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Prehistoric Use of the Alpine Sierra Nevada: Archaeological Investigations at Taboose Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California

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Prehistoric Use of the Alpine Sierra Nevada: Archaeological Investigations at Taboose Pass, Kings Canyon National Park, California PREHISTORIC USE OF THE ALPINE SIERRA NEVADA: ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT TABOOSE PASS, KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA Nathan Erik Stevens B.A. University of California, Davis 1995 THESIS Submitted in partial satisfaction of The requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Anthropology at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO FALL 2002 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Even though a thesis is meant to showcase the knowledge and abilities of a single individual, this particular work would not have been possible without the generous contributions of a wide variety of colleagues, friends, and family. First and foremost I thank my wife, Shawna, for changing careers to move to Sacramento, for putting up with countless hours of crankiness and general neglect from me, and for providing helpful ideas and editorial comments. I especially thank Tom Burge of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Bill Matthews (formerly) of Sequoia National Forest, for initiating the Taboose Pass surveys and for giving me the chance to help out despite my initially murky qualifications. I also thank Tom and Bill for sharing data and ideas with me so freely and for playing an integral part in my development as an archaeologist. Many of the interpretations and concepts found in this thesis were hatched during long conversations between the three of us, often while huddled around a single burner stove, drinking endless cups of coffee at Taboose Pass. Credit for many of these ideas goes to Tom and Bill. I take responsibility for any you don’t like. I thank my thesis committee, Mark Basgall, Michael Delacorte, and David Zeanah, not only for help and guidance while designing and writing this work, but also for providing first-rate instruction in archaeological concepts and methods in the classroom as well as in the field. Among other things, Mark taught me to temper my curiosity with skepticism, to back up my conclusions with data, and to recognize good archaeology when I see it. Michael was always generous with his time, freely shared his wealth of knowledge about Owens Valley archaeology, and contributed many helpful v editorial comments. David helped me with several technical problems and provided important explanations of ideas in Great Basin archaeology. A special thanks goes to the field crew at Taboose Pass, including Ryan Brady, Bill Larsen, and Steve Moore. These three extremely capable archaeologists suffered unmentionable hardships climbing the eastern escarpment to the crest while loaded down with field equipment and camping gear. They also deserve a debt of gratitude for managing to work hard and help with methodological decisions on the fly in a hypoxic environment. Important contributions were made both directly and indirectly by all of my friends and coworkers at the Archaeological Research Center. In particular, I thank Wendy Pierce for performing expert seed identifications. Special credit is also due to Mark Giambastiani and Tim Carpenter for pointers on obsidian hydration analysis that improved the accuracy and efficiency of my work. I also thank Denise Jurich and Tony Overly for instructing me in lithic analysis and ground stone analysis respectively. Lynn Johnson generously contributed obsidian hydration readings. This work also benefited greatly from frequent conversations with my office mate, Jesse Martinez, about flaked stone analysis, obsidian source use, and Great Basin prehistory in general. I am also particularly grateful to Nelson Siefkin for valuable discussions about Sierra Nevada prehistory, for commenting on a draft of the thesis, and for originally finding site CA-FRE-3105. This project was also helped by Craig Skinner and Tom Origer, who provided slides to help me hone my obsidian hydration skills. Craig Skinner also graciously offered to perform obsidian sourcing analysis at reduced cost. Kathleen Hull provided a solution to my obsidian hydration rate problems when my patience and vi high school math skills had just about run out. Sonny Montague supplied critical obsidian hydration data from Yosemite National Park. Kristina Roper deserves thanks for initially sparking my interest in high elevation archaeology and for discussing ideas with me on several occasions. Nancy Farrell and Ron Rose were also integral to the completion of this thesis by being incredibly flexible with work hours. Last but not least, I thank all those who gave me a place to stay during repeated trips to Sacramento and my friends and family for putting up with my busy schedule while working on the thesis. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………….. v List of Tables ……………………………………………………………………… x List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………... xi Chapter 1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………….. 1 2. Natural and Cultural Setting ……………………………………………… 5 Ethnographic Background ……………………………………….... 7 Prehistoric Background …………………………………………... 18 3. Theoretical Orientation and Elaboration of Problem ……………………... 33 Elaboration of Problem ……………………………………………. 36 4. Field and Analytical Methods …………………………………………….. 43 Flaked Stone Analysis ……………………………………………...46 Obsidian Sourcing ………………………………………………… 51 Ground Stone Analysis ……………………………………………. 52 Plant Macrofossil Analysis ……………..…………………………. 53 Radiocarbon Analysis ……………..…………….………………… 54 Obsidian Hydration Analysis ……………………………………… 54 Hydration Rate Construction ……………………………………… 55 Time Sensitive Artifacts …………………………………………... 61 5. Results of Fieldwork ……………………………………………………… 71 CA-FRE-3105 ……………………………………………………... 71 CA-FRE-3169 ……………………………………………………... 93 viii CA-FRE-3163 ……………………………………………………... 101 CA-FRE-3102 ……………………………………………………... 106 CA-FRE-3160 ……………………………………………………... 112 CA-FRE-3165 ……………………………………………………... 116 Discussion …………………………………………………………. 120 6. Regional Comparisons ……………………………………………………. 131 Background and Methods ……………..……….. ………………… 132 Land-use Changes on the Western Slope……….. …………………134 Land-use Changes in High-Elevation Areas …….………………... 140 Fish Springs Obsidian Use ………………………...……………… 148 Summary and Implications………………………………………… 160 7. Summary and Conclusions ………………………………………………. 166 Chronology ………………………………………………………... 166 Site Function ………………………………………………………. 167 Obsidian Acquisition and Use …………………………………….. 169 Marginal Environments, Travel Routes, and Alpine Land Use …… 170 Conclusions ………………………………………………………... 175 Appendix A. Obsidian Hydration and Sourcing Analyses ………………………... 178 Appendix B. Radiocarbon Dating Results ………………..……………………….. 210 Appendix C. Flaked and Ground Stone Analyses…………………………………. 214 Appendix D. Sources of Data ……………………………………………………... 238 Appendix E. Artifact Catalog ……………………………………………………... 318 Literature Cited ……………………………………………………………………. 328 ix TABLES 1. Results of Pilot Study …………………………………………………………... 44 2. Regional Weather Station Data ………………………………………………... 56 3. CA-FRE-3105 Debitage Analysis ……………………………………………… 85 4. CA-FRE-3105 Flotation Samples ……………………………………………...89 5. CA-FRE-3105 Raw Seed Counts ………………………………..…………….. 90 6. CA-FRE-3105 Standardized Seed Frequencies ……………….……………….. 91 7. CA-FRE-3169 Unit N19.5/W5 Debitage Analysis ……………………………... 99 8. CA-FRE-3169 Unit S12/E7.5 Debitage Analysis ………………………………. 99 9. CA-FRE-3163 Debitage Analysis ……………………………………………….105 10. CA-FRE-3102 Debitage Analysis ……………………………………………...111 11. CA-FRE-3160 Debitage Analysis ……………………………………………...116 12. CA-FRE-3165 Debitage Analysis ……………………………………………...119 13. Taboose Pass Site Constituents ……………………..…………………………. 121 14. High Elevation Site Attributes ……………………………..……….………… 142 15. Relative Percentages of Fish Springs Obsidian: Owens Valley …….………... 157 16. Relative Percentages of Fish Springs Obsidian: Western Slope ……………... 157 17. Relative Percentages of Fish Springs Obsidian: Western Slope Debitage …… 157 18. Late Prehistoric Projectile Point Obsidian Sources …………..……….……… 164 19. Summary of Regional Prehistoric Changes ………….……..……….……...… 176 x FIGURES 1. Project Area Overview Map ……………………………………………………. 2 2. Taboose Pass Prehistoric Sites Overview ………………………………………. 3 3. Regional Archaeological Sequences ……………….…………………………… 19 4. Hydration Rate and EHT Estimation Equations ………………………………... 57 5. Hydration Rate Graphs …………………………………………………………. 58 6. Hydration-Derived Dates on Time Sensitive Projectile Points ………………… 60 7. Projectile Point Illustrations: Desert Series …………………………………….. 62 8. Projectile Point Illustrations: Rose Spring ……………………………………… 63 9. Drill and Other Projectile Points ………..………………………………………. 64 10. Glass Bead Illustrations ……………………………………………………….. 65 11. CA-FRE-3105 Site map ……………………………………………………….. 72 12. CA-FRE-3105 Feature F-1 Plan View ………………………………………… 74 13. CA-FRE-3105 Feature F-5 Plan View ………………………………………… 75 14. CA-FRE-3105 Feature F-1, Units 1 and 2 Profile …………………………….. 76 15. CA-FRE-3105 Feature F-5, Unit 1 Profile ……………………………………. 77 16. CA-FRE-3105 Subfeature 1A Plan View ……………………………………....79 17. CA-FRE-3105 Subfeature 1B Plan View ……………………………………... 80 18. CA-FRE-3105 Subfeature 5A Plan View ……………………………………... 81 19. CA-FRE-3169 Site Map ………………………………………………………. 94 20. CA-FRE-3163 Site Map ………………………………………………………. 102 21. CA-FRE-3102 Site Map ………………………………………………………. 107 22. CA-FRE-3102 Debitage Density Map ………………………………………... 108 xi 23. CA-FRE-3160 Site Map ………………………………………………………. 113 24. CA-FRE-3165 Site Map ………………………………………………………. 117 25. Calculated Dates from CA-FRE-3105, CA-FRE-3169, CA-FRE-3163 ……… 126 26. Calculated Dates from CA-FRE-3102, CA-FRE-3160, CA-FRE-3165 ………. 127 27. Calculated Dates from Regional Bedrock Mortar Sites ……………………….
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