POLLEN, MACROFLORAL, AND DIATOM ANALYSIS, AND AMS RADIOCARBON DATING OF A CORE; AND PROTEIN RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF LITHIC ARTIFACTS FROM THE BEAR CREEK SITE (45KI839), KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON

Summary

The Bear Creek site (45KI839), a multicomponent Paleoindian site, is situated on the northern bank of the lower reach of Bear Creek in King County, Washington. A core was extracted from undisturbed sediments in the eastern portion of the site using a three-inch diameter, beveled section of ABS tube that was pushed through Strata II, Va, Vb, Vc, and VI. Multiple analyses, including pollen, macrofloral, and diatom, of the core sediments were undertaken to provide information about the paleoenvironment and insight concerning the period of peat accumulation at the Bear Creek site both during and after occupation. Diatom analysis contributes analysis of ecological preferences and tolerances of these organisms to their aquatic paleoenvironment, in this case, the Bear Creek site. Freshwater diatoms have a long geological record. Fossil diatom deposits ranging in age from late Miocene to post glacial are common in the Pacific Northwest and during the last glacial period the continental ice advanced into the northern part of Idaho and Washington and, after retreating, left an area well supplied with lakes, bogs, and meadows that mark the sites of former lakes (Sovereign 1963). AMS radiocarbon dates on organics removed from these strata provide temporal control. Three lithic artifacts and associated sediment control samples collected from Strata Vc/VI, Vc, and Vb were submitted for protein residue analysis to identify animals that may have been processed using the tools.

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