| Faunal assemblages can reveal changing paleoenvironmental conditions, the seasonality of site occupancy, and, indirectly, climatic fluctuations. The Schultz Site (20SA2), located in the Saginaw Valley of Michigan, with stratified occupational units spanning the period 2,600 B.P. through 800 B.P., presents a detailed geoarchaeological sequence that was analyzed in the context of changing aquatic environments and associated changes in faunal exploitation. Four important conclusions can be summarized from this analysis of the Schultz Site fauna. First, the refined recovery facilitated by the flotation technique does not significantly decrease the rate of identification at this site. Second, the Schultz Site environment varied seasonally and temporally over the course of several hundred years, affecting the habitability of the site and the intensity of occupation and its utilization through time. Third, this fluctuation resulted in multiple season usage of the site through time and a changing subsistence strategy that included clear resource targeting of aquatic habitats at particular times. Finally, the analysis of these faunal samples confirms, supports, and broadens earlier analyses. |
