POLLEN ANALYSIS OF STRATIGRAPHIC DEPOSITS AT THE MILL IRON SITE, SOUTHEASTERN MONTANA: A FEASIBILITY STUDY

Summary

The Mill Iron Site (24CT30) is a Paleo Indian site located in southeastern

Montana to the northwest of the Little Missouri River. This site

lies on a south and west sloping cuesta between a higher mesa on the north

and Humbolt Creek on the south. The cuesta appears to have been connected

to the mesa as a ridge spur at one time, but has been cut off by eastward

erosions of a drainage. Projectile points, other chipped stone artifacts,

and animal bone were exposed along the slopes of the ridge. The cultural

level is buried deeply at this site and yielded Paleo Indian materials.

Unfortunately, reliable radiocarbon dates are not available, although projectile

point analysis indicates that the cultural level may represent

occupation approximately 11,000 BP. Pollen samples were taken from a stratigraphic

column to determine whether the pollen record was sensitive to

paleoenvironmental change and if pollen preservation was adequate to reconstruct

the past environment at the site from the time of occupation to the

present.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• PaleoResearch Institute

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