Pollen, Contamination, and Interpretation at Paisley Caves Archaeological Site

Summary

In studying the early inhabitants of North America, some of the frequently revisited questions involve how they lived, what they ate, and what their world was like. Archaeological Palynology is a well understood method for addressing these questions. Because of the constant pollen rain and the purposeful and incidental ingestion of pollen and spores, well-preserved pollen is repeatedly found in association with human habitation sites and human artifacts. Paisley Caves, Oregon, established itself as one such early human habitation site when human DNA was found in coprolites dating to the oldest associated with humans in America. In addition, the sediments within caves at the site contain an abundance of well-preserved pollen. Knowing more about the environment reflected by the sediments at Paisley Caves can tell us more about the people who lived there, the lives they led, and the obstacles they faced as they ventured into the undiscovered American continent. However, the cave setting as well as the presence of packrat coprolites, thoroughly mixed within the sediments, adds levels of complexity that makes the sediment at Paisley Caves a unique interpretive challenge.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20355