Searching for the First Americans Along Oregon’s Ancient Coast: New Methods and Upcoming Research

Summary

To date, efforts to search for and investigate Pleistocene-aged sites along the Northwest Coast have been largely limited to subaerial landforms and deposits. Beginning in 2017, the search for early coastal sites will extend onto Oregon’s outer continental shelf. These search efforts will be supported by the use of a GIS-based model that makes predictions about the foraging potential of reconstructed late Pleistocene-aged coastal landscapes. We review the modeling methodology and how reconstructed physical and human ecological aspects of Oregon’s coastal landscape may have changed from the LGM to 12,000 cal BP. We also discuss upcoming fieldwork activities and goals for the search, identification, and recovery of archaeological evidence from Oregon’s ancient submerged terrestrial landscapes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Alternative Perspectives on the Peopling of the New World: A Symposium in Honor of Ruth Gruhn, the "First Lady" of First Americans Studies   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15529