Archaeology of the Pleistocene–holocene Transition in Eastern North America

Ellis, Christopher J.; Goodyear, Albert C.; Morse, Dan F.; Tankersley, Kenneth B.

doi:10.1016/s1040-6182(97)00060-8

Cited by 53 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…A number of recent paleontological studies indicate regional differences in the timing of megafaunal extinction, including events that took place in the Holocene (MacPhee et al, 2002;Ficcarelli et al, 2003;Stuart et al, 2004), so it is not surprising to find differences in the climate (Dunbar, in press) and the timing of extinction events between the southeastern and southwestern United States. Unless the Suwannee point toolkit is older than we think, as some have suggested (Stanford, 1991), the preponderance of archaeological evidence indicates that the tool kit (Anderson and Sassaman, 1996;Ellis et al, 1998;Goodyear, 1999) and associated megafaunal remains are Middle Paleoindian (Dunbar et al, in press; Dunbar and Vojnovski, in press). …”

Section: Archaeological Overviewmentioning

confidence: 88%

The Ryan/Harley site: Sedimentology of an inundated Paleoindian site in north Florida

Balsillie

Means²,

Dunbar³

2006

Geoarchaeology

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The Ryan/Harley site (Florida Master Site File Number: 8Je-1004) is a Middle Paleoindian habitation site containing Suwannee points. Based on stratigraphic correlation and diagnostic artifact seriation, Suwannee-age sites have been relatively dated from ~10,900 14 C yr B.P. to ~10,500 14 C yr B.P. Clovis-like traits on the Suwannee points and other stone tools from the Ryan/Harley site suggest it dates to the earlier end of the Suwannee timeframe. The currently inundated site is partially buried beneath a sediment column located in a swamp forest and partially exposed in a side channel section of the Wacissa River, Jefferson County, Florida. Research done prior to this analysis determined that the artifact assemblage appeared to be unsorted and was contained in a midden-like unit. Our purpose here is to assess the issue of site integrity further. Unconsolidated sediment samples collected from the artifact-bearing horizon and from horizons immediately above and below the artifact horizon were analyzed using granulometric techniques. Arithmetic probability plots of the grain-size distributions show that the sediments were transported and deposited by fluvial processes. Thus, the Suwannee points and associated artifacts, and faunal remains appear to have accumulated during a time of subaerial exposure perhaps after a regional water-table decline, and have remained largely or essentially intact, with little or no postdepositional reworking. The artifacts and faunal remains recovered from the artifact-bearing horizon at Ryan/Harley are distributed randomly, showing no sign of sorting. In the fossil suite, two articulated white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) vertebra were recovered in situ. The unsorted nature of artifacts and articulated faunal remains that are contained within the fluvially deposited sediments suggests the Suwannee point level of the Ryan/Harley site has remained undisturbed since original deposition.

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Section: Archaeological Overviewmentioning

confidence: 88%

The Ryan/Harley site: Sedimentology of an inundated Paleoindian site in north Florida

Balsillie

Means²,

Dunbar³

2006

Geoarchaeology

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“…Alternatively, human hunting may have increased the numbers of animals dying or being cached at sites of good bone preservation, such as in small ponds and bogs, where finds of these fossils are typically located (Fisher, 1995). Paleoindians using fluted, lanceolate, projectile points had spread throughout most areas south of the ice sheets by 11 ka BP and possibly by 11.5 ka BP (Ellis et al, 1998;Canadian Archaeological Radiocarbon Database, 2005). Many archaeological sites of this period, few of which are radiocarbon dated, are located on the relict shorelines of the glacial Great Lakes (Jackson, 1983).…”

Section: Ka Bpmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is no obvious reason for discarding all of them. It was also at about 10 ka BP that aboriginals in eastern and central North America changed the styling of their stone points from fluted projectile points to non-fluted forms that may have been used more commonly as knives, and shortly thereafter to side-and corner-notched projectile points (Ellis et al, 1998). Possibly such changes reflect the changes of available faunal resources pursuant to extinction.…”

Section: Ka Bpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary Vegetation History of Northern North America Based on Pollen, Macrofossil, and Faunal Remains*

Dyke

2007

gpq

114

118

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AbstractBiome maps spanning the interval from the last glacial maximum to modern times are presented. The biome distributions at 18 ka BP were probably as nearly in equilibrium with climate as are the modern distributions, but deglacial biomes were probably in disequilibrium. Ice sheet configuration was a strong control of climate until 7 ka BP. Regional climate trends can be inferred from changing biome distributions, but during periods of disequilibrium, biome distributions under-represent summer warming. Because of summer cooling by 2-4 °C during the Holocene, largely in the last 3-5 ka, middle and certain early Holocene biome distributions and species compositions are reasonable analogues of future equilibrium displacements due to equivalent warming, at least in areas that were long-since deglaciated. Past biome migration rates in response to rapid regional warming during deglaciation were mainly in the range of 100-200 m per year. If these rates pertain in the future, biomes may shift 10-20 km in most regions over the next century. A major impediment to using former Holocene conditions as a guide to future conditions is that warmer Holocene summers were accompanied by colder winters, whereas warmer future summers will be accompanied by warmer winters.

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“…We see a disjuncture between Clovis and Dalton: Clovis land-use patterns reflect long-distance settlement relocations covering hundreds of kilometers that likely targeted caribou; conversely, Dalton land-use patterns reflect a more sedentary and likely river-oriented lifestyle focused on deer, fish, waterfowl, and other localized seasonal resources. Although Dalton culture is often classified as Late Paleoindian (e.g., Morse 1997;Ellis et al 1998;Goodyear 1999), evidence of reduced mobility, increased population densities, increased woodworking, and budding social complexity support the argument that Dalton is an initial Archaic florescence, not a Late Paleoindian climax. The Archaic tradition is more than a cultural-historical unit demarcated by point types and radiocarbon dates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clovis and Dalton: Unbounded and Bounded Systems in the Midcontinent of North America

Koldehoff

Loebel

2009

Lithic Materials and Paleolithic Societies

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In this chapter, information from recent lithic procurement studies is used to make inferences about patterns of land use and social interaction. Clovis and Dalton patterns are compared and contrasted highlighting important differences that support the conclusion that Dalton culture does not represent a continuation of Paleoindian lifeways, but rather, represents a new, more sedentary lifestyle that created bounded landscapes and laid the foundation for subsequent cultural developments.

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Archaeology of the Pleistocene–holocene Transition in Eastern North America

Cited by 53 publications

References 0 publications

The Ryan/Harley site: Sedimentology of an inundated Paleoindian site in north Florida

The Ryan/Harley site: Sedimentology of an inundated Paleoindian site in north Florida

Late Quaternary Vegetation History of Northern North America Based on Pollen, Macrofossil, and Faunal Remains*

Clovis and Dalton: Unbounded and Bounded Systems in the Midcontinent of North America

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