Zooarchaeology of the Western Snake River Basin: Late Archaic Hunter-Gatherer Diets

For my zooarchaeology research project, I analyzed the faunal remains from the Medbury site, a late Archaic site located near Hammett, Idaho. From the 6,722 faunal remains collected at this site, I gathered information regarding taxonomy and bone modifications in order to compare the dietary implications of this assemblage to other sites along the Western Snake River. The high level of fragmentation among the bones made it difficult to produce specific identifications, although deer, rabbit, salmon, and rodents made up the majority of the remains; fish were the most common fauna identified at the Medbury site, followed by rabbit then deer. This parallels the patterns seen across other sites along the Western Snake River, indicating that the inhabitants of the Medbury site likely practiced similar hunting strategies as their counterparts to acquire sustenance. The majority of the remains were charred, reflecting the discard of remains into a fire hearth. Overall, this information was used to better understand the diets of late Archaic hunter-gatherers along the Western Snake River.