Analytical Challenges Posed by the Early Holocene / Late Paleoindian Activity Areas at the Water Canyon Site, West-Central New Mexico: How Do We Know What We Think We Know?

Summary

Accuracy in the identification of Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene open activity areas and the subsequent inference of human behavior requires that non-behavioral causes for differential spatial patterning be considered before approaching the question of how patterning reflects human activities. Such challenges in the interpretation of behavioral patterning are exemplified at the Water Canyon Paleoindian site. In this paper, we initially describe the lithic and bone assemblages recovered from the Late Paleoindian component (ca. 9600 cal yr BP) at Locus 1, a suspected Bison antiquus processing area. We then map out any apparent spatial patterns in the assemblages and examine how post-depositional geomorphic and taphonomic processes may have biased these patterns and the chronology of the deposits. Once potential biases are identified, we then move on to more securely infer various activities. Thus, not only is the recognition of these biases critical to the subsequent functional interpretations at Locus 1, it is instrumental in helping us design future investigations there and at other activity areas across the site.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Open Air Camps of the Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene: Intra-Camp Spatial Organization, Activity Areas, and Technology

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16237