Geospatial Analyses of Site Distributions at Ivanpah Dry Lake

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ivanpah Dry Lake is an overlooked Holocene and paleolake located in the eastern Mojave Desert. Much of the archaeological work done in the area has centered around industry and development with data available in gray literature site reports and records. This research is a component of the author’s Master’s project relating to the geospatial distribution of sites and resources at Ivanpah Dry Lake. A 2018 geological study conducted by Spaulding and Sims revealed that Ivanpah is not a Holocene Lake as previously thought, but rather a paleolake. Geospatial analyses run on 59 sites within the paleolake Ivanpah boundary revealed land use trends related to resource targeting and adaptations over time in a changing environment. These tests show that Ivanpah was used persistently over time and had evidence of use by multiple cultural groups. These results have meaningful implications considering the overlap of the study area with the intersection of two important indigenous trails, the Salt Song Trail and Southern Fox Song trail. The conclusions drawn from this research creates an argument for increased protection and preservation of the entire Ivanpah Lake region and the value of nondestructive research methods by drawing on existing data.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)   •
• Expanding Our Understanding of the Mojave Desert: Emerging Research and New Perspectives on Old Data

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Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39643.0