Bighorn sheep ritual in northeast California: an examination of the Loyalton Rockshelter caches.

Until recently, zooarchaeological research has focused almost exclusively on \noptimal foraging models and aspects of diet reconstruction. While the economic utility of \nan animal is an important part of interpreting an archaeofaunal assemblage, cultural \nbeliefs also impact the structure of diet and use of animal resources, thereby significantly \naffecting the types and frequencies of animals present. The faunal remains associated \nwith the Loyalton Rockshelter exhibit ritual features in prehistoric northeast California \nthat highlight the need for analysis beyond utilitarian explanation. Caches of bighorn \nsheep crania at the site illustrate the importance of the animal to the Native populations \nwho intermittently occupied the rock shelter from the Middle through Late Holocene. \nThe unusual presence of fetal remains demonstrates the imitation of a classical \nunderstanding of prehistoric procurement practices and ritual activities. Through an integration of ethnographic information, native oral tradition, and archaeological \nevidence, this thesis presents the unexplored ceremonial significance of bighorn sheep to \nprehistoric populations nor northeast California.