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Cluster Analysis of Paleofecal Data Sets: A Test of Late Prehistoric Settlement and Subsistence Patterns in the Northern Coachella Valley, California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mark Q. Sutton
Mark Q. Sutton*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, California State University, 9001 Stockdale Highway, Bakersfield, CA 93311-1099
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Abstract

Data from human paleofecal samples can be used to address a variety of questions, primarily the reconstruction of diet, but also the analysis of nutrition, health, technology, and behavior Statistical analyses of constituents can be used to broaden the potential of paleofecal data, as well as to detail cuisine and to address larger issues of settlement/subsistence models. This potential is illustrated with a cluster analysis of paleofecal constituents from three late prehistoric period sites along the northern shore of ancient Lake Cahuilla, located in the Coachella Valley of southern California. These data were used to test competing settlement/subsistence models: one of large permanent lakeside villages dependent on lacustrine resources, and the other of seasonal, rather than permanent, lakeshore occupation. In addition, the analysis revealed additional details of diet and cuisine in the late prehistoric period.

Résumé

Résumé

Datos recabados de muestras paleofecales humanas se pueden usar para abordar una serie de preguntas, primordialmente sob re la reconstrucción de la dieta, pero también incluyendo los análisis de nutrición, salud, technología, y comportamiento. Los análisis estadísticos de los constituyentes se pueden usar para ampliar el potencial de los datos paleofecales, así como detallar la cocina y abordar los temas más amplios de los modelos de asentamiento/subsistencia. Este potencial es ilustrado con un análisis de grupo de los constituyentes de tres localidades del período prehistórico tardío a lo largo de la orilla norte del antiguo lago Cahuilla, localizado en el valle Coachella en el sur de California. Estos datos fueron usados para poner a prueba modelos rivales de asentamiento/subsistencia: uno de aldeas lacustrinas permanentes dependientes de los recursos lacustres, y el otro de ocupación temporal, estacional en lugar de permanente, de sitios en la orilla de lagunas. Más aún, el análisis reveló detalles adicionales de la dieta y la cocina en el período prehistórico tardío.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 63 , Issue 1 , January 1998 , pp. 86 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1998

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