Premium
Diagnostic osteology and analysis of the Mid‐ to Late Holocene dynamics of shags and cormorants in Tierra del Fuego
Author(s) -
Causey D.,
Lefèvre C.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/oa.865
Subject(s) - holocene , osteology , geography , abundance (ecology) , archaeology , geology , ecology , paleontology , biology
We present here illustrated characteristics and anatomical descriptions of features that can be used to discriminate between four common skeletal elements (i.e. humerus, coracoid, femur, tarsometatarsus) of the five species of shags and cormorants known to occur in southern South America. We also present a detailed study of their distribution and abundance from about 6000 years before present to historical times as revealed by identification of faunal material excavated earlier and by re‐analysis of material published previously. Our results present a high‐resolution examination of the avian resource base used by early human hunters, and provide a foundation for future studies on the palaeoavifauna of Tierra del Fuego during the Mid‐ to Late Holocene. On the broadest scales, species diversity of the Phalacrocoracidae is qualitatively stable over space and time, a pattern that is also reflected in the larger marine bird community. On a finer scale, however, our results indicate that the abundance and distribution of cormorants and shags in Mid‐ and Late Holocene zooarchaeological deposits varied in a complex manner through time. These patterns do not appear to be related to proximity effects of hunters to colonies, but to other factors possibly associated with environmental change. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.