DOCSLIB.ORG

Rancholabrean Hunters of the Mojave Lakes Country

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rancholabrean Hunters of the Mojave Lakes Country REVIEWS 203 the Myoma Dunes sites, but the coprolites University of Utah Bulletin, Biological there produced no pollen of domestic plants. Series 10(7): 17-166. Therefore, the squash probably were not grown locally. Wilke notes, however, that agriculture has some antiquity among the Cahuilla; it figures prominently in myth and ritual and there are Cahuilla terms for crop The Ancient Californians: Rancholabrean plants and planting methods. The crops Hunters of the Mojave Lakes Country. themselves derive from the Lower Colorado Emma Lou Davis, ed. Natural History agricultural complex. Museum of Los Angeles County, Science From this Wilke concludes that agriculture Series 29, 1978. $10.00 (paper). is best viewed as but one aspect of Cahuilla Reviewed by DAVID L. WEIDE Indian subsistence that had arisen by early University of Nevada, Las Vegas historic times. Late Prehistoric Human Ecology at Lake "The Mojave Desert is among all things Cahuilla is of major importance to scholars of contradictory" are the opening lines of an California Desert prehistory. It provides the archaeological report that, like its subject first clear picture of the changing lake stands matter—the reconstruction of prehistoric in the Salton Basin and the probable cultural lifeways in the lacustrine basins of the north­ changes and population movements that west Mojave Desert—is both controversial followed. The catastrophic changes in Lake and contradictory, speculative yet factual, Cahuilla must have had far-reaching influence tangible but agonizingly illusive. The author over a wide area of southern California. The clearly states that this book is "experimental" significance of these changes for the late pre­ and those of us who know her agree—the book history of adjacent areas should be apparent is experimental—life is experimental—and to the reader. she is to be commended for saying what she Wilke is to be commended for providing a believes and believing in what she says. carefully constructed and well-executed model The book (site report? monograph?) may of the late prehistory of Coachella Valley. Not be divided into three parts. First, an introduc­ only is it relevant to current research in the tion by Davis and her co-author Carol California deserts, but it is so constructed as to Panlaqui of the Maturango Museum, Ridge- stimulate hypotheses that will test its validity. crest, California, to the locale—the basin of Those who wish to disagree with Wilke will ancient Lake China which at 12 thousand find that he has cleared the way for easy debate years ago and from two to six thousand years —provided the dissenter is in command of ago formed one of the lakes comprising the appropriate data. runoff system along the eastern edge of the Sierran escarpment. Second, a detailed REFERENCE archaeological study of approximately fifteen "sites" or, more precisely, concentrations of Hubbs, C. L., and R. R. Miller archaeological material spatially associated 1948 The Zoological Evidence: Correlation with a series of long transects and exhaustively Between Fish Distribution and Hydro- mapped quadrats coinciding with the east graphic History of the Desert Basins of Western United States. In: The Great shore of the now vanished lake. Third, a trilogy Basin, with Emphasis on Glacial and of supportive papers dealing with Holocene Postglacial Times. Salt Lake City: palynological history (P. J. Mehringer, Jr.), 204 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY the Rancholabrean fauna discovered during the archaeological layman who wishes to the course of the archaeological survey (D. E. identify with the early mammoth hunters of Fortsch), and a description and chronology the desert lake basins nor particularly organ­ of the soil stratigraphy related to the broader ized in a manner that makes it of reference and better understood chronology of neigh­ quality to the serious archaeologist in search boring Searles Lake (G. I. Smith). of correlative data. The recurring theme of The Ancient If relative and absolute chronology are Californians focuses on the speculation that the heart of this report, stratigraphy is the Man (and Woman!) as hunter, gatherer, soul; and the stratigraphic problems associated butcher, and pragmatic domestic occupied the with unraveling the geographic and environ­ shores of Lake China at least 45,000 years ago, mental history of a pluvial lake as ephemeral a suggestion based on lithic technology, as Lake China during the last 12 to 15 thou­ "style," and degree of artifact weathering, but sand years are enough to tax any Sherlock of unsubstantiated by either relative or absolute shorelines. The basic problem faced by Davis chronology. The "Early Man" emphasis, in my and her co-workers was one of stratigraphic opinion, neither adds to nor detracts from the units kilometers in width and length and only content but assuredly will raise archaeological centimeters in thickness. The archaeology hackles within the ranks of those who demand consists basically of a column (or more cor­ testable hypotheses and substantive analogous rectly a film) characterized by pedologic and models. These are not particularly the point topographic factors influenced or created by of Davis' monograph. Somewhere, someone scores of different microenvironments that should be allowed the freedom of uninhibited fluctuated markedly both in space and through speculation. time. In this environment, artifact assem­ In reviewing this work, I am tempted to blages, though bound together spatially and, develop a plus, minus, and questionable perhaps, stylistically, must float in a strati­ column much as one "grades" the examination graphic sea with only the vaguest of correla­ of a precocious but unconventional student. tive chronologic reference points. Listed among the assets surely must be the To summarize the key points of these attention to detail in archaeological recording chronologic controls, first, Davis presents and site mapping that stands as a model of powerful evidence to link human activity with recent field methodology. The 74 detailed site a fauna, including mammoth and, to a lesser maps represent hundreds of hours of dedicated extent, horse, camel, and sabertooth; in other labor and reflect thousands of hours of inten­ words, a Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene sive field work. In addition, the verbal megafauna that one might expect to inhabit descriptions of "tool kits" are good for they the xeric woodland and cold steppe Mojave allow one to "see" the material, shape, and at 22 to 12 thousand years ago. Second, G. I. wear patterns. On the questionable scale lies Smith, basing his argument on both a series the prose, which, highly uneven and in places of '•'C dates and on correlation with a well- redundant, ranges from the determinedly documented chronology from Searles Lake, scientific to the almost embarassingly personal places what Davis terms the artifacts of and which suffers from lack of a strong "PaleoSiberian Origin" (p. 96) in the context external editorial hand. On the negative side, of an absolute chronology ranging backwards however, the chief drawback of 77?^ Ancient to a maximum of 10,275 years ago. The occur­ Californians is the fact that it is neither con­ rence of such well-documented strata are, sistently simple and exciting enough to capture however, dishearteningly few considering the REVIEWS 205 vast extent of the Lake China shoreHne. is the wealth of detail on technology, food Reviewing the chronological arguments gathering and preparation, journeys, and other for antiquity, given that stone tools of respect­ aspects of Kumeyaay life. able age were found in conjunction with an Perceptions by the author of Kumeyaay extinct fauna, both the palynological data of values and philosophy are presented in the Mehringer and the '"'C and stratigraphic data context of daily activities and interaction of Smith combine to place a reasonable time between people as well as in recountings of the bracket of 7 to 14 thousand years on the Lake traditional myths. China activity. Arguments for greater antiq­ An introduction by the Education Coordi­ uity, no matter how enticing they may be, nator of the San Diego Museum of Man are, in my opinion, purely speculative. This provides information on the author and the is acceptable. The recurring theme, however, context in which the book was originally reflects the author's desires rather than the written. The book includes "A Note on the facts and, combined with her esteem for the Pronunciation of the Indian Names." Each very human characteristics of her "People of new Indian word is also pronounced in a foot­ the Lakes" that gives The Ancient Californians note on the page in which it first occurs. A a distinct charm, allows (perhaps forces) her brief list of herbs used by the Kumeyaay for to infer more from the data than the data food and medicine and the way they are pre­ warrant. pared is illustrated with a page of plant drawings. Other illustrations are also scattered throughout the book: drawings of objects and scenes mentioned in the stories. The work Indians of the Oaks. Millicent Lee. Ramona, concludes with a "Little Dictionary" of Indian words. California: Acoma Books, 1978 (new edition), 256 pp., illus., $6.95 (paper). The writing style is very readable, with short sentences and clear language, marred Reviewed by VERA-MAE FREDRICKSON only by occasional coyness. This book is Berkeley, California highly recommended as supplementary read­ ing for any course concerned with California These two stories of Kumeyaay (Southern Indians in elementary and high schools. Dieguefio) life in the foothills of southern California were originally published in 1937. The author, the Founder-Director of the Indian Arts League of San Diego, had spent many years with the Kumeyaay as they moved A Southern California Indigenous Ceramic from one seasonal site to another practicing Typology: A Contribution to Malcolm the remnants of their traditional life. J. Rogers' Research. Ronald V.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Appendix F Paleontological Assessment
    D RAFT E NVIRONMENTAL I MPACT R EPORT A MAZON F ACILITY A UGUST 2020 C YPRESS, C ALIFORNIA APPENDIX F PALEONTOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT \\VCORP12\Projects\CCP1603.05A\Draft EIR\Appendices\Appendix F Cover.docx (08/26/20) A MAZON F ACILITY D RAFT E NVIRONMENTAL I MPACT R EPORT C YPRESS, C ALIFORNIA A UGUST 2020 This page intentionally left blank \\VCORP12\Projects\CCP1603.05A\Draft EIR\Appendices\Appendix F Cover.docx (08/26/20) CARLSBAD FRESNO IRVINE LOS ANGELES PALM SPRINGS POINT RICHMOND RIVERSIDE July 6, 2020 ROSEVILLE SAN LUIS OBISPO Jeff Zwack Project Planner City of Cypress 5275 Orange Avenue Cypress, CA 90630 Subject: Paleontological Resources Assessment for the Amazon Facility, Cypress, Orange County, California Dear Mr. Zwack: LSA conducted a Paleontological Resources Assessment for the Amazon Facility (project) in Cypress, Orange County, California. The purpose of the assessment was to determine whether paleontological resources may be present within the proposed project site, whether they might be impacted by development of the project, and to make recommendations to mitigate any potential impacts to paleontological resources. PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION The project site is located at 6400‐6450 Katella Avenue and is bounded by Katella Avenue to the north, Holder Street to the east, industrial/commercial facilities to the west, and the Stanton Storm Channel to the south. The project site is depicted on the Los Alamitos, California 7.5‐minute United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map in Township 4 South, Range 11 West, Section 27, San Bernardino Baseline and Meridian (USGS, 1981; Figure 1 [Attachment B]). The project proposes the development of a “Last Mile” logistics facility for Amazon, Inc.
    [Show full text]
  • The Easternmost Occurrence of Mammut Pacificus (Proboscidea: Mammutidae), Based on a Partial Skull from Eastern Montana, USA
    The easternmost occurrence of Mammut pacificus (Proboscidea: Mammutidae), based on a partial skull from eastern Montana, USA Andrew T. McDonald1, Amy L. Atwater2, Alton C. Dooley Jr1 and Charlotte J.H. Hohman2,3 1 Western Science Center, Hemet, CA, United States of America 2 Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States of America 3 Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States of America ABSTRACT Mammut pacificus is a recently described species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of California and Idaho. We report the easternmost occurrence of this taxon based upon the palate with right and left M3 of an adult male from the Irvingtonian of eastern Montana. The undamaged right M3 exhibits the extreme narrowness that characterizes M. pacificus rather than M. americanum. The Montana specimen dates to an interglacial interval between pre-Illinoian and Illinoian glaciation, perhaps indicating that M. pacificus was extirpated in the region due to habitat shifts associated with glacial encroachment. Subjects Biogeography, Evolutionary Studies, Paleontology, Zoology Keywords Mammut pacificus, Mammutidae, Montana, Irvingtonian, Pleistocene INTRODUCTION Submitted 7 May 2020 The recent recognition of the Pacific mastodon (Mammut pacificus (Dooley Jr et al., 2019)) Accepted 3 September 2020 as a new species distinct from and contemporaneous with the American mastodon Published 16 November 2020 (M. americanum) revealed an unrealized complexity in North American mammutid Corresponding author evolution during the Pleistocene. Dooley Jr et al. (2019) distinguished M. pacificus from Andrew T. McDonald, [email protected] M. americanum by a suite of dental and skeletal features: (1) upper third molars (M3) Academic editor and lower third molars (m3) much narrower relative to length in M.
    [Show full text]
  • A Possible Late Pleistocene Impact Crater in Central North America and Its Relation to the Younger Dryas Stadial
    A POSSIBLE LATE PLEISTOCENE IMPACT CRATER IN CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA AND ITS RELATION TO THE YOUNGER DRYAS STADIAL SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY David Tovar Rodriguez IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE Howard Mooers, Advisor August 2020 2020 David Tovar All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Howard Mooers for his permanent support, my family, and my friends. i Abstract The causes that started the Younger Dryas (YD) event remain hotly debated. Studies indicate that the drainage of Lake Agassiz into the North Atlantic Ocean and south through the Mississippi River caused a considerable change in oceanic thermal currents, thus producing a decrease in global temperature. Other studies indicate that perhaps the impact of an extraterrestrial body (asteroid fragment) could have impacted the Earth 12.9 ky BP ago, triggering a series of events that caused global temperature drop. The presence of high concentrations of iridium, charcoal, fullerenes, and molten glass, considered by-products of extraterrestrial impacts, have been reported in sediments of the same age; however, there is no impact structure identified so far. In this work, the Roseau structure's geomorphological features are analyzed in detail to determine if impacted layers with plastic deformation located between hard rocks and a thin layer of water might explain the particular shape of the studied structure. Geophysical data of the study area do not show gravimetric anomalies related to a possible impact structure. One hypothesis developed on this works is related to the structure's shape might be explained by atmospheric explosions dynamics due to the disintegration of material when it comes into contact with the atmosphere.
    [Show full text]
  • Overkill, Glacial History, and the Extinction of North America's Ice Age Megafauna
    PERSPECTIVE Overkill, glacial history, and the extinction of North America’s Ice Age megafauna PERSPECTIVE David J. Meltzera,1 Edited by Richard G. Klein, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and approved September 23, 2020 (received for review July 21, 2020) The end of the Pleistocene in North America saw the extinction of 38 genera of mostly large mammals. As their disappearance seemingly coincided with the arrival of people in the Americas, their extinction is often attributed to human overkill, notwithstanding a dearth of archaeological evidence of human predation. Moreover, this period saw the extinction of other species, along with significant changes in many surviving taxa, suggesting a broader cause, notably, the ecological upheaval that occurred as Earth shifted from a glacial to an interglacial climate. But, overkill advocates ask, if extinctions were due to climate changes, why did these large mammals survive previous glacial−interglacial transitions, only to vanish at the one when human hunters were present? This question rests on two assumptions: that pre- vious glacial−interglacial transitions were similar to the end of the Pleistocene, and that the large mammal genera survived unchanged over multiple such cycles. Neither is demonstrably correct. Resolving the cause of large mammal extinctions requires greater knowledge of individual species’ histories and their adaptive tolerances, a fuller understanding of how past climatic and ecological changes impacted those animals and their biotic communities, and what changes occurred at the Pleistocene−Holocene boundary that might have led to those genera going extinct at that time. Then we will be able to ascertain whether the sole ecologically significant difference between previous glacial−interglacial transitions and the very last one was a human presence.
    [Show full text]
  • La Brea and Beyond: the Paleontology of Asphalt-Preserved Biotas
    La Brea and Beyond: The Paleontology of Asphalt-Preserved Biotas Edited by John M. Harris Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series 42 September 15, 2015 Cover Illustration: Pit 91 in 1915 An asphaltic bone mass in Pit 91 was discovered and exposed by the Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science and Art in the summer of 1915. The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History resumed excavation at this site in 1969. Retrieval of the “microfossils” from the asphaltic matrix has yielded a wealth of insect, mollusk, and plant remains, more than doubling the number of species recovered by earlier excavations. Today, the current excavation site is 900 square feet in extent, yielding fossils that range in age from about 15,000 to about 42,000 radiocarbon years. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Archives, RLB 347. LA BREA AND BEYOND: THE PALEONTOLOGY OF ASPHALT-PRESERVED BIOTAS Edited By John M. Harris NO. 42 SCIENCE SERIES NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Luis M. Chiappe, Vice President for Research and Collections John M. Harris, Committee Chairman Joel W. Martin Gregory Pauly Christine Thacker Xiaoming Wang K. Victoria Brown, Managing Editor Go Online to www.nhm.org/scholarlypublications for open access to volumes of Science Series and Contributions in Science. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Los Angeles, California 90007 ISSN 1-891276-27-1 Published on September 15, 2015 Printed at Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas PREFACE Rancho La Brea was a Mexican land grant Basin during the Late Pleistocene—sagebrush located to the west of El Pueblo de Nuestra scrub dotted with groves of oak and juniper with Sen˜ora la Reina de los A´ ngeles del Rı´ode riparian woodland along the major stream courses Porciu´ncula, now better known as downtown and with chaparral vegetation on the surrounding Los Angeles.
    [Show full text]
  • Younger Dryas ‘‘Black Mats’’ and the Rancholabrean Termination in North America
    Younger Dryas ‘‘black mats’’ and the Rancholabrean termination in North America C. Vance Haynes, Jr.* Departments of Anthropology and Geosciences, PO Box 210030, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 Contributed by C. Vance Haynes, Jr., January 23, 2008 (sent for review April 27, 2007) Of the 97 geoarchaeological sites of this study that bridge the nor are they known to be associated with any major climatic Pleistocene-Holocene transition (last deglaciation), approximately perturbation as was the case with YD cooling. two thirds have a black organic-rich layer or ‘‘black mat’’ in the form of mollic paleosols, aquolls, diatomites, or algal mats with Stratigraphy and Climate Change radiocarbon ages suggesting they are stratigraphic manifestations Stratigraphic sequences can reflect climate change in that of the Younger Dryas cooling episode 10,900 B.P. to 9,800 B.P. lacustrine or paludal sediments such as marls or diatomites (radiocarbon years). This layer or mat covers the Clovis-age land- indicate ponding or emergent water tables and some mollisols or scape or surface on which the last remnants of the terminal aquolls indicate shallow water tables with capillary fringes Pleistocene megafauna are recorded. Stratigraphically and chro- approaching or reaching the surface. Such conditions support nologically the extinction appears to have been catastrophic, plant growth and thereby increase the organic content of wetland seemingly too sudden and extensive for either human predation or or cienega soils collectively referred to as black mats. Many of the climate change to have been the primary cause. This sudden black mats discussed here occur in eolian silt or fine sand (loess) ؎ Rancholabrean termination at 10,900 50 B.P.
    [Show full text]
  • Rancholabrean Vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada
    Quaternary International xxx (2017) 1e17 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint The Tule Springs local fauna: Rancholabrean vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada * Eric Scott a, , Kathleen B. Springer b, James C. Sagebiel c a Dr. John D. Cooper Archaeological and Paleontological Center, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA b U.S. Geological Survey, Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, MS-980, Denver CO 80225, USA c Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin R7600, 10100 Burnet Road, Building 6, Austin, TX 78758, USA article info abstract Article history: A middle to late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in the upper Las Vegas Wash, north of Las Vegas, Received 8 March 2017 Nevada, has yielded the largest open-site Rancholabrean vertebrate fossil assemblage in the southern Received in revised form Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. Recent paleontologic field studies have led to the discovery of hundreds 19 May 2017 of fossil localities and specimens, greatly extending the geographic and temporal footprint of original Accepted 2 June 2017 investigations in the early 1960s. The significance of the deposits and their entombed fossils led to the Available online xxx preservation of 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash as Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monu- ment. These discoveries also warrant designation of the assemblage as a local fauna, named for the site of the original paleontologic studies at Tule Springs. The large mammal component of the Tule Springs local fauna is dominated by remains of Mammuthus columbi as well as Camelops hesternus, along with less common remains of Equus (including E.
    [Show full text]
  • Alphabetical List
    LIST E - GEOLOGIC AGE (STRATIGRAPHIC) TERMS - ALPHABETICAL LIST Age Unit Broader Term Age Unit Broader Term Aalenian Middle Jurassic Brunhes Chron upper Quaternary Acadian Cambrian Bull Lake Glaciation upper Quaternary Acheulian Paleolithic Bunter Lower Triassic Adelaidean Proterozoic Burdigalian lower Miocene Aeronian Llandovery Calabrian lower Pleistocene Aftonian lower Pleistocene Callovian Middle Jurassic Akchagylian upper Pliocene Calymmian Mesoproterozoic Albian Lower Cretaceous Cambrian Paleozoic Aldanian Lower Cambrian Campanian Upper Cretaceous Alexandrian Lower Silurian Capitanian Guadalupian Algonkian Proterozoic Caradocian Upper Ordovician Allerod upper Weichselian Carboniferous Paleozoic Altonian lower Miocene Carixian Lower Jurassic Ancylus Lake lower Holocene Carnian Upper Triassic Anglian Quaternary Carpentarian Paleoproterozoic Anisian Middle Triassic Castlecliffian Pleistocene Aphebian Paleoproterozoic Cayugan Upper Silurian Aptian Lower Cretaceous Cenomanian Upper Cretaceous Aquitanian lower Miocene *Cenozoic Aragonian Miocene Central Polish Glaciation Pleistocene Archean Precambrian Chadronian upper Eocene Arenigian Lower Ordovician Chalcolithic Cenozoic Argovian Upper Jurassic Champlainian Middle Ordovician Arikareean Tertiary Changhsingian Lopingian Ariyalur Stage Upper Cretaceous Chattian upper Oligocene Artinskian Cisuralian Chazyan Middle Ordovician Asbian Lower Carboniferous Chesterian Upper Mississippian Ashgillian Upper Ordovician Cimmerian Pliocene Asselian Cisuralian Cincinnatian Upper Ordovician Astian upper
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix E Paleontological Resources
    I NITIAL S TUDY/MITIGATED N EGATIVE D ECLARATION 6400 K ATELLA W AREHOUSE P ROJECT O CTOBER 2020 C YPRESS, C ALIFORNIA APPENDIX E PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT P:\CCP1603.05B\Draft ISMND\Appendices (09/03/20) 6400 K ATELLA W AREHOUSE P ROJECT I NITIAL S TUDY/MITIGATED N EGATIVE D ECLARATION C YPRESS, C ALIFORNIA O CTOBER 2020 This page intentionally left blank P:\CCP1603.05B\Draft ISMND\Appendices (09/03/20) CARLSBAD FRESNO IRVINE LOS ANGELES PALM SPRINGS POINT RICHMOND RIVERSIDE July 6, 2020 ROSEVILLE SAN LUIS OBISPO Jeff Zwack Project Planner City of Cypress 5275 Orange Avenue Cypress, CA 90630 Subject: Paleontological Resources Assessment for the 6400 Katella Warehouse Project, Cypress, Orange County, California Dear Mr. Zwack: LSA conducted a Paleontological Resources Assessment for the 6400 Katella Warehouse Project (project) in Cypress, Orange County, California. The purpose of the assessment was to determine whether paleontological resources may be present within the project site, whether they might be impacted by development of the project, and to make recommendations to mitigate any potential impacts to paleontological resources. PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION The project site is located at 6400-6450 Katella Avenue and is bounded by Katella Avenue to the north, Holder Street to the east, industrial/commercial facilities to the west, and the Stanton Storm Channel to the south. The project site is depicted on the Los Alamitos, California 7.5-minute United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map in Township 4 South, Range 11 West, Section 27, San Bernardino Baseline and Meridian (USGS, 1981; Figure 1 [Attachment B]).
    [Show full text]
  • Quaternary and Late Tertiary of Montana: Climate, Glaciation, Stratigraphy, and Vertebrate Fossils
    QUATERNARY AND LATE TERTIARY OF MONTANA: CLIMATE, GLACIATION, STRATIGRAPHY, AND VERTEBRATE FOSSILS Larry N. Smith,1 Christopher L. Hill,2 and Jon Reiten3 1Department of Geological Engineering, Montana Tech, Butte, Montana 2Department of Geosciences and Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, Idaho 3Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Billings, Montana 1. INTRODUCTION by incision on timescales of <10 ka to ~2 Ma. Much of the response can be associated with Quaternary cli- The landscape of Montana displays the Quaternary mate changes, whereas tectonic tilting and uplift may record of multiple glaciations in the mountainous areas, be locally signifi cant. incursion of two continental ice sheets from the north and northeast, and stream incision in both the glaciated The landscape of Montana is a result of mountain and unglaciated terrain. Both mountain and continental and continental glaciation, fl uvial incision and sta- glaciers covered about one-third of the State during the bility, and hillslope retreat. The Quaternary geologic last glaciation, between about 21 ka* and 14 ka. Ages of history, deposits, and landforms of Montana were glacial advances into the State during the last glaciation dominated by glaciation in the mountains of western are sparse, but suggest that the continental glacier in and central Montana and across the northern part of the eastern part of the State may have advanced earlier the central and eastern Plains (fi gs. 1, 2). Fundamental and retreated later than in western Montana.* The pre- to the landscape were the valley glaciers and ice caps last glacial Quaternary stratigraphy of the intermontane in the western mountains and Yellowstone, and the valleys is less well known.
    [Show full text]
  • The Las Vegas Formation
    The Las Vegas Formation Professional Paper 1839 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Buff-colored deposits sit against the backdrop of the Las Vegas Range in the northern Las Vegas Valley. Once thought to be remnants of a large pluvial lake, these sediments actually record the presence of extensive paleowetlands that supported a diverse flora and fauna. Throughout the Quaternary, the wetlands expanded and contracted in response to abrupt changes in climate. These dynamic ecosystems are preserved in the geologic record as the Las Vegas Formation. (Photograph by Eric Scott, Cogstone Resource Management, Inc., used with permission) The Las Vegas Formation By Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Craig R. Manker, and Shannon A. Mahan Professional Paper 1839 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior RYAN K. ZINKE, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2018 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov or call 1–888–ASK–USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner.
    [Show full text]
  • Preliminary Correlation of Florida and Central Great Plains Pliocene and Pleistocene Mammalian Local Faunas Based on Rodent Biostratigraphy
    Bull. Fla. Mus. Nat. Hist. (2005) 45(4):363-367 363 PRELIMINARY CORRELATION OF FLORIDA AND CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS PLIOCENE AND PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIAN LOCAL FAUNAS BASED ON RODENT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY Robert A. Martin1 A preliminary attempt is made to correlate the late Pliocene and Pleistocene mammalian local faunas of peninsular Florida with those of the central Great Plains. Critical taxa among the rodents are the cotton rats, genus Sigmodon, and the arvicolids, especially Ondatra and Microtus. The dense rodent fossil record and accompanying radiometric dates of the Meade Basin of southwestern Kansas provide a chronological template for North American rodent faunas, and suggest that mammalian local faunas from the late Blancan Haile 15A through Rancholabrean of Florida may be fit into five of Martin’s Great Plains rodent zones. Key Words: Florida; rodent; biostratigraphy; correlation; Pliocene; Pleistocene INTRODUCTION AND METHODS tempts at correlation tried to fit Florida l.f.s into the then Florida’s late Pliocene and Pleistocene mammalian standard four continental glacial sequence, this approach record is one of the richest in North America. More was abandoned by the 1990’s (e.g., Morgan & Hulbert than 50 local faunas (l.f.s), from cave, sinkhole, estua- 1995). Also, more sophisticated methods, including mag- rine, and possibly freshwater lacustrine sediments, span netic polarity and strontium isotope stratigraphy, are now late Blancan through late Rancholabrean time. Most are being applied where appropriate (Jones et al. 1995; less than 2.0 million years (my) old, but a few extend MacFadden 1995). This work, in concert with an in- into the period of 2.0-2.5 Ma (million years ago).
    [Show full text]