Searching for the "Paleoarchaic individual" and unique Paleoarchaic "production grammar" in the Great Basin

Summary

Archaeological investigations were conducted by Western Cultural Resource Management in the Fire Creek Archaeological District in the central Great Basin. We address the results of investigations at a Paleoarchaic site containing a buried soil with both an abundant stemmed point trajectory and a Levallois-like reduction method dating to the Younger Dryas. Employing agency theory and through an examination of depositional history, the chaîne opératoire and spatial analyses, we argue that the artifacts located both on the surface and in the buried soil are indicative of activities conducted in a moment in time and not a palimpsest accretion. Components of the chaîne opératoire are discussed and the identity of the Paleoarchaic occupants is examined within the broader regional context of the Great Basin. Further the identification of ancient soils on Great Basin alluvial fans and the ramifications for future archaeological work in such contexts is addressed.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16907