Evolutionary Anthropology Colloquium: Dr. Jacob Fisher (Sac State) "Stable Isotopes, Climate and Mountain Sheep Hunting in the Great Basin"
Date & Time
Apr 29, 2013
from
04:10 PM to
05:00 PM
Location
2203 SS&H (Andrews Conference Room)
Description
Dr. Jacob Fisher, Assistant Professor/NAGPRA Director, Anthropology, CSU Sacramento
Stable Isotopes, Climate, and Mountain Sheep Hunting in the Great Basin
Identifying the transportation of large game between kill sites and residential bases is necessary for the evaluation of central place foraging. Previous work using skeletal part representation has proven problematic, yet many of the known issues may be bypassed by through the use of stable isotope analysis. Results of strontium, oxygen, and carbon stable isotope analysis on mountain sheep from Five Ringer Ridge, a Fremont Period site in the eastern Great Basin, suggest that over time mountain sheep were acquired from increasingly higher altitudes. Local pollen sequence data show a corresponding elevation change in pinyon-juniper woodlands. This suggests the shift in mountain sheep hunting might be related to climate change and may have important implications for explaining the use of high elevation sites elsewhere in the Great Basin. The application of these methods to the faunal remains from White Mountains sites should further our understanding of prehistoric foraging and the |