ABSTRACTA model for evaluating prehistoric subsistence stress and species diversity using data from faunal assemblages is developed in order to examine the transition from hunter-gatherer adaptations to agriculture in the Southwest. Most archaeofaunas from this transitional period are found to be inadequately analyzed with the exception of Ventana Cave, which follows some predictions of the model. Comparisons are made between these data and later archaeofaunas produced by Great Basin hunter-gatherers and Hohokam agriculturalists.