Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)
This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.
The prehistory of the Mojave Desert is rich, expansive, variable, and applicable to a variety of research queries. For over 25 years, many archaeologists have expressed concern for the alarming underrepresentation of archaeological research in this region. These concerns include insufficient attention to issues that highlight the importance of variation across different sectors of the Mojave Desert and its adjacent areas. Despite the obvious opportunities for research, there have been limited investigations beyond compliance-based military installation and public works projects. Much of this research has been inadequately disseminated, which has been attributed to “gray” or unpublished data that remains unknown or inaccessible to the larger archaeological community. This session aims to highlight various archaeological research within the Mojave Desert in which researchers have examined old data to investigate past lifeways. By revisiting old data with new perspectives, methodologies, technologies, and theoretical frameworks, these researchers have posed multiplex inquiries that seek to apply broader spatial scales that unveil the inter- and intraregional complexity of the Mojave Desert.
Other Keywords
Paleoindian and Paleoamerican •
Hunter-Gatherers/Foragers •
Zooarchaeology •
Landscape Archaeology •
Archaic •
Quantitative and Spatial Analysis •
Archaeometry & Materials Analysis: XRF/pXRF •
Archaeometry & Materials Analysis •
Cultural Heritage and Preservation •
Subsistence and Foodways
Geographic Keywords
Arizona (State / Territory) •
United States of America (Country) •
Utah (State / Territory) •
Nevada (State / Territory) •
California (State / Territory) •
North America (Continent) •
USA (Country) •
North America: California and Great Basin
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-6 of 6)
- Documents (6)
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Chemehuevi Sites in the Western Mojave Desert in the Late Nineteenth Century: Continuation of Desert Adaptations by Chemehuevi Migrants in the Ranching Era (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This presentation will discuss several sites in the southern Antelope Valley (western Mojave Desert) that were occupied in the late nineteenth century by Chemehuevi family groups. At one of these sites, a traditional circular structure—dwelling—dating from that era was photographed in...
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Clearing Away the Cobwebs: The AVCAR Orphaned Collections and Innovative Undergraduate Research (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The Antelope Valley Archaeological Repository (AVCAR) houses over 300 archaeological sites from the western Mojave Desert. These collections constitute over 40 years of compliance-based and salvage archaeological excavations led by Antelope Valley College and the Antelope Valley...
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A Comprehensive Analysis of Faunal Remains from Lovejoy Springs (CA-LAN-192) (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Located in the western Mojave Desert community of Lake Los Angeles, Lovejoy Springs (CA-LAN-192), is a large village site with extensive occupation beginning as early as 4000 BP. Four cultural components have been identified at the site—Pinto, Gypsum, Rose Spring, and Late Prehistoric....
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Embracing the Research Potential: Geochemical Sourcing of Rhyolite Artifacts from Antelope Valley Orphaned Collections (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. For over 40 years, the orphaned archaeological collections excavated by Antelope Valley College (AVC) have remained underutilized and underreported—an untapped resource and oversight to archaeological investigations in the western Mojave Desert. Orphaned collections can be revisited...
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Geochemical Analysis of Felsite Quarries at Pluvial Lake Mojave (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. This study geochemically documents the conveyance of felsite from quarries in the Soda Mountains adjacent to pluvial Lake Mojave, California to the archaeological sites along its terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene (TP/EH) shorelines. Prior research suggests Paleoindians conveyed tool...
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Geospatial Analyses of Site Distributions at Ivanpah Dry Lake (2024)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Ivanpah Dry Lake is an overlooked Holocene and paleolake located in the eastern Mojave Desert. Much of the archaeological work done in the area has centered around industry and development with data available in gray literature site reports and records. This research is a component of...