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A Chronometric Study of the Relation Between Subsistence Intensification and Persistent Land Use During the Middle Holocene in the Wyoming Basin, USA

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A Chronometric Study of the Relation Between Subsistence Intensification and Persistent Land Use During the Middle Holocene in the Wyoming Basin, USA A Chronometric Study of the Relation Between Subsistence Intensification and Persistent Land Use During the Middle Holocene in the Wyoming Basin, USA A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences by Dayna M. Reale B. A. The Ohio State University June 2006 Committee: Alan P. Sullivan, III, Ph.D., Chair Brooke Crowley, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis aims to identify Wyoming Basin housepits in southwest Wyoming as markers for persistently used locales. Persistent use of housepits relates to resource procurement strategies during a time of changing climate and environment. Warm, dry conditions in the early part of the Middle Holocene (7500 – 4500 BP) resulted in a reduction of large-game populations. Housepits facilitated the procurement of plant and small-game resources, which hunter-gatherers relied on heavily until the climate stabilized in the Late Holocene (4500 BP – Present). Decades of excavation data aided in the creation of a database of previously obtained radiocarbon data collected at 80 housepit sites in the Wyoming Basin. The radiocarbon data were recalibrated using the calibration curve for the Northern Hemisphere (IntCal13) in OxCal 4.2.4. These recalibrated dates provide information about frequency and distribution of housepit occupations through time and across a variety of sampled context types (i.e., sites, housepits, features, etc.). Temporal patterns are consistent with current hypotheses that posit population densities increased significantly around the same time as peak housepit use. Alternatively, the peak of calibrated date frequency associated with housepit use could be the result of a build-up of material from the persistent use of locales, not increasing human populations. In this thesis, I suggest that Early Archaic housepits represent a unique adaptation of hunter-gatherers to an environment in flux, between 8500 and 3700 years BP. The return of favorable climatic conditions heralded the gradual return of big game, like bison. As game populations slowly increased, hunter-gatherers had the best of both worlds: abundant reliable and predictable plant and small-game resources, and an ever-growing population of large-game animals. However, this ‘Sweet Spot’ in time could not last forever. By 5800 BP, game herds slowly began to increase, providing better subsistence opportunities for hunter-gatherers. However, growing large game populations also increased stress on the carrying capacity for plant ii resources. Therefore, housepits were eventually abandoned and settlement and subsistence strategies changed yet again, focusing on higher residential mobility and large-game hunting in the Late Archaic (3700 – 1800 BP). iii This Page Intentionally Blank iv Acknowledgments The completion of this thesis is a source of great pride. I could not have been successful without the support of many great and wonderful people. I want to thank my committee chair, Dr. Alan P. Sullivan III, for his unwavering support and confidence in this research. Your belief in me is more appreciated than you will ever know. Thank you to my second committee member, Dr. Brooke Crowley, for providing the guidance and support I needed to push through to the very end. Thank you to Lance McNees. This thesis is based on the knowledge, skills, and passion for archaeology and housepits you instilled in me. Your mentorship has been invaluable. Thank you to Dr. Chris Morgan, who helped me make the hard decisions during a tough time. Many thanks to my graduate cohort, near and far, for your friendship, encouragement, and reading my many drafts. Finally, thank you to my family. I would never have succeeded without your unfailing love and confidence in me. You believed in me when I did not believe in myself. You kept me moving forward when all I wanted to do was quit. This thesis is a reflection of the love and support of all the people mentioned above, and many others who are not. I share this accomplishment with all of you. Thank you. v Table of Contents Pg. Abstract ii Acknowledgments v Table of Contents vi List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Background 4 Geography and Physiography of the Wyoming Basin 4 Flora 6 Sagebrush Steppe 7 Mixed Desert Shrubland 8 Riparian 8 Woodland 9 Fauna 10 Paleoclimate and Environmental Change 11 Early Holocene (10,000 – 7,500 BP) 11 Middle Holocene (7,500 – 4,500 BP) 12 Late Holocene (4,500 BP – Present) 14 Cultural History of the Wyoming Basin 15 PaleoIndian (12,000 – 8,500 BP) 17 Early Archaic (8,500 – 3,700 BP) 18 Late Archaic (3,700 – 1,800 BP) 21 Late Prehistoric (1,800 – 250 BP) 23 Protohistoric (250 BP - Contact) 24 Aspects of Housepit Variability in the Wyoming Basin 25 The Importance of Wyoming Housepits 29 vi Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology 30 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion 40 Frequency Distributions Across Time and Contexts 41 Discussion 49 The Effects of Climate Change on People, Plants, and Animals 52 Finding the Sweet Spot 57 Chapter 5: Summary and Conclusions 61 References Cited 66 Appendix A: Housepit Database 80 Appendix B: Radiocarbon Calibration Curves by Site 105 Appendix C: Plotted Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates 186 vii List of Tables Pg. Table 3.1 Occupations and Time Periods for Thirteen Housepits Investigated by Smith and McNees 31 Table 3.2 Housepit Sites and Number of 14C Samples Identified in Literature Review 35 viii List of Figures Pg. Figure 2.1 Map Showing an Overview of the Wyoming Basin 5 Figure 2.2 Cultural Chronology of Southwestern Wyoming 16 Figure 2.3 Profile View of Excavated Housepit with an Internal Feature 27 Figure 2.4 An Ethnographic Pit Oven Compared to a Prehistoric Pit Oven from a Housepit Site 28 Figure 3.1 Identified Housepit Sites within the Wyoming Basin 34 Figure 3.2 Example of Input Data Dialogue Box in OxCal 4.2.4 37 Figure 3.3 Example of Results Table Showing Calibrated Date Ranges in calBP at 2σ 37 Figure 3.4 Example of Multiplot Graph Showing Calibrated Date Ranges in calBP 37 Figure 3.5 Example of Calibration Curve in calBP in OxCal 4.2.4 38 Figure 3.6 Example of Results Table Showing Failed R_Combine 38 Figure 3.7 Example of Calibration Curve in calBP Showing Failed R_Combine 39 Figure 4.1 Number of Radiocarbon Dates per Site by Time Period 40 Figure 4.2 Frequency and Distribution of Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates from All Sampled Contexts during the Early Archaic 42 Figure 4.3 Frequency and Distribution of Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates from Site Contexts during the Early Archaic 43 Figure 4.4 Frequency and Distribution of Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates from House Contexts during the Early Archaic 44 Figure 4.5 Frequency and Distribution of Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates from Internal Feature contexts during the Early Archaic 45 Figure 4.6 Frequency and Distribution of Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates from External Feature contexts during the Early Archaic 46 ix Figure 4.7 Frequency and Distribution of Recalibrated Radiocarbon Dates from Housepits and Internal Features contexts during the Early Archaic 47 Figure 4.8 Number of Radiocarbon Dates compared to the Number of Occupations at Each Site 50 Figure B.1: Site 48CR122 Calibration Curve 106 Figure B.2. Site 48CR1790 Calibration Curve 107 Figure B.3 48CR1849 Calibration Curve 108 Figure B.4 Site 48CR2353 Calibration Curve 109 Figure B.5 Site 48CR4139 Calibration Curve 110 Figure B.6 Site 48CR4140 Calibration Curve 111 Figure B.7 Site 48CR4393 Calibration Curve 112 Figure B.8 Site 48CR4419 Calibration Curve 113 Figure B.9 Site 48CR4522 Calibration Curve 114 Figure B.10 Site 48CR4624 Calibration Curve 115 Figure B.11 Site 48CR4686 Calibration Curve 116 Figure B.12 Site CR434687 Calibration Curve 117 Figure B.13 Site 48CR4689 Calibration Curve 118 Figure B.14 Site 48CR5521 Calibration Curve 119 Figure B.15 Site 48CR5699 Calibration Curve 120 Figure B.16 Site 48CR6979 Calibration Curve 121 Figure B.17 Site 48CR7035 Calibration Curve 122 Figure B.18 Site 48CR7309 Calibration Curve 123 Figure B.19 Site 48CR8818 Calibration Curve 124 Figure B.20 Site 48FR113 Calibration Curve 125 Figure B.21Site 48FR424 Calibration Curve 126 Figure B.22 Site 48FR1431 Calibration Curve 127 Figure B.23 Site 48FR1481 Calibration Curve 128 Figure B.24 Site 48FR1484 Calibration Curve 129 x Figure B.25Site 48FR1602Calibration Curve 130 Figure B.26Site 48FR2064 Calibration Curve 131 Figure B.27 Site 48FR2330 Calibration Curve 132 Figure B.28Site 48FR4398 Calibration Curve 133 Figure B.29 Site 48FR4457 Calibration Curve 134 Figure B.30 Site 48FR4459 Calibration Curve 135 Figure B.31 Site 48FR4464 Calibration Curve 136 Figure B.32 Site 48FR4516 Calibration Curve 137 Figure B.33.Site 48FR5125 Calibration Curve 138 Figure B. 34 Site 48FR6256 Calibration Curve 139 Figure B.35 Site 48FR6260 Calibration Curve 140 Figure B.36 Site 48FR6261 Calibration Curve 141 Figure B.37 Site 48LN373 Calibration Curve 142 Figure B.38 Site 48LN616 Calibration Curve 143 Figure B.39 Site 48LN1468 Calibration Curve 144 Figure B.40 Site 48SU261 Calibration Curve 145 Figure B.41 Site 48SU595 Calibration Curve 146 Figure B.42 Site 48SU2094 Calibration Curve 147 Figure B.43 Site 48SU2311 Calibration Curve 148 Figure B.44 Site 48SU2317 Calibration Curve 149 Figure B.45 Site 48SU2324 Calibration Curve 150 Figure B.46 Site 48SU3065 Calibration Curve 151 Figure B.47 Site 48SU3291 Calibration Curve 152 Figure B.48 Site 48SU3519 Calibration
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