Late Pleistocene subsistence in the Great Basin: Younger Dryas-aged faunal remains from the Botanical Lens, Paisley Cave 2, Oregon

Hockett, Bryan; Adams, Martin; Lubinski, Patrick M.; Butler, Virginia L.; Jenkins, Dennis L.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.05.003

Cited by 29 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Two coprolites provide evidence for consumption of hare/jackrabbit and small/medium mammal likely to be rabbit or hare. This supports previous studies suggesting that leporids were a common YD/EH dietary item at the Paisley Caves (Hockett et al 2017;Taylor et al 2019). Faunal remains from rodent and rodent-sized mammal are present in two coprolites.…”

Section: Yd and Eh Dietssupporting

confidence: 90%

“…All high-confidence evidence for consumption of insects comes from EH coprolite 92. The observation of the tenlined June beetle remains is unique; this species has not been identified in previous studies of insect remains recovered from archaeological contexts at the Paisley Caves (Adams, unpublished data;Hockett et al 2017). This beetle is widespread in western North America; the larval period can last from 2 to 4 years, but the adult stage is relatively short, usually from late June to early October (Beers et al 1993).…”

Section: Yd and Eh Dietsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…hair, hide, and bone fragments; fish, waterfowl, greater sage grouse (Centrocerus urophasianus) and insect remains including Mormon cricket (Anabrus simplex), bed bug (Cimex sp. ), and spinose ear tick (Otobius megnini) (Adams and Jenkins 2017; Adams and Jenkins 2020;Hockett et al 2017). Numerous organic artifacts include cordage, rope, basketry, and wood tools.…”

Section: Paisley Caves Site Background and Environmental Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research at the Paisley Caves has characterized YD/EH subsistence using plant and animal remains recovered in dry-or wet-screened sediments from cultural deposits in the caves (Hockett et al 2017;Kennedy 2018). These studies provide important evidence that people with WST toolkits occupying the caves consumed small animal, plant, and insect foods.…”

Section: Paisley Caves Site Background and Environmental Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Preserved organic remains at a few widely separated WST sites in the Great Basin suggest a perplexing array of settlementsubsistence scenarios. YD/EH occupants may have had a broad-based subsistence strategy including a wide variety of small animal and plant resources centered on productive valley bottom lacustrine settings and surrounding grasslands (Beck and Jones 1997;Bedwell 1973;Madsen 2007;Smith and Barker 2017;Hockett 2015;Hockett et al 2017;Jenkins et al 2016;Smith and Barker 2017), or, they may have maintained much higher mobility and a more restricted diet focused on large-bodied mammals (Elston and Zeanah 2002;Elston et al 2014;Jones et al 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Younger Dryas and early Holocene subsistence in the northern Great Basin: multiproxy analysis of coprolites from the Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA

Blong

Adams²,

Sanchez

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Younger Dryas and early Holocene Western Stemmed Tradition occupants of the northern Great Basin appear to have practiced a broad-based subsistence strategy including the consumption of a wide variety of small animal and plant resources. However, much of our evidence for human diet and land use during this period comes from dry cave and rockshelter sites where it can be challenging to distinguish plant and small animal remains deposited as a result of human versus nonhuman activity. This study presents new direct evidence for Younger Dryas and early Holocene human diet in the northern Great Basin through multiproxy analysis of nine human coprolites from the Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA. The evidence indicates that Western Stemmed Tradition occupants consumed plants, small mammals, fish, and insects, including direct evidence for consumption of whole rodents and several types of beetle. Occupation of the caves occurred during the summer and fall by individuals foraging on wetland, sagebrush grassland, and riparian ecological landscapes suggesting geographical and seasonal variability in land-use patterns during the Younger Dryas and early Holocene periods. This research suggests that Western Stemmed Tradition settlement patterns were seasonally centered on productive valley bottom lakes and wetlands but also included forays to a variety of ecological landscapes. The results highlight the importance of plant and small animal resources in the human diet during the terminal Pleistocene settlement of North America and contribute to debates about the process of the peopling of the Americas.

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Section: Yd and Eh Dietssupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Yd and Eh Dietsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Paisley Caves Site Background and Environmental Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Paisley Caves Site Background and Environmental Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Younger Dryas and early Holocene subsistence in the northern Great Basin: multiproxy analysis of coprolites from the Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA

Blong

Adams²,

Sanchez

et al. 2020

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

Self Cite

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Chipped-Stone Crescents from the Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holocene of Far Western North America and the Transverse Projectile Point Hypothesis

Amick

2024

J Archaeol Method Theory

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First Peoples in a New World

Meltzer

2021

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Over 15,000 years ago, a band of hunter-gatherers became the first people to set foot in the Americas. They soon found themselves in a world rich in plants and animals, but also a world still shivering itself out of the coldest depths of the Ice Age. The movement of those first Americans was one of the greatest journeys undertaken by ancient peoples. In this book, David Meltzer explores the world of Ice Age Americans, highlighting genetic, archaeological, and geological evidence that has revolutionized our understanding of their origins, antiquity, and adaptation to climate and environmental change. This fully updated edition integrates the most recent scientific discoveries, including the ancient genome revolution and human evolutionary and population history. Written for a broad audience, the book can serve as the primary text in courses on North American Archaeology, Ice Age Environments, and Human evolution and prehistory.

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Late Pleistocene subsistence in the Great Basin: Younger Dryas-aged faunal remains from the Botanical Lens, Paisley Cave 2, Oregon

Cited by 29 publications

References 26 publications

Younger Dryas and early Holocene subsistence in the northern Great Basin: multiproxy analysis of coprolites from the Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA

Younger Dryas and early Holocene subsistence in the northern Great Basin: multiproxy analysis of coprolites from the Paisley Caves, Oregon, USA

Chipped-Stone Crescents from the Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holocene of Far Western North America and the Transverse Projectile Point Hypothesis

First Peoples in a New World

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