The Little Ice Age and Neutral Faunal Assemblages - Ontario ...
The Little Ice Age and Neutral Faunal Assemblages - Ontario ... The Little Ice Age and Neutral Faunal Assemblages - Ontario ...
28 ONTARIO ARCHAEOLOGY NO.49or even for food despite its small size, than for cropprotection. One animal which is hunted even todayfor crop protection is the woodchuck. Fig. 13 andTable 2 show a decrease in the frequency of woodchuckin Neutral sites. Since woodchuck is near themiddle of its range in southern Ontario, a climaticchange is not likely to have affected its frequency.One explanation for the reduction in the hunting ofwoodchuck is that there may have been fewer cropsto protect. This would support the LIA hypothesis.The other possibility is that the increased dogpopulations reduced the woodchuck populations,acting as crop protectors for the larger fields neededby expanding human populations. A reduction inreliance on maize and other crops would not onlyexplain the decrease in frequency of woodchuckelements, but also the increased dependence onlarge mammals for food. Such a reduction in cropscould have been triggered by a climatic deterioration.A population increase might cause an increasein deer habitat and therefore in deer, and could alsoexplain the observed faunal changes. The difficultywith this hypothesis is that it relies on a per capitaincrease in dog populations. If the Indian populationdoubled, then the extent of their fields shouldalso have doubled. The number of woodchucks inthe fields and the number of dogs needed to controlthe woodchucks should also have doubled. Butsince the habitat of the deer is the field-edge, notthe field itself, the increase in deer would have beenless than twofold. The area of a field increasesapproximately with the square of the perimeter, sothat a fourfold increase in field area will onlydouble the perimeter. If the woodchuck, dog andhuman populations maintained the same ratios astheir populations increased, then the deer populationwould have shown a relative decrease. Thedeer population may expand if abandoned fields areconsidered, as larger populations of people wouldhave abandoned more fields, creating edges whichpersisted after the fields were abandoned and thewoodchucks were no longer of concern.In fact, what we observe here is a relative increasein deer and dog, and a decrease in woodchuckpopulations. Under the expanding populationmodel, this can only be explained if the number ofdogs per capita increased. The dogs reduced thewoodchuck populations, and the increase in deerpopulations led to an increase in deer hunting. If weassume that the dog population was controlled bythe Indians, then we must explain why the dogpopulation was allowed to increase. Dogs may havehad several functions. They may have been used forhunting or for woodchuck control, they may havebeen bred for food, and they may have been pets.They probably filled all of these functions. It is thennot difficult to explain the increase in dog under theexpanding population model.ConclusionThe advent of colder weather during the Little IceAge decreased the number of frost-free days, andaltered the composition of the deciduous treedominatedforests. The LIA may also have caused asouthward shift in the geographic limits of Neutralhorticulture, resulting in less reliable crop productivityand therefore a greater need for faunal resources.A decrease in reliance on horticulture and ashift towards greater dependence on animal foodsmay have resulted. Alternatively, population expansionmay have had the same effect on the faunalassemblage.Which of these was the principal cause is difficultto determine. The LIA is documented in thepaleoclimatic literature, and explains the observedchanges in faunal assemblages in a straightforwardway. On the other hand, population expansion mayalso explain the observed faunal data, and has someindependent corroboration in the increased frequencyof sites with time.It is interesting to note that of the eight sitespresented here which are located in the high frostriskarea mapped in Figure 5, six are pre-AD 1450and only two are post-AD 1450. Since two-thirds ofthe 27 sites in this study post-date AD 1450, such achange in geographic distribution through time maybe significant. It would suggest that the LIA didindeed make this area less useful for Neutralhorticulture than it had previously been. Of course,this is not a full survey of all Neutral and pre-Neutral sites, only those for which faunal reports areavailable.The two explanations are not mutually exclusive;the LIA may have had the described effect while theincrease in field edge from increased populationsmay also have provided more deer habitat. All thatcan be said with any certainty is that the Neutralsshifted their faunal use from small to large animals;dog and deer partially replaced wood-chuck in thefaunal assemblages.The most parsimonious solution is usually thatwhich best explains the available data with thefewest suppositions. In this case, both scenarios arebased on known events, and both explain the faunaldata. Neither can be eliminated as significantly lessparsimonious than the other. Both hypotheses
CAMPBELL & CAMPBELL: LITTLE ICE AGE 29deserve further exploration, and may perhaps betestable with much larger faunal data bases. Independentevidence may also provide insight into thedemography of the Neutrals, corroborating onehypothesis without necessarily invalidating theother.AcknowledgementsWe thank Dr. John McAndrews for many suggestionssubstantially improving the manuscript. Weextend our heartfelt appreciation to Dr. HowardSavage for his facilities, encouragement, and comments.We also thank Dr. Gary Coupland, RudyFecteau, William Fitzgerald, Dr. Peter Reid, Dr.William Hurley, and two anonymous reviewers, allof whom made data available or contributed usefulcomments. We also thank the many faunal analystswhose data have made this paper possible.References CitedBaerreis, D. A., and R. A. Bryson1965 Climatic Episodes and the Datingof the Mississippian Cultures. TheWisconsin Archaeologist 46 (4):203-220.Baerreis, D. A., R. A. Bryson, and J. E. Kutzbach1976 Climate and Culture in the WesternGreat Lakes Region. MidcontinentalJournal of Archaeology 1 (1): 39-57.Barnhardt, K.1986 An Analysis of Faunal Remains atthe Winking-Bull Site AiHa-20.Manuscript on file at the HowardSavage Faunal Archaeo-OsteologyLaboratory, University of Toronto.Bernabo, J. C.1981 Quantitative Estimates of TemperatureChanges Over the Last 2700Years in Michigan Based on PollenData. Quaternary Research15:143-159.Biddick, K.1974 F aunal Report Knight-Tucker Site.Squares A2, A6, B1, B4, B5, B6.Manuscript on file at the HowardSavage Faunal Archaeo-OsteologyLaboratory, University of Toronto.Boutin-Sweet, M.1981 Analysis of Faunal Remains fromthe Billie Goat's Gruff (Chychpar)Site AiGx-73. Manuscript on file atthe Howard Savage FaunalArchaeo-Osteology Laboratory,University of Toronto.Brown, D. M., G. A. McKay and L. J. Chapman1980 The Climate of Southern Ontario,Canada Department of Transport.Meteorological Branch. SecondEdition. Climatological Studies,5:1-50.Burden, E. T., J. McAndrews and G. Norris1986 Palynology of Indian and EuropeanForest Clearance and Farming inLake Sediment Cores from AwendaProvincial Park, Ontario. CanadianJournal of Earth Sciences 23:55-65.Burns, J.1972 The Dewaele Site: Report of theFaunal Bone Analysis. Manuscripton file at the Howard Savage FaunalArchaeo-Osteology Laboratory,University of Toronto.Burt, W.1972 Mammals of the Great Lakes Region.University of Michigan Press, AnnArbor, Michigan.Campbell (Fram), C.1985 Faunal Analysis of the Ivan-Elliott/Morriston Site AiHa-16. Manuscripton file at the Howard Savage FaunalArchaeo-Osteology Laboratory,University of Toronto.Campbell (Fram), C.1988 Faunal Analysis of the MacPhersonSite AhHa-21. Manuscript on file atthe Howard Savage Faunal Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory, University ofToronto.Campbell, I.1988 Faunal Analysis of the MacPhersonSite AhHa-21. Manuscript on file atthe Howard Savage Faunal Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory, University ofToronto.
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CAMPBELL & CAMPBELL: LITTLE ICE AGE 29deserve further exploration, <strong>and</strong> may perhaps betestable with much larger faunal data bases. Independentevidence may also provide insight into thedemography of the <strong>Neutral</strong>s, corroborating onehypothesis without necessarily invalidating theother.AcknowledgementsWe thank Dr. John McAndrews for many suggestionssubstantially improving the manuscript. Weextend our heartfelt appreciation to Dr. HowardSavage for his facilities, encouragement, <strong>and</strong> comments.We also thank Dr. Gary Coupl<strong>and</strong>, RudyFecteau, William Fitzgerald, Dr. Peter Reid, Dr.William Hurley, <strong>and</strong> two anonymous reviewers, allof whom made data available or contributed usefulcomments. We also thank the many faunal analystswhose data have made this paper possible.References CitedBaerreis, D. A., <strong>and</strong> R. A. Bryson1965 Climatic Episodes <strong>and</strong> the Datingof the Mississippian Cultures. <strong>The</strong>Wisconsin Archaeologist 46 (4):203-220.Baerreis, D. A., R. A. Bryson, <strong>and</strong> J. E. Kutzbach1976 Climate <strong>and</strong> Culture in the WesternGreat Lakes Region. MidcontinentalJournal of Archaeology 1 (1): 39-57.Barnhardt, K.1986 An Analysis of <strong>Faunal</strong> Remains atthe Winking-Bull Site AiHa-20.Manuscript on file at the HowardSavage <strong>Faunal</strong> Archaeo-OsteologyLaboratory, University of Toronto.Bernabo, J. C.1981 Quantitative Estimates of TemperatureChanges Over the Last 2700Years in Michigan Based on PollenData. Quaternary Research15:143-159.Biddick, K.1974 F aunal Report Knight-Tucker Site.Squares A2, A6, B1, B4, B5, B6.Manuscript on file at the HowardSavage <strong>Faunal</strong> Archaeo-OsteologyLaboratory, University of Toronto.Boutin-Sweet, M.1981 Analysis of <strong>Faunal</strong> Remains fromthe Billie Goat's Gruff (Chychpar)Site AiGx-73. Manuscript on file atthe Howard Savage <strong>Faunal</strong>Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory,University of Toronto.Brown, D. M., G. A. McKay <strong>and</strong> L. J. Chapman1980 <strong>The</strong> Climate of Southern <strong>Ontario</strong>,Canada Department of Transport.Meteorological Branch. SecondEdition. Climatological Studies,5:1-50.Burden, E. T., J. McAndrews <strong>and</strong> G. Norris1986 Palynology of Indian <strong>and</strong> EuropeanForest Clearance <strong>and</strong> Farming inLake Sediment Cores from AwendaProvincial Park, <strong>Ontario</strong>. CanadianJournal of Earth Sciences 23:55-65.Burns, J.1972 <strong>The</strong> Dewaele Site: Report of the<strong>Faunal</strong> Bone Analysis. Manuscripton file at the Howard Savage <strong>Faunal</strong>Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory,University of Toronto.Burt, W.1972 Mammals of the Great Lakes Region.University of Michigan Press, AnnArbor, Michigan.Campbell (Fram), C.1985 <strong>Faunal</strong> Analysis of the Ivan-Elliott/Morriston Site AiHa-16. Manuscripton file at the Howard Savage <strong>Faunal</strong>Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory,University of Toronto.Campbell (Fram), C.1988 <strong>Faunal</strong> Analysis of the MacPhersonSite AhHa-21. Manuscript on file atthe Howard Savage <strong>Faunal</strong> Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory, University ofToronto.Campbell, I.1988 <strong>Faunal</strong> Analysis of the MacPhersonSite AhHa-21. Manuscript on file atthe Howard Savage <strong>Faunal</strong> Archaeo-Osteology Laboratory, University ofToronto.
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