Evaluating Natural Site Formation Processes in Eolian Dune Sands: A Case Study from the Krmpotich Folsom Site, Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming

Mayer, James H.

doi:10.1006/jasc.2001.0803

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Ecosystem controls and the archaeofaunal record: an example from the Wyoming Basin, USA David A. Byers 1,* and Craig S. Smith 2 ( 1 Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 270 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City UT 84112, USA;2 Entrix Inc., 807 East South Temple, Suite 350, Salt Lake City, 84102, USA) The palaeoenvironmental data we summarize suggest that Wyoming Basin precipitation varied substantially during the Holocene (Miller, 1992;Eckerle et al, 1999;Bryson and Bryson, 2000;Mayer, 2002Mayer, , 2004. Since forage quality provides a direct link between artiodactyl reproduction and trends in precipitation (Picton, 1984;Van Vuren and Bray, 1986;Douglas, 2001;, climate records provide an important tool for anticipating coarse-grained temporal variation in local artiodactyl abundances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Ecosystem controls and the archaeofaunal record: an example from the Wyoming Basin, USA

Byers

Smith²

2007

The Holocene

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Regional palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and data on artiodactyl response to climate change suggest that large game densities would have expanded in response to increasingly mesic conditions during the late Holocene in the Wyoming Basin. We use the prey model of foraging theory to predict late-Holocene increases in artiodactyls, relative to lagomorphs and rodents, and more specifically in bison relative to pronghorn. This prediction is then tested against 284 dated archaeofaunas from the Wyoming Basin. Close fits are found between the deductively derived prediction and the empirical records. Although artiodactyls demonstrate a general increasing trend across the most recent 5000 years, during the period of most intense human occupation hunting pressure appears to have depressed large game populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Ecosystem controls and the archaeofaunal record: an example from the Wyoming Basin, USA

Byers

Smith²

2007

The Holocene

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“…However, geoarchaeological investigations determined that the assemblage was deflated during the Holocene (Mayer, 2001(Mayer, , 2002. Moreover, it appears that both the buried soil and eolian sand in which it formed, are late Holocene in age.…”

Section: Conlusionsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Moreover, the highest frequencies of Folsom artifacts occur at the strata 1-4A contact, which is characterized by the accumulation of coarse-grained material. This may indicate that the assemblage was incorporated into a lag deposit resulting from at least one episode of deflation sometime during the Holocene (Mayer, 2001(Mayer, , 2002. Stratum 4B unconformably overlies stratum 4A.…”

Section: Krmpotich Site Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This paper focuses on stratigraphic correlations across the western portion of the dune field and a paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Site formation processes at the Krmpotich site are discussed elsewhere (Mayer, 2001(Mayer, , 2002. Following a brief introduction to the physical setting of the study area and a review of previous investigations in the Killpecker Dunes, the methods employed in this study are discussed, and the results of the geoarchaeological investigations are presented.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paleoindian geoarchaeology and paleoenvironments of the western Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming, U.S.A.

Mayer¹

2002

Geoarchaeology

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The Killpecker Dunes in southwestern Wyoming have long been known to contain evidence for Paleoindian occupation. This paper presents the results of geoarchaeological investigations in the western, dormant portion of the Killpecker Dunes. Five localities, including the Krmpotich Folsom and Finley Cody Complex sites, were examined in order to better understand the Paleoindian geochronology of the dune field, and to facilitate a late Quaternary paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Age control is provided by radiocarbon, optical, and artifact ages. Four late Quaternary eolian units, designated as strata 1–4, were recognized; strata 1 and 2 are relevant to the Paleoindian record. Aggradation of stratum 1 began by at least 14,690 cal yr (∼12,550 14C yr B.P.), probably in the form of a sand sheet under cool, dry conditions. Redoximorphic features are ubiquitous in stratum 1, indicating a rise in the water table during the latest Pleistocene. A buried soil (Calcid) at the top of this unit indicates a period of stability between ca. 12,000 and 11,000 14C yr B.P. and has the potential to yield Clovis (11,200–10,900 14C yr B.P.) artifacts. Unconformably overlying stratum 1 is stratum 2, a latest Pleistocene to early Holocene sand containing Folsom (10,900–10,200 14C yr B.P.) through Cody Complex (9000–8500 14C yr B.P.) occupations. A buried soil characterized by the accumulation of illuvial clay and sodium (Natrargid) occurs at the top of stratum 2 and probably formed in and around interdunal ponds. The association of Paleoindian material with the stratum 2 soil suggests the use of interdunal areas as natural traps for hunting extinct bison. The accumulation of soluble salts indicates increased rates of evaporation during the early Holocene, probably from an increase in summer insolation. Although conditions in the dune field during the early Holocene became increasingly dry, they were probably moister than at present. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…However, physical, chemical, and biological formation processes should, to some extent, operate in a deterministic and predictable fashion. The regularity of vertical artifact-density profiles from many sites and numerous different geologic contexts lends credence to this statement (e.g., Van Noten et al, 1980;Hofman, 1986;Jodry, 1987;Michie, 1990;Blackham, 2000;Mayer, 2002). Although it is not possible to perfectly recreate the starting position of an artifact that has been removed from its primary context, with some notion of the rate and directionality of artifact displacement, it is possible, in theory, to describe an artifact's starting position as a probability distribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Shallow site archaeology: Artifact dispersal, stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating at the Barger Gulch locality B Folsom Site, Middle Park, Colorado

et al. 2005

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Shallowly buried archaeological sites are particularly susceptible to surface and subsurface disturbance processes. Yet, because cultural deposition often operates on short time scales relative to geologic deposition, vertical artifact distributions can be used to clarify questions of site formation. In particular, patterns in artifact distributions that cannot be explained by occupation histories must be explained by natural processes that have affected sites. Buried only 10–50 cm beneath the ground surface for 10,450 14C yr, the Folsom component at Barger Gulch Locality B (Middle Park, Colorado) exhibits many signs of post‐depositional disturbance. Through examination of variation in the vertical distribution of the artifact assemblage, we are able to establish that only a Folsom component is present. Using vertical artifact distributions, stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating, we are able to reconstruct the series of events that have impacted the site. The Folsom occupation (˜10,450 14C yr B.P.) was likely initially buried in a late‐Pleistocene eolian silt loam. Erosion brought the artifacts to rest on a deflation surface at some time prior to 9400 14C yr B.P. A mollic epipedon formed in sediments that accumulated between 9400 and 7000 14C yr B.P. Some time after 5200 14C yr B.P., this soil was partially truncated, and artifacts that had previously dispersed upward created a secondary lag at its upper contact. This surface was buried again and artifact dispersal continued. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Evaluating Natural Site Formation Processes in Eolian Dune Sands: A Case Study from the Krmpotich Folsom Site, Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming

Cited by 20 publications

References 28 publications

Ecosystem controls and the archaeofaunal record: an example from the Wyoming Basin, USA

Ecosystem controls and the archaeofaunal record: an example from the Wyoming Basin, USA

Paleoindian geoarchaeology and paleoenvironments of the western Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming, U.S.A.

Shallow site archaeology: Artifact dispersal, stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating at the Barger Gulch locality B Folsom Site, Middle Park, Colorado

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