Marine-Resource Value and the Priority of Coastal Settlement: A California Perspective

Abstract

The value of marine resources and coastal environments to hunter-gatherers has long been debated, with the archaeological record frequently invoked as the ultimate test for various arguments. Optimal-foraging principles suggest that the temporal priority of the exploitation of one resource over another indicates its value with respect to subsistence efficiency, a crucial variable in overall reproductive success. If coastal habitats are highly valuable, their exploitation should be seen early in the archaeological record; if not, a time lag should be evident between the initial exploitation of terrestrial and coastal environments. A review of the archaeology of early marine-resource use in prehistoric California reveals complex patterning that does not exclusively support one position or the other. Certain of these data accommodate the traditional model of an adaptive transition between specialized hunting of terrestrial big game during the Paleoindian period and diversification, including marine-resource exploitation, during the Archaic period. Others, however, suggest that shellfish were part of the diet of the initial colonists of western North America, indicating the value of this resource to mobility-restricted members of hunting and gathering groups.