Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Of
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THE ICE-FREE CORRIDOR: BIOGEOGRAPHICAL HIGHWAY OR ENVIRONMENTAL CUL-DE-SAC Thomas G. Arnold B.A. Anthropology, The University of Western Ontario, 1982 M.A. Archaeology, The University of Calgary, 1985 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 4 In the Department of Archaeology O Thomas G. Arnold 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author, except for Table 1, Appendix A and CD-ROM. APPROVAL NAME: Thomas George Arnold DEGREE: TITLE OF THESIS: The Ice-Free Corridor: Biogeographic Highway or Environmental Cul-de-sac EXAMINING COMMITTEE: Chair: Dr. Cathy D'Andrea Associate Professor Dr. Knut Fladmark, Professor Senior Supervisor Dr. Jon Driver, Professor Dr. Roy Carlson, Professor Emeritus Internal Examiner Dr. Brian Kooyman, Archaeology University of Calgary Examiner Date Approved: SIMON FRASER UNIVERS~~~ibra ry DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT As a theoretical concept, the ice-free corridor has given researchers a recognizable route for the Late Wisconsinan human colonization of the Americas. This dissertation re- examines that potential role by critically assessing plant and animal remains radiocarbon dated to between 9000 B.P. and 20000 B.P. To meet its theorized role as a north-to- south Late Wisconsinan human migration route the corridor must fulfill two criteria: 1. that eastern Beringia could have supported human populations before Clovis appeared (- 11500 B.P.) south of the ice sheets, and 2. that evidence from the corridor area shows that it was a biogeographic corridor capable of supporting human life. To fulfill these criteria 600 published radiocarbon dates were assessed for their reliability. This original number was reduced to 293 radiocarbon dates. The remaining dates were divided into four temporal periods and plotted spatially. Environmental inferences were determined from these distributions. The results support the first criterion: eastern Beringia could support human populations before Clovis. However, the results did not support the second criterion, and there is no evidence that a biogeographic comdor existed prior to 11500 BP. It was concluded that the ice-free corridor could not have been used as a north-to-south human migration route during the Late Wisconsinan. Therefore, other alternatives must now be considered to account for the arrival of Paleoindian cultures in southern North America. Keywords Ice-free corridor, Palaeoindian - origin, radiocarbon dating, biogeographical corridor, migration - human. DEDICATION To my family and friends who supported me throughout the long trek. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I offer my gratitude to the faculty, staff and fellow students in the Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University for support and guidance in this research. In particular my gratitude goes to Dr. Knut Fladmark and Dr. Jon Driver who stayed with me throughout the course of my studies, despite my many rantings. In addition, I thank Dr. E. Nelson who taught me what little I know about radiocarbon dating, which was invaluable to me in this study. I also acknowledge, with much thanks, the funding provided by Simon Fraser University and all the archaeological consulting companies across Canada who provided me with employment or data. These include: Altimira Ltd., Lifeways of Canada, Fiderchuck McCullough and Associates, Bison Historical Services Ltd., Mayer Heritage, Lesley Cunie and Associates, Fisher Archaeological Consulting, Scarlett Janusas Archaeological and Heritage Consulting and Education, Arnick Archaeological Consulting, D.R. Poulton and Associates, and Museum of Ontario Archaeology (formerly London Museum of Archaeology). Thanks to Leslie Nicholls and Mike Brand who took the time to proofread drafts of this dissertation. Also, I appreciate the timely responses to my ernails that I received from the following concerning the procedures at various radiocarbon laboratories: J. Zimmer, Dr. L.D. Amold, Dr. J. Southon, Dr. D. Donahue, Dr. R. Beukens, H. Melville, Dr. A. Cherkinsky, Dr. R.E. Taylor, P. Diebolt and Dr. C. Bronk. Finally, I thank my family who supported me financially and emotionally throughout my studies, particularly in the final months when the need was critical, they were there. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. APPROVAL .......................................................... 11 ABSTRACT ........................................................... iii DEDICATION ......................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................ vii LISTOFFIGURES ..................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ...................................................... x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 Study Area and Temporal Limits .........................................1 Conditions Supporting the Ice-Free Corridor as an Early Human Migration Route ... 6 Dissertation Organization ...............................................8 CHAPTER 2 THE ICE-FREE CORRIDOR CONCEPT AND ARCHAEOLOGY ....9 The Ice-Free Corridor Concept .......................................... 10 Open or Closed: Current Understanding ................................... 14 A History of Environment Reconstruction ................................. 19 The Speculative Period ..............................................21 The Data Accumulation Period ........................................24 The Debate Period ..................................................29 SteppeorTundra .....................................................39 The Ice-Free Corridor Concept and the Clovis-First vs . Pre-Clovis Debate ........43 Clovis, Environment and Calibration .....................................56 Summary ...........................................................58 Chapter 3 Radiocarbon Dating and Research on the Ice-Free Corridor .............59 Compilation Lists ....................................................59 Synthesis Studies .....................................................63 Assessment Methods ..................................................65 Radiocarbon Assessments on Selected Materials ..........................66 ContextMethods ...................................................71 Calibration of Radiocarbon Dates .....................................74 Conclusions .........................................................81 vii CHAPTER4 METHOD ................................................. 82 Assessing Radiocarbon Dates in the Corridor ...............................82' What is the research event of interest? .................................. 83. Can the radiocarbon method provide the age information required? ...........831 What radiocarbon events are being dated by the sample materials? ............ 84 How is the radiocarbon event associated with the research event? ............85' Does the material. for which the radiocarbon event has been identified. meet the requirements for a "conventional radiocarbon age"? .................... 85 S~mmary............................................................. 86' CHAPTER 5 RADIOCARBON DATE ASSESSMENT RESULTS ...............87 Question 3 and Question 4 Results .......................................87 Complicated Date List ..............................................87 Question 5 Results ................................................... 98 CHAPTER 6 SITE DISTRIBUTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL INFERENCES ... 1 17 Latitudinal Distributions ................ .' ............................. 117 Temporal Distributions ............................................... 121 Period1~20000~17001B.P......................................... 121 Period2~17000~14001B.P......................................... 121 Period3~14000~11001B.P........................................