Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, and Land Use in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View from Site 5GN1.2

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Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, and Land Use in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View from Site 5GN1.2 Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2013 Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, and Land Use in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View from Site 5GN1.2 Jonathan Mitchell Peart Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Peart, Jonathan Mitchell, "Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, and Land Use in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View from Site 5GN1.2" (2013). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 1982. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/1982 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LATE PREHISTORIC TECHNOLOGY, QUARTZITE PROCUREMENT, AND LAND USE IN THE UPPER GUNNISON BASIN, COLORADO: VIEW FROM SITE 5GN1.2 by Jonathan M. Peart A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Anthropology Approved: __________________________ _________________________ Dr. Bonnie L. Pitblado Dr. Christopher T. Morgan Major Professor Committee Member __________________________ _________________________ Dr. Kenneth P. Cannon Dr. Mark R. McLellan Committee Member Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2013 ii Copyright © Jonathan M. Peart 2013 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, and Land Use in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View from Site 5GN1.2 by Jonathan M. Peart, Master of Science Utah State University, 2013 Major Professor: Dr. Bonnie Pitblado Department: Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology This thesis presents the results from archaeological test excavations at site 5GN1.2. The focus of this research is to evaluate Stiger’s Late Prehistoric settlement- subsistence hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, post-3000 B.P. occupations of the Upper Gunnison Basin were limited to logistically organized big-game hunting forays originating from residential camps located outside of the basin. Since Stiger’s model is based on Binford’s forager-collector continuum model, archaeological test implications of his hypothesis include hunter-gatherer settlement mobility, site types, feature types, artifact assemblage characteristics, and the organization of lithic technology. Test excavations at 5GN1.2 revealed intact archaeological deposits reflecting aboriginal occupation during the Late Prehistoric between about 3000 and 1300 B.P. Late Prehistoric features include four hearths associated with abundant debitage, small-game faunal remains, burnt seeds, and lithic tools. Identified lithic tools include ground stone, iv projectile point fragments, cores, and bifaces. Individual flake attribute analysis of the debitage assemblage provides evidence lithic reduction activities were dominated by bifacial reduction of local and non-local raw materials. Archaeological evidence rules out site 5GN1.2 as a Late Prehistoric logistical big- game hunting site. Site 5GN1.2 contains all the hallmarks of a residential base camp, including constructed hearths, rock art, evidence of plant resource processing, small- game procurement, comparatively high tool diversity, high proportion of locally available tool-stone, late-stage tool manufacture, and tool maintenance debitage. Site 5GN1.2 likely served as a short-term residential base camp occupied by whole family groups during the Late Prehistoric. The Late Prehistoric occupations of site 5GN1.2 represent a more diverse settlement-subsistence adaptation than envisioned by Stiger’s culture history. Some hunter-gatherers may have occupied the UGB on long-range logistical big-game hunting forays, but at 5GN1.2 this is simply not the case. This lithic technology research project represents the first published comprehensive debitage analysis of an archaeological component at 5GN1.2 and 5GN1. These results and data can serve as a database for later archaeological research within the UGB. (169 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Late Prehistoric Technology, Quartzite Procurement, and Land Use in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: View from Site 5GN1.2 Jonathan M. Peart This thesis presents the results from archaeological test excavations at site 5GN1.2. The focus of this research is to evaluate Stiger’s Late Prehistoric settlement- subsistence hypothesis. According to Stiger, post-3000 B.P. occupations of the Upper Gunnison Basin were limited to big-game hunting forays originating from base camps located outside of the basin. Test excavations at 5GN1.2 documented archaeological deposits reflecting aboriginal occupation during the Late Prehistoric between about 3000 and 1300 years ago. Archaeological features include four hearths associated with abundant small-mammal remains, burnt plant seeds, stone tools and stone tool manufacturing debris. Archaeological evidence rules out site 5GN1.2 as a focused Late Prehistoric big- game hunting site. Site 5GN1.2 contains all the hallmarks of a residential base camp, including constructed hearths, rock art, both plant and animal resource procurement, comparatively high tool diversity, and evidence of bifacial late-stage stone tool manufacture. Site 5GN1.2 likely served as a short-term residential base camp occupied by whole family groups during the Late Prehistoric. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completing graduate school, especially writing this thesis, remains one of the most difficult, demanding and yet remarkably fulfilling experiences characterizing my education and professional career. Many individuals contributed to the success of my education and especially this thesis research. Members of my graduate committee including Drs. Bonnie Pitblado, Christopher Morgan, and Kenneth Cannon generously donated their time and professional expertise to help me through this process and deserve a hearty thank you. Much needed assistance was provided by Forest Frost, of the National Park Service, and is greatly appreciated. Frost found funding for this thesis research and generously photocopied numerous gray-literature reports, many of which I would not have found otherwise. Partial funding was provided by the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit cooperative agreement number H1200090004 for data collection and analysis. I also appreciate the hard work of the field excavation crew including Barbara Haberland, Carl Haberland, Jason Patten, Bonnie Pitblado, and Forest Frost. I would like to thank Scott Whitesides for allowing me to spend a summer internship with him at the Golden Spike National Historic Site and for his insightful graduate education and career advice. Editorial assistance for this thesis was generously provided by Dr. Kelly DeVries, and is greatly appreciated. I could not have completed graduate school without the employment and archaeological experience provided by Sagebrush Consultants L.L.C. and USU Archeological Services, Inc. vii I am particularly appreciative of the assistance I received from my fellow archaeology graduate students at Utah State University. They helped me narrow my focus, better communicate my ideas, set and accomplish reasonable goals, as well as provided a supportive environment to vent our shared frustrations. Additionally, I am appreciative of the debitage analysis help provided by Ryan Breslawski, Jessica Dougherty, Tod Hildebrandt, Ashley Losey, Britt McNamara, Elizabeth Seymour, and Dayna Reale. On a more personal note, I wish to express my appreciation to my family and friends for their unwavering support and encouragement. Through the many bumps, setbacks, and moments of seemingly inescapable failure, my family stayed the course, providing much needed support and inspiration. To my wife, Beth, son, Ian, and daughter, Emmaline: thank you so much for your loving patience. Jonathan M. Peart viii CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ........................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ x LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xii 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1 2. THEORETICAL ORIENTATION ....................................................... 9 Hunter-gather Mobility ................................................................... 9 Mountain Adaptations .................................................................... 13 Organization of Lithic Technology ................................................. 17 Technological Considerations ................................................... 22 Expedient Core-flake Trajectory ............................................... 23 Portable Long-use Trajectory .................................................... 24 Biface Trajectory ...................................................................... 25 Debitage Analysis..........................................................................
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