Thanks! Yes, there was - here's a plot from Camille Kessler's 2024 paper in Mol. Bio. & Evo. Top is genetic data, bottom is estimated historical pop & restocking data. Purple is white-tails. Seems the bottleneck still impacts their genome, but they have recovered well considering how severe it was

The lesson here is that if we want sustainability, don't worry about demography as much as commodification. Turning nature into commodities that certain folks can profit from helps divorce consumption from real need. Especially when consumption is for social signaling of status, like with deerskins.

The reason deer were overhunted seems to have been commodification within a new capitalist economy. Fashionable deerskin clothes may have inspired greater deer consumption in the 17th century, depleting deer populations even though there were fewer consumers around (images from Spiers 1973)

This suggests that population policy today seeking to reduce human numbers for environmentalist reasons may not work. All else being equal, fewer people means more sustainability - but all else is not equal. Contrary to common arguments, there's more to the story than just consumer demography...

Importantly, this shows that sustainability isn't always related to human population size. Human pops were low in the 17th c. as epidemics and colonial violence reduced Native pops, and Europeans hadn't arrived in force yet. Deer were overhunted at a time when there were fewer people than before.

This is based on higher juvenile mortality in the 17th century than previously. Hunters generally don't take smaller juveniles unless they can't get larger adults, so this indicates hunting pressure depleted adults. The data for this come partly from aging mandibles, like this one from a fawn.

Pleased to share my new paper on the Commodification of White-Tailed Deer in 17th century Southern New England! In it, I find evidence for increased hunting pressure on deer from the late 17th c., suggesting their population declined soon after Europeans arrived

authors.elsevier.com/a/1l60c-JVc4...

The lesson here is that if we want sustainability, don't worry about demography as much as commodification. Turning nature into commodities that certain folks can profit from helps divorce consumption from real need. Especially when consumption is for social signaling of status, like with deerskins.

The reason deer were overhunted seems to have been commodification within a new capitalist economy. Fashionable deerskin clothes may have inspired greater deer consumption in the 17th century, depleting deer populations even though there were fewer consumers around (images from Spiers 1973)

This suggests that population policy today seeking to reduce human numbers for environmentalist reasons may not work. All else being equal, fewer people usually means more sustainable resource use - but all else is not equal. There's more to the story than just consumer demography...

Importantly, this shows that sustainability isn't directly related to human population size. Human pops were low in the 17th c. as epidemics and colonial violence reduced Native pops, and Europeans hadn't arrived in force yet. Deer were overhunted at a time when there were fewer people than before.

This is based on higher juvenile mortality in the 17th century than previously. Hunters generally don't take smaller juveniles unless they can't get larger adults, so this indicates hunting pressure depleted adults. The data for this come partly from aging mandibles, like this one from a fawn.

Had a great time at #SAA2025 talking about the evidence (or lack thereof) for overhunting white-tailed deer

After 8 years of work, time to get this published!

Thank you to the Scientific Exploration Society for honoring me with the 2024 Sir Charles Blois Explorer Award! I had a great time in London meeting everyone and am very grateful for the Society's support. #explore #archaeology #fieldwork