Boat-based foraging and discontinuous prehistoric red abalone exploitation along the California coast

Abstract

Temporally and spatially discontinuous pulses of heavy prehistoric exploitation of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) have been documented along the southern and central California coast. This article examines the very late (post-950cal BP) appearance of numerous red abalone processing sites on the Monterey Peninsula in central California. We test three prominent explanations offered for the sudden onset of red abalone processing sites: trophic cascades resulting from human predation on sea otters, logistical foraging by inland residents, and changes in sea surface temperature. A trophic cascade appears to have occurred but does not fully explain the nature or timing of the phenomenon in the region.We present an alternative explanation that argues that intensive procurement of red abalone emerged at a time when both population pressure and social complexity increased greatly in central California. We argue that a new exploitation strategy—diving from boats—was employed to exploit a much larger portion of the red abalone habitat. This strategy entailed logistical forays by divers who worked new patches in tandem with boaters, gathered large quantities in a single foray, and then field processed them in bulk on the shore before transporting the meat to coastal residences. This strategy provided an additional source of food, and both tradable dried meat and numerous large shells that could be manufactured into ornaments and traded as decorative accoutrements. We conclude our discussion with a consideration of the factors that created such a discontinuous record of red abalone exploitation along the California coast.