APPENDIX D
Analysis of Faunal Remains
By Rexford Garniewicz
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Animal remains from archaeological sites can provide information on prehistoric
subsistence and promote an understanding of the local environment. Unfortunately,
whether or not skeletal remains tell their tale is highly dependent on the vagaries
of preservation. At Cox's Woods, chemical weathering of the bone has proved to
be a significant hindrance to an extensive interpretation of the faunal remains.
Methods
During excavation, all intact cultural deposits were screened through 1/4-inch
mesh; 10-liter flotation samples were taken from all features; and plow-zone was
also screened through either 1/4-or 1/2-inch mesh. Any bone observed in situ was
excavated using bamboo picks and all bone recovered was packaged in aluminum foil
for protection during transport. Fragments which were deemed particularly fragile
were brushed clean while moist and then allowed to dry slowly. Better preserved
faunal material was washed with a soft toothbrush. Despite all attempts to maximize
preservation, many fragments were so poorly preserved that they crumbled during
excavation or drying.
Once material was clean enough for identification, specimens were identified and
coded according to the Vertebrate Faunal Analysis Coding System developed by Shaffer
and Baker (1992). In addition to contextual information, the taxon, element, portion
of element, side, age criteria, age, sex, presence of burning, and presence of
cutmarks were recorded.
Preservation
As reported by Wright (Appendix C) the soil pH at Cox's Woods ranged from a low
of 5.8 to a high of 7.0. The mean soil pH of the site is slightly acidic at 6.4.
In combination with factors such as soil moisture, low pH is attributed as a significant
factor in bone destruction at the site.
As a result of postdepositional chemical weathering, the majority of bone recovered
was closely associated with limestone cobbles that provided local areas of neutral
soil. In two instances other factors apparently led to better bone preservation.
A deeply buried sheet midden in Unit N may have protected bone from organic soil
acids. The quantity of bone or types of organic material in Feature 33 (Unit BBB)
may have led to the comparatively excellent bone preservation in this feature.
Calcined bone is less susceptible to chemical weathering than unburned bone. As
a result, sites where weathering of bone is a significant factor tend to have
an over-representation of calcined bone. Thus, the percentage of calcined bone
may be viewed as an indicator of preservation. In this regard, the material from
Cox's Woods (12 Or 1) was compared to material from the Bundy-Voyles site (12
Mg 1), a contemporaneous Oliver Phase village located on a neutral soil. As indicated
in Figure 1 and Table 1, Cox's Woods has a much higher proportion of calcined
bone than a sample from the Bundy-Voyles site which was excavated in 1995. This
shift in proportion of calcined bone, from 12% at a site with good preservation
to 33% at Cox's Woods, provides supporting evidence for the severity of bone weathering.
Species present
From the 1993 and 1994 summer field school excavations at Cox's Woods, 1868 bone
fragments were recovered. Of these remains, 322 specimens were identifiable to
the species or genus level. A further 1546 specimens were identifiable only to
class with 48 of these falling under Aves, 1484 Mammalia, and 1 turtle. The remaining
13 specimens were only identifiable as vertebrate remains.
Summary data on the number of identified specimens (NISP) is displayed in Tables
2 and 3, with appropriate unit and feature designations. Unit designations conform
with those in the body of the report, except A1, A2, and A3 which are subdivisions
of unit A; BG, BD, and CN which are baulks between two single letter units; SO
which is a baulk between units SS and OO; and TR which is Trench 1.
Birds
Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) occurred in Feature 33, and also in Unit N.
The distal end of a radius which closely resembles that of a sandhill crane (Grus
canadensis) in morphology but is slightly larger comes from Feature 33 and is
provisionally assigned to Grus sp. The balance of bird remains from the site consist
of long and flat bone fragments which could only be assigned to rough size classes
of Aves.
Mammals
Wapiti or elk (Cervus elephus) was recovered from three units. Two enamel fragments
were recovered from Unit A, a scapula fragment from Unit BBB, and a cervical vertebrae
fragment from Unit G. It is likely that the very large mammal fragments from units
A, D, and R are also elk, since this is the only mammalian species of this size
recorded in southern Indiana during this time period. Due to its size and bone
density, elk is probably over-represented at the site in comparison to other vertebrates.
Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) remains were the most ubiquitous and abundant, occurring
at units A, B, BBB, C, C, F, G, K, L, N, P, Q, QQ, R, and Trench 1. Deer was an
important source of meat protein and hides as well as antler and bone for the
manufacture of tools. Deer is also probably over-represented in comparison to
smaller mammals because of the overall poor bone preservation at the site. The
density- (and therefore size-) mediated destruction can be demonstrated by a comparison
of the deer elements recovered at Cox's Woods and the bone densities of the same
elements in caribou (similar morphologically and metrically to deer). This comparison
(Table 4, Figure 2) based on work done by Binford and Bertram (1977) indicates
the preferential destruction of the smaller and less dense bone at the site.
The only other mammal at the site which is likely to be prehistoric is the eastern
cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) of which one tooth was recovered in Unit N.
The mole (Scalopus aquaticus) humerus from Trench 1 (TRR) is likely to be intrusive,
and the excellent preservation of the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) vertebra from
Unit O, suggests that it is not from the prehistoric component at the site.
Reptiles
A number of different turtle species were recovered from the site. Unit BBB contained
box turtle (Terrapene sp.), slider (Trachemys sp.), and softshell (Trionyx sp.).
Unit A also contained Trionyx remains as well as an additional species, snapping
turtle (Chelydra serpentina).
Fish
The single fish specimen from the site was a freshwater drum (Sciaenidae) pharyngeal
recovered from Unit BBB. This specimen was poorly preserved and was only identifiable
based on the presence of button-like pharyngeal teeth. Most of the locally available
fish (from Lick Creek) were probably small and are unlikely to be preserved. Lick
Creek is too small to provide a suitable habitat for drum, and this unusual looking
specimen may well have been carried to the site as a curiosity rather than a food
item.
Conclusion
The picture we have of animal utilization at Cox's Woods is very incomplete. We
know that deer and turkey were important, probably the most important, sources
of protein at the site. Elk also played a significant role. A simple conversion
of MNI to meat weight would make elk the single most important source of meat
at the site. It would be naive to say that elk was more important than deer and
turkey since this interpretation is a result of small sample size and poor preservation,
not prehistoric subsistence.
Minimum number of individual (MNI) calculations are presented in Table 5. This
is done for form, rather than as a valid interpretation, since the number of identified
specimens (NISP) presented for the site probably provides a much more accurate
understanding of the proportional importance of various animals.
References Cited
Binford. L. R., and J. B. Bertram
1977 Bone frequencies--and attritional processes. In For theory building in
archeology, ed. L. R. Binford, pp.77-156. Academic Press, New York.
Shaffer, B. S., and B. W. Baker
1992 A Vertebrate Faunal Analysis Coding System: with North American Taxonomy
and Base Support Programs and Procedures. University of Michigan Museum of
Anthropology, Technical Report 23. Ann Arbor.
Wright, T.
1996 Investigation of Soil pH at the Cox's Woods Site, 12 Or 1, Appendix
C, this volume.
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