Can transport costs explain the near absence of marmot bones at shoreline archaeological sites on Vancouver Island? Finding input values for central place modelling with biological scaling

Abstract

Central place models test economic optimization hypotheses about resource processing and transport in archaeological contexts. These models require input values for the weights of resource portions, values that are typically found through the empirical measurement of one or a few specimens of a taxon of interest. This method is limited by the availability of specimens for measurement and often relies on small sample sizes that cannot account for body size variation due to factors such as age, sex, health, and genetics. As an alternative, biological scaling equations are introduced with which mammalian resource portion weight averages with standard deviations can be estimated across a range of body sizes in a mammalian taxon. A case study from the Northwest Coast of North America operationalizes this approach. The study asks if economic factors can account for a difference in the relative abundance of marmot (Marmota vancouverensis) bones at high-elevation archaeological sites compared with shoreline middens on Vancouver Island. Results indicate that abundant marmot skeletal elements at high-elevation sites are consistent with the economic benefit of processing these small mammals close to capture sites. Transport costs can explain the near absence of marmot bones at shoreline sites in the study area, a conclusion that does not preclude alternative explanations. This study demonstrates that biological scaling equations are useful for estimating mammalian resource portion input values in theoretical modelling.