Pre-contact fish choice and foraging efficiency at Tula, American Samoa

Rieth; Morrison

Marine foraging is an under-studied aspect of Samoan archaeology, although it clearly played a primary role in subsistence, with implications for settlement and demography. A pair of previous ichthyoarchaeological studies identified general stability in fish exploitation during ~1500–2000 year sequences. We present a foraging-theory-based analysis of fish remains from Tula Village, Tutuila Island. Our results identify a decrease in foraging efficiency, but there is no unequivocal evidence for resource depression. To frame this issue at a broader level, we re-analyse published data for Fatu-ma-Futi, Tutuila Island, and To‘aga, Ofu Island. Our results are consistent with previous analyses in suggesting little change in the prevalence of particular fish families and the contribution of large-bodied prey at these two sites. However, a degree of localised variability in dominant fish taxa is evident. Our analysis has implications for studies of resilience in nearshore marine environments, as well as methodological issues for data generated to examine foraging efficiency and resource depression.