Risky Pursuits: Martu Hunting and the Effects of Prey Mobility: Reply to Ugan and Simms. Issue 1 (20th January 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bird, Douglas W.; Codding, Brian F.; Bliege Bird, Rebecca; Zeanah, David W.
• Is Part Of: American antiquity. Volume 77: Issue 1(2012)
• Page Start: 186
• Page End: 194
• Publication Date: 2012-01-20
• Subjects: North America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; America -- Antiquities -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- North America -- Periodicals; Archaeology -- America -- Periodicals; Anthropology -- America -- Periodicals; North America -- History -- Periodicals; America -- History -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 970
• DOI: 10.7183/0002-7316.77.1.186
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7316

Abstract

Abstract: We recently demonstrated that prey size is not a reliable predictor of post-encounter return rates for resources Martu hunters regularly handle in Australia's Western Desert (Bird et al. 2009). Ugan and Simms are skeptical of our calculations of these returns, especially in our inclusion of tracking as pursuit time. Here we review how these variables were recorded and calculated, update the analysis with more data, and clarify the importance of prey mobility and pursuit failures for understanding the contexts of hunting decisions and their archaeological implications.