A model of central place forager prey choice and an application to faunal remains from the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico

Drawing on models from foraging theory, many researchers have used assemblages of animal bones from archaeological sites to document cases of resource depression and reduced foraging efficiency. This paper presents a model of central place forager prey choice that unifies several issues that these previous studies have addressed through the use of separate models. In comparison to the models usually employed, the model presented here makes assumptions that more closely match the ways in which human hunting is often carried out, and it also makes it easier to determine how decisions about the processing of prey at their point of capture will combine with decisions about prey choice to influence overall foraging efficiency for central place foragers. The benefits that arise from the use of such a model are illustrated by applying it to archaeofaunal data from the Mimbres Valley, southwestern New Mexico, where it appears that people experienced depression of large mammal resources, and declining hunting efficiency, during the period between about AD 400 and AD 1200. 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.