A Reanalysis of the Weitas Creek Site (10CW30): An Early Nez Perce Upland Hunting Camp

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Bitterroot Mountains mark both an ecological and social margin between the Southern Columbia Plateau and the Plains region. The Nez Perce (Nimíipuu) Tribe traditionally followed a seasonal subsistence cycle routinely crossing these ecological and social boundaries, referencing long-term landscape and resource knowledge while negotiating complex social interactions. The Weitas Creek site (10CW30) is situated along the North Fork of the Clearwater River, in north-central Idaho, within the ancestral homelands of the Nimíipuu at the western edge of the Bitterroots. Weitas Creek was previously interpreted as an upland hunting camp containing Windust and Cascade phase technologies, estimated to be 12,000 or more years old. Because of the lack of radiocarbon dates and coarse-grained excavation methods, the original analysis divided the site’s occupation into four broad phases, and roughly estimated their age based on the lithics recovered. This poster presents a reanalysis of the site through limited fine-grained excavation, chronometric dating, geoarchaeological analysis, paleoethnobotanical analysis, lithic analysis, and non-destructive geochemical sourcing of stone artifacts. These analyses provide a refined understanding of the chronology and antiquity of the Weitas Creek site and help to explore changing landscape and resource use in the context of social dynamics in a liminal territory.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2024: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38703.0