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The Archaeology and Paleoclimate of the Mud Lake Basin, Nye County, Nevada

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The Archaeology and Paleoclimate of the Mud Lake Basin, Nye County, Nevada University of Nevada, Reno Changing Landscapes During the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene: The Archaeology and Paleoclimate of the Mud Lake Basin, Nye County, Nevada A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Anthropology By Lindsay A. Fenner Dr. Geoffrey M. Smith/Thesis Advisor May, 2011 © by Lindsay A. Fenner 2011 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE SCHOOL We recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by LINDSAY A. FENNER entitled Changing Landscapes During The Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene: The Archaeology And Paleoclimate Of The Mud Lake Basin, Nye County, Nevada be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Geoffrey M. Smith, Ph.D., Advisor Gary Haynes, Ph.D., Committee Member Kenneth D. Adams, Ph.D., Graduate School Representative Marsha H. Read, Ph. D., Associate Dean, Graduate School May, 2011 i ABSTRACT Archaeological investigation along Pleistocene lakeshores is a longstanding and common approach to prehistoric research in the Great Basin. Continuing in this tradition, this thesis considers the archaeological remains present from pluvial Mud Lake, Nye County, Nevada coupled with an examination of paleoclimatic conditions to assess land-use patters during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene. Temporally diagnostic lithic assemblages from 44 localities in the Mud Lake basin provide the framework for which environmental proxy records are considered. Overwhelmingly occupied by Prearchaic groups, comprising 76.6% of all diagnostic artifacts present, Mud Lake was intensively utilized right up to its desiccation after the Younger Dryas, estimated at 9,000 radiocarbon years before present. Intermittently occupied through the remainder of the Holocene, different land-use strategies were employed as a result of shifting subsistence resources reacting to an ever changing environment. The results of this thesis complement the existing knowledge base on Prearchaic groups in the Great Basin, with particular contributions to the lesser studied small pluvial basins. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people and groups that I would like to thank for helping me reach this place, both academically and personally. I would first like to thank the Sundance Archaeological Research Fund for making my research possible, employing me, and for being the reason I came to UNR in the first place. I also must thank the Am-Arcs of Northern Nevada and UNR’s Graduate Student Association for their support in getting me to the many conferences I presented at during my time here. I must thank my committee – Drs. Geoffrey M. Smith, Gary Haynes, and Kenneth D. Adams – for their support, criticism, and patience. Thanks to Ken, for your invaluable consultation on all things pluvial and helping me to keep my cool. Thanks to Gary, for being here with me through this whole ordeal, sticking through to the end and for providing some very necessary laughter. Lastly, thanks to Geoff, for sweeping in here and giving me the swift kick I needed to get seriously motivated and for devoting countless hours theorizing, revising, and helping me see the silver lining in it all. I would also like to thank the department and the many people in it. A few of you have become so much more than colleagues to me, and I am thankful for all the time we have been able to spend together. Nothing can replace our field adventures or the Happy Fun Time Anthropology Club and I will always remember them fondly. I am greatly indebted to Gary D. Noyes. Gary’s desire to let the world know how amazing Mud Lake is allowed me to be a part of its history forever. Extremely free with his time and knowledge, Gary and the whole Noyes family were nothing but kind to myself and my field-mates. Thank you Gary, for letting me know Mud Lake. iii To all the other amazing folks who helped me along the way. To Sue Rigby of the Tonopah BLM Field Office, for her cooperation and support with the Mud Lake report, and to Craig Skinner of Northwestern Research Obsidian Study Laboratory, for his valued help in sourcing the Mud Lake artifacts provided by Gary. Lastly, I thank my family – those immediate, extended, and metaphoric. You all have provided immeasurable support (whether I was able to ask for it or not) and have always been understanding and excited about the choices I have made, even when it put great physical distances between us. To this end, I must single out my mother, who has been my greatest champion, supporter, and friend. Without her and her love I would not be the person I am today. I am grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Pluvial Mud Lake .....................................................................................................2 Background ..............................................................................................................7 Environment and Climate ............................................................................9 Archaeology ...............................................................................................15 Pluvial Lakes Research ..........................................................................................24 Hydrologic Chronology of the Quaternary Great Basin ............................25 Research Goals.......................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 2: METHODS .................................................................................................29 Previous Fieldwork at Mud Lake ...........................................................................29 Archaeological Fieldwork ..........................................................................29 Geological Fieldwork.................................................................................32 Recent Field Procedures ........................................................................................34 Laboratory Analysis ...............................................................................................37 Projectile Points .........................................................................................37 Environmental Analysis .........................................................................................45 Summary ................................................................................................................48 CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS .............................................................................................50 Geological Context of Mud Lake ..........................................................................50 Mud Lake Archaeological Sites .............................................................................53 Previous Research ......................................................................................53 Recent Research .........................................................................................62 Environmental Proxy Records ...............................................................................78 v Global Climate ...........................................................................................79 Regional Climate .......................................................................................79 Local Climate .............................................................................................81 Summary ................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ...................................................................................................84 The Archaeological Record ...................................................................................84 Mud Lake Site Ages...................................................................................86 Mud Lake Site Locations ...........................................................................89 The Environmental Record ....................................................................................90 Global Evidence .........................................................................................92 Regional Evidence .....................................................................................93 Pluvial Evidence ........................................................................................95 Summary ................................................................................................................98 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION .............................................................................................99 Landscape Use in the Mud Lake Basin..................................................................99 Comparing Prearchaic and Archaic Assemblages ...................................100 Comparing Mud Lake to Other Great Basin Localities ...........................104
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