Technological Investment and Subsistence Strategy Flexibility within the Uinta Basin Fremont

Summary

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

The Cub Creek area of Dinosaur National Monument has a Fremont occupation spanning from AD 300-1350 that shows variable reliance on maize agriculture depending on environmental conditions. Settlement data indicate a stable upland occupation throughout the sequence characterized by ~120 roasting features, but an intensive lowland pithouse occupation that lasted for only 300 years. Groundstone technology in these two settings is primary evidence of changing investments in maize agriculture. Upland occupations indicate maize stone boiling and expedient groundstone technology. In contrast, the lowland pithouse occupation yields formalized groundstone technology and ceramics. The shift in technological artifact suites during this period of intensification leads to the question: does increasing maize reliance drive investment in higher up-front-cost technologies with greater processing efficiency? I investigate these technological transitions by comparing the relative grinding surface areas of groundstone artifacts from the upland and lowland occupations within Cub Creek. I will determine whether there are discrete statistical differences in the processing efficiencies between the two technological suites and whether this transition corresponds with the local intensification pattern. Discrete technological transitions can illustrate changing reliance on wild and agricultural resources through time to formulate a broader picture of subsistence strategy flexibility practiced by the Fremont inhabitants.

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): 25069