The size of northern fur seals provides a reliable indication of their population levels -- the smaller the average body size of seals in a population, the larger the population. Archaeologists studied seal fossils covering an 800-year period when the seals were hunted for food by Native peoples in North America and found that the average body size of the seals did not vary significantly.
The statements above, if true, provide the most support for the claim that during the 800-year period studied, seal hunting practices did not vary substantially between different groups of Native peoples in North America.