profitable avian taxa were depressed by prehistoric hunters in the lower Sacramento Valley through a comprehensive analysis of avifauna remains from two sites in the lower Sacramento Valley (CA-SAC-15/H and CA-SAC-29). Results are suggestive of resource depression and show avifauna assemblages dominated by waterfowl in which the most profitable taxa (geese) decline in relative abundance over the time of occupation at both sites. A comprehensive analysis of taxonomic composition and taphonomy, and a review of regional archaeofaunal records, waterfowl life histories, and micro-regional paleoclimate contexts, provide clarification on observed trends in relative abundance and supporting evidence for avian resource depression.