Theoretically Based Investigations of the Paleo-Indian Occupation of Grass Valley, Nevada

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The nature of human use of the central Great Basin during the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition (PHT) remains unclear. Ongoing archaeological research in Grass Valley, Nevada, focuses on understanding foraging behavior in changing PHT landscapes through expectations of Human Behavioral Ecology and geoarchaeological investigations for defining the extent of wetland habitats and potential for "old dirt". Results document a widespread paleosol in Grass Valley, predating Mazama tephra and representing an interlude of landscape stability within the climatic variability of the PHT. Both surface and subsurface archaeological materials suggest use of a variety of riparian, marsh, and upland habitats associated with desiccating Pleistocene Lake Gilbert. Findings call for a reconsideration of earlier archaeological research in Grass Valley and provide a greater understanding of PHT occupations in the central Great Basin.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25079