University of Virginia Library

Section H

SUBSISTENCE REMAINS

By Clyde Kluckhohn

Vegetable.[417] —Cobs of the 7-, 10-, and 12-row types of maize were
recovered from the refuse mound in considerable abundance and were
also found in the fill and fire pits of a number of rooms. In appearance,
the specimens correspond to the description given by Hibben for those
from Bc 50[418] Pinyon nuts were found in rooms 5 and 7. Cucurbit rind
and stems were found in room 7, and a cache of curcurbit seeds were
found below the floor in the southeast corner of room 20, but species
identification was not possible in any case. No beans were found.

Bird and Mammal.[419] —Bones of all the mammals and birds found
at Bc 50 were also found at Bc 51 and, in addition, a few bones of elk
(Cervus canadensis), ground squirrel (Citellus tridecemlineatus
parvus), hawk (Buteo sp.—probably Red-Tailed), and Scaled Quail
(Callipepla squamata) were discovered. The percentages of the 3,824
identifiable bone remains were so extraordinarily similar (save for
appreciably greater representation of the Golden Eagle) that publication
of the tabulation does not seem worth while.

The distribution of the bones offers some features of interest. Less
than 500 identifiable pieces came from the refuse mound. Metapodials[420]
(especially metatarsals) and teeth of deer and antelope were especially
prominent, along with a fair number of rabbit pelves and some
deer and antelope ribs. Some bird and mammal bones came from the
fill of all rooms, but the northern rooms yielded very few and a number
of these were bones of rodents which were very possibly not food
remains. Only rooms 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, and 23 afforded more than 30
identifiable bones. It was in these rooms and in the kivas that this
class of remains were concentrated. From room 16 (sub) alone came
more than 900, nearly 90 per cent rabbit pelves, scapulae, and long
bones but with a few deer long bones, ribs, and vertebrae. (Could this
collection of rabbit bones possibly be connected with a communal rabbit
hunt?) More than a third of the total (1,419) bird and animal
bones came from kiva 3, with close to 20 per cent being of deer and
antelope. This greater percentage for these two animals (average in
the whole collection of 11.9 per cent) was maintained in all the kivas.

From this fact (plus the generally larger representation of animal
bones in the kivas) it is tempting to infer ritual feasting[421] in the kivas
(possibly of men's societies, conceivably connected with hunting?)
Turkey remains (both bones and shells) were also prominent in all
kivas, although not found between fire screen and ventilator as in
Bc 50. However, only two rooms failed to give evidence of the turkey,
and bones and shells were also frequently found in the refuse mound,
although there was no evidence of the burial of these birds. The precise
function of the turkey in Pueblo culture remains obscure. Parsons[422]
has recently suggested that possibly the turkey was once a sacrificial
bird, as in Mexico. It is not eaten by some present-day Pueblos.[423]

A Note on the Distribution of Mammal and Bird Remains.—From
a survey of the literature it would appear that Southwestern archaeologists
have been rather cavalier in documenting this class of remains.
Out of 112 reports (which reported rather fully on most
classes of objects found) 74 failed completely to list mammal and bird
remains. In many of the others the information was rather incomplete
and imprecise. Hibben, M. R. Harrington, Mera, and Steward are honorable
exceptions in that they go beyond stating the presence of the
bird or mammal and give exact figures on relative representation.

To be sure, the record—so far as we know it at present—appears
to be a comparatively complacent one. Jackrabbit, rabbit, and deer
seem, as Hough has observed,[424] to have been rather consistently the
staple animal foods of the prehistoric inhabitants of the Southwest.
Prairie dog and other rodents, some antelope, and fewer mountain
sheep bones are also reported in almost all cases. Elk remains were
discovered in 4 Chaco sites,[425] in the Piedra region,[426] on Mesa Verde,[427]
at Winona Village,12 and in the Chama Valley ("possibly");[428] bison
at several Texas sites, Pecos,[429] southwestern New Mexico,[430] the Swarts
ruin,[431] a cave at the rear of the Tularosa cliffhouse,[432] the Mogollon

region,[433] Snaketown,[434] and sites in the Great Salt Lake area.[435] At first
glance these occurrences of the rarer animals seem to reflect only
geographic position. Several of the cases, however, perhaps mean
either a different physical environment at the time in question or the
equally important cultural fact of hunting expeditions to distant
points.

Recent detailed studies[436] of the hunting methods of contemporary
Southwestern peoples have clearly demonstrated how much of social
and ceremonial organization enters into the procurement of the birds
and animals they eat or otherwise use. Relative figures from different
sites or proportions of remains of animals which are more difficult
to capture or which could presumably only be obtained at a distance
would, taken in the context of other data, sometimes permit of
guarded comparative inferences on social organization. Similarly,
only when numbers are recorded in full can we make other impressionistic
comparisons as to the relative importance of hunting in the basic
economy of various cultures or periods. Haury has suggested[437] that
the Mogollon peoples relied more heavily on game than did the Pueblo,
and the Hohokam less than either of these. Guernsey and Kidder
found deer and antelope bones rare in their northeastern Arizona sites,
with mountain sheep quite common.[438]

The possibility also exists that presence or consistent absence of
animal remains would aid in establishing cultural similarities or continuities
through tie-ups with ritual prohibitions or observances. Bear
hunting, for example, is practiced for food at Jemez[439] and bear paws
are part of the equipment of Keresan medicine societies.[440] But the
killing of bears is strictly forbidden at Isleta,[441] and bears were probably
killed by the Hopi only under necessity,[442] although their emergence
legend refers to the eating of bear flesh as a normal practice.[443]
Ruling out a few reported occurrences from cave sites, I have noted
bear remains only from Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl,[444] the Riana
Ruin,[445] and Awatovi.[446] Mountain lion, parts of which are also used

ritually by present-day Pueblos,[447] has also been reported but seldom
from excavations: claws from Pueblo Bonito,[448] bones from northeastern
Arizona[449] and from an Apache Creek site in the Upper Gila
area.[450] To what extent this negative evidence rests upon lack of full
identification or publication of remains is an interesting question.

As to bird remains, turkey and Golden Eagle bones have been discovered
in the vast majority of later sites. Turkey remains were relatively
scarce at Snaketown and Haury questions whether the bird was
domesticated by the carriers of Hohokam[451] and Mogollon[452] cultures.
Most authorities seem to feel that the introduction of the domesticated
turkey is a fairly sure culture period diagnostic. My colleague, Mr.
Brew, informs me that, although turkey bones are very plentiful in
later sites on Alkali Ridge, they do not appear in the earlier levels.
Whether the turkey and other birds whose remains are found rather
frequently were generally eaten, remains a disputed question. The
smaller birds identified most often have bright-colored plumage, and
the fondness of contemporary Pueblos for their feathers is well
known. Hargrave, however, apparently has evidence that turkey,
quail, hawks, owls, coots, and robins, were eaten in the Flagstaff
region.[453]

Burial of birds and animals is also an interesting feature of this
class of evidence. The burial of dogs, macaws, and turkeys is too
familiar to require citation. Morris has reported the burial of a
badger.[454] The eagle cemeteries of the modern Hopi are well known,
but I have not discovered archaeological documentation.