Prehistoric Sandals of the Southern High Plains: Indicators of Cultural Affinity and Change
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University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2010 Prehistoric Sandals of the Southern High Plains: Indicators of Cultural Affinity and Change Allison N. Rexroth University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Rexroth, Allison N., "Prehistoric Sandals of the Southern High Plains: Indicators of Cultural Affinity and Change" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 546. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/546 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Prehistoric Sandals of the Southern High Plains: Indicators of Cultural Affinity and Change _________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Social Sciences University of Denver _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts ___________ by Allison N. Rexroth August 2010 Advisor: Lawrence B. Conyers Author: Allison N. Rexroth Title: Prehistoric Sandals of the Southern High Plains: Indicators of Cultural Affinity and Change Advisor: Lawrence B. Conyers Degree Date: August 2010 ABSTRACT Perishable artifacts, such as basketry, cordage, and sandals are rare cultural materials due to the environments in which they are preserved and their inherent non- durability. Where recovered, researchers have used them to study expressed identity and trace population movements over time and space. On this premise, previously un- described sandal assemblages from Trinchera Cave, Colorado and the Kenton Caves, Oklahoma/New Mexico were age dated, analyzed, and compared to other known sandal collections throughout North America, including Franktown Cave, Colorado. The study of the rare perishables from all three caves/rockshelters on the Southern High Plains have provided a unique opportunity for the acquisition of information regarding the technology used by and possible affiliations of prehistoric people in and immediately adjacent to this region. Specifically, the utilization of similar sandal styles at these sites at different times during the Archaic through Late Prehistoric periods suggests several population movements on the Southern High Plains. ii Acknowledgments Many thanks to the Louden-Henritz Archaeology Museum at Trinidad State Junior College, the No Man’s Land Museum, Oklahoma Historical Society, Sam Noble Museum of Oklahoma Natural History, Woolaroc Museum and Ranch, and the University of Denver, Museum of Anthropology (DUMA) and their curators, directors, and administration for opening their doors and collections for the sake of research. Thanks go to Colorado State University for awarding me the Karen S. Greiner Endowment, the Colorado Archaeological Society for awarding me multiple Alice Hamilton Scholarships, the Colorado Historical Society for awarding me a State Historical Fund Grant, the University of Arizona AMS Lab for awarding me ten free student dates, and Sarah Milledge Nelson (DU) for allowing me to use the remainder of the Franktown Cave National Science Foundation Grant to date the sandals from these three caves. Without these funds, the temporal context of these sandals would have remained a mystery. Thanks to Beta Analytic and the University of Arizona Radiocarbon Labs for their expedient and professional workmanship in dating these materials. Thanks to Sigma Xi Research Society for providing me with funds for travel. Thanks to John Watson for the creation and adaptation of multiple maps and figures. Thanks to Christina Mann for the digitization of multiple sandal schematics and figures. You have transformed my thesis into a professional document. Most of all, thanks go out to my support team of Dr. Sarah Milledge Nelson, Dr. Kevin Gilmore, Dr. Lawrence Conyers, Dr. J. M. Adovasio, Jeffrey Illingworth, and Ed Jolie. Many thanks for bringing these unanalyzed collections to my attention and providing me with the knowledge, means, and support to attempt and complete this work. iii Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction… ...................................................................................1 Chapter Two: Perishables…….. ............................................................................12 The Utilization of Artifacts and Attributes as Cultural Markers ...............15 Perishables Research Across North America…………..….. ....................21 Sandals Research……. ..............................................................................29 Chapter Three: Basketry Weaves and Typologies…….........................................32 Basketry Weaves and Typologies Employed in the Production of Sandals…. ..................................................................................................35 Chapter Four: Sites…… ........................................................................................49 Franktown Cave (5DA272; L:9:31)……………………………………..51 Location and Physiographic Setting…………. .............................51 Previous Excavations………….....................................................53 Hugh O. Capps, Jr................................................………..53 Arnold Withers...................................................…………54 Gerold Thompson............................................…………..56 Sarah Nelson....................................................…………..57 Kevin Gilmore ...................................................…………58 Anthony G. King................................................…………59 Perishables Research......................................................…………60 Early-Middle Archaic .......................................………….60 Early Ceramic ......................................................………..61 Summary of Previous Interpretation of the Material .........61 Trinchera Cave (5LA1057)......................................................…………..64 Location and Physiographic Setting ......................………………67 Previous Excavations............................................……………….68 Haldon Chase................................................…………….69 Dr. Herbert W. Dick...............................…………………69 Colorado Archaeological Society, Trinidad chapter..........70 Caryl Wood Simpson.........................................................70 Michael Nowak.................................................………….74 Perishables Research............................…………………………..76 Basketry, Cordage, and Sandals.................………………77 Leather and Hide................………………………………78 The Kenton Caves (Basketmaker Cave: 34CI50)……..............................79 Location and Physiographic Setting .............…………………….79 Previous Excavations.................................………………………83 William “Uncle Billy" Baker…………………………….83 E. B. Renaud ..……………………………………………83 Joseph Thoburn......………………………………………83 Perishables Research......…………………………………………85 iv Summary of Previous Interpretation of the Material .........85 Chapter Five: Methods and Procedures ...........................................................…..87 Methodology.............................………………………………………….90 Chapter Six: Comparative Collections: Known Sandal-making Regions .........…96 The Great Basin .......................................................................…………..97 Northern Great Basin .........................................................………98 Western Great Basin ........................................................………101 Eastern Great Basin........................................................………..101 The Southwest.........................................................................………….102 The Mogollon..............................................................………….104 Jornada Basin Mogollon .................................................……….109 Colorado Plateau/Basketmaker/Ancestral Puebloan/Puebloan…113 The Great Plains...............................................................................……118 Northern Mexico and Texas...........................................................……..120 Northern Mexico/Coahuila ............................................………..120 Lower and Trans-Pecos Texas........................................……….125 Northern Coahuila (intermediate region between Coahuila and Lower and Trans-Pecos Texas)........................…………126 The East…………...................................................................................129 Chapter Seven: Analysis and Results .................……………………………….135 Sandal Descriptions.......................................................………………..135 Franktown Cave (5DA272; L:9:31).....…………………………135 The Kenton Caves (Basketmaker Cave: 34CI-50).......…………140 Trinchera Cave (5LA1057)......…………………………………175 Radiometric and Statistical Analysis ...............................………………191 Internal Correlations...................................................………………….193 Franktown Cave (5DA272; L:9:31).....…………………………193 The Kenton Caves (Basketmaker Cave: 34CI-50)...……………198 Trinchera Cave (5LA1057)......…………………………………209 The Southern High Plains ..................................................……..218 External Correlations......................................................……………….230 Franktown Cave (5DA272; L:9:31).........………………………231 The Kenton Caves (Basketmaker Cave: 34CI-50)..............…….236