Short-distance hunting strategies of Late Quaternary foragers in the miombo woodlands of Malawi

Abstract

The Economic Defendability Model posits that foragers exploiting dense and predictable resources should establish defended territories, while foragers exploiting unpredictable resources manage shortfall risk by ranging across larger areas that they do not invest in defending. While these expectations are supported by ethnographic observations, archaeological tests have been limited to peri-aquatic settings. Here, we present a comprehensive zooarchaeological study of the mammalian fauna from Hora 1 rock shelter in the Kasitu Valley of Malawi, which yielded deposits dated to the last 21,000 years, and interpret them through the lens of behavioral ecology to show reduced logistical mobility that may be connected to increased territoriality. The results indicate that during most of the occupations, foragers at Hora 1 employed hunting strategies focused on a diverse array of small taxa, mostly procured close to the site, which would have been most efficiently done with the aid of traps and nets. Exploitation of relatively complete carcasses was intense and targeted within-bone nutrients more than meat, reflecting an energy-limited landscape during dry season occupations. Overall, the evidence suggests that foragers at Hora 1 adopted a home range system with limited mobility and were not strongly territorial.