Abstract

Sea urchins, one of the few echinoids harvested for human consumption, are found in archaeological sites from coastal settings around the world spanning at least the past ∼15,000 years. Sea urchin tests and spines are commonly found in archaeological shell middens on California’s Channel Islands, sometimes forming dense “urchin lenses.” Though ubiquitous, the fragile nature of their test (outer shell) results in a high degree of fragmentation, complicating identification and quantification in archaeological assemblages. I discuss issues regarding archaeological sea urchin remains off the coast of western North America and present a method for estimating the sizes of harvested purple (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) and red (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) sea urchins through allometry, allowing archaeologists to configure size/age estimates for harvested populations in the past. These methods are applied to two archaeological assemblages from San Nicolas and San Miguel islands, revealing evidence of a potential urchin proliferation event in the California Bight during the late Middle Holocene, and relative consistency in the primary types and sizes of harvested specimens through time. As a keystone species dominating ecological interactions in kelp forest ecosystems, sea urchin remains can provide deep historical perspective on the relative state of intertidal ecosystems.

摘要

海胆是为数不多的可供人类食用的海胆类动物之一，至少在过去约 15,000 年的时间里，在世界各地沿海地区的考古遗址中发现了海胆。海胆测试和刺常见于加利福尼亚海峡群岛的考古贝壳中，有时会形成密集的“海胆透镜”。虽然无处不在，但它们的测试（外壳）的脆弱性导致高度碎片化，使考古组合的识别和量化变得复杂。我讨论了有关北美洲西部海岸的考古海胆遗骸的问题，并提出了一种估计收获的紫色（Strongylocentrotus purpuratus）和红色（Mesocentrotus franciscanus ）大小的方法) 海胆通过异速生长，允许考古学家配置过去收获种群的大小/年龄估计。这些方法应用于圣尼古拉斯岛和圣米格尔岛的两个考古组合，揭示了在中全新世晚期加利福尼亚湾潜在的海胆增殖事件的证据，以及随着时间的推移收获标本的主要类型和大小的相对一致性。作为海带森林生态系统中主导生态相互作用的关键物种，海胆遗骸可以为潮间带生态系统的相对状态提供深刻的历史视角。