Anthropologists have described, but seldom explained, the existence and persistence of common pool resource systems among hunting and gathering populations. Land tenure practices in the Fort Irwin area of the Mojave desert, California are explored. Ecological, ethnographic, archeological, and ethnohistoric information suggests that this area was jointly owned and intermittently used by several distinct ethnic groups. Although the region was important as a buffer against resource shortfall during certain seasons, sporadic use and meager and variable resource yield may have made exclusive ownership difficult and costly. A jointly managed region with common pool resources better served surrounding groups, while simultaneously creating a spatial buffer to diffuse social tensions. Following presentation of the Fort Irwin case, the paper considers the formation of such land tenure practices among hunting and gathering populations.

common pool resources - territoriality - hunter-gatherer - Mojave desert