Geoarchaeology and Paleoenvironmental Context of the Burntwood Creek Rockshelter, High Plains of Northwestern Kansas, U.S.A

Abstract

The first systematic geoarchaeological study of a rockshelter in Kansas yielded information about rockshelter formation, Holocene paleoenvironments, archaeological site formation processes, and prehistoric human habitation and site use. The rockshelter was carved by groundwater sapping; colluvium, alluvium, and roof-fall debris subsequently accumulated on its floor. An assemblage of Late Archaic (∼2000-4000 14 C years before present [yr B.P.]) cultural deposits (lithic material, bone, and charcoal) is preserved in a 2-m thick package of colluvium and alluvium in front of the shelter. Chipped stone analysis indicates that Late Archaic occupants of the shelter were using mostly local materials and resharpening their stone tools at the shelter. Stable carbon isotope and phytolith analyses indicate that a mixed C 3 and C 4 plant community existed in the study area and that it changed in composition through the late Holocene. Based on the phytolith assemblage from an unlined fire pit at the front of the shelter, Late Archaic people used local hackberry trees for fuel and/or food. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Late Quaternary Stratigraphy and Geochronology of the Spring Creek Drainage along the Southern High Plains Eastern Escarpment, Northwest Texas

“…Unit 1 denotes a flowing stream analogous to the stratum 1 stream of Lubbock Lake [30,31] in Yellowhouse Draw (Figure 1) and the regional draw system [22]. The sand and gravel deposited by the stream at Lubbock Lake represent the initiation of regional Late Quaternary valley fill, following a period of late Wisconsinan incision throughout the regional drainages [22].…”

“…Across the North American grasslands, a number of large-scale (e.g., [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]) and small-scale (e.g., [26][27][28][29][30]) Late Quaternary landscape studies have been undertaken. These studies indicate a variety of natural processes affecting landscape development and preservation of sedimentological, biotic, and cultural records through time.…”

Understanding Australia’s cultural history through archaeological geophysics

“…fire) from natural (i.e. pedogenesis, roof fall, chemical weathering) inputs during the period of site formation and use, and will help resolve issues about deposit complexity and the potential for sediment mixing and artefact movement Murphy and Mandel 2012). In combination, the results provide detailed information on site formation processes and a reconstruction of the palaeoclimatic history of northern Australia, a region for which very few terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records exist.…”