Shellfish eaten by hunter-gatherers, rather than being viewed as a monolithic food type, could more appropriately be divided into species that are more similar in behavior and reproductive biology to animals, and those that are more similar to plants, with the vast majority belonging to the latter category. We present the record of prehistoric gathering of two small shellfish species—bean clam (Donax gouldii) and California hornsnail (Cerithidea californica)—both of which follow a trajectory similar to plant remains in the archaeological record of California. We argue that Donax exploitation in southern California is tied to social circumscription, which led to increased settlement permanence and excluded some foragers from ready access to high-ranking lagoonal and rocky shore shellfish. Cerithidea were exploited throughout the Late Holocene in the Southern San Francisco Bay Area, but are found in varying abundances in regional assemblages. We argue that the inclusion of Cerithidea was not the result of diminishing populations of higher ranked oysters, but instead was part of a broader pattern of intensification driven by risk-averse foraging decisions, particularly by women with small children. Overall, this article reinforces the perspective that shifts in social interaction and demography are as important or more important in driving patterns of shellfish exploitation than biological and ecological processes.
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