This lab report analyzes faunal remains excavated from the Anacapa Island archaeological site (ANI-4) to understand past human subsistence patterns and environment. A total of 1267 bone fragments were inventoried and identified to taxonomic level. Minimum number of individuals was calculated as 1251. Results showed mammals, particularly marine mammals, were the most abundant class, reflecting the coastal marine habitat. Five excavation levels revealed consistent dominance of mammals over time. While remains provided insights, limited identification prevented a full understanding of fauna present. Further analysis may provide more details on island environment-human relationships.

1. Castrejon 1
Elizabeth Castrejon
Dr. Thomas Wake
Anthro 117P
June 10, 2016
ANI-4 Lab Report
Introduction
One of the fundamental purposes of archaeological studies is to comprehend the
past and observe changes through time. The Anacapa site is one of many places where
faunal remains can help understand the circumstances that this area experienced. The
habitat and environment that occupied this region is imperative for the insight of ancient
times. With the innovation and the studies of zooarchaeology, it is possible to obtain ev-
idence from animal remains found in archaeological sites, that can be used to form con-
nections between the environment and the habitat in which humans lived. The pre-His-
panic archaeological site of Anacapa Island located in the Channel Islands archipelago
near the southern Californian coast, is representative of the variation faunal populations
observed throughout the Channel Islands. The data of the excavation that belongs to
the area 4 of the site referred to as ANI-4, will be analyzed by creating an inventory of
the remains (n=1267) as well as determine the minimum number of individuals by apply-
ing methods for sorting such remains. This sample involved different levels of excava-
tion which revealed important information regarding the presence of certain species at
different time periods. Data obtained from these methods will be used to identify the
vertebrate subsistence system and differences in assemblage throughout time.

2. Castrejon 2
Materials & Methods
This research analyzes data from the original inventory of the sample collected in
the area 4 of the Anacapa excavations. The inventory specifies site information and ob-
served characteristics of faunal remains that include skeletal evidence from birds, ter-
restrial, marine mammals and fish. The data was then used to reconstruct the sample
and estimate the possible number of individuals that were found within the site by calcu-
lating Number of Identified Specimen (NISP) and Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI)
(Reitz & Wing, 2008). The bones collected from the ANI-4 site were found combined
with different species and many elements were fragmentary. This complicated analyses
of MNI when determining the possible number of individuals in the area. Skeletal re-
mains that lacked discrete identifiable characteristics were sorted into brand taxonomic
group size categories by class. These categories included large, medium and small rep-
resenting the most accurate size. For each identifiable bone, several specific informa-
tion was recorded, including stratigraphic level, element, portion of element, size, age,
screen size, and any kind of modification. The data recorded regarding modification of
faunal remains included cut marks, gnaw or chop marks, burning and evidence of tool
or worked use. (Wake 2012)
Once the inventory and counts of individual faunal remains were complete,
methods for data analysis were applied to calculate the possible number of individuals
found in the site as well as data comparison. Using the NISP quantification method in
which every single bone is counted and assessed as each separately can have prob-
lems with the results as they can have a sample inflation overestimating the results.
Thus, additional steps must be taken to determine how many species may be repre-

3. Castrejon 3
sented in the sample based on overlap and totals of individual element classes like the
use of the Minimum Number of Individuals (MNI) method. MNI represents the greatest
number of unique or paired skeletal elements of a given side (left or right) identified to a
certain species for a certain context (Reitz & Wing, 2008).
Results
The abundant species in the sample collected was of marine mammals, which
can be interpreted as the most present in the region with 539 individuals which can be
considered as a high ranked resource prey. The mammal class was the dominant in
the collection but within the class, marine mammals were the individuals with highest
number of remains . The next class of animals with most remains found is aves, with a
number of 149 individuals. The last category of animals in the sample is of fish with only
78 individuals obtained. There were a total of five stratigraphic levels excavated, which
are described in the original inventory of the ANI-4 and obtained with 1/8 inch screens.
Different levels were excavated in the site and the following are the overall results of
faunal remains in each level: level 1 was characterized by a large number of mammals;
the second level can be seen that mammals still dominated the amount of species at
that time; the level 3 had a larger population of mammals as well but there was an in-
crease of bird species and a variation of fish individuals. In the level 4, there were only a
few species of birds, a dramatic decrease of birds in comparison with the previous lev-
els, however, mammals were still the most abundant class. The level 5 is distinguished
by the vast majority of remains being marine mammals and decline in birds and fish in
comparison with the upper levels on the ground. The total of the MNI quantification re-

4. Castrejon 4
sulted in 1251 elements, less taxon than NISP count as it was predicted (refer to Table
1).
Table 1.
Common Name Scientific Name NISP MNI
Auklet Alcidae 4 4
Brandt’s Cormorant Phalacrocorax
penicillatus
13 9
Cassin’s Auklet Ptychoramphus
aleuticus
44 38
Black Brant Branta Bernicla 1 1
Gull Taurus sp. 3 3
Pelican Pelecanus sp. 1 1
Cormorant Phalacrocorax sp. 12 11
Medium bird Aves, medium 2 2
Bird Aves 149 149
California Sheephead Semicossyphus
pulcher
29 26
California Barracuda Sphyraena argentea 1 1
Rockfish Sebastes sp. 2 2
Fish Teleostei 78 78
Deer Cervidae 12 12
Deer ? Artiodactyla 2 2
Black-tailed Deer Odocoileus hemionus 4 4
Deer Mouse Peromyscus
maniculatus
4 4
Scoter Melanitta sp. 1 1

5. Castrejon 5
Discussion
Anacapa site is located in an island which is considered a coastal marine envi-
ronment. The results of finding a major number of individuals being marine mammals
can be expected and associated to the local environment. The sample was composed
of many fragmented bones which is a difficulty for analyzing and identifying the class or
species to which the remain belonged. This represents a huge amount of unidentifiable
remains or bones that cannot be sorted into a specific species, which affects the MNI
results mostly.
California Sea Lion Zalophus californianus 7 7
Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina 37 34
Eared Seal Otariidae 19 19
Earless Seal Phocidae 1 1
Seal/ Sea lion Pinnipedia 23 23
Giant Island Deer
mouse
Peromyscus nesodytes 1 1
Goat Caprinae 1 1
Cow Bos taurus 2 2
Sea otter Enhydra lutris 3 3
Whale Cetacea 14 14
Marine mammal Mammalia, marine 539 539
Terrestrial mammal Mammalia, terrestrial 40 40
Mammal Mammalia 219 219
Total 1267 1251

6. Castrejon 6
Based on the results, the two highest prevalent taxon were mammals, specifically
marine mammals, followed by birds. Mammals was the class most well represented in
all five stratigraphic levels. Marine mammals as sea lions and seals are a great source
of meat, which could be an explanation of why these population were favored over other
faunal individuals. In comparison with data from ANI-2, same results of top vertebrate
subsistence was maintained with mammal remains being the highest source found, fol-
lowed by skeletal remain of the aves class.
A consistent pattern can be seen in the relative abundances of the mammal
species throughout time as indicated by the five stratigraphic layers in ANI-4 site.
Cetaceans were only found on the layer 4, suggesting they were a rare find. In general,
Cassin’s Auklets are the most common identified species in this site while in ANI-2
sample collection, sea otter is the most identified species. Other fairly common fauna in
ANI-4 are harbor seal, California sheephead, and seal/sea lion. There were not any
presence in the remains of lizards or reptiles, which is an interesting fact about this site.
Conclusion
Analysis of the faunal remains of the excavation site of Anacapa Island and in
comparison with the ANI-2 demonstrate that this collection is a rich resource for zooar-
chaeological study as well as for developing a better comprehension of past interaction
between humans with the environments and habitats in the island. Some findings are
similar with the ANI-2 vertebrate subsistence systems. Mammal remains are numerous
in the samples reported on both collections. The specimens can represent wither hu-
man consumption or prey source (Wake 2012). Marine mammals were the most domi-

7. Castrejon 7
nant population, a pattern that was seen in all five stratigraphic levels. Mammals being a
high ranked species was not reported to dramatically decline in any level which repre-
sented different periods of time. Due to the large amount of broad categorization of re-
mains that could not be identified into species categories, this could limit the under-
standing of which specific fauna were present near the excavation site. Further research
is needed in order to have a more accurate collection of specimens that represent the
Anacapa site environment. With more identifiable data, more conclusions could be
made about the fauna of the island and the relationship with the past human habitats.
References
Reitz, E.R. and E.S. Wing
2008. Zooarchaeology, Second Edition. Cambridge University Press.
Wake, T.A
2012. Interpreting New Samples from Famous Old Sites: Mammal Remains from the 1999
Emeryville Shellmound Excavations (CA-ALA-309 and CA-ALA-310) with Comments on Fish
and Birds. In Exploring Methods of Faunal Analysis: Insights from California Archaeology,
edited by M.A. Glassow and T.L. Joslin, pp. 4-33. Perspectives in California Archaeology, Vol-
ume 9. The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, UCLA.