Coles Creek period faunal exploitation in the Ouachita River valley of southern Arkansas: The evidence from the Paw Paw site
Description
This study examines aboriginal faunal exploitation during the Coles Creek period (A.D. 700-1200) in the Ouachita River valley of southern Arkansas. A series of hypotheses are offered concerning changes in faunal exploitation strategies during this period, and these are examined in the light of zooarchaeological data recovered from excavations at the Paw Paw site (3OU22), located ca. 16 km southeast of Camden, Arkansas. The site has a long sequence of occupations, including three during the Coles Creek period. Excavations in one area produced over 16,000 vertebrate and invertebrate faunal remains. Analysis of these remains indicates a consistent reliance on white-tailed deer, main channel and backwater species of fish, and a variety of medium and small mammals, supplemented by mussels, turtles, and turkey. However, there are indications that faunal exploitation strategies were gradually intensified during the period and that horticulture was becoming increasingly important. Both of these processes are suggested to be related to population increases within the region In the final section of the Coles Creek period faunal assemblages from the Paw Paw site are compared to a roughly contemporary assemblage from the Bangs Slough site (3CA3), located within the same region, and, on a more general level, to a number of late prehistoric assemblages from the Central and Lower Mississippi Valley. These comparisons suggest that while regional patterns of faunal exploitation have some validity, they are partly related to broad trends in the distribution of prey species, and they overlook significant local variability within regions