A High-Precision Chronology for Two House Features at an Early Village Site on Western Santa Cruz Island, California, USA

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (01) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S Jazwa ◽  
Lynn H Gamble ◽  
Douglas J Kennett
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Household Archaeology ◽  
Mytilus Californianus ◽  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
House Construction ◽  
Northern Channel Islands ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

We establish a high-precision radiocarbon chronology for 2 house depressions at CA-SCRI-333, a large prehistoric village on the western end of Santa Cruz Island, California, USA. SCRI-333 is a large mound composed of a shell midden with more than 50 house depressions evident across its surface. We develop a chronology of occupation and activity for 2 of these depressions (6 and 32) based on a stratified sequence of accelerator mass spectrometry14C dates. Carbonized twig and marine shell (Mytilus californianus) samples were selected from well-defined stratigraphic sections. Analytical error for these measurements is ±2014C yr. We use a Bayesian statistical framework to propose an age model for the deposition of 2 features that may be associated with house construction. These data indicated that the features were not contemporaneous and suggest that house construction may have been sequential during the site's occupation, a hypothesis that needs to be tested further. The methodologies used in this study have the potential to increase the chronological precision of household archaeology at SCRI-333, on the northern Channel Islands, and around the world.

A High-Precision Chronology for Two House Features at an Early Village Site on Western Santa Cruz Island, California, USA

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S Jazwa ◽  
Lynn H Gamble ◽  
Douglas J Kennett
Keyword(s):  
High Precision ◽  
Household Archaeology ◽  
Mytilus Californianus ◽  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
House Construction ◽  
Northern Channel Islands ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

We establish a high-precision radiocarbon chronology for 2 house depressions at CA-SCRI-333, a large prehistoric village on the western end of Santa Cruz Island, California, USA. SCRI-333 is a large mound composed of a shell midden with more than 50 house depressions evident across its surface. We develop a chronology of occupation and activity for 2 of these depressions (6 and 32) based on a stratified sequence of accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates. Carbonized twig and marine shell (Mytilus californianus) samples were selected from well-defined stratigraphic sections. Analytical error for these measurements is ±20 14C yr. We use a Bayesian statistical framework to propose an age model for the deposition of 2 features that may be associated with house construction. These data indicated that the features were not contemporaneous and suggest that house construction may have been sequential during the site's occupation, a hypothesis that needs to be tested further. The methodologies used in this study have the potential to increase the chronological precision of household archaeology at SCRI-333, on the northern Channel Islands, and around the world.

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Chert Exploitation on Santa Cruz Island, California

2010 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E. Perry ◽  
Christopher S. Jazwa
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Channel Islands ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Shell Middens ◽  
Tool Manufacture ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
California Channel Islands ◽  
Northern Channel Islands

Chert outcrops on eastern Santa Cruz Island were of vital importance to the inhabitants of the Santa Barbara Channel region because of their comparatively limited availablity elsewhere on the California Channel Islands. Temporally diagnostic artifacts and radiocarbon dates from associated shell middens suggest that chert quarries were exploited throughout the Holocene. The importance of these quarries has been well documented in regard to microlith production as part of the shell bead industry during the late Holocene. However, relatively little is known about local chert tool manufacture and exchange in earlier times. Systematic documentation of 26 known chert quarries, and sampling at associated shell middens on eastern Santa Cruz Island has resulted in the identification of significant spatial variability in chert exploitation through time. Whereas chert quarrying during the middle Holocene appears to have been opportunistic and dispersed throughout the landscape, comparable activities during the late Holocene became increasingly circumscribed as microlith production was intensified. These trends in chert procurement are interpreted in the context of temporal changes in subsistence, tool manufacture, and residential mobility on the northern Channel Islands, and have broad implications for spatial and temporal patterning in prehistoric lithic exploitation.

scholarly journals Bayesian Analysis of High-Precision AMS14C Dates from a Prehistoric Mexican Shellmound

Radiocarbon ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J Kennett ◽  
Brendan J Culleton ◽  
Barbara Voorhies ◽  
John R Southon
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Bayesian Analysis ◽  
High Precision ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Archaic Period ◽  
Analytical Error ◽  
Statistical Framework ◽  
Radiocarbon Chronology

We establish a precision accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon chronology for the Archaic period Tlacuachero shellmound (Chiapas, Mexico) within a Bayesian statistical framework. Carbonized twig samples were sequentially selected from well-defined stratigraphic contexts based on iterative improvements to a probabilistic chronological model. Analytical error for these measurements is ±15 to 2014C yr. This greater precision and the absence of stratigraphic reversals eclipses previous14C work at the site. Based on this, we establish a chronological framework for a sequence of 3 clay floors dating to between 4930 and 4270 cal BP and determine that the bedded shell deposits that formed the mound accumulated rapidly during 2 episodes: a lower 2-m section below the floors that accumulated over a 0–150 cal yr period at 5050–4875 cal BP and, an upper 3.5-m section above the floors that accumulated over a 0–80 cal yr period at 4380–4230 cal BP.

Fossil Mammoths from Santa Cruz Island, California

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cushing ◽  
Marla Daily ◽  
Elmer Noble ◽  
V. Louise Roth ◽  
Adrian Wenner
Keyword(s):  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Quaternary Deposits ◽  
Marked Contrast ◽  
Popular Opinion ◽  
Island Group ◽  
Northern Channel Islands ◽  
Group A ◽  
Santa Rosa Island ◽  
Geological Context

Mammoth remains on Santa Cruz Island, one of the four Northern Channel Islands of California, are very sparse, in marked contrast to those reported from Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands of the same island group. A probable major reason for this scarcity is that Quaternary deposits are greatly restricted on Santa Cruz Island. It is proposed, contrary to popular opinion, that fossils found on Santa Cruz Island were derived from animals which died on the island, and were not transported there by humans. Reasons for this conclusion are that the size and geological context of the fossils are similar to those of the largest mammoth fossils of Santa Rosa Island, and that, in spite of extensive investigations by many persons, mammoth remains have not been found in middens, either on the islands or on the adjacent mainland.

scholarly journals Body size, sex and high philopatry influence the use of agricultural land by Galapagos giant tortoises

Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Kyana N. Pike ◽  
Stephen Blake ◽  
Freddy Cabrera ◽  
Iain J. Gordon ◽  
Lin Schwarzkopf
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Large Male ◽  
Gps Data ◽  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Agricultural Areas ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict ◽  
Privately Owned

Abstract As agricultural areas expand, interactions between wild animals and farmland are increasing. Understanding the nature of such interactions is vital to inform the management of human–wildlife coexistence. We investigated patterns of space use of two Critically Endangered Galapagos tortoise species, Chelonoidis porteri and Chelonoidis donfaustoi, on privately owned and agricultural land (hereafter farms) on Santa Cruz Island, where a human–wildlife conflict is emerging. We used GPS data from 45 tortoises tracked for up to 9 years, and data on farm characteristics, to identify factors that influence tortoise movement and habitat use in the agricultural zone. Sixty-nine per cent of tagged tortoises used the agricultural zone, where they remained for a mean of 150 days before returning to the national park. Large male tortoises were more likely to use farms for longer periods than female and smaller individuals. Tortoises were philopatric (mean overlap of farmland visits = 88.7 ± SE 2.9%), on average visiting four farms and occupying a mean seasonal range of 2.9 ± SE 0.3 ha. We discuss the characteristics of farm use by tortoises, and its implications for tortoise conservation and coexistence with people.

scholarly journals Isotopic Niche Segregation among Darwin’s Finches on Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
Mariana Villegas ◽  
Catherine Soos ◽  
Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui ◽  
Shukri Matan ◽  
Keith A. Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Isotopic Niche ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Darwin's Finches ◽  
Darwin’S Finches ◽  
Foraging Guilds

Darwin’s finches are a classic example of adaptive radiation involving differential use of dietary resources among sympatric species. Here, we apply stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N, and δ2H) analyses of feathers to examine ecological segregation among eight Darwin’s finch species in Santa Cruz Island, Galápagos collected from live birds and museum specimens (1962–2019). We found that δ13C values were higher for the granivorous and herbivorous foraging guilds, and lower for the insectivorous finches. Values of δ15N were similar among foraging guilds but values of δ2H were higher for insectivores, followed by granivores, and lowest for herbivores. The herbivorous guild generally occupied the largest isotopic standard ellipse areas for all isotopic combinations and the insectivorous guild the smallest. Values of δ2H provided better trophic discrimination than those of δ15N possibly due to confounding influences of agricultural inputs of nitrogen. Segregation among guilds was enhanced by portraying guilds in three-dimensional isotope (δ13C, δ15N, and δ2H) space. Values of δ13C and δ15N were higher for feathers of museum specimens than for live birds. We provide evidence that Darwin’s finches on Santa Cruz Island tend to be generalists with overlapping isotopic niches and suggest that dietary overlap may also be more considerable than previously thought.

scholarly journals SEROLOGIC SURVEY OF THE ISLAND SPOTTED SKUNK ON SANTA CRUZ ISLAND

2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria J. Bakker ◽  
Dirk H. Van Vuren ◽  
Kevin R. Crooks ◽  
Cheryl A. Scott ◽  
Jeffery T. Wilcox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Santa Cruz Island ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Serologic Survey
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document