The CA-SCR-9 archaeofauna: Insights into prey choice, seasonality, and processing

Abstract

Excavations of the Bonny Doon site (CA-SCR-9) in the Santa Cruz Mountains of northern Santa Cruz County, California by Hylkema in the late 1980s recovered a large and well-preserved faunal assemblage that spans the Early-Middle Period transition. With over 8,000 recorded specimens (from an estimated 12,000 total number of specimens [NSP]) and with demonstrated sampling to redundancy, the SCR-9 assemblage is one of the largest faunal samples in the region, and only the second published at this level of specificity. Analysis of the SCR-9 assemblage shows there were no changes in prey choice or handling in this part of the California central coast during the site’s occupation, while the presence of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) suggests the site’s inhabitants were connected to fur seal hunting at Año Nuevo Point. Notably, there is evidence for intensive exploitation of cervid bone nutrients, a pattern that may be typical of inland sites in this region.