Good Water and Firewood’’: The Island Oasis of Isla Cedros ... · Cedros is a geographic...

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

Matthew R. Des Lauriers2

Abstract: Today, Isla Cedros is remote from major population centers ofnorthwestern Mexico and the American Southwest, but before European con-tact and throughout the Colonial Period, it was a well-known location to bothindigenous peoples and Europeans. Today, a local fishing cooperative shares theisland 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 placeson the globe where human harvesting of marine resources has not yet resultedin an ecological collapse. It is a place where paradoxes abound and allows an al-ternative view of human interaction with marine and insular ecosystems. Bothshort- and long-term environmental variation characterizes this ecologicallytransitional 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 onresources due to sea-level rise, and sustainable socioeconomic systems can beaddressed 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 relevanceto coastal and island settings worldwide.

At first glance, Isla Cedros (Figure 1) ap-pears to embody the age-old concept of adesert island: dry, rocky, and geographicallyremote from modern population centers.Even the modern occupants, fishermen andsalt-dock workers, refer to their home as ‘‘ElPiedron’’ (‘‘The Rock’’). However, through aunique combination of a rich and robust ma-

rine ecology, surprisingly abundant sourcesof potable water, and an adequate base of ter-restrial resources, Isla Cedros has been one ofthe most densely occupied areas of centralBaja California for at least the last 2,000years, if not longer. Occupation of the islandextends back at least 12,000 calendar years(Des Lauriers 2006, 2008), and human popu-lations on the island certainly experienced thefull scope of Holocene climatic shifts, whilenever abandoning ‘‘the Rock.’’ For reasonslinked to geography, demography, and ecol-ogy, the responses of those populations tosuch changes may have varied from thoseof communities occupying other portions ofthe Pacific coast of North America.

Drawing upon archaeology, historicaldocuments, ethnography of contemporarylocal fishermen, and basic ecological data, afascinating image emerges of this unique is-land and a complex ecological history, whichboth shaped and was shaped by the actionsof its long sequence of occupants. Far fromconfirming standard notions about Baja Cali-

Pacific Science (2009), vol. 63, no. 4:649–672: 2009 by University of Hawai‘i PressAll rights reserved

1 The research partially described here was conductedwith the authorization and support of the Instituto Na-cional de Antropologia e Historia de Mexico (INAH)and funded by grants from the National Science Founda-tion; University of California Institute for Mexico andthe United States; and the Graduate Division of the Uni-versity of California, Riverside. Manuscript accepted 22December 2008.

2 Department of Anthropology, California StateUniversity, Northridge, Northridge, California 91330(e-mail: [email protected]).

Figure 1. Isla Cedros in both regional and continental context.

fornia, islands, or human impacts on littoralresources, Isla Cedros presents us with chal-lenges to many underexamined assumptions.Among these are assumed negative conse-quences of human exploitation of naturalresources and the presumption that the cu-mulative result of individually centered de-cision making is the best way to modelpatterns of human behavior in all societiesfor all time periods. The history and archae-ology of Isla Cedros refuse easy categoriza-tion, instead offering at least one alternativeperspective for future historical ecologicalresearch of broad relevance to coastal and is-land settings worldwide ( Jackson et al. 2001,Steneck et al. 2002, Van der Leeuw and Red-man 2002, Balee 2006, Rick 2007).

island oasis: geographic andhistorical factors

After the precontact period of indigenoushistory, Spanish explorers (Mathes 1968,Montane-Martı 1995), missionaries (DesLauriers and Garcıa–Des Lauriers 2006),American and Russo-Aleut sea-mammalhunters (Ogden 1941), pirates, Californiaminers (Veatch 1869), Chinese and German-Japanese fishing operations (McVicar 1964)all visited and exploited the island’s resourcesover the last 500 years. It is from the maps ofSebastian Vizcaıno, who was sent at the dawnof the seventeenth century to chart the coastof the Californias by the viceroy of NewSpain, that the title of this article is drawn.The handwritten comment ‘‘Good Waterand Firewood’’ is noted for at least sevenlocations around the coast of Isla Cedros,and accompanying documents remark on theabundance and ease of access to both re-sources for mariners (Mathes 1968). Corre-spondence by the Jesuit Sigismundo Taraval(Des Lauriers and Garcıa–Des Lauriers2006) dating to 1732 indicates a strong com-munity orientation of native society on IslaCedros, with some leadership roles and ritualspecialists but relatively few hierarchical tiersof status visible to European observers. Therapid, violent, and collective opposition toattempted landings by Spanish explorers

(Wagner 1929, Montane-Martı 1995) is oneof the most consistent items mentioned inthe accounts, and such descriptions clearly in-dicate a level of organized response by the in-digenous communities. During the sixteenththough the nineteenth centuries, the use ofIsla Cedros as a base for sea-mammal hunters(Ogden 1941), Chinese and Japanese fisher-men (McVicar 1964), and other apocryphalstories of pirates and galleon crews is welldocumented and a fascinating story of theroots and processes of globalization in theeastern Pacific. But why was such a ruggedand seemingly inhospitable island such anexus of indigenous and colonial activity?The answer is simple—water. Quite the op-posite of Coleridge’s dilemma, Isla Cedrosrepresents an anomalous hydrological situa-tion, and it was this factor in the historicalecology of the island that enabled so manyof the other systems to emerge and processesto unfold.

In the arid terrain of central Baja Califor-nia, water is perhaps the most critical re-source, and the one in shortest supply. IslaCedros is a geographic paradox. The adjacentmainland coast has the fewest potable watersources along the Pacific coast of the BajaCalifornia Peninsula, but Isla Cedros itself iswell provided with numerous springs, seeps,and tanks (Figure 2). The modern port townfor the local fishing cooperative (PescadoresNacionales de Abulon), which houses around1,200 residents, receives all of its water fromone major spring located high on the slopesof Monte Cedros, the 1,330 m high peakin the center of the island. This abundancein the midst of scarcity was a critical factorthroughout the indigenous history of IslaCedros, continued right through the historicperiod, with Manila galleons, otter hunters,miners, and travelers taking advantage of theisland’s abundant water. For the earliest in-digenous colonizing groups, the presence ofreliable water may have made Cedros an ideallocation to stage further exploration andwould undoubtedly have resulted in the islandbeing a ‘‘known location’’ from a very earlydate (Mathes 1968, Montane-Martı 1995).Spanish (and other European) mariners may

Isla Cedros, Baja California . Des Lauriers 651

Figure 2. ‘‘Vizcaıno’s Spring,’’ located on the east coast of the island.

have preferred the water source a few kilo-meters north of the modern town due to theproximity of deep anchorages and the shel-tering effect of the imposing bulk of MonteCedros, which blocks virtually all northwest-erly winds. However, their preferences wereconditioned by the nature of their vesselsand the fact that Isla Cedros was simply apoint en route to or from their port cities far-ther south along the Mexican Pacific coast(Mathes 1968).

The nonagricultural native populationsof Isla Cedros did not have the same waterrequirements as horticultural groups, sincedrinking water was the only need that couldnot be fulfilled by the surrounding ocean.Seawater can be (and indeed often still is)used in cooking and cleaning, even by localstoday, and its capacity to fulfill certain needsshould not be ignored for temperate-climatemaritime peoples. Indeed, although the state-ment that water is available in ‘‘nearly everyravine’’ (Veatch 1869:144) is something ofan overstatement, it is certainly true thaton Isla Cedros it would require very carefulplanning to be more than about 2 km from areliable source of potable water. The earliestdocumented inhabitants of the island, arriv-ing sometime before 12,000 cal B.P. (DesLauriers 2005, 2006, 2008), seem to havemade their camps as close as possible to majorwater sources, despite the fact that thesewould have been 3–4 km from the ocean atthe time. Modern coastline is still about 2km from these sites, which underscores thesmall amount of land that Isla Cedros haslost to sea-level rise. These Early sites displaylittle evidence of later occupation, whichseems to have shifted toward the coast,though typically centered around the mouthsof arroyos containing springs or other watersources at no great distance updrainage(Des Lauriers 2005). Suffice it to say thatthe surprising availability of water (Veatch1869, Mathes 1968, Venegas 1979 [1739],Montane-Martı 1995) noted by successivegenerations of European explorers and mis-sionaries was and continues to be one of themost salient factors underlying the ecologicaland demographic distinctiveness of Isla Ce-dros.

Themes of Discussion

It is my intention to energize the dialogueabout the nature of human relationships withtheir natural environment, with each other,and with that unusual convergence of geogra-phy, ecology, and society that creates not onlythe literal, but the conceptual ‘‘island.’’ In thiseffort, some of the larger assumptions abouthuman-environmental interaction, includingthe notion that individualistic models ofdecision making are broadly applicable innon-Western, premodern contexts, will beset aside in favor of a perspective that seescollective organization of economic activityas being an equally plausible way to modelancient human behavior. The ideas will beintroduced before discussing the modern IslaCedros context and its social and ecologicalcharacteristics that (it is argued) allow us toderive analogies relevant and applicable tothe past of the island and beyond. A few ofthe archaeological problems encountered onIsla Cedros are discussed in detail, and theyare viewed through the lens of the theoreticalapproaches and modern analogies enumer-ated earlier. Overall, conceptual engagementsbetween sustainability, broad-spectrum pat-terns, and the advantages of collectively heldexclusive use rights for long-term economicand ecological stability form the underlyingthreads of the discussion. It is hoped thatthese points will be taken in the spirit of dis-course and lead to further dialogues aboutthese issues, which are absolutely central to afuller understanding and appreciation of in-sular and maritime societies.

island societies: sustainability,flexibility, and resilience

No system that depends on the ‘‘best oftimes’’ can be sustained over the long term.Much more resilient are systems that willcarry a group through the ‘‘hard times’’ aswell. An environment that presents a richresource profile in general, but where thespecific proportions of those resources canfrequently vary within a short time frame,will require technologies with broad applica-bility and a flexible exploitation strategy


with a rapid response time. In addition, theexploitation of a broad range of resources ona sustained basis allows for critical reserves ofknowledge to be maintained, along with up-to-date information about locations, density,and accessibility. If the amplitude of shifts inthe proportional abundance of economicallyvaluable resources is sufficiently great andoccurs with subgenerational frequency (seeIngold 2000), then the active maintenance of‘‘sustained broad spectrum exploitation’’ canbe seen as contingency planning (e.g., Bin-ford 1977, 1978) rather than simply the reac-tive response suggested by some applicationsof diet breadth modeling (MacArthur andPianka 1966).

Both archaeological and historical datafrom Isla Cedros, combined with broadlycomparative ethnographic examples fromother insular/maritime contexts, suggest thatone viable model to explain such sustainabil-ity (despite intensive harvesting in both an-cient and modern systems) is the holding ofexclusive use rights vested in communitiesrather than individuals. As highlighted byBerkes et al. (1989:91), the sustainability ofcommon-property resource exploitation de-pends upon the recognition of the ‘‘diver-gence between individual and collectiverationality.’’ The modern cooperative systememployed by the lobster and abalone fisher-men of Isla Cedros since 1943 (McVicar1964) may be a productive analogy for mod-eling the indigenous resource-harvestingpractices, because it is likely that both were/are conducted by communities acting in con-cert rather than simply being the cumulativeeffect of individual decision making. Thedistinction is most notably present in thedefinition of communal property providedby Feeny et al. (1990:4; see also Berkes et al.1989:92), who stated that, ‘‘[u]nder commu-nal property, the resource is held by an iden-tifiable community of interdependent users’’who can ‘‘exclude outsiders while regulatinguse by members of the local community.’’This concept runs counter to models thatdepend upon the assumption that exploitationdecisions are made by individuals unrestrictedby traditional self-regulation or by exclusion-ary use rights and the circumscribed territo-

ries that accompany such. The ‘‘tragedy ofthe commons’’ (Hardin 1968) is only an inev-itability when the cultural or political contextis such that the exploitation of a resource isconducted by individuals behaving as individ-ual actors rather than as members of a com-munity (McCay 1978, 1980, 1981). Giventhe nature of marine resources and the fre-quent necessity of collaboration betweenmultiple individuals (especially true with re-gard to lobster and abalone fishing), in prac-tice, the collectivity begins at the level of aboat crew, and metaphors derived from suchare common in contemporary discussions.

the modern community on isla cedros

The inhabitants of the modern fishing com-munity have no known direct cultural or bio-logical ties to the indigenous population ofthe island, which was tragically eradicated by1732 due to a combination of disease and re-moval to mainland Jesuit missions (Aschmann1959, Venegas 1979 [1739]). Despite this dis-continuity, their knowledge about the marineecology surrounding the island is based uponat least four generations of permanent occu-pation by fishermen and divers. Given thestrong similarities between modern and in-digenous communities in terms of resourcesexploited, the identical landscape, and theecological and social factors common tomany fishing societies, analogies are herederived from both conversations and directexperience with several locally born andraised fishermen.

Ethnographic Methods

The most important informants were Cata-rino Martinez, his cousin Catano MartinezBurguez, and Victor Molina (Figure 3),though quite a few other local people haveprovided important insights, including Ar-nulfo, Ivan, ‘‘El Paton,’’ Mario, Timoteo,Angela, Jose, and others. The methods usedmost frequently were unstructured interviewslargely driven by the topics volunteered bylocal fishermen to avoid obtaining only dataabout preconceived topics. This was fortu-nate, because some of the insights obtained

654 PACIFIC SCIENCE . October 2009

would not have been included in any previ-ously prepared formal interview. In addition,I went fishing with Catarino Martinez onthree occasions during which topics identifiedduring earlier conversations were pursuedfurther. Until his passing in 2004, CatarinoMartinez was considered the single most ex-perienced and knowledgeable diver on theisland and was responsible for training many

of the younger generations of divers cur-rently working on the island. Victor Molinawas kind enough to take me on four trips toboth place and recover anchored gill nets tar-geting elasmobranch species such as angelshark (Squatina sp.) and guitarfish (Rhinobatisproductus). At least eight additional trips, eachwith different fishermen, have also been car-ried out in the last 4 years. Catano Martinez

Figure 3. Principal informants for ethnographic data discussed herein. Top left: Catarino Martinez (1928–2004); topright: logo of the Pescadores Nacionales de Abulon, the Isla Cedros fishing cooperative; bottom left: Catano and AngelaMartinez 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 Bahıa Sur of Isla Cedros (photo, 2005).


Burguez and his wife Angela have providedover 7 years of conversations over dinnerand coffee, as well as innumerable contactswith other long-time residents of the island.

Modern Adaptations on Isla Cedros

The modern fishing cooperative (PescadoresNacionales de Abulon) possesses the exclusiveuse rights to all lobster and abalone in thelittoral and nearshore zone around the islandand several small islets to the west (McVicar1964). In addition to the cooperative, thereare also several independent fishermen whofocus their exploitation on net fishing, largelyto supply fish to off-island buyers. The fisher-men share the island with a large, jointlyowned Mitsubishi–Mexican government salt-transshipment facility (Figure 4), though itsimpact on the fishery is not well studied.

The marine ecology of Isla Cedros appearsto be remarkably resilient, having weatheredthe same El Nino events and broad-effectperturbations as the Alta California coast.This resiliency represents one point of differ-ence between the northern and southernportions of the Californian marine biogeo-graphic zone, which runs from Point Con-ception in the north to Punta Eugenia in thesouth. As numerous scholars have observed,‘‘The Santa Barbara Channel area is suscep-tible to El Nino/La Nina cycles, intensivedroughts, and other climatic peruturbations’’(Rick et al. 2008:79). The plant and animalcommunities of Isla Cedros differ in theirecological response to these large-scale varia-tions, because in contrast to the depleted situ-ation in the southern Alta California portionof the ‘‘Bight,’’ in the waters of central BajaCalifornia, 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).


exploited populations of a variety of marineshellfish and crustaceans, including Haliotisand Panulirus (abalone and spiny lobster, re-spectively), as well as a range of elasmobranchand bony fishes. The pinnipeds, cetaceans,and seabirds are not currently exploited butalso thrive in the robust marine environmentaround the island, supported by waters en-riched by both the California Current andpronounced upwelling (Dawson 1952). Lo-calized upwelling and complicated currentpatterns creating dramatic thermoclines sus-tain the cool-water communities thrivingaround Isla Cedros (Dawson 1952, Pondellaet al. 2005), so the ecological stability of thearea is not exclusively dependent on thestrength of the California Current. In fact,during the 1997–1998 El Nino, the upwellingin the area continued without dramatic de-crease in intensity (Pondella et al. 2005:188).In addition, the location of Isla Cedros in atransitional zone means that year-to-yearvariation in surface sea temperature is to beexpected, and local faunal and floral com-munities have developed distributional struc-tures and behaviors that provide someenhancement of thermal tolerances (Dawson1952). Fish species that prefer colder temper-atures, for example, do not migrate out of theregion when warmer water currents makeuncommon inroads into the area but insteadsimply migrate down the water column, tak-ing advantage of the complex thermoclinesystem, which is created by the interactionof upwelling, localized current systems andthe larger California Current (Dawson 1952,Pondella et al. 2005). A high diversity ofspecies, combined with a highly productiveoverall environment has created a remarkablyrobust marine ecology.

This aquatic abundance is contrasted withan extremely arid terrestrial ecology, onethat, despite ample potable water and abun-dant xerophytic plant communities (agave,jojoba, opuntia, juniper, etc.), is incapable ofsupporting subsistence agriculture. The townon the southeastern corner of the island hassometimes gone years without registeringmeasurable precipitation. The native plantcommunities are largely sustained by the

dense marine fog that contributed to the na-tive appelation of the island as Huamalgua,recorded by the Jesuit Taraval (Venegas1979 [1739]) and meaning ‘‘Island of theFogs’’ (Des Lauriers and Garcıa–Des Lau-riers 2006).

The principal points derived from my eth-nographic work on Isla Cedros include, first,how some events and short-term environ-mental variation can have a disproportionateeffect on the archaeological record; second,how some social practices can have an impacton resource exploitation patterns; third, howcontingency planning and flexibility allow foravoidance of crises; fourth, how the anticipa-tion of short-term events can be more impor-tant than ‘‘normal’’ conditions for shaping theexploitation practices of some fishing soci-eties; and finally, how, despite the culturaland biological discontinuity between themodern and indigenous populations, similarpatterns of resource exploitation reoccur dueto a combination of geography and the basicnature of human exploitation of marine re-sources.

Basic Principles of the Modern Cedros Strategy

It is notable that many of the fishing com-munities of the Pacific coast of Baja Cali-fornia organized on the cooperative modelremain economically viable long after the col-lapse of the Alta California fisheries. One dis-tinct possibility, and one that is asserted bythe Cedros Island Coop members, is that thesystem of geographically defined and exclu-sive use rights protects the resources fromoverexploitation (a term they understand anduse without being prompted). They feel thatif the harvesting were not controlled by a sin-gle, locally based entity (such as the coopera-tive), management would not be possible.This restriction may allow fishing communi-ties to avoid a supposedly inevitable ‘‘tragedyof the commons’’ (contra Hardin 1968, sensuMcCay 1978, 1980; Feeny et al. 1990). It isinteresting to note that Late Period archaeo-logical settlement patterns (Des Lauriers2005) and Jesuit documents (Des Lauriersand Garcıa–Des Lauriers 2006) seem to indi-


cate the presence of territorial clans on IslaCedros. It may be this spacing that allows foreach residential group to monitor and man-age the resources within its allocated and/ordefended territory. This ‘‘defense’’ today iscarried out by the cooperative itself, whichemploys Vigilancia units to patrol the island’smost productive areas by land and by boat,especially during low tides.

Another relevant factor is the effect thattransportation has on the location of settle-ments. With the introduction of outboardmotors, the number of separate fishing campsdecreased and nucleation increased as moreand more powerful motors became available.It would not be surprising if comparable im-provements by indigenous peoples in water-craft cargo capacity, speed, and reliabilitylikewise resulted in increased nucleation ofactual habitation sites.

In addition to the benefits of collectivedecision making within a zone of exclusiveuse rights and avoiding the tragedy of thecommons, in the last 10 years the moderncooperative (PNA) has also actively begunexpanding the range of products that theyship to market. This is despite reasonably sus-tained harvests of both lobster and abaloneduring the same time period. Part of thestated purpose involves their own anticipationof periodic fluctuations in both the naturalproductivity and market value of each of theirtwo principal resources and their need tobuffer the economic impact on communitymembers by engaging in a diversified marineeconomy. It is striking that this ‘‘expansion ofdiet breadth’’ appears to be occurring withoutthe assumed perequisite depletion of morehighly ranked resources. The added stabilityafforded by such practice potentially allowsthe cooperative to maintain exploitation ofthe lobster and abalone at sustainable levels,even if price fluctuations would usuallyprompt increased harvesting. The economicbuffering provided by supplementary harvestsof sea cucumber, sea urchin, sea snail (Litho-poma undosa), and scale fish helps mitigatepotential shortfalls. The parallels betweensuch modern practice on Isla Cedros and theearly indications of a precontact indigenousbroad-spectrum economy should not be dis-

missed as coincidental, because such practicesare paralleled by other fishing cooperativeselsewhere on the globe (McCay 1981). It isentirely plausible that, over time, similar solu-tions to human ecological dilemmas can bedeveloped repeatedly in the same geographicspace by local people making decisions thataffect their lives. As such, the local (or tradi-tional) ecological knowledge (Sillitoe 1998,but see Palmer and Wadley 2007) possessedby the people of Isla Cedros can illuminatenot only contemporary issues but also assistin understanding the long, historical relation-ship between the peoples of this island andthe world around them.

Examples of These Principles in Action: Castinga Wide Net

One of my informants, Victor Molina, pro-vided an interesting perspective on short-term shifts in ocean temperature. He mostlyfishes by means of set nets made from nyloncordage or monofilament, but there are avariety of other methods at his disposal.When asked about the water conditions inJuly of 2005, he commented that the warm-water current from the south that usuallymakes an appearance sometime during thesummer, bringing with it different species offish, including sardines and yellowtail, hadnot arrived. When asked how this had af-fected his fishing, he replied that it had forcedthem to fall back on fishing for angel sharkand guitarfish, which do not command thehigh price of yellowtail but are abundantand fairly predictable as to their location anddensity.

In all of my conversations with Victor Mo-lina, one of the most salient points he madewas that it was not change in and of itselfthat was problematic—one can adjust strat-egy, techniques, targeting, etc., to counterbal-ance any specific change, as long as thereis something, anything, to harvest. What isparticularly troubling to Victor is ‘‘true’’unpredictability—where the normal associa-tions of season, geography, and animal be-havior fail to cohere. Erratic (rather thansimply variable) weather patterns, unexpectedoscillations in resource abundance, and


changes in species behavior can cause agreater disruption to the productivity of hisfishing than even an El Nino year. Victorclaims that when warm water does come toCedros, it does not disrupt his fishing somuch as change the species being taken. Be-cause Victor’s father was among the first ofthe early twentieth century colonists to foundthe current community on the island in the1920s, Victor has at his disposal over 75 yearsof cumulative ecological knowledge about thewaters surrounding Isla Cedros. As such, he iswell prepared for any ecologically relevantvariation that has occurred repeatedly duringthat time span (see Ingold 2000). Only un-precedented events, or those with extremelylong periodicity, would require the innova-tion of completely new responses. It seemsthat with relatively minor adjustments oftechnique and geographic targeting (all ofwhich are part of preconceived contingencyplans) the same technology and labor organi-zation can produce the same effective result.A difficulty in extending such modern analo-gies back in time is the observation thatthe archaeological signature of such variationfrom year to year may result in an ‘‘average’’assemblage rather than one that actually re-flects the distinct pattern produced in anygiven year ( Jochim 1991).

Wave-lashed Shores

One of the most dramatic events described bylocal fishermen was the Chubasco, or hurri-cane, of 1972 (Hurricane Joanne, 5–8 Octo-ber 1972). When the storm hit the island,it brought torrential rains that caused largeamounts of sediment to be dumped at themouths of the many arroyos that cut throughthe steep topography of the island. Usuallythese arroyo mouths are some of the moreproductive abalone beds, due to the favorablesubstrate conditions and many boulders androcks suitable for attachment of both abaloneand mussels. The sediment outwash resultedin the virtual extirpation of these beds andhad a major impact on the kelp forests nearthe arroyo mouths, which are very near theshore due to the steep bathymetry of the is-land. Many abalone, some still barely alive,

washed up on the beach for nearly 2 weeksafter the storm. For 2 to 3 years the kelp for-est was seriously damaged and only beganto recover after about 4 years. In addition,the arroyos filled with sediment and buriedseveral springs used by the seasonal fishingcamps for washing and other purposes. Tento 15 years passed before the affected areasreturned to ‘‘normal’’ and were as productiveas before. That storm (and the damage itcaused) served as a catalyst for the abandon-ment of some of the west-coast fishing campsthat were already declining in importance asincreasingly powerful outboard motors fur-ther reduced the need for base camps soremote from the town site (Figure 5). Suchalterations of settlement pattern could alsobe expected in other instances of innovationand change in watercraft design and capa-bilities (Arnold 1995, Ames 2002, Gamble2002, Des Lauriers 2005).

Increased rainfall following long-termdrought or rare storms on particularly aridcoastlines can actually be extremely disrup-tive to localized littoral ecology, as well ascorresponding human settlement patterns(Moseley et al. 1992). No El Nino–SouthernOscillation event is necessarily required, sim-ply a single powerful storm or a period ofhigh-amplitude variation in rainfall (Waylenand Caviedes 1986). Once again, efforts tomitigate for erratic conditions are the mosttaxing on food collectors, who cannot inher-ently increase productivity simply by ex-pending more labor but absolutely must besuccessful in predicting location, abundance,and timing of resources to be harvested, par-ticularly in maritime settings. For the pre-contact inhabitants of Isla Cedros, the mostironic dimension of this phenomenon wouldhave been that although the arroyo mouthsare the ideal locations for acquiring water,traveling into the interior, and launchingwatercraft, they are also the exact locationsthat would present the most unpredictable,highest-amplitude variation in shellfish bedproductivity. Areas away from these usually‘‘optimal’’ locales would not have been asstrongly affected and would present lower-amplitude variation in productivity, makingthem technically more ‘‘reliable.’’


the archaeological patternsof isla cedros through the filter

of modern analogy

As noted earlier, the archaeological recordof Isla Cedros spans at least the last 12,000calendar years, with over 70 recorded sites;excavation data are currently available forseven of these (Des Lauriers 2005). Amongthe remarkable discoveries include severalsites dating to the Terminal Pleistocene andEarly Holocene (Des Lauriers 2006, 2008);large, multiple Late Period village sites withhundreds of house features; and highly spe-cialized maritime resource harvesting tech-nology, including both bilaterally barbedharpoons (Figure 6) and single-piece shellfishhooks (Des Lauriers 2005). One consis-

tency in the archaeological data relevantto the current discussion is the surprisingbreadth of species recovered from all timeperiods for which excavation data are avail-able (Des Lauriers 2005, 2006). Beginning inthe Early Holocene and continuing up untilthe abandonment of the island, the exploita-tion of marine resources seems to have beenvery broad based, taking advantage not onlyof a variety of species but also a wide rangeof littoral and nearshore environments. It isunlikely that the earliest documented inhabi-tants of the island had achieved sufficientpopulation densities to reach the point ofdiminishing returns required in many dietbreadth models as the catalyst for diet-breadth expansion (e.g., Broughton 1997).To occupy Isla Cedros in the first place, these

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


‘‘colonization phase’’ occupants would havehad to be fairly familiar with the challengesand opportunities presented by coastal con-texts. Given the instability of coastal ecosys-tems during the Terminal Pleistocene–EarlyHolocene, the parent population for the ini-tial colonists of Isla Cedros would most likelyhave been economically flexible, broadly fo-cused opportunists. As such, the ‘‘importa-tion’’ of a broad pattern of exploitationdeveloped by colonizing populations beforeisland settlement may have more explanatoryvalue than models that would require the as-sumption of in situ and de novo developmentof human-environmental relationships.

Sites with evidence for long-term occupa-tion during the last 2,500 years are consis-tently located on high ground near themouths of arroyos and are often bounded on

two if not three sides by steep arroyo wallsand beach cliffs. Among these sites are ninethat contain at least 40 house features (fourof these contain over 100). These sites arenot evenly spread across the island but arecentered around rich, rocky intertidal areaswith excellent landing coves and availablewater (see earlier). In addition, the spacebetween these sites displays an interestingpattern, with contemporary, peripheral sitesdecreasing in frequency with distance from aresidential ‘‘village’’ (Figure 7). At some pointintermediate between two such centers, sitedensity reaches a low level before increasingonce again with proximity to the next ‘‘vil-lage.’’ Although a great deal more research isrequired, such a pattern could possibly beexplained by the holding of exclusive territo-ries by clan-based communities, as is sug-

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


gested by both the eyewitness accounts (i.e.,Des Lauriers and Garcıa–Des Lauriers 2006)and cross-cultural comparisons. The potentialecological significance of such a community-based holding of resource rights is of greatinterest, and future research will help to es-tablish the details of such a system.

Evidence of Short-term Environmental Impactsversus Human Predation Pressure

Not all the archaeological signatures ob-served on Isla Cedros are on such a grandscale. During archaeological survey of the is-land, a number of small, single-event dumpsof Pismo clam (Tivela stultorum) shell wererecorded as part of a larger shellmidden com-plex on the west coast. What was notableabout these deposits was the uniformly small

size of the single species of mollusk repre-sented. All the shells measured between 3.5and 5 cm in maximum width (in the case ofthis bivalve, ‘‘width’’ is taken to be roughlyparallel to the growth lines). Other depositsconsisting of up to 90% pismo clam had al-ready been identified nearby, in which nosuch restriction in size was apparent. Withthe history in California archaeology ofmodels of human-induced size reduction inshellfish, one possibility considered was theoverexploitation of this particular resource.Another possibility was some climatic eventor change in littoral substrate resulting in acycle of recolonization by Tivela, with theearly phases of reestablishment being charac-terized by a uniformly small size in the popu-lation.

All of these suggestions were discussed

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.


with local fishermen Catarino Martinez, Ca-tano Martinez Burguez, Victor Molina, andother informants. None of my suggestionsfound support among these knowledgeableand experienced islanders. Their assertionwas that it was very clear that these particu-lar deposits were remnants of storm events.By independently corroborated accounts, wewere told that when a particularly strongstorm passes the west coast of the island, itcauses the surf to become strong enough todislodge the smaller Tivela, leaving the largerindividuals in place. These smaller clams arewashed up on the beach and easily collectedafter the storm.

Here we have an example of a strongarchaeological signature that may represent asingle storm event, which may or may nothave had any long-term impact on theremainder of the resource base. The archaeo-logical visibility of this event may mislead-ingly exaggerate its usual importance inprehistoric exploitation patterns and/or rep-resentation of the demographic structure ofthe Tivela population in the immediate envi-rons. The sudden ‘‘inclusion’’ of small clamsin the diet has little to do with the absenceof larger individuals or, indeed, other speciesand is simply the opportunistic exploitationof a momentarily abundant resource. Thatbeing said, the knowledge of this phenome-non and the ability to predict the outcomeof a storm would have been critical for na-tive peoples to have taken advantage of this‘‘windfall.’’ This is especially true, becauseunlike other plant or arthropod resourcesthat fall into the windfall category, beachedshellfish, even bivalves, have a very definitewindow of edibility, after which they will bespoiled and dangerous to eat.

Sea Turtles and Sea Grass: EnvironmentalChange, Not Overpredation

On Isla Cedros, one of the most importantof the nonpiscine vertebrate fauna recoveredfrom the Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holo-cene deposits of the PAIC-44 (Cerro Pedre-goso) site (Des Lauriers 2006) is sea turtle(some elements cf. Carretta carretta or logger-head sea turtle, Thomas Wake, pers. comm.,

2005). Excavations of later sites have thus farfailed to produce any such remains, though awide range of sea mammal and large fishremains indicate the continued use of techno-logical systems capable of capturing turtles.Thus far, no clear evidence of turtle eggcollection has been identified for any timeperiod of Isla Cedros, though continued in-vestigations could potentially expand the im-portance of this taxon.

It is interesting that a similar early focuson sea turtles, followed by a sharp and persis-tent decline in the archaeological abundanceof their remains, is found farther south alongthe Pacific coast of the Mexican state ofGuerrero, based upon work conducted in theAcapulco area by Kennett et al. (2008). Al-though there is not room here to fully explorethe comparison, the parallels in chronologyand Early Holocene subsistence patternsalong the Pacific coast of Mexico are poten-tially revealing. Sea turtles are common todayin and around the lagoons of Guerrero Ne-gro (which lie along the mainland coast insideBahıa Vizcaıno) and are occasionally seen inthe waters around Isla Cedros.

One potential explanation for the early andabrupt falloff in evidence for sea turtle use,possibly favored by those researchers who as-sume an overall negative ecological impact re-sulting from human harvesting, would be thatthe early occupants of the island seriously de-pressed the sea turtle population below a levelmeriting exploitation. This explanation is notparsimonious for the simple reason that seaturtle remains have not been identified fromany of the sites that date to the subsequent8,000 years of island occupation. The migra-tory nature of such aquatic reptiles would al-low for local extirpation for a span of time,but eventually they would likely return andbecome reincorporated into the diet. An ex-amination of the bathymetry surroundingIsla Cedros provides a more likely scenario,which attributes the disappearance of sea tur-tles from the resource base not to humanaction but to eustatic sea-level rise. Duringthe Pleistocene-Holocene transition, thespace between Isla Cedros and the mainlandat Punta Eugenia was covered by a mixtureof tidal lagoons and a shallow, rockier shelf


(Des Lauriers 2006, 2008). Given the depthrequirements of Zostera marina meadows, thesea turtle’s favored habitat, as sea level con-tinued to rise and the depth of this shallowshelf increased, the meadows would havecontracted in their areal extent. By the timesea level reached its high stand sometimearound 6,000 years ago (Inman 1983), thedepth of most of the shelves in the nearshorewaters around Isla Cedros would have ex-ceeded the depth tolerances of Zostera, whichare usually between 2 and 5 m (Meling-Lopez and Ibarra-Obando 1999), with thedeepest recorded population observed at adepth of 13 m, off the south coast of Ireland(Cullinane et al. 1985). As such, it is possibleto attribute the decline of the Isla Cedrosturtle population not to human predation butto habitat destruction resulting from sea-levelrise. This is an issue of some modern rele-vance, given the current crisis of globalwarming and its effects on many nearshoreecological systems.

Dwarf Mule Deer as Evidence of SustainableStrategies?

The apparent resilience of the ecology of IslaCedros may be at least partly due to the deci-sions made by its occupants. Sea otters (Enhy-dra lutris) were once so common in the watersaround the island that they attracted the at-tention of both Russian and American otterhunters as late as 1845 (Ogden 1941). Thehistoric exploitation of these animals was so‘‘efficient’’ that they have not been seen onor around the island for at least the last 40years. The point is that despite ample evi-dence for the indigenous exploitation of notonly sea otters but a range of pinnipedsand dolphins, it was not until the arrival ofRusso-Aleut and Euroamerican hunters (Og-den 1941), serving a global market, that suchspecies were either locally extirpated or de-pleted in numbers.

In another parallel example, there exists onthe island a small population of an endemicsubspecies of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionuscerrosensis), which has undergone an evolu-tionary shift toward smaller size and are con-sidered to be ‘‘pygmy’’ (Perez–Gil Salcido

1981, Mellink 1993). Although remains ofthese creatures are absent from the earliestdeposits on the island (@9,000–12,000 calB.P.), they have been recovered at low butdetectable levels in most of the depositsdating after 2,500 years ago (Des Lauriers2005). It would be unprecedented for a largeungulate to have been transported to an is-land by precontact native peoples in theAmericas, and focused research into the ori-gins of the Cedros Island mule deer is neces-sary to clarify this point. If such intentional‘‘seeding’’ of the island was carried out by na-tive Cedros Islanders, it would not be theonly such case in the region, because in thenearby Sea of Cortez, at least two species ofiguanids were intentionally translocated be-tween islands by the native Seri for the ex-press purpose of providing alternative foodsources for fishermen stranded on small rockyislets, as well as for use by established popula-tions on larger islands (Nabhan 2002). Whatis notable is that the extermination of suchsmall breeding populations, occupying suchsmall land areas, with no potential for in-migration, is eminently feasible, even for na-tive peoples, as has been demonstrated inother island contexts (e.g., Kirch 1997, An-derson 2002, 2008, Steadman 2006). The‘‘failure’’ of the native Cedros Islanders toeradicate these deer is something that mustbe explained in one of two ways: either (1)the richness of the marine environment wassuch that deer were nutritionally superfluousand thus exploited at a low level, principallyfor their antlers and bones (used in the pro-duction of pressure flakers and harpoons), or(2) some level of proscriptive restraint waspracticed by native Cedros Islanders.

Other instances of nearly exclusive mari-time resource foci within early ‘‘colonization-phase’’ assemblages are seen in insular con-texts as geographically disparate as the WestIndies (Steadman and Stokes 2002), the Pa-cific coast of South America (Reitz et al.2008), and the Aleutian Island chain (Corbettet al. 2008). In the latter instance, the impov-erished terrestrial fauna of an Arctic archipel-ago left few alternatives, but in the cases ofEarly Holocene Pacific South America andthe Caribbean, the intensive exploitation of


marine fauna appears to have been activelypreferred over terrestrial prey options ofknown availability. However, Anderson(2008) highlighted in his work on changingsubsistence patterns in southern Polynesiathat not all new human arrivals have suchnominal impacts on the terrestrial fauna, asthe Moa extinction clearly demonstrates(Anderson 2002). Nor are all new arrivalsempty-handed, and even early voyagers inthe circum New Guinea Archipelago appearto have intentionally translocated and re-leased at least a handful of small terrestrialmammals between islands (White 2004).

One case with some similarities to that ofthe Cedros Island mule deer can be found inthe case of Bennett’s wallaby in southwesternTasmania, which was consistently a majorprey species in the region during the Pleisto-cene and does not appear to have been eitherdepressed or locally eradicated during a longspan of time as a dietary staple. Allen(1997:28) stated that, ‘‘The point here is thatsuch survival of species may also imply thepresence of deliberate hunting strategies (ofwhatever kind) on the part of their humanpredators.’’ Although the relative size of Tas-mania and Cedros are markedly different, themuch longer length of human occupationin Tasmania compensates somewhat for thisdistinction.

One somewhat mysterious instance of asmall island population of large artiodactylsis that of the now-extinct (Wigen 2005) cari-bou of Haida Gwaii (aka the Queen Char-lotte Islands). This enigmatic population ofcaribou allegedly played a very small role inlocal native subsistence and ecological ideol-ogy but survived until at least the first decadesof the twentieth century (Sheldon 1912). Thescientific characterization of this populationwas as a species that had undergone somedegree of insular dwarfism (see Van Valen1973); however archaeological caribou re-mains from Haida Gwaii dating between6,000 and 1,500 radiocarbon years B.P. dis-play no indication of statistically significantvariation from adult size ranges within main-land populations (Wigen 2005). How such asmall population managed to survive on sucha relatively small group of islands while re-

maining outside the mainstream of indige-nous resource-harvesting knowledge is stillperplexing. These caribou were clearly a re-lict Terminal Pleistocene population and yetare the oldest known remains from an archae-ological context date at least 4,000 years afterthe earliest known human occupations of thecoast (Erlandson et al. 2008). Wigen (2005)pointed out that because dwarfism seems topostdate the documented exploitation by hu-mans, it is possible that human predation wasa contributing factor toward selection withinthe population toward a smaller body sizerange. Why such pressure would be com-pletely lifted before demographic populationcollapse is unclear from available evidence,but the entire scenario has fascinating impli-cations for the situation of the Cedros Islandmule deer.

When did the population of mule deer onIsla Cedros begin to consistently displaysmaller body size? Does this postdate evi-dence for human exploitation? Although thepygmy mammoth of the Channel Islandsof Alta California (Agenbroad 2001) wereclearly diminished in size before humanarrival on the northern Channel Islands, dothe trends toward dwarfism work at suchvaried scales of initial body size, and howcan human predation impact such generalbiogeographic patterns? Both issues are un-resolved but present excellent avenues forfuture research. In addition, the survival ofthese cervids to the modern day would alsoallow for DNA studies within the existingpopulation. Regardless of the human ecolog-ical involvement in their evolutionary trajec-tory, the Cedros Island deer share 10millennia of cohabitation on this dry, rockyisland with human populations. Although onIsla Cedros itself their remains are only ar-chaeologically documented for sites dating tothe last 2,000 years, the importance of themainland populations of this relatively largegrazing animal to human populations mayextend much farther back in time given themajor role it plays in the shared regionalideological systems and subsistence patternsof central Baja California (Crosby 1997, Hy-land 1997, Gutierrez and Hyland 2002).

Modern anecdotal evidence suggests that


ecological variation alone cannot explain theexploitation or lack thereof of insular artio-dactyls. Instead, human ecological and socialconfigurations will dictate, to a large extent,the intensity with which such animals arepursued and how much harvesting pressurewill be exerted on the population. To wit, atsome point in the historic period, goats werereleased on Isla Cedros, and, as is typical ofother populations of goats introduced to east-ern Pacific islands, they reproduced in largenumbers (Mellink 1993). In addition, whenthe mines operated by the San FranciscoMining Company at the north end of theisland were abandoned during the MexicanRevolution, a number of burros were leftbehind and went feral. On California islandsfarther north, including Guadalupe (Mexico)and San Clemente (U.S.), the burgeoninggoat populations precipitated ecological disas-ters. This has not occurred on Isla Cedros forthe simple reason that the Mexican fisher-men, who have occupied the island since1922, found them to be an excellent sourceof red meat. Such a variation from the mo-notony of abalone, lobster, and yellowtail isstill highly prized today. Today, however,there are no remaining herds of goats, andonly a small group of female burros remains,which the local people worry may soon dis-appear due to continued hunting and a non-reproductive population structure—assumingthe local people are correct in saying that allthe remaining individuals are female.

This dramatic suppression of potentiallydamaging introduced grazers has continueddespite the fact that 10 goats were intention-ally let loose on the island in 1990. Within afew days, their numbers were noticeably re-duced (Mellink 1993:66). By 2000, no goatswere observed, nor have there been any re-ports of such during the 8 years of fieldworkI have conducted on the island (2000–2008).If a modern population, which spends littletime in the exploitation of terrestrial re-sources, can so effectively cleanse an islandof such notoriously ‘‘weedy’’ species (Crosby1986:28, 173), then an indigenous population,given 10,000 years, could have easily elimi-nated native species such as the pygmy muledeer. Again, their failure to do so indicates

a relationship between the native people andtheir resource base that was more complex(sensu Carlson and Keegan 2004) than manysimple models that emphasize caloric ‘‘effi-ciency’’ would suggest (e.g., Broughton 1997,Broughton and O’Connell 1999, Broughtonand Bayham 2003).

terrestrial footprints of insularpopulations

Although much of this article and relatedliterature on insular hunting and gatheringpopulations focuses on the central role ofmarine resources, often the most noticeableimpacts are those within the terrestrial eco-systems of these bounded spaces. Isla Cedrosis not and probably was not an exception tothis rule. The modern landscape within walk-ing distance of the towns is largely bare oflarge woody bushes, which have been har-vested for over 70 years for building materialand fuel. This concentric denudation of thearid Baja California landscape around particu-larly dense settlements has been noted byother scholars before (Aschmann 1959), butthe limited geography of an island makessuch a process even more dramatic and prob-lematic for inhabitants of such places.

One of the most important carbohydratestaples for the indigenous population of IslaCedros was Agave shawii. This relative of the‘‘century plants’’ found throughout ornamen-tal gardens in the warmer portions of NorthAmerica contains a ‘‘heart’’ where sugars arestored during the growth phase of the plantto supply the necessary energy to send up amassive, flower-bearing stalk during the re-productive phase (Gentry 1978). Harvestedat the correct time, this ‘‘heart’’ can beroasted and eaten, and is both sugary andvery palatable. The coastal agave (A. shawii )(Figure 8) endemic to Isla Cedros is a speciesparticularly high in both water and sugar con-tent, being described by eighteenth-centuryJesuit missionaries to the peninsula as ‘‘partic-ularly juicy’’ and as being a major staple—the‘‘daily bread’’ of the islanders as it were (DesLauriers and Garcıa–Des Lauriers 2006).Given the size of some of the Late Periodcommunities inferred from the archaeological


record (Des Lauriers 2005), such a depen-dence upon this slow-growing plant wouldundoubtedly have led to a certain level oflocalized depletion surrounding the largersettlements. Aschmann (1959) described the

depletion on the mainland stretching forgreat distances around the Jesuit missionswhere native populations were concentratedat higher densities than when under the pre-contact settlement regime. In point of fact,

Figure 8. Agave shawii on Isla Cedros.


many of the largest archaeological clusters ofhouse features, interpreted as indigenous ‘‘vil-lages,’’ are surrounded by some of the mostbarren ground on the island, whereas areasfarther away, at the same elevation, on thesame geological substrate, and receiving thesame amount of fog and/or precipitation arehome to robust xerophytic floral communi-ties. Palynological evidence may not providethe level of resolution necessary to detectsuch localized landscape modification, butmacrobotanical studies have confirmed theintensive use of Agave at least as far back as2,200 years ago and probably much earlier.

Although the potential for serious degra-dation of the terrestrial ecology is apparent,given the current denuded state of the hill-sides in the vicinity of the two modern townsites on the island it is unclear to what levelindigenous populations created long-term, is-landwide changes in the floral communities.It is possible that their experience with mod-erating the exploitation of fairly sessile ma-rine resources such as abalone and musselsprovided them with strategies for sustainableharvesting. It is also possible that the numer-ous village sites represent sequential occupa-tions, with village relocation being at leastpartly conditioned by the local ‘‘deforesta-tion’’ of the Agave community and the in-creased transport costs that would necessarilyhave involved foot traffic over very ruggedterrain. The Agave often form part of com-mensal communities of plants, with newshoots sprouting under the protecting leavesof older, more established plants. In addition,given the fog-dependent flora, the drip linesof many plants serve as the main nurseriesfor new shoots. This ecological system is notentirely dissimilar to that operating in the‘‘lomas’’ of coastal Peru, where fog conden-sation supported substantial stands of vege-tation, which have suffered catastrophicdegradation over the last few centuries (Weirand Dering 1986). On Isla Cedros, the selec-tive removal of Agave from such a systemcould have long-lasting but very localized ef-fects on the landscape. This issue is a subjectof future research, but it should already beclear that despite some rather sustainablepractices, even the indigenous population of

Isla Cedros had an ecological footprint andwas not without a notable effect on the insu-lar ecology.

conclusions

The continued sustainability of the IslaCedros fishery is an example that variesmarkedly from many models that see thetrans-Holocene relationship between humangroups and the environment along the Pacificcoast of North America as an inevitable pre-lude to collapse. Although the modern com-munity, as noted earlier, is not descendedfrom the precontact indigenous population,both societies seem to have developed strat-egies for exploiting their rich resource basethat did not lead to pronounced depletion ofthe marine ecosystem. Nor, it seems, wouldIsla Cedros be alone in this long-term main-tenance of a sustainable pattern, becauseBernstein (2006) observed similarly (thoughnot identical) consistent patterns in subsis-tence and technology along the Atlantic coastof southern New England. Although the de-tails of socioeconomic organization for theindigenous communities remain under inves-tigation, the currently available archaeolog-ical data from Isla Cedros fail to provideindications of climate-induced resource col-lapse or depletion-driven changes in harvest-ing patterns as has been theorized for otherregions of the Pacific coast of California(Salls 1992, Broughton 1997, Kennett 2005,and others). It seems unlikely that 100% ofthis variability can be attributed to a higherdegree of ecological resiliency and is at leastpartly due to differences in the ways that theCedros Islanders organized their labor andstructured their interaction with the naturalenvironment.

Change, either short or long term, anddriven by either natural or human processes,results in the development of coping mecha-nisms, technological innovations, and the ac-quisition of information. All of these becomepart of the cumulative ‘‘fund of knowledge’’(see Velez-Ibanez and Greenberg 1992) pos-sessed by the group that successfully weathersthe difficult times. This can be drawn upon inthe future to make more effective decisions


about how to deal with similar situations or,indeed, how to avoid some in the first place.It is knowledge of this kind that CedrosIsland fishermen and cooperative memberscontinually refer to both in their conversa-tions and in planning their exploitation ofmarine resources. Nor do we need to roman-ticize the situation by forcing these people todon the heavy mantle of ‘‘conservationists.’’Instead, we need only realize that for boththe modern fishermen of the island and theirindigenous predecessors, the marine resourcebase formed, and forms, the foundation oftheir entire livelihood. If resource depres-sion becomes acute enough, the only pathsthat remain open are out-migration or pro-nounced poverty (Cruz-Torres 2001).

Thus it is the cumulative body of knowl-edge transmitted from elders to apprentices(Ohmagari and Berkes 1997) that makes adifference, especially when a population re-lies on the metaphorically Protean ocean forits livelihood. Reconstructing this dynamicknowledge base from the archaeological rec-ord can be difficult, but its effects can beseen whenever innovative populations man-age to survive major climate change, developnovel social systems, or devise new technolo-gies. All of these have been argued for basedon the archaeological record of many differ-ent regions, and all could be interpreted asprime examples of why the ‘‘ever-changing’’sea drives maritime peoples to be some ofthe most dynamic and innovative amonghuman societies.

acknowledgments

The townspeople of Isla Cedros, the mem-bers of the cooperative (PNA), and theemployees of the ESSA salt-transshipmentfacility have become incredible hosts, re-search collaborators, and friends over the last8 years. Their participation is greatly appreci-ated, and they deserve a great deal of credit.Catarino Martinez (1928–2004) passed awayin 2004 and with him went an enormousamount of wisdom and historical perspective;he will be missed by the many divers and fish-ermen whom he taught in their early years ofapprenticeship, and his loss is lamented by all

those who knew him. He is rememberedfondly both by residents of Isla Cedros andby me. This work is dedicated in his memory.

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