| When the ancestors of today’s American | | | | subsistence activities because the preservation of |
| Indian, Alaskan Natives, and First Nation peoples | | | | the bones of large-bodied animals is significantly |
| migrated to the Americas, the variety and types | | | | greater than the remains of small game, thus |
| of animals encountered were very different than | | | | leading archaeologists to initially conclude that early |
| those of northeast Asia. These early migrants had | | | | American Indians hunted large mammals almost |
| to learn how to hunt and subsist not only in a | | | | exclusively. |
| new land, but also on new plants and animals. Yet, | | | | Despite these facts arguing for a new |
| as is well established, these early American Indians | | | | understanding, a number of researchers continued |
| were excellent innovators, and shortly after | | | | to maintain into the late 1980s and early 1990s |
| migrating to the Americas had learned how to | | | | that large mammal hunting was not only a critical |
| flourish in their new land. What these early | | | | component of early American Indian daily |
| American Indians hunted, how they moved across | | | | subsistence, but also greatly contributed to their |
| the land, and what their general lifeway pattern | | | | technology, mobility, and land use strategies. |
| looked like has always been of interest to | | | | Some even pointed to large-game hunting as a |
| archaeologists, anthropologists, and others | | | | primary causal factor in the extinction of |
| interested in the peopling of the Americas. To | | | | Pleistocene megafauna. |
| investigate these questions, researchers have | | | | These conclusions, however, can no longer |
| come up with several ingenious methods, one of | | | | reasonably be supported, and there is now |
| which is called “prey choice.” Prey choice | | | | overwhelming evidence arguing that early |
| is the examination and analysis of the animals | | | | American Indians, like their modern-day relatives, |
| found in archaeological sites (the prey) in order to | | | | utilized a wide variety of floral and faunal |
| gain insights into the diet, subsistence technologies, | | | | resources as part of their subsistence pattern. For |
| and general lifeway patterns (the choice) of these | | | | example, research by Matthew E. Hill, Jr., at the |
| early American Indians. | | | | University of Iowa indicates that different site |
| Recent research using this method has provided | | | | types provide different perspectives on early |
| some key insights into the peopling of the | | | | American Indian faunal use. Using data from 60 |
| Americas and the subsistence patterns of early | | | | sites, Hill concluded that early American Indians |
| American Indians who lived during what is called | | | | hunted not only bison and mammoth, but also |
| the Paleoindian period (13,500-8,000 years before | | | | rabbits, turtles, pronghorn, deer, bighorn sheep, |
| present). During the Paleoindian period it has long | | | | prairie dogs, beavers, snakes, canids, fish, |
| been argued that American Indian foragers’ | | | | badgers, bears, raccoon, muskrat, and many |
| diets were quite narrow; groups using Clovis tool | | | | other species. |
| technology were thought to subsist almost | | | | What this evidence reveals is that early American |
| entirely on mammoths, while later groups using | | | | Indian diets were highly environmentally |
| Folsom and subsequent technologies were thought | | | | contextualized. For example, when early American |
| to have hunted mainly bison. This concept of early | | | | Indians were in the low diversity grasslands of the |
| American Indians as specialized big-game hunters | | | | High Plains and Rolling Hills of the Great Plains, they |
| persisted through the 1960s and 1970s, despite | | | | hunted almost exclusively large fauna, especially |
| discovery of a few sites showing evidence for | | | | bison, for the entire 5,000 years of the Paleoindian |
| use of small game. Beginning in the late 1980s, | | | | period. This strategy was possible because |
| however, the view of early American Indians as | | | | grassland environments maintained large herds of |
| large mammal hunting specialists began to be | | | | bison despite drastic environmental change |
| questioned for several reasons. First, studies of | | | | through the Late Quaternary. However, when |
| modern hunter-gatherers suggested that | | | | early American Indians were in more diverse |
| specialized large mammal hunting strategies were | | | | environments such as alluvial valleys and foothill |
| economically unfeasible and possibly even | | | | mountain environments, a higher diversity of |
| dangerous to the hunters. Second, models | | | | fauna were used. Although large game continued |
| proposing a big-game emphasis on a continental | | | | to be of importance in these environments, other |
| scale ignored regions, such as eastern North | | | | species were also hunted when available. |
| America and the Great Basin, where there was | | | | The empirical evidence overwhelmingly argues |
| little evidence for the exploitation of large game. | | | | that early American Indians relied on a broad, |
| Third, early research was influenced by biases in | | | | general subsistence pattern during the Paleoindian |
| the type of sites (mostly kill and carcass | | | | period. This overall subsistence pattern continued |
| processing sites) and the location where research | | | | as other components of these early American |
| occurred (primarily in the Great Plains), | | | | Indian lifeway patterns evolved into the Archaic |
| erroneously pointing toward a specialized hunting | | | | period (8,000-1,000 years before present) and as |
| model of subsistence. Finally, large-game hunting is | | | | subsequent generations built upon their ancestors |
| more archaeologically visible than other | | | | traditions. |