SCIENCE@home

Late Holocene Paleodietary Patterns Among the Ancestral Ohlone: Ecogeographic Partitioning of Resources Along the San Francisco Bay Eastern Shore

Melanie M Beasley,E. Bartelink,Alan Leventhal,Monica V. Arellano,Richard Massiatt,Charlene Nijmeh

Published 2025 in American Journal of Biological Anthropology

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT Objectives In the San Francisco Bay Area, Late Holocene resource intensification models predict an increase in diet breadth and a reduction in foraging efficiency associated with an increase in population, sedentism, and territoriality among fisher‐hunter‐gatherer populations. Here we compare bone stable carbon (δ 13C) and nitrogen (δ 15N) isotope values of sites along the eastern bay shore to interpret how ecogeographical partitioning of resources by latitude and distance from the bay reflects differential access and control of resources. Materials and Methods With the support of, and in collaboration with, the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area, we analyzed bone collagen and bioapatite from 154 burials from Mánni Muwékma Kúksú Hóowok Yatiš Túnnešte‐tka (CA‐ALA‐329) (2500–180 cal B.P.) to examine temporal changes in diet. Further, we examined the ecogeographical partitioning of resources in relation to published data from four contemporaneous sites. Results For collagen (n = 146), δ 13C values average −18.2‰±0.7‰ (1SD) and δ 15N values average 9.8‰±1.5‰ (1SD). For bioapatite (n = 144), δ 13C values average −13.8‰±1.0‰ (1SD). Adult males had statistically significantly higher isotope values compared to adult females, but differences were minimal (< 1.1‰). No meaningful temporal changes in diet were identified. Regional dietary differences occurred along a latitudinal gradient of the eastern bay shore. Discussion Foraging efficiency was localized, suggesting that the exploitation of different microhabitats was critical to each tribal group. Stable isotope data complement zooarchaeological and paleobotanical data; although they reveal different aspects of subsistence practices and diet.

PUBLICATION RECORD

CITATION MAP

EXTRACTION MAP

CLAIMS

  • No claims are published for this paper.

CONCEPTS

  • No concepts are published for this paper.

REFERENCES

Showing 1-93 of 93 references · Page 1 of 1

CITED BY