Cobbling Together the Story of the Sinlahkein Valley: Prehistoric Land-Use Patterns in North Central Washington State

Summary

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

The prehistory of the Sinlahekin Valley in north central Washington State is not well known. The archaeological record suggests the valley has attracted human occupants since the terminal Pleistocene. Various riparian, lacustrine, and mixed conifer ecosystems with the high elevation of surrounding mountain peaks have provided access to multifarious floral and faunal resources in antiquity, and supports agricultural productivity into the modern period. Scores of archaeological sites, both prehistoric and historic, have been recorded within the valley, but these data have yet to be sufficiently synthesized to provide a detailed understanding of land-use patterns across time. In this paper, we contribute to the cultural history of the Sinlahekin Valley by comparing prehistoric lithic assemblages. Comparing material and artifact type heterogeneity and relative spatial distribution patterns provides an understanding of how the valley was utilized during prehistory, highlighting the importance of local and non-local lithic raw materials, how these resources were utilized, and the natural contexts of these behaviors. The results of this study carry implications for a greater understanding of Columbia Plateau culture history, a comprehensive understanding of the human history of the valley, and provides greater cultural context for land management in the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26163