POLLEN AND MACROFLORAL ANALYSIS OF SEVERAL HEARTH FEATURES FROM WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEW MEXICO
Author(s): R.A. Varney; Kathryn Puseman; Linda Scott Cummings
Year: 2003
Summary
White Sands National Monument is located in the Tularosa Valley of south-central New
Mexico. The Monument is situated entirely within the northern reaches of the Chihuahuan
Desertscrub biome. Because the Tularosa Basin has no external drainage, plants tend to be
dominated by halophytic types including four-wing saltbush, and alkalai sacaton. The water table
in the basin is perched upon an impermeable clay layer that allows plant types such as sumac and
cottonwood, normally found in more moist environments, to grow in the area. Ten hearths
pedestaled in indurated selenite evaporites were sampled for pollen and macrobotanical remains.
These samples were analyzed in order to determine season of hearth use, environmental
conditions, and economic use of plants in the features.
Cite this Record
POLLEN AND MACROFLORAL ANALYSIS OF SEVERAL HEARTH FEATURES FROM WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, NEW MEXICO. R.A. Varney, Kathryn Puseman, Linda Scott Cummings. 2003 ( tDAR id: 379028) ; doi:10.6067/XCV89G5M7M
Keywords
Material
Macrobotanical
•
Pollen
Site Name
White Sands National Monument
Investigation Types
Data Recovery / Excavation
General
Hearth Fill
•
Macrofloral Analysis
•
Pollen Analysis
Geographic Keywords
Tularosa Valley, New Mexico
•
White Sands National Monument
File Information
| Name | Size | Creation Date | Date Uploaded | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 03-54.pdf | 1.45mb | Dec 7, 2012 2:53:09 PM | Public |