Prehistoric subsistence in the North American Southeast: A quantitative assessment of deer utilization by Mississippian populations

This thesis attempts to demonstrate quantitatively that Mississippian populations in the prehistoric North American Southeast utilized deer as a functional domesticate. "Functional domesticate", a term developed specifically for this study, is defined as a subsistence source that is consistently and readily accessed, both spatially and temporally. The concept of "domestication" extends to those economies which do not have animal domesticates but have access to procurement areas where animal resources can be continually and efficently harvested. The hypothesis is validated by using Bruce Smith's faunal model developed in the 1970s. His model in quantified by developing regression equations, indexes, and by creating "a Mississippian faunal use pattern." A literature review shows no previous attempt to use Smith's model to prove quantitatively the "deer as a functional domesticate" hypothesis. More importantly, the hypothesis is established without using analogies to the ethnohistoric/ethnographic literature, providing a useful instrument for studying prehistoric societies.