Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in the Great Basin: Continued Studies of Bonneville Estates Rockshelter

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With National Science Foundation support, Dr. Ted Goebel and his colleagues will continue archaeological excavations of Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, located in Elko County, northeastern Nevada. Their work in 2005 will focus on the rockshelter's earliest cultural occupations that span from 7000 to as early as 12,300 radiocarbon years ago. Excavations in 2003-2004 revealed that these occupations contain an incredibly rich record of diagnostic spear points and other stone artifacts, perishable artifacts including fragments of baskets, cordage, and wood and bone tools, remains of plants, and very well-preserved animal bones, many of which display clear signs of human butchery. The richness of the cave's late Pleistocene-early Holocene deposits, coupled with the fact that they are well-stratified and can be securely dated, make Bonneville Estates arguably the most important archaeological site known in the Great Basin for answering questions about the early peopling of the interior of western North America and the evolution of human adaptations from the late Pleistocene into the Holocene. Work in 2005 will focus on (1) firmly establishing the age of the rockshelter's late Pleistocene cultural occupations, (2) characterizing artifact assemblages to explain human technologies, (3) characterizing faunal and floral assemblages to explain human subsistence activities, and (4) placing the rockshelter's record into the greater context of the peopling of the Americas. This will be done through excavation of the rockshelter's late Pleistocene deposits, and through careful analyses of artifacts, ecofacts, and features recovered. The project will provide invaluable learning experiences for both graduate and undergraduate students, and will lead to greater appreciation of the human experience in harsh arid environments. By considering the archaeological record of the eastern Great Basin within a paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental context, the proposed study will also enhance our understanding of the impacts of global change on small-scale human societies.