Right Place, Right Time: Paleoindian Landscapes on the Gulf of Mexico, Outer Continental Shelf

Summary

Archaeologists have been conducting prehistoric archaeological research on the world’s continental shelves for the last 40 years, with a general consensus that remote sensing combined with physical sampling is the best method for identifying sites. Following the conclusion of a US federally-funded (BOEM) study in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico, two promising Paleoindian landscapes have been verified 20 and 30 miles offshore, at depths of between 16 and 32 m BSL. Remote sensing and physical sampling revealed evidence of highly favorable conditions for supporting human populations, however the survey areas are classified as archaeological landscapes and not "sites". This paper will summarize the results of environmental reconstruction, highlighting the unique differences between identifying archaeological landscapes versus sites. It will also address challenges facing cultural resource managers charged with protecting submerged landscapes and sites offshore.

SAA 2015 abstracts made available in tDAR courtesy of the Society for American Archaeology and Center for Digital Antiquity Collaborative Program to improve digital data in archaeology. If you are the author of this presentation you may upload your paper, poster, presentation, or associated data (up to 3 files/30MB) for free. Please visit http://www.tdar.org/SAA2015 for instructions and more information.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Geoarchaeology of Submerged, Intertidal, And Wetland Places: Advances In Method And Theory of Prehistoric Archaeology Underwater - 2015   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage