White-tailed Deer Utility Indices: Development and Application of an Analytical Method

Full and partial carcass utility indices have been determined for many animals. The most widely utilized animal in eastern prehistoric North America is the white-tailed deer. However, whole carcass utility indices for this animal have not been investigated. In this thesis meat, marrow, and general utility indices are developed for Odocoileus virginianus. These indices are inspected for variation due to sex, age, and season. In addition, marrow fat percentages which may affect the accuracy of marrow utility indices, are investigated. Five deer have been collected from the ridge and valley region of East Tennessee. Four deer were acquired between mid to late fall. The fifth was acquired in mid spring.

Differences based upon age and sex are evident for utility indices. When divisions of utility are categorized as high, middle, and low utility there are both differences between males and females, as well as between juveniles and adults. When divisions are only categorized as high and low utility, all adult units fall into basically the same groupings; while differences still exists between juveniles and adults. These indices are also compared with those constructed by Binford (1978) for sheep and caribou, as well as Madrigal's (1999) investigation of white-tailed deer. These newly developed utility indices are applied to white-tailed deer remains from Westwood Plantation (16CT490).