Date Precision and Faunal Distribution from Pleistocene Sites (Archaeological vs. Paleontological) in the American Southwest

Summary

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

Precise dates are helpful in tracking changes in paleoenvironment and faunal distribution through the Pleistocene. The ages of Paleoindian archaeological sites in the American Southwest with faunal remains are often precise. They have a specific date with a margin of error. This precision allows for the distinction between warm and cold periods. However, paleontological sites, while more abundant in the Southwest, are not as precise. They are often somewhere within a land mammal age (often Irvingtonian or Rancholabrean, each spanning hundreds of thousands of years) without a specific date. It is thus more difficult to assess changes in distribution through time of animal taxa. It is also more difficult to assess whether or not said changes align with known cold and warm periods.

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): 23026