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The Bluegrass Fauna and Changes in Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Foraging in the Southern Midwest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

C. Russell Stafford
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, In 47809
Ronald L. Richards
Affiliation:
Indiana State Museum, 202 N. Alabama Street, Indianapolis, In 46204
C. Michael Anslinger
Affiliation:
Cultural Resource Analysts, 2800 Virginia Avenue, Hurricane, Wv 25526

Abstract

A shift in Archaic foraging to a largely logistic collector strategy by the middle Holocene is indicated by the presence of rock-filled middens in the U.S. southern Midwest. This change has usually been attributed to the development of super-rich wetland habitats in large river valleys. Analysis of a well-preserved faunal assemblage from the Bluegrass site, a late Middle Archaic base camp/mortuary occupation, located in an interior upland drainage basin of southwestern Indiana, suggests that small-bodied terrestrial mammals and reptiles were substituted for aquatic animal foods. Comparisons with faunal assemblages from other base camps in a diverse set of habitats in the southern Midwest indicates that white-tailed deer and hickory nuts were the basis for the logistical foraging strategy rather than aquatic resources. It is proposed that a change in forest composition from a mesic closed canopy to an open oak-hickory association by the middle Holocene increased the abundance of deer and nut mast leading to a coarse-grain use of the landscape.

Resumen

Resumen

Un cambio en elforrraje arcaico a una estrategia predominante mente se colectora logística durante el Holoceno medio es indicado por la presencia basura les llenos de piedras en el entro-sur de los E.E.U.U. Este cambio normalmente ha sido atribuído al desarrollo de habitats humédos en los valles de ríos grandes. Análisis de una asamblea bien preservada de fauna del sitio Bluegrass, una ocupación de campamento base que data del arcaico medio y tardís, situada en una cuenca de un río de la meseta del suroeste de Indiana, sugiere que mamíferos terrestres pequeños y reptiles fueron sustituidos por comida de animales acuáticos. Comparaciones con conjuntos de fauna de otros campanmentos base en diversos habitat en el área indican que el venado de cola blanca y los nogales fueron más bdsicos la báse para la estrategia deforraje logístico que los recursos acuáticos. Se propone que un cambio en la composición del bosque mésico cerrado a una asociación abierta de roble/nogal en el Holoceno medio aumentó la abundancia de venado y nueces, loque ilevó a un uso variado del paisage.

Type
Reports
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2000

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References

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