Recent Applications of Micromorphology to Cultural Resources Management in the Pacific Northwest

Summary

Solving geoarchaeological questions in a cultural resources management (CRM) context can be difficult due to time and budget constraints. In the Pacific Northwest, however, recent projects have fortunately allowed for some micromorphological analyses. Paul Goldberg has championed micromorphology as a valuable geoarchaeological method over the past three decades. The micromorphological analysis of shell middens, peat deposits, and alluvial sediment in and around the Seattle, WA area has elevated the resulting cultural resources assessments and data recovery reports. The conclusions drawn from these micromorphological analyses can be applied to both academic research and the private sector. If time and money for geoarchaeological analysis, such as micromorphology, can be built into CRM schedules and budgets, then CRM archaeologists can continue to produce useful and sophisticated scientific reports while conducting business. This presentation provides examples of the successful application of micromorphology to specific geoarchaeological research questions asked in CRM. Examples come from the Paleoindian Bear Creek site in Redmond, the Cattail Lake midden on the Bangor Naval Base, and Foster Island in Lake Washington. This talk also includes special thanks to Paul for teaching me how to collect and process micromorphology samples and for sharing his knowledge and mentoring me along the way.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology in Context: The Influence of the Geoarchaeological Career of Paul Goldberg   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage