Identification of Mule Deer (Odocoileus Hemionus) and White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Postcranial Remains as a Means of Determining Human Subsistence Strategies

Mule deer (O. hemionus) and white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) were widely utilized resources in the Plains during prehistoric times. The two species overlap in geographic space over a large portion of west central North America yet utilize different habitat within that region. Unfortunately, in the past there have been no reliable methods to differentiate between the species through use of postcranial skeletal material. In this paper a wide variety of mule deer and white-tailed deer limb bones are examined. Distinguishing morphological and metrical characteristics useful for the identification of archaeological material are presented.