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Deer Densities and Population Dynamics: A Cautionary Note

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

William A. Starna  and
John H. Relethford
William A. Starna
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820
John H. Relethford
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, State University of New York College at Oneonta, Oneonta, NY 13820
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Abstract

In this paper we argue that although investigators often address themselves generally to human interaction with deer and the results of such interaction, they often fail to consider a number of related nonhuman factors that bear directly upon deer populations. Thus, such populations are seen and described as static, unchanging, and a given rather than as entities capable of considerable fluctuation and change that affect the human adaptive system. In addition, the related issue of the use and abuse of deer density figures is examined. We conclude that in most instances published density figures used by archaeologists are unrealistically high and in need of reassessment.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , October 1985 , pp. 825 - 832
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1985

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References

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