POLLEN AND MACROFLORAL ANALYSIS AT SITES 35MA7, 35MA9, 35MA12, 35MA63, AND 35MA70 IN THE STATE STREET-NORTH SANTIAM HIGHWAY PROJECT, SALEM, OREGON

Summary

Soil samples from Sites 35MA7, 35MA9, 35MA63, 35MA70, and 35MA12 in the State

Street-North Santiam Highway project near Salem, Oregon, were sampled for macrofloral

remains. Charred botanic specimens also were submitted for identification. Pollen samples

were examined from features at Sites 35MA9, 35MA70, and 35MA 12. The five sites in the

project area currently are divided by highway interchange loops and ramps; however, these sites

are believed to represent a very large site complex used throughout the last 6000 years with

superimposed and overlapping activity areas of different ages. Features at these sites consist

mainly of rock-lined pit oven features. Radiocarbon dates and obsidian hydration analysis may

suggest near-exclusive early use of this area for camas bulb processing, with more recent use

as seasonal residence sites where a broader range of activities took place, including plant food

processing, lithic tool-making, and hunting. Pollen and macrofloral analyses are used to address

questions of subsistence activities involving plant food resources at these sites, including

comparison of remains by feature type and time period, as well as looking for patterns of

possible seasonality indicators (i.e., are larger ovens more commonly used later in the

summer/fall processing camas in quantity for winter storage is increasingly important?). This

report contains the results of both the 1996 and 1997 Data Recovery projects.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• PaleoResearch Institute

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