Bighorn Sheep
Prehistorically, bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) seem to have inhabited the dry, rocky slopes of eastern San Diego County in at least fair numbers. Adult bighorn weigh from 48 kilograms to as much as 140 kilograms, making these animals potentially significant meat resources for aboriginal hunters. From the existing archaeological record, it is not clear whether bighorn exploitation was limited in time and whether or not it was ever a major element in the prehistoric subsistence strategies of the region.
In an analysis of animal bone recovered from Indian Hill Rockshelter (SDI-2537), a low desert site on the eastern extreme of San Diego County, Robert M. Yohe, II, Roy A. Salls, Murray Smith, and Barry R. Neiditch (1986) reported that bighorn sheep comprised the second most abundantly represented taxon, after jackrabbit (Lepus californicus). A total of 242 bighorn specimens were recovered, the majority of which (158 specimens) were isolated teeth.
At site SDI-161 in Carrizo Gorge, bighorn sheep were considered the probable source of the recovered ungulate remains, although the bones were not positively identified to genus (Shackley 1981:84).
On upper Fish Creek in the Anza-Borrego area, bighorn sheep bones were observed in hearths that dated to the Late Prehistoric period and which also contained the bones of fish that probably originated in Lake Cahuilla (Hubbs et al. 1960:202).
Bighorn sheep bones do not seem to have been identified in the numerous faunal collections that have been analyzed from archaeological sites in western San Diego County.
Bighorn sheep are a prominent theme in the rock art of western North America, most notably in the Coso area (Grant 1980). The animals do not seem to be represented in San Diego County rock art (Hedges 1970, 1973).
Certain projectile points may have been related to bighorn sheep exploitation. At Indian Hill Rockshelter, with its numerous bighorn sheep bones, Philip J. Wilke and Meg McDonald (1986) noted an unusually high proportion of small, triangular, serrated points, which were termed by them the Dos Cabezas Serrated type. Nineteen serrated points were recovered, along with 37 Desert Side-notched and 34 Cottonwood Triangular points. Wilke and McDonald suggested that Dos Cabezas Serrated points may have been of particular value in bighorn sheep hunting because the additional tissue damage caused by the serrations would have reduced the likelihood that prolonged tracking of wounded animals across rocky terrain would be necessary. However, serrated points have also been reported in fair numbers from sites in western San Diego County.
PROSPECTS
Future archaeological investigations may be able to clarify the prehistoric importance of bighorn sheep exploitation, its geographical and chronological limits, and the technology that was associated with it. Relevant evidence may come from analyses of faunal assemblages and studies of residues on procurement and processing artifacts.