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The birds and small mammals that could be trapped or hunted supplemented foraged plant foods. The methods used for small game were often simple—snares for rabbits and birds, deadfalls for rodents, throwing sticks for birds. The hunting skills required were different from the organized group hunts for large game—the forager who could quietly approach and dispatch small animals with minimal equipment possessed valuable complementary skills.
The processing of small game required knowing how to efficiently skin, clean, and prepare animals for cooking. The utilization of entire animal—meat for eating, hides for various purposes, bones for tools or soup stock—reflected the waste-nothing ethic that characterized mountain living. The small game that individuals could harvest on their own complemented the shared large game from organized hunts.
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