1998 Research Abstracts
by Rexford C. Garniewicz
- Age and sex determination from the mandibular dentition of raccoons:
techniques and applications. 8th International Congress of the International
Council for Archaeozoology. University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada. August 23-29, 1998. Final Program and Abstracts pg. 119.
Although raccoon (Procyon lotor) is the second most important mammal at many
archaeological sites in the eastern U.S., comparatively little work has been
done on their mortality profiles. The absence of an accurate and replicable
technique for ageing archaeological material has hindered previous research
on raccoon mortality profiles. Determining age and sex of raccoon remains
using more accurate techniques provides important information on prehistoric
hunting strategies and animal ecology. In combination with measures of relative
abundance these at archaeological sites to determine intensity of exploitation.
Previous techniques of ageing raccoon from dental wear were designed for the
study of complete modern specimens and exhibit severe problems with replicability
when applied to archaeological remains. This study presents new techniques
for ageing relatively complete mandibles and isolated teeth by degree of dentin
exposure. Previous techniques for sex determination need only minor modifications.
Clinal variation in raccoon size and sexual dimorphism has been largely overlooked
by zooarchaeologists; however, once this is controlled for canine width is
an extremely accurate indication of sex.
In this study raccoon mandibles are separated into five wear stages of unequal
duration. Accurate drawings and descriptions of raccoon mandibles are provided
for both early and late phases of each wear stage. This technique avoids the
problem of deciding which drawing a mandible most closely resembles. Most
mandibles fall between early and late phase drawings and can be easily placed
within a single wear stage. Eleven wear stages are provided for each of the
molariform teeth. These wear stages are recorded for complete mandibles. By
comparison to complete mandibles, isolated teeth can also be placed in the
correct wear stage. Wear on M1 is the most regular and even and has the highest
degree of correlation with the overall wear stage.
The distribution of raccoon by sex at several Midwestern sites indicates a
changing pattern over time and suggest a change in exploitation strategies.
Although previous work does not indicate a significant change in mortality
profiles over time, more accurate techniques may indicate a change in exploitation
by age class.
- Raccoon mortality profiles: indicators of prehistoric hunting intensity
in the Midwestern United States. 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for
American Archaeology. Seattle, Washington March 25-29, 1998. Abstracts of
the 63rd Annual Meeting pg. 116.
The absence of an accurate and replicable technique for ageing raccoons based
on dental wear hindered previous research on raccoon mortality profiles. Problems
in presenting unequal category intervals may have further obscured potentially
important data. This study presents a new methodology involving written descriptions
and line drawings of the early and late phases of each dental wear stage.
Data from the Midwestern U.S. are presented in frequency density diagrams
to correct for age categories of unequal duration. Changes in raccoon population
parameters from Archaic through Mississippian times indicate an increase in
prehistoric hunting intensity.
- Patterns of Oliver Phase faunal exploitation. 43rd Annual Midwest
Archaeological Conference. Muncie, Indiana 21-24 October 1998. Program and
Abstracts pg. 23.
Faunal remains from six Oliver Phase sites in south-central Indiana have been
analyzed by the author and a summary of available data is provided. Variations
in seasonality and preservation may be responsible for the appearance of some
assemblages as focused on particular species while other sites have much more
diverse assemblages. Particular attention is paid to these variables when
comparing Oliver Phase remains and contrasting them with interpretations of
animal exploitation by other late prehistoric groups in the region.
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