Abstract
Due to anatomical differences, economic utility indices for terrestrial mammals are not useful for study of frequencies of skeletal parts of seals and sea lions. A utility index based on the average weight of meat per skeletal portion from four phocid seals we butchered indicates the rib cage is of greatest food utility, the pelvis is second in value, vertebrae rank third, proximal limb elements rank fourth, and distal limb elements (flippers) rank lowest in food value. When applied to archaeological assemblages of seal bones from the Oregon Pacific coast and the eastern Canadian Arctic, the meat utility index serves as an economic frame of reference granting insights to the significance of varied frequencies of skeletal parts.
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