Courtney D. Lakevold
Space and Social Structure in the A.D. 13th Century Occupation of Promontory Cave 1, Utah by Courtney D. Lakevold A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology University of Alberta © Courtney D. Lakevold, 2017 ABSTRACT Promontory Cave 1, located on the north shore of Great Salt Lake in northern Utah, has yielded many extraordinary archaeological artifacts that are amazingly well-preserved. Promontory phase deposits in Cave 1 are extremely thick, and rich with perishables and other material culture. Bison bones, fur, leather and hide processing artifacts have been recovered at the site, in addition to gaming pieces, basketry, pottery, juniper bark for bedding, knife handles, ceramics and moccasins. A large central hearth area, pictograph panels, pathways and entrance and exit routes have also been identified. Bayesian modeling from AMS dates indicates a high probability that the cave was occupied for one or two human generations over a 20-50 year interval (A.D. 1240-1290). Excavations have taken place at the cave from 2011-2014 by an interdisciplinary research team with members from the University of Alberta (Institute of Prairie Archaeology), the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU), Oxford, the Desert Research Institute and Brigham Young University. The extraordinary preservation and narrow time frame (A.D. 1240-1290) for the occupation of Promontory Cave 1 on Great Salt Lake allow for unusual insights into the demography of its Promontory Culture inhabitants. This thesis looks at the cave as a humanly inhabited space and examines what the Promontory Culture group may have looked like in terms of population size and group composition, and how they used or organized space in the cave.
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