Complementary archaeological and paleoenvironmental datasets from North Creek Shelter (Colorado Plateau, Utah, USA) are analyzed using the diet breadth model, revealing human dietary patterns during the early and middle Holocene. Abundance indices are derived from botanical and faunal datasets and, along with stone tools, are used to test the prediction that increasing aridity caused the decline of high-return resources. This prediction appears valid with respect to botanical resources, given that high-ranked plants drop out of the diet after 9800 cal BP and are replaced with low-ranked, small seeds. The prediction is not met, however, with respect to faunal resources: high-ranked artiodactyls are consistently abundant in the diet. The effects of climate change on dietary choices are also examined. Findings show that increased aridity coincides with greater use of small seeds and ground stone tools but not with increases in low-ranked fauna, such as leporids. The patterns observed from the North Creek Shelter botanical and faunal datasets may reflect different foraging strategies between men and women. This would explain why low-ranked plant resources became increasingly abundant in the diet without a corresponding decrease in abundance of high-ranked artiodactyls. If so, then archaeological records with similar datasets should be reexamined with this perspective.

使用饮食广度模型分析了北溪庇护所（美国犹他州科罗拉多高原）的补充考古和古环境数据集，揭示了全新世早期和中期的人类饮食模式。丰度指数源自植物和动物数据集，并与石器一起用于测试日益干旱导致高回报资源下降的预测。考虑到高等级植物在 9800 cal BP 后退出饮食并被低等级的小种子取代，这一预测在植物资源方面似乎是有效的。然而，关于动物资源的预测并未得到满足：高等级的偶蹄动物在饮食中一直很丰富。还研究了气候变化对饮食选择的影响。研究结果表明，干旱增加与更多使用小种子和磨碎的石器工具相吻合，但与低等级动物群（如狐科动物）的增加相吻合。从 North Creek Shelter 植物和动物数据集中观察到的模式可能反映了男性和女性之间不同的觅食策略。这将解释为什么低级别植物资源在饮食中变得越来越丰富，而高级别偶蹄动物的丰度却没有相应减少。如果是这样，那么应该从这个角度重新检查具有相似数据集的考古记录。这将解释为什么低级别植物资源在饮食中变得越来越丰富，而高级别偶蹄动物的丰度却没有相应减少。如果是这样，那么应该从这个角度重新检查具有相似数据集的考古记录。这将解释为什么低级别植物资源在饮食中变得越来越丰富，而高级别偶蹄动物的丰度却没有相应减少。如果是这样，那么应该从这个角度重新检查具有相似数据集的考古记录。