‘‘Good Water and Firewood’’: The Island Oasis of Isla Cedros, , Mexico1

Matthew R. Des Lauriers2

Abstract: Today, Isla Cedros is remote from major population centers of northwestern and the American Southwest, but before European con- tact and throughout the Colonial Period, it was a well-known location to both indigenous peoples and Europeans. Today, a local fishing cooperative shares the island with a massive Mitsubishi Corporation/Mexican government–owned salt- transshipment facility. Far from representing a cautionary tale of excessive de- velopment and environmental degradation, Isla Cedros is one of the few places on the globe where human harvesting of marine resources has not yet resulted in an ecological collapse. It is a place where paradoxes abound and allows an al- ternative view of human interaction with marine and insular ecosystems. Both short- and long-term environmental variation characterizes this ecologically transitional region, and the adaptability of both its human and nonhuman in- habitants presents insights into the possibility of a ‘‘commons’’ without tragedy. Issues of exclusive use rights, short-periodicity variation, localized effects on resources due to sea-level rise, and sustainable socioeconomic systems can be addressed in an examination of Isla Cedros, Huamalgua, the Island of Fogs. This island setting presents us with challenges to many underexamined assump- tions. In essence, it refuses easy categorization, instead offering at least some al- ternative perspectives for future historical ecological research of broad relevance to coastal and island settings worldwide.

At first glance, Isla Cedros (Figure 1) ap- rine ecology, surprisingly abundant sources pears to embody the age-old concept of a of potable water, and an adequate base of ter- desert island: dry, rocky, and geographically restrial resources, Isla Cedros has been one of remote from modern population centers. the most densely occupied areas of central Even the modern occupants, fishermen and Baja California for at least the last 2,000 salt-dock workers, refer to their home as ‘‘El years, if not longer. Occupation of the island Piedron’’ (‘‘The Rock’’). However, through a extends back at least 12,000 calendar years unique combination of a rich and robust ma- (Des Lauriers 2006, 2008), and human popu- lations on the island certainly experienced the full scope of Holocene climatic shifts, while never abandoning ‘‘the Rock.’’ For reasons 1 The research partially described here was conducted with the authorization and support of the Instituto Na- linked to geography, demography, and ecol- cional de Antropologia e Historia de Mexico (INAH) ogy, the responses of those populations to and funded by grants from the National Science Founda- such changes may have varied from those tion; University of California Institute for Mexico and of communities occupying other portions of the United States; and the Graduate Division of the Uni- the Pacific coast of North America. versity of California, Riverside. Manuscript accepted 22 December 2008. Drawing upon archaeology, historical 2 Department of Anthropology, California State documents, ethnography of contemporary University, Northridge, Northridge, California 91330 local fishermen, and basic ecological data, a (e-mail: [email protected]). fascinating image emerges of this unique is- land and a complex ecological history, which Pacific Science (2009), vol. 63, no. 4:649–672 both shaped and was shaped by the actions : 2009 by University of Hawai‘i Press of its long sequence of occupants. Far from All rights reserved confirming standard notions about Baja Cali-

649 Figure 1. Isla Cedros in both regional and continental context. . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 651 fornia, islands, or human impacts on littoral (Wagner 1929, Montane´-Martı´ 1995) is one resources, Isla Cedros presents us with chal- of the most consistent items mentioned in lenges to many underexamined assumptions. the accounts, and such descriptions clearly in- Among these are assumed negative conse- dicate a level of organized response by the in- quences of human exploitation of natural digenous communities. During the sixteenth resources and the presumption that the cu- though the nineteenth centuries, the use of mulative result of individually centered de- Isla Cedros as a base for sea-mammal hunters cision making is the best way to model (Ogden 1941), Chinese and Japanese fisher- patterns of human behavior in all societies men (McVicar 1964), and other apocryphal for all time periods. The history and archae- stories of pirates and galleon crews is well ology of Isla Cedros refuse easy categoriza- documented and a fascinating story of the tion, instead offering at least one alternative roots and processes of globalization in the perspective for future historical ecological eastern Pacific. But why was such a rugged research of broad relevance to coastal and is- and seemingly inhospitable island such a land settings worldwide ( Jackson et al. 2001, nexus of indigenous and colonial activity? Steneck et al. 2002, Van der Leeuw and Red- The answer is simple—water. Quite the op- man 2002, Bale´e 2006, Rick 2007). posite of Coleridge’s dilemma, Isla Cedros represents an anomalous hydrological situa- island oasis: geographic and tion, and it was this factor in the historical historical factors ecology of the island that enabled so many of the other systems to emerge and processes After the precontact period of indigenous to unfold. history, Spanish explorers (Mathes 1968, In the arid terrain of central Baja Califor- Montane´-Martı´ 1995), missionaries (Des nia, water is perhaps the most critical re- Lauriers and Garcı´a–Des Lauriers 2006), source, and the one in shortest supply. Isla American and Russo-Aleut sea-mammal Cedros is a geographic paradox. The adjacent hunters (Ogden 1941), pirates, California mainland coast has the fewest potable water miners (Veatch 1869), Chinese and German- sources along the Pacific coast of the Baja Japanese fishing operations (McVicar 1964) California Peninsula, but Isla Cedros itself is all visited and exploited the island’s resources well provided with numerous springs, seeps, over the last 500 years. It is from the maps of and tanks (Figure 2). The modern port town Sebastian Vizcaı´no, who was sent at the dawn for the local fishing cooperative (Pescadores of the seventeenth century to chart the coast Nacionales de Abulon), which houses around of the Californias by the viceroy of New 1,200 residents, receives all of its water from Spain, that the title of this article is drawn. one major spring located high on the slopes The handwritten comment ‘‘Good Water of Monte Cedros, the 1,330 m high peak and Firewood’’ is noted for at least seven in the center of the island. This abundance locations around the coast of Isla Cedros, in the midst of scarcity was a critical factor and accompanying documents remark on the throughout the indigenous history of Isla abundance and ease of access to both re- Cedros, continued right through the historic sources for mariners (Mathes 1968). Corre- period, with Manila galleons, otter hunters, spondence by the Jesuit Sigismundo Taraval miners, and travelers taking advantage of the (Des Lauriers and Garcı´a–Des Lauriers island’s abundant water. For the earliest in- 2006) dating to 1732 indicates a strong com- digenous colonizing groups, the presence of munity orientation of native society on Isla reliable water may have made Cedros an ideal Cedros, with some leadership roles and ritual location to stage further exploration and specialists but relatively few hierarchical tiers would undoubtedly have resulted in the island of status visible to European observers. The being a ‘‘known location’’ from a very early rapid, violent, and collective opposition to date (Mathes 1968, Montane´-Martı´ 1995). attempted landings by Spanish explorers Spanish (and other European) mariners may Figure 2. ‘‘Vizcaı´no’s Spring,’’ located on the east coast of the island. . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 653 have preferred the water source a few kilo- Themes of Discussion meters north of the modern town due to the proximity of deep anchorages and the shel- It is my intention to energize the dialogue tering effect of the imposing bulk of Monte about the nature of human relationships with their natural environment, with each other, Cedros, which blocks virtually all northwest- and with that unusual convergence of geogra- erly winds. However, their preferences were conditioned by the nature of their vessels phy, ecology, and society that creates not only and the fact that Isla Cedros was simply a the literal, but the conceptual ‘‘island.’’ In this point en route to or from their port cities far- effort, some of the larger assumptions about ther south along the Mexican Pacific coast human-environmental interaction, including the notion that individualistic models of (Mathes 1968). decision making are broadly applicable in The nonagricultural native populations of Isla Cedros did not have the same water non-Western, premodern contexts, will be requirements as horticultural groups, since set aside in favor of a perspective that sees drinking water was the only need that could collective organization of economic activity not be fulfilled by the surrounding ocean. as being an equally plausible way to model Seawater can be (and indeed often still is) ancient human behavior. The ideas will be used in cooking and cleaning, even by locals introduced before discussing the modern Isla Cedros context and its social and ecological today, and its capacity to fulfill certain needs characteristics that (it is argued) allow us to should not be ignored for temperate-climate maritime peoples. Indeed, although the state- derive analogies relevant and applicable to the past of the island and beyond. A few of ment that water is available in ‘‘nearly every the archaeological problems encountered on ravine’’ (Veatch 1869:144) is something of Isla Cedros are discussed in detail, and they an overstatement, it is certainly true that are viewed through the lens of the theoretical on Isla Cedros it would require very careful approaches and modern analogies enumer- planning to be more than about 2 km from a ated earlier. Overall, conceptual engagements reliable source of potable water. The earliest between sustainability, broad-spectrum pat- documented inhabitants of the island, arriv- terns, and the advantages of collectively held ing sometime before 12,000 cal B.P. (Des exclusive use rights for long-term economic Lauriers 2005, 2006, 2008), seem to have made their camps as close as possible to major and ecological stability form the underlying threads of the discussion. It is hoped that water sources, despite the fact that these these points will be taken in the spirit of dis- would have been 3–4 km from the ocean at course and lead to further dialogues about the time. Modern coastline is still about 2 these issues, which are absolutely central to a km from these sites, which underscores the fuller understanding and appreciation of in- small amount of land that Isla Cedros has sular and maritime societies. lost to sea-level rise. These Early sites display little evidence of later occupation, which seems to have shifted toward the coast, island societies: sustainability, though typically centered around the mouths flexibility, and resilience of arroyos containing springs or other water sources at no great distance updrainage No system that depends on the ‘‘best of (Des Lauriers 2005). Suffice it to say that times’’ can be sustained over the long term. the surprising availability of water (Veatch Much more resilient are systems that will 1869, Mathes 1968, Venegas 1979 [1739], carry a group through the ‘‘hard times’’ as Montane´-Martı´ 1995) noted by successive well. An environment that presents a rich generations of European explorers and mis- resource profile in general, but where the sionaries was and continues to be one of the specific proportions of those resources can most salient factors underlying the ecological frequently vary within a short time frame, and demographic distinctiveness of Isla Ce- will require technologies with broad applica- dros. bility and a flexible exploitation strategy . 654 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 with a rapid response time. In addition, the ries that accompany such. The ‘‘tragedy of exploitation of a broad range of resources on the commons’’ (Hardin 1968) is only an inev- a sustained basis allows for critical reserves of itability when the cultural or political context knowledge to be maintained, along with up- is such that the exploitation of a resource is to-date information about locations, density, conducted by individuals behaving as individ- and accessibility. If the amplitude of shifts in ual actors rather than as members of a com- the proportional abundance of economically munity (McCay 1978, 1980, 1981). Given valuable resources is sufficiently great and the nature of marine resources and the fre- occurs with subgenerational frequency (see quent necessity of collaboration between Ingold 2000), then the active maintenance of multiple individuals (especially true with re- ‘‘sustained broad spectrum exploitation’’ can gard to and abalone fishing), in prac- be seen as contingency planning (e.g., Bin- tice, the collectivity begins at the level of a ford 1977, 1978) rather than simply the reac- boat crew, and metaphors derived from such tive response suggested by some applications are common in contemporary discussions. of diet breadth modeling (MacArthur and Pianka 1966). the modern community on isla cedros Both archaeological and historical data from Isla Cedros, combined with broadly The inhabitants of the modern fishing com- comparative ethnographic examples from munity have no known direct cultural or bio- other insular/maritime contexts, suggest that logical ties to the indigenous population of one viable model to explain such sustainabil- the island, which was tragically eradicated by ity (despite intensive harvesting in both an- 1732 due to a combination of disease and re- cient and modern systems) is the holding of moval to mainland Jesuit missions (Aschmann exclusive use rights vested in communities 1959, Venegas 1979 [1739]). Despite this dis- rather than individuals. As highlighted by continuity, their knowledge about the marine Berkes et al. (1989:91), the sustainability of ecology surrounding the island is based upon common-property resource exploitation de- at least four generations of permanent occu- pends upon the recognition of the ‘‘diver- pation by fishermen and divers. Given the gence between individual and collective strong similarities between modern and in- rationality.’’ The modern cooperative system digenous communities in terms of resources employed by the lobster and abalone fisher- exploited, the identical landscape, and the men of Isla Cedros since 1943 (McVicar ecological and social factors common to 1964) may be a productive analogy for mod- many fishing societies, analogies are here eling the indigenous resource-harvesting derived from both conversations and direct practices, because it is likely that both were/ experience with several locally born and are conducted by communities acting in con- raised fishermen. cert rather than simply being the cumulative effect of individual decision making. The Ethnographic Methods distinction is most notably present in the definition of communal property provided The most important informants were Cata- by Feeny et al. (1990:4; see also Berkes et al. rino Martinez, his cousin Catano Martinez 1989:92), who stated that, ‘‘[u]nder commu- Burguez, and Victor Molina (Figure 3), nal property, the resource is held by an iden- though quite a few other local people have tifiable community of interdependent users’’ provided important insights, including Ar- who can ‘‘exclude outsiders while regulating nulfo, Ivan, ‘‘El Pato´n,’’ Mario, Timoteo, use by members of the local community.’’ Angela, Jose´, and others. The methods used This concept runs counter to models that most frequently were unstructured interviews depend upon the assumption that exploitation largely driven by the topics volunteered by decisions are made by individuals unrestricted local fishermen to avoid obtaining only data by traditional self-regulation or by exclusion- about preconceived topics. This was fortu- ary use rights and the circumscribed territo- nate, because some of the insights obtained . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 655

Figure 3. Principal informants for ethnographic data discussed herein. Top left: Catarino Martinez (1928–2004); top right: logo of the Pescadores Nacionales de Abulon, the Isla Cedros fishing cooperative; bottom left: Catano and Angela Martinez Burguez shown with a vigilancia boat of the local fishing cooperative (photo, 2006); bottom right: Victor Mo- lina and crew hauling in catch from set nets in the Bahı´a Sur of Isla Cedros (photo, 2005). would not have been included in any previ- of the younger generations of divers cur- ously prepared formal interview. In addition, rently working on the island. Victor Molina I went fishing with Catarino Martinez on was kind enough to take me on four trips to three occasions during which topics identified both place and recover anchored gill nets tar- during earlier conversations were pursued geting elasmobranch species such as angel further. Until his passing in 2004, Catarino shark (Squatina sp.) and guitarfish (Rhinobatis Martinez was considered the single most ex- productus). At least eight additional trips, each perienced and knowledgeable diver on the with different fishermen, have also been car- island and was responsible for training many ried out in the last 4 years. Catano Martinez . 656 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Burguez and his wife Angela have provided The marine ecology of Isla Cedros appears over 7 years of conversations over dinner to be remarkably resilient, having weathered and coffee, as well as innumerable contacts the same El Nin˜ o events and broad-effect with other long-time residents of the island. perturbations as the Alta California coast. This resiliency represents one point of differ- ence between the northern and southern Modern Adaptations on Isla Cedros portions of the Californian marine biogeo- The modern fishing cooperative (Pescadores graphic zone, which runs from Point Con- Nacionales de Abulon) possesses the exclusive ception in the north to Punta Eugenia in the use rights to all lobster and abalone in the south. As numerous scholars have observed, littoral and nearshore zone around the island ‘‘The Santa Barbara Channel area is suscep- and several small islets to the west (McVicar tible to El Nin˜ o/La Nin˜ a cycles, intensive 1964). In addition to the cooperative, there droughts, and other climatic peruturbations’’ are also several independent fishermen who (Rick et al. 2008:79). The plant and animal focus their exploitation on net fishing, largely communities of Isla Cedros differ in their to supply fish to off-island buyers. The fisher- ecological response to these large-scale varia- men share the island with a large, jointly tions, because in contrast to the depleted situ- owned Mitsubishi–Mexican government salt- ation in the southern Alta California portion transshipment facility (Figure 4), though its of the ‘‘Bight,’’ in the waters of central Baja impact on the fishery is not well studied. California, there remain strong, commercially

Figure 4. A view of the southeastern corner of Isla Cedros, showing part of the Mitsubishi/Mexican government– owned salt-transshipment facility (ESSA). . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 657 exploited populations of a variety of marine dense marine fog that contributed to the na- shellfish and crustaceans, including Haliotis tive appelation of the island as Huamalgua, and Panulirus (abalone and spiny lobster, re- recorded by the Jesuit Taraval (Venegas spectively), as well as a range of elasmobranch 1979 [1739]) and meaning ‘‘Island of the and bony fishes. The pinnipeds, cetaceans, Fogs’’ (Des Lauriers and Garcı´a–Des Lau- and seabirds are not currently exploited but riers 2006). also thrive in the robust marine environment The principal points derived from my eth- around the island, supported by waters en- nographic work on Isla Cedros include, first, riched by both the California Current and how some events and short-term environ- pronounced upwelling (Dawson 1952). Lo- mental variation can have a disproportionate calized upwelling and complicated current effect on the archaeological record; second, patterns creating dramatic thermoclines sus- how some social practices can have an impact tain the cool-water communities thriving on resource exploitation patterns; third, how around Isla Cedros (Dawson 1952, Pondella contingency planning and flexibility allow for et al. 2005), so the ecological stability of the avoidance of crises; fourth, how the anticipa- area is not exclusively dependent on the tion of short-term events can be more impor- strength of the California Current. In fact, tant than ‘‘normal’’ conditions for shaping the during the 1997–1998 El Nin˜ o, the upwelling exploitation practices of some fishing soci- in the area continued without dramatic de- eties; and finally, how, despite the cultural crease in intensity (Pondella et al. 2005:188). and biological discontinuity between the In addition, the location of Isla Cedros in a modern and indigenous populations, similar transitional zone means that year-to-year patterns of resource exploitation reoccur due variation in surface sea temperature is to be to a combination of geography and the basic expected, and local faunal and floral com- nature of human exploitation of marine re- munities have developed distributional struc- sources. tures and behaviors that provide some enhancement of thermal tolerances (Dawson Basic Principles of the Modern Cedros Strategy 1952). Fish species that prefer colder temper- atures, for example, do not migrate out of the It is notable that many of the fishing com- region when warmer water currents make munities of the Pacific coast of Baja Cali- uncommon inroads into the area but instead fornia organized on the cooperative model simply migrate down the water column, tak- remain economically viable long after the col- ing advantage of the complex thermocline lapse of the Alta California fisheries. One dis- system, which is created by the interaction tinct possibility, and one that is asserted by of upwelling, localized current systems and the Cedros Island Coop members, is that the the larger California Current (Dawson 1952, system of geographically defined and exclu- Pondella et al. 2005). A high diversity of sive use rights protects the resources from species, combined with a highly productive overexploitation (a term they understand and overall environment has created a remarkably use without being prompted). They feel that robust marine ecology. if the harvesting were not controlled by a sin- This aquatic abundance is contrasted with gle, locally based entity (such as the coopera- an extremely arid terrestrial ecology, one tive), management would not be possible. that, despite ample potable water and abun- This restriction may allow fishing communi- dant xerophytic plant communities (agave, ties to avoid a supposedly inevitable ‘‘tragedy jojoba, opuntia, juniper, etc.), is incapable of of the commons’’ (contra Hardin 1968, sensu supporting subsistence agriculture. The town McCay 1978, 1980; Feeny et al. 1990). It is on the southeastern corner of the island has interesting to note that Late Period archaeo- sometimes gone years without registering logical settlement patterns (Des Lauriers measurable precipitation. The native plant 2005) and Jesuit documents (Des Lauriers communities are largely sustained by the and Garcı´a–Des Lauriers 2006) seem to indi- . 658 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 cate the presence of territorial clans on Isla missed as coincidental, because such practices Cedros. It may be this spacing that allows for are paralleled by other fishing cooperatives each residential group to monitor and man- elsewhere on the globe (McCay 1981). It is age the resources within its allocated and/or entirely plausible that, over time, similar solu- defended territory. This ‘‘defense’’ today is tions to human ecological dilemmas can be carried out by the cooperative itself, which developed repeatedly in the same geographic employs Vigilancia units to patrol the island’s space by local people making decisions that most productive areas by land and by boat, affect their lives. As such, the local (or tradi- especially during low tides. tional) ecological knowledge (Sillitoe 1998, Another relevant factor is the effect that but see Palmer and Wadley 2007) possessed transportation has on the location of settle- by the people of Isla Cedros can illuminate ments. With the introduction of outboard not only contemporary issues but also assist motors, the number of separate fishing camps in understanding the long, historical relation- decreased and nucleation increased as more ship between the peoples of this island and and more powerful motors became available. the world around them. It would not be surprising if comparable im- provements by indigenous peoples in water- Examples of These Principles in Action: Casting craft cargo capacity, speed, and reliability a Wide Net likewise resulted in increased nucleation of actual habitation sites. One of my informants, Victor Molina, pro- In addition to the benefits of collective vided an interesting perspective on short- decision making within a zone of exclusive term shifts in ocean temperature. He mostly use rights and avoiding the tragedy of the fishes by means of set nets made from nylon commons, in the last 10 years the modern cordage or monofilament, but there are a cooperative (PNA) has also actively begun variety of other methods at his disposal. expanding the range of products that they When asked about the water conditions in ship to market. This is despite reasonably sus- July of 2005, he commented that the warm- tained harvests of both lobster and abalone water current from the south that usually during the same time period. Part of the makes an appearance sometime during the stated purpose involves their own anticipation summer, bringing with it different species of of periodic fluctuations in both the natural fish, including sardines and yellowtail, had productivity and market value of each of their not arrived. When asked how this had af- two principal resources and their need to fected his fishing, he replied that it had forced buffer the economic impact on community them to fall back on fishing for angel shark members by engaging in a diversified marine and guitarfish, which do not command the economy. It is striking that this ‘‘expansion of high price of yellowtail but are abundant diet breadth’’ appears to be occurring without and fairly predictable as to their location and the assumed perequisite depletion of more density. highly ranked resources. The added stability In all of my conversations with Victor Mo- afforded by such practice potentially allows lina, one of the most salient points he made the cooperative to maintain exploitation of was that it was not change in and of itself the lobster and abalone at sustainable levels, that was problematic—one can adjust strat- even if price fluctuations would usually egy, techniques, targeting, etc., to counterbal- prompt increased harvesting. The economic ance any specific change, as long as there buffering provided by supplementary harvests is something, anything, to harvest. What is of sea cucumber, sea urchin, sea snail (Litho- particularly troubling to Victor is ‘‘true’’ poma undosa), and scale fish helps mitigate unpredictability—where the normal associa- potential shortfalls. The parallels between tions of season, geography, and animal be- such modern practice on Isla Cedros and the havior fail to cohere. Erratic (rather than early indications of a precontact indigenous simply variable) weather patterns, unexpected broad-spectrum economy should not be dis- oscillations in resource abundance, and . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 659 changes in species behavior can cause a washed up on the beach for nearly 2 weeks greater disruption to the productivity of his after the storm. For 2 to 3 years the kelp for- fishing than even an El Nin˜ o year. Victor est was seriously damaged and only began claims that when warm water does come to to recover after about 4 years. In addition, Cedros, it does not disrupt his fishing so the arroyos filled with sediment and buried much as change the species being taken. Be- several springs used by the seasonal fishing cause Victor’s father was among the first of camps for washing and other purposes. Ten the early twentieth century colonists to found to 15 years passed before the affected areas the current community on the island in the returned to ‘‘normal’’ and were as productive 1920s, Victor has at his disposal over 75 years as before. That storm (and the damage it of cumulative ecological knowledge about the caused) served as a catalyst for the abandon- waters surrounding Isla Cedros. As such, he is ment of some of the west-coast fishing camps well prepared for any ecologically relevant that were already declining in importance as variation that has occurred repeatedly during increasingly powerful outboard motors fur- that time span (see Ingold 2000). Only un- ther reduced the need for base camps so precedented events, or those with extremely remote from the town site (Figure 5). Such long periodicity, would require the innova- alterations of settlement pattern could also tion of completely new responses. It seems be expected in other instances of innovation that with relatively minor adjustments of and change in watercraft design and capa- technique and geographic targeting (all of bilities (Arnold 1995, Ames 2002, Gamble which are part of preconceived contingency 2002, Des Lauriers 2005). plans) the same technology and labor organi- Increased rainfall following long-term zation can produce the same effective result. drought or rare storms on particularly arid A difficulty in extending such modern analo- coastlines can actually be extremely disrup- gies back in time is the observation that tive to localized littoral ecology, as well as the archaeological signature of such variation corresponding human settlement patterns from year to year may result in an ‘‘average’’ (Moseley et al. 1992). No El Nin˜ o–Southern assemblage rather than one that actually re- Oscillation event is necessarily required, sim- flects the distinct pattern produced in any ply a single powerful storm or a period of given year ( Jochim 1991). high-amplitude variation in rainfall (Waylen and Caviedes 1986). Once again, efforts to mitigate for erratic conditions are the most Wave-lashed Shores taxing on food collectors, who cannot inher- One of the most dramatic events described by ently increase productivity simply by ex- local fishermen was the Chubasco, or hurri- pending more labor but absolutely must be cane, of 1972 (Hurricane Joanne, 5–8 Octo- successful in predicting location, abundance, ber 1972). When the storm hit the island, and timing of resources to be harvested, par- it brought torrential rains that caused large ticularly in maritime settings. For the pre- amounts of sediment to be dumped at the contact inhabitants of Isla Cedros, the most mouths of the many arroyos that cut through ironic dimension of this phenomenon would the steep topography of the island. Usually have been that although the arroyo mouths these arroyo mouths are some of the more are the ideal locations for acquiring water, productive abalone beds, due to the favorable traveling into the interior, and launching substrate conditions and many boulders and watercraft, they are also the exact locations rocks suitable for attachment of both abalone that would present the most unpredictable, and mussels. The sediment outwash resulted highest-amplitude variation in shellfish bed in the virtual extirpation of these beds and productivity. Areas away from these usually had a major impact on the kelp forests near ‘‘optimal’’ locales would not have been as the arroyo mouths, which are very near the strongly affected and would present lower- shore due to the steep bathymetry of the is- amplitude variation in productivity, making land. Many abalone, some still barely alive, them technically more ‘‘reliable.’’ . 660 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Figure 5. A portion of the cooperative town on Isla Cedros and two of the standard lanchas with outboard motors used in virtually every type of fishing or circumisland transport.

the archaeological patterns tency in the archaeological data relevant of isla cedros through the filter to the current discussion is the surprising of modern analogy breadth of species recovered from all time periods for which excavation data are avail- As noted earlier, the archaeological record able (Des Lauriers 2005, 2006). Beginning in of Isla Cedros spans at least the last 12,000 the Early Holocene and continuing up until calendar years, with over 70 recorded sites; the abandonment of the island, the exploita- excavation data are currently available for tion of marine resources seems to have been seven of these (Des Lauriers 2005). Among very broad based, taking advantage not only the remarkable discoveries include several of a variety of species but also a wide range sites dating to the Terminal Pleistocene and of littoral and nearshore environments. It is Early Holocene (Des Lauriers 2006, 2008); unlikely that the earliest documented inhabi- large, multiple Late Period village sites with tants of the island had achieved sufficient hundreds of house features; and highly spe- population densities to reach the point of cialized maritime resource harvesting tech- diminishing returns required in many diet nology, including both bilaterally barbed breadth models as the catalyst for diet- harpoons (Figure 6) and single-piece shell breadth expansion (e.g., Broughton 1997). fishhooks (Des Lauriers 2005). One consis- To occupy Isla Cedros in the first place, these . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 661

Figure 6. Bilaterally barbed whalebone harpoon point (PAIC-45) (left), and a single-piece abalone shell fishhook (PAIC-32c) (right). Scale bars in centimeters.

‘‘colonization phase’’ occupants would have two if not three sides by steep arroyo walls had to be fairly familiar with the challenges and beach cliffs. Among these sites are nine and opportunities presented by coastal con- that contain at least 40 house features (four texts. Given the instability of coastal ecosys- of these contain over 100). These sites are tems during the Terminal Pleistocene–Early not evenly spread across the island but are Holocene, the parent population for the ini- centered around rich, rocky intertidal areas tial colonists of Isla Cedros would most likely with excellent landing coves and available have been economically flexible, broadly fo- water (see earlier). In addition, the space cused opportunists. As such, the ‘‘importa- between these sites displays an interesting tion’’ of a broad pattern of exploitation pattern, with contemporary, peripheral sites developed by colonizing populations before decreasing in frequency with distance from a island settlement may have more explanatory residential ‘‘village’’ (Figure 7). At some point value than models that would require the as- intermediate between two such centers, site sumption of in situ and de novo development density reaches a low level before increasing of human-environmental relationships. once again with proximity to the next ‘‘vil- Sites with evidence for long-term occupa- lage.’’ Although a great deal more research is tion during the last 2,500 years are consis- required, such a pattern could possibly be tently located on high ground near the explained by the holding of exclusive territo- mouths of arroyos and are often bounded on ries by clan-based communities, as is sug- . 662 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

Figure 7. One of the larger house features at the site of Punta Montero, located on the southern bay of Isla Cedros. This feature is part of a cluster of approximately 30 houses, each ranging in size from 8 to 13 m in diameter. gested by both the eyewitness accounts (i.e., size of the single species of mollusk repre- Des Lauriers and Garcı´a–Des Lauriers 2006) sented. All the shells measured between 3.5 and cross-cultural comparisons. The potential and 5 cm in maximum width (in the case of ecological significance of such a community- this bivalve, ‘‘width’’ is taken to be roughly based holding of resource rights is of great parallel to the growth lines). Other deposits interest, and future research will help to es- consisting of up to 90% pismo clam had al- tablish the details of such a system. ready been identified nearby, in which no such restriction in size was apparent. With the history in California archaeology of Evidence of Short-term Environmental Impacts models of human-induced size reduction in versus Human Predation Pressure shellfish, one possibility considered was the Not all the archaeological signatures ob- overexploitation of this particular resource. served on Isla Cedros are on such a grand Another possibility was some climatic event scale. During archaeological survey of the is- or change in littoral substrate resulting in a land, a number of small, single-event dumps cycle of recolonization by Tivela, with the of Pismo clam (Tivela stultorum) shell were early phases of reestablishment being charac- recorded as part of a larger shellmidden com- terized by a uniformly small size in the popu- plex on the west coast. What was notable lation. about these deposits was the uniformly small All of these suggestions were discussed . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 663 with local fishermen Catarino Martinez, Ca- 2005). Excavations of later sites have thus far tano Martinez Burguez, Victor Molina, and failed to produce any such remains, though a other informants. None of my suggestions wide range of sea mammal and large fish found support among these knowledgeable remains indicate the continued use of techno- and experienced islanders. Their assertion logical systems capable of capturing turtles. was that it was very clear that these particu- Thus far, no clear evidence of turtle egg lar deposits were remnants of storm events. collection has been identified for any time By independently corroborated accounts, we period of Isla Cedros, though continued in- were told that when a particularly strong vestigations could potentially expand the im- storm passes the west coast of the island, it portance of this taxon. causes the surf to become strong enough to It is interesting that a similar early focus dislodge the smaller Tivela, leaving the larger on sea turtles, followed by a sharp and persis- individuals in place. These smaller clams are tent decline in the archaeological abundance washed up on the beach and easily collected of their remains, is found farther south along after the storm. the Pacific coast of the Mexican state of Here we have an example of a strong Guerrero, based upon work conducted in the archaeological signature that may represent a Acapulco area by Kennett et al. (2008). Al- single storm event, which may or may not though there is not room here to fully explore have had any long-term impact on the the comparison, the parallels in chronology remainder of the resource base. The archaeo- and Early Holocene subsistence patterns logical visibility of this event may mislead- along the Pacific coast of Mexico are poten- ingly exaggerate its usual importance in tially revealing. Sea turtles are common today prehistoric exploitation patterns and/or rep- in and around the lagoons of Guerrero Ne- resentation of the demographic structure of gro (which lie along the mainland coast inside the Tivela population in the immediate envi- Bahı´a Vizcaı´no) and are occasionally seen in rons. The sudden ‘‘inclusion’’ of small clams the waters around Isla Cedros. in the diet has little to do with the absence One potential explanation for the early and of larger individuals or, indeed, other species abrupt falloff in evidence for sea turtle use, and is simply the opportunistic exploitation possibly favored by those researchers who as- of a momentarily abundant resource. That sume an overall negative ecological impact re- being said, the knowledge of this phenome- sulting from human harvesting, would be that non and the ability to predict the outcome the early occupants of the island seriously de- of a storm would have been critical for na- pressed the sea turtle population below a level tive peoples to have taken advantage of this meriting exploitation. This explanation is not ‘‘windfall.’’ This is especially true, because parsimonious for the simple reason that sea unlike other plant or arthropod resources turtle remains have not been identified from that fall into the windfall category, beached any of the sites that date to the subsequent shellfish, even bivalves, have a very definite 8,000 years of island occupation. The migra- window of edibility, after which they will be tory nature of such aquatic reptiles would al- spoiled and dangerous to eat. low for local extirpation for a span of time, but eventually they would likely return and become reincorporated into the diet. An ex- Sea Turtles and Sea Grass: Environmental amination of the bathymetry surrounding Change, Not Overpredation Isla Cedros provides a more likely scenario, On Isla Cedros, one of the most important which attributes the disappearance of sea tur- of the nonpiscine vertebrate fauna recovered tles from the resource base not to human from the Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holo- action but to eustatic sea-level rise. During cene deposits of the PAIC-44 (Cerro Pedre- the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, the goso) site (Des Lauriers 2006) is sea turtle space between Isla Cedros and the mainland (some elements cf. Carretta carretta or logger- at Punta Eugenia was covered by a mixture head sea turtle, Thomas Wake, pers. comm., of tidal lagoons and a shallow, rockier shelf . 664 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009

(Des Lauriers 2006, 2008). Given the depth 1981, Mellink 1993). Although remains of requirements of Zostera marina meadows, the these creatures are absent from the earliest sea turtle’s favored habitat, as sea level con- deposits on the island (@9,000–12,000 cal tinued to rise and the depth of this shallow B.P.), they have been recovered at low but shelf increased, the meadows would have detectable levels in most of the deposits contracted in their areal extent. By the time dating after 2,500 years ago (Des Lauriers sea level reached its high stand sometime 2005). It would be unprecedented for a large around 6,000 years ago (Inman 1983), the ungulate to have been transported to an is- depth of most of the shelves in the nearshore land by precontact native peoples in the waters around Isla Cedros would have ex- Americas, and focused research into the ori- ceeded the depth tolerances of Zostera, which gins of the Cedros Island is neces- are usually between 2 and 5 m (Meling- sary to clarify this point. If such intentional Lo´pez and Ibarra-Obando 1999), with the ‘‘seeding’’ of the island was carried out by na- deepest recorded population observed at a tive Cedros Islanders, it would not be the depth of 13 m, off the south coast of Ireland only such case in the region, because in the (Cullinane et al. 1985). As such, it is possible nearby Sea of Cortez, at least two species of to attribute the decline of the Isla Cedros iguanids were intentionally translocated be- turtle population not to human predation but tween islands by the native Seri for the ex- to habitat destruction resulting from sea-level press purpose of providing alternative food rise. This is an issue of some modern rele- sources for fishermen stranded on small rocky vance, given the current crisis of global islets, as well as for use by established popula- warming and its effects on many nearshore tions on larger islands (Nabhan 2002). What ecological systems. is notable is that the extermination of such small breeding populations, occupying such small land areas, with no potential for in- Dwarf Mule Deer as Evidence of Sustainable migration, is eminently feasible, even for na- Strategies? tive peoples, as has been demonstrated in The apparent resilience of the ecology of Isla other island contexts (e.g., Kirch 1997, An- Cedros may be at least partly due to the deci- derson 2002, 2008, Steadman 2006). The sions made by its occupants. Sea otters (Enhy- ‘‘failure’’ of the native Cedros Islanders to dra lutris) were once so common in the waters eradicate these deer is something that must around the island that they attracted the at- be explained in one of two ways: either (1) tention of both Russian and American otter the richness of the marine environment was hunters as late as 1845 (Ogden 1941). The such that deer were nutritionally superfluous historic exploitation of these animals was so and thus exploited at a low level, principally ‘‘efficient’’ that they have not been seen on for their antlers and bones (used in the pro- or around the island for at least the last 40 duction of pressure flakers and harpoons), or years. The point is that despite ample evi- (2) some level of proscriptive restraint was dence for the indigenous exploitation of not practiced by native Cedros Islanders. only sea otters but a range of pinnipeds Other instances of nearly exclusive mari- and dolphins, it was not until the arrival of time resource foci within early ‘‘colonization- Russo-Aleut and Euroamerican hunters (Og- phase’’ assemblages are seen in insular con- den 1941), serving a global market, that such texts as geographically disparate as the West species were either locally extirpated or de- Indies (Steadman and Stokes 2002), the Pa- pleted in numbers. cific coast of (Reitz et al. In another parallel example, there exists on 2008), and the Aleutian Island chain (Corbett the island a small population of an endemic et al. 2008). In the latter instance, the impov- subspecies of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus erished terrestrial fauna of an Arctic archipel- cerrosensis), which has undergone an evolu- ago left few alternatives, but in the cases of tionary shift toward smaller size and are con- Early Holocene Pacific South America and sidered to be ‘‘pygmy’’ (Pe´rez–Gil Salcido the Caribbean, the intensive exploitation of . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 665 marine fauna appears to have been actively maining outside the mainstream of indige- preferred over terrestrial prey options of nous resource-harvesting knowledge is still known availability. However, Anderson perplexing. These caribou were clearly a re- (2008) highlighted in his work on changing lict Terminal Pleistocene population and yet subsistence patterns in southern Polynesia are the oldest known remains from an archae- that not all new human arrivals have such ological context date at least 4,000 years after nominal impacts on the terrestrial fauna, as the earliest known human occupations of the the Moa extinction clearly demonstrates coast (Erlandson et al. 2008). Wigen (2005) (Anderson 2002). Nor are all new arrivals pointed out that because dwarfism seems to empty-handed, and even early voyagers in postdate the documented exploitation by hu- the circum New Guinea Archipelago appear mans, it is possible that human predation was to have intentionally translocated and re- a contributing factor toward selection within leased at least a handful of small terrestrial the population toward a smaller body size mammals between islands (White 2004). range. Why such pressure would be com- One case with some similarities to that of pletely lifted before demographic population the Cedros Island mule deer can be found in collapse is unclear from available evidence, the case of Bennett’s wallaby in southwestern but the entire scenario has fascinating impli- Tasmania, which was consistently a major cations for the situation of the Cedros Island prey species in the region during the Pleisto- mule deer. cene and does not appear to have been either When did the population of mule deer on depressed or locally eradicated during a long Isla Cedros begin to consistently display span of time as a dietary staple. Allen smaller body size? Does this postdate evi- (1997:28) stated that, ‘‘The point here is that dence for human exploitation? Although the such survival of species may also imply the pygmy mammoth of the Channel Islands presence of deliberate hunting strategies (of of Alta California (Agenbroad 2001) were whatever kind) on the part of their human clearly diminished in size before human predators.’’ Although the relative size of Tas- arrival on the northern Channel Islands, do mania and Cedros are markedly different, the the trends toward dwarfism work at such much longer length of human occupation varied scales of initial body size, and how in Tasmania compensates somewhat for this can human predation impact such general distinction. biogeographic patterns? Both issues are un- One somewhat mysterious instance of a resolved but present excellent avenues for small island population of large artiodactyls future research. In addition, the survival of is that of the now-extinct (Wigen 2005) cari- these cervids to the modern day would also bou of Haida Gwaii (aka the Queen Char- allow for DNA studies within the existing lotte Islands). This enigmatic population of population. Regardless of the human ecolog- caribou allegedly played a very small role in ical involvement in their evolutionary trajec- local native subsistence and ecological ideol- tory, the Cedros Island deer share 10 ogy but survived until at least the first decades millennia of cohabitation on this dry, rocky of the twentieth century (Sheldon 1912). The island with human populations. Although on scientific characterization of this population Isla Cedros itself their remains are only ar- was as a species that had undergone some chaeologically documented for sites dating to degree of insular dwarfism (see Van Valen the last 2,000 years, the importance of the 1973); however archaeological caribou re- mainland populations of this relatively large mains from Haida Gwaii dating between grazing animal to human populations may 6,000 and 1,500 radiocarbon years B.P. dis- extend much farther back in time given the play no indication of statistically significant major role it plays in the shared regional variation from adult size ranges within main- ideological systems and subsistence patterns land populations (Wigen 2005). How such a of central Baja California (Crosby 1997, Hy- small population managed to survive on such land 1997, Gutierrez and Hyland 2002). a relatively small group of islands while re- Modern anecdotal evidence suggests that . 666 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 ecological variation alone cannot explain the a relationship between the native people and exploitation or lack thereof of insular artio- their resource base that was more complex dactyls. Instead, human ecological and social (sensu Carlson and Keegan 2004) than many configurations will dictate, to a large extent, simple models that emphasize caloric ‘‘effi- the intensity with which such animals are ciency’’ would suggest (e.g., Broughton 1997, pursued and how much harvesting pressure Broughton and O’Connell 1999, Broughton will be exerted on the population. To wit, at and Bayham 2003). some point in the historic period, goats were released on Isla Cedros, and, as is typical of terrestrial footprints of insular other populations of goats introduced to east- populations ern Pacific islands, they reproduced in large numbers (Mellink 1993). In addition, when Although much of this article and related the mines operated by the San Francisco literature on insular hunting and gathering Mining Company at the north end of the populations focuses on the central role of island were abandoned during the Mexican marine resources, often the most noticeable Revolution, a number of burros were left impacts are those within the terrestrial eco- behind and went feral. On California islands systems of these bounded spaces. Isla Cedros farther north, including Guadalupe (Mexico) is not and probably was not an exception to and San Clemente (U.S.), the burgeoning this rule. The modern landscape within walk- goat populations precipitated ecological disas- ing distance of the towns is largely bare of ters. This has not occurred on Isla Cedros for large woody bushes, which have been har- the simple reason that the Mexican fisher- vested for over 70 years for building material men, who have occupied the island since and fuel. This concentric denudation of the 1922, found them to be an excellent source arid Baja California landscape around particu- of red meat. Such a variation from the mo- larly dense settlements has been noted by notony of abalone, lobster, and yellowtail is other scholars before (Aschmann 1959), but still highly prized today. Today, however, the limited geography of an island makes there are no remaining herds of goats, and such a process even more dramatic and prob- only a small group of female burros remains, lematic for inhabitants of such places. which the local people worry may soon dis- One of the most important carbohydrate appear due to continued hunting and a non- staples for the indigenous population of Isla reproductive population structure—assuming Cedros was Agave shawii. This relative of the the local people are correct in saying that all ‘‘century plants’’ found throughout ornamen- the remaining individuals are female. tal gardens in the warmer portions of North This dramatic suppression of potentially America contains a ‘‘heart’’ where sugars are damaging introduced grazers has continued stored during the growth phase of the plant despite the fact that 10 goats were intention- to supply the necessary energy to send up a ally let loose on the island in 1990. Within a massive, flower-bearing stalk during the re- few days, their numbers were noticeably re- productive phase (Gentry 1978). Harvested duced (Mellink 1993:66). By 2000, no goats at the correct time, this ‘‘heart’’ can be were observed, nor have there been any re- roasted and eaten, and is both sugary and ports of such during the 8 years of fieldwork very palatable. The coastal agave (A. shawii) I have conducted on the island (2000–2008). (Figure 8) endemic to Isla Cedros is a species If a modern population, which spends little particularly high in both water and sugar con- time in the exploitation of terrestrial re- tent, being described by eighteenth-century sources, can so effectively cleanse an island Jesuit missionaries to the peninsula as ‘‘partic- of such notoriously ‘‘weedy’’ species (Crosby ularly juicy’’ and as being a major staple—the 1986:28, 173), then an indigenous population, ‘‘daily bread’’ of the islanders as it were (Des given 10,000 years, could have easily elimi- Lauriers and Garcı´a–Des Lauriers 2006). nated native species such as the pygmy mule Given the size of some of the Late Period deer. Again, their failure to do so indicates communities inferred from the archaeological . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 667

Figure 8. Agave shawii on Isla Cedros.

record (Des Lauriers 2005), such a depen- depletion on the mainland stretching for dence upon this slow-growing plant would great distances around the Jesuit missions undoubtedly have led to a certain level of where native populations were concentrated localized depletion surrounding the larger at higher densities than when under the pre- settlements. Aschmann (1959) described the contact settlement regime. In point of fact, . 668 PACIFIC SCIENCE October 2009 many of the largest archaeological clusters of Isla Cedros had an ecological footprint and house features, interpreted as indigenous ‘‘vil- was not without a notable effect on the insu- lages,’’ are surrounded by some of the most lar ecology. barren ground on the island, whereas areas farther away, at the same elevation, on the conclusions same geological substrate, and receiving the same amount of fog and/or precipitation are The continued sustainability of the Isla home to robust xerophytic floral communi- Cedros fishery is an example that varies ties. Palynological evidence may not provide markedly from many models that see the the level of resolution necessary to detect trans-Holocene relationship between human such localized landscape modification, but groups and the environment along the Pacific macrobotanical studies have confirmed the coast of North America as an inevitable pre- intensive use of Agave at least as far back as lude to collapse. Although the modern com- 2,200 years ago and probably much earlier. munity, as noted earlier, is not descended Although the potential for serious degra- from the precontact indigenous population, dation of the terrestrial ecology is apparent, both societies seem to have developed strat- given the current denuded state of the hill- egies for exploiting their rich resource base sides in the vicinity of the two modern town that did not lead to pronounced depletion of sites on the island it is unclear to what level the marine ecosystem. Nor, it seems, would indigenous populations created long-term, is- Isla Cedros be alone in this long-term main- landwide changes in the floral communities. tenance of a sustainable pattern, because It is possible that their experience with mod- Bernstein (2006) observed similarly (though erating the exploitation of fairly sessile ma- not identical) consistent patterns in subsis- rine resources such as abalone and mussels tence and technology along the Atlantic coast provided them with strategies for sustainable of southern New England. Although the de- harvesting. It is also possible that the numer- tails of socioeconomic organization for the ous village sites represent sequential occupa- indigenous communities remain under inves- tions, with village relocation being at least tigation, the currently available archaeolog- partly conditioned by the local ‘‘deforesta- ical data from Isla Cedros fail to provide tion’’ of the Agave community and the in- indications of climate-induced resource col- creased transport costs that would necessarily lapse or depletion-driven changes in harvest- have involved foot traffic over very rugged ing patterns as has been theorized for other terrain. The Agave often form part of com- regions of the Pacific coast of California mensal communities of plants, with new (Salls 1992, Broughton 1997, Kennett 2005, shoots sprouting under the protecting leaves and others). It seems unlikely that 100% of of older, more established plants. In addition, this variability can be attributed to a higher given the fog-dependent flora, the drip lines degree of ecological resiliency and is at least of many plants serve as the main nurseries partly due to differences in the ways that the for new shoots. This ecological system is not Cedros Islanders organized their labor and entirely dissimilar to that operating in the structured their interaction with the natural ‘‘lomas’’ of coastal , where fog conden- environment. sation supported substantial stands of vege- Change, either short or long term, and tation, which have suffered catastrophic driven by either natural or human processes, degradation over the last few centuries (Weir results in the development of coping mecha- and Dering 1986). On Isla Cedros, the selec- nisms, technological innovations, and the ac- tive removal of Agave from such a system quisition of information. All of these become could have long-lasting but very localized ef- part of the cumulative ‘‘fund of knowledge’’ fects on the landscape. This issue is a subject (see Ve´lez-Iba´n˜ ez and Greenberg 1992) pos- of future research, but it should already be sessed by the group that successfully weathers clear that despite some rather sustainable the difficult times. This can be drawn upon in practices, even the indigenous population of the future to make more effective decisions . Isla Cedros, Baja California Des Lauriers 669 about how to deal with similar situations or, those who knew him. He is remembered indeed, how to avoid some in the first place. fondly both by residents of Isla Cedros and It is knowledge of this kind that Cedros by me. This work is dedicated in his memory. Island fishermen and cooperative members continually refer to both in their conversa- Literature Cited tions and in planning their exploitation of marine resources. Nor do we need to roman- Agenbroad, L. 2001. Columbian mammoths ticize the situation by forcing these people to (M. columbi) and pygmy mammoths (M. don the heavy mantle of ‘‘conservationists.’’ exilis): A comparison. Proc. Int. Conf. Instead, we need only realize that for both Mammoth Site Stud. 22:137–142. the modern fishermen of the island and their Allen, J. 1997. The impact of Pleistocene indigenous predecessors, the marine resource hunters and gatherers on the ecosystems base formed, and forms, the foundation of of Australia and Melanesia: In tune with their entire livelihood. If resource depres- nature? Pages 22–38 in P. V. Kirch and sion becomes acute enough, the only paths T. L. Hunt, eds. Historical ecology in the that remain open are out-migration or pro- Pacific islands: Prehistoric environmental nounced poverty (Cruz-Torres 2001). and landscape change. Yale University Thus it is the cumulative body of knowl- Press, New Haven, Connecticut. edge transmitted from elders to apprentices Ames, K. M. 2002. Going by boat: The (Ohmagari and Berkes 1997) that makes a forager-collector continuum at sea. Pages difference, especially when a population re- 19–52 in Ben Fitzhugh and Junko Habu, lies on the metaphorically Protean ocean for eds. Beyond foraging and collecting: Evo- its livelihood. Reconstructing this dynamic lutionary change in hunter-gatherer set- knowledge base from the archaeological rec- tlement systems. Kluwer Academic and ord can be difficult, but its effects can be Plenum, New York. seen whenever innovative populations man- Anderson, A. 2002. Faunal collapse, landscape age to survive major climate change, develop change and settlement history in Remote novel social systems, or devise new technolo- Oceania. World Archaeol. 33:375–390. gies. All of these have been argued for based ———. 2008. Short and sometimes sharp: on the archaeological record of many differ- Human impacts on marine resources in ent regions, and all could be interpreted as the archaeology and history of South prime examples of why the ‘‘ever-changing’’ Polynesia. Pages 21–42 in T. C. Rick and sea drives maritime peoples to be some of J. M. Erlandson, eds. Human impacts on the most dynamic and innovative among ancient marine ecosystems: A global per- human societies. spective. University of California Press, Los Angeles. acknowledgments Arnold, J. E. 1995. Transportation innovation and social complexity among maritime The townspeople of Isla Cedros, the mem- hunter-gatherer societies. Am Anthropol. bers of the cooperative (PNA), and the 97:733–747. employees of the ESSA salt-transshipment Aschmann, H. 1959. The central desert of facility have become incredible hosts, re- Baja California: Demography and ecology. search collaborators, and friends over the last Ibero-Americana 42:1–315. 8 years. 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