Prehistoric economies during the Late Woodland period of the Potomac Valley: An examination of animal resource utilization

This research describes differences in the prehistoric economies of two Late Woodland archaeological cultures, the Montgomery Complex and the Luray Focus, and examines the relationship between these differences and other sociocultural factors. Zooarchaeological data used to perform this examination were collected from six sites. The relative completeness and research utility of all assemblages was determined. Other artifact classes and site features were described to provide a more complete view of these sites. The zooarchaeological data was used to define four key aspects of hunting strategies--the diversity of vertebrate taxa exploited, the habitats which were exploited to acquire those taxa, the exploitation of seasonally available resources, and the techniques used to hunt deer. At the sites from the Montgomery Complex, a wide variety of taxa were hunted or collected from all of the surrounding habitats. Deer were hunted with a specific strategy at the Rosenstock site, a strategy that resulted in the killing of the age groups that were of maximum meat-yielding age and size. Seasonally abundant resources were targeted for exploitation as they became available. As an overall pattern, the occupants of the Montgomery Complex sites appear to have been maximizing the exploitation of many of the animal resources found in the area. The hunting strategies at sites from the Luray Focus contrast to those from the Montgomery Complex in several ways. First, only a limited number of animal taxa were being hunted or collected. These taxa were probably found in the gardens or garden borders. Second, the seasonally available resources in the area were not targeted for maximum exploitation. The presence of seasonally available resources in the assemblages is marginal and their collection was probably opportune and not necessarily part of a deliberate strategy to exploit those particular taxa. Several sociocultural factors that may be related to these differences in hunting strategies are examined. These factors include a possible increase in the dependence upon cultivars, an increase in the use of defensive fortifications, and differences in stalking techniques for deer hunting. Finally, the implications of the relationship between these factors and the differences in the overall economies as reflected in the hunting strategies are discussed.