Survey Says?!?!: A GIS Based Comparison of Site Locations and Settlement Patterns in the Gunnison Basin, Colorado

Summary

In comparison to the Late Paleoindian period (10,000-8,000 rcybp), the Early Archaic (8,000-6,500 rcybp) in the Gunnison Basin, Colorado is a poorly understood time because of its relatively light archaeological signature. Not only do we have a lighter archaeological record, but we also see a change in technologies, such as projectile point types in this transitional period. Some archaeologists explain these observations as a result of changing environments and shifting settlement processes as new populations move into the basin. Others suggest the results may be due to survey bias, as archaeologists continue to survey portions of the basin. I will investigate whether there is a possible difference in site selection and settlement patterns between the two time periods that may indicate a reason for this lighter signature. Using R and ArcGIS, I will create a predictive model for both the Late Paleoindian sites and Early Archaic sites and then compare the results. These results will then be plotted against previously surveyed areas in an attempt to determine the reason for the relatively small Early Archaic record in the Gunnison Basin.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16584