Late Quaternary faunal remains as proxies for the human-environment relationships at San Esteban rockshelter in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, southwest Texas, USA

San Esteban Rockshelter (SER) is situated in the arid northern Chihuahuan Desert and Trans-Pecos region of southwest Texas. SER has stratified deposits ranging in age from ca. 18,000 calendar years before present (cal yr BP) to present day. Additionally, the SER has been occupied by humans during the terminal Pleistocene (ca. 15,500–10,900 cal yr BP), the middle Holocene (ca. 7500–5600 cal yr BP), and at least twice during the late Holocene (ca. 4000 cal yr BP and 530-150 cal yr BP). In this study, we directly dated 30 faunal specimens indicative of ecological changes, and compared the results to our faunal analysis and the human occupations within SER to: a) conduct the first comprehensive analysis of Holocene faunal remains from the region, b) reconstruct the paleoenvironmental record of the site and region based on macro faunal remains, and c) better understand the relationship between humans and the environment of SER and the region. Through our study we understand that despite the increased aridity that occurred in the Trans-Pecos region during the Holocene, SER had periods of perennial water. During those periods when surface water was available near SER, people inhabited the shelter. We were also able to establish the first evidence of bison in the region during the Holocene, as well as the earliest direct evidence of bison hunting in the region. Our findings revealed similarities and differences with the regional late-Quaternary paleoenvironmental data, highlighting the importance of site-specific environmental research at archaeological sites and offering data that can be used to infer human subsistence strategies for the period of record.