One person's food: How and why fish avoidance may affect the settlement and subsistence patterns of hunter-gatherers

Foraging strategies of modem hunter-gatherers may not accurately model reso urce use of specialized big-game hunters. Historic accounts from the Northe rn Plains of North America indicate that utilization of spring-spawning fis h when large mammals were fat-depleted was not universally beneficial. Thre e independent reports from Europeans and Americans show that a sudden switc h from a prolonged diet of lean red meal to fish produces symptoms consiste nt with lipid (fat) malabsorption. Ir is hypothesized that plains-adapted h unter-gatherers formed their camps in grassland environments and hunted big game throughout the winter The effects of eating lean meat alone were avoi ded by utilizing feral and newborn animals and through the use of stored ca rbohydrate-rich foods. Groups associated with wooded environments wintered along the margins of the winter grazing range. They followed a diverse stra tegy wit opportunistic use big game and were able to exploit spring-spawnin g fish. Archaeological remains from 18 sites from the plains, parkland, and forests of Western Canada were used to test these hypotheses. The faunal a ssemblages, tools, and identifications of lipid residues from pottery vesse ls were consistent,vith the proposed strategies.