Boning on the Mohawk: An Overview of Mohawk Faunal Assemblages and Subsistence Patterns

TitleBoning on the Mohawk: An Overview of Mohawk Faunal Assemblages and Subsistence Patterns
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2000
AuthorsKuhn, RD, Funk, RE
JournalArchaeology of Eastern North America
Volume28
Pagination29-62
Keywordsbone, fauna, hunting, Mohawk, subsistence
Abstract

This paper presents a summary and analysis of the growing body of data on faunal assemblages from Mohawk sites. The results of excavations on eighteen Mohawk sites are incorporated into the study, including previously unpublished data from five sites. Similarities and differences between Mohawk faunal assemblages are identified using cluster analysis and interpreted in relation to key changes in Mohawk subsistence activities over time. As a result, six distinctive subsistence strategies are defined that appear to have both chronological and economic significance. Measures of richness, evenness and diversity are presented for Mohawk faunal assemblages, and a chronological trend toward more diversified assemblages is identified. Based on this evidence it is argued that changes in Mohawk subsistence strategies reflected adaptive responses that produced more stable and reliable economic patterns over time.

URLhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/40914437