Modeling Landscape Evolution Across the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition at Blackwater Locality No. 1

Summary

Blackwater Locality No. 1 (the Clovis-type site) served as a catchment for spring-fed streams during the late Last Glacial Maximum, providing a water source for the Paleoindian occupants of the Southern High Plains. During episodes of high effective moisture, water flowed out of the basin via an outlet channel into Blackwater Draw proper. Coinciding with the changing climate of the early Younger Dryas, the flowing waters of the outlet channel were obstructed, impounding the waters of a shallow lake. This study uses the distribution of well-defined stratigraphic boundaries to create a series of surface models corresponding to the Clovis, Folsom, and Late Paleoindian occupations at the site. Stratigraphic data and sediment samples were collected from systematic hand augering of the outlet channel. Where the surface models indicate pronounced changes in the channel, sediment samples were more intensively analyzed to identify their origin and depositional environment. The models, coupled with sedimentary data, shed light on the processes responsible for ponding of the lake and provide snapshots of the changing morphology of the outlet channel, ultimately contributing to a richer understanding of the changing landscape during this critical time in prehistory.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Student Contributions in Geoarchaeology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage