A Microstratigraphic Approach to Evaluating Site Formation Processes at Eagle Cave

Summary

Eagle Cave (41VV167) is a large dry rockshelter with deep stratified deposits spanning the Early Archaic through the Late Prehistoric periods. My thesis research focuses on the deposits in the northern sector of the shelter sampled during the 1963 excavations by UT-Austin and again a half century later by Texas State University in 2014. My goal is to use multiple lines of evidence to evaluate the natural and cultural formation processes that resulted in the complexly stratified, culturally rich deposits present in Eagle Cave. By using data derived from stratigraphic documentation, geoarchaeological sampling, artifact analysis, macrobotanical and faunal identification, constituent size distribution, and radiocarbon dating, I hope to develop a viable protocol for understanding the site formation processes evident at Eagle Cave and many other Lower Pecos rockshelters. This presentation summarizes the preliminary results of my thesis research.

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

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Low Impact, High Resolution: Ongoing Investigations in Eagle Nest Canyon

Keywords

Spatial Coverage