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A Microstratigraphic Approach to Evaluating Site Formation A MICROSTRATIGRAPHIC APPROACH TO EVALUATING SITE FORMATION PROCESSES AT EAGLE CAVE (41VV167) by Christina Nielsen, B.A. A thesis submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts with a Major in Anthropology August 2017 Committee Members: Stephen L. Black, Chair C. Britt Bousman Kevin Hanselka Charles Frederick COPYRIGHT by Christina Nielsen 2017 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Christina Nielsen, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of the individuals who offered support throughout this project. First, I would like to thank Jack and Wilmuth Skiles, and the Skiles family, for their stewardship and enthusiasm for continued archaeological research in the ENC. On many occasions, they kindly invited our (stinky) crew into their home, for refreshments and a dip in the pool after a long, hot day in the field. I would very much like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Stephen Black, for his guidance and moral support throughout this process and for his patience when my chapters were always a day (or more) later than promised. I am extremely grateful to the Ancient Southwest Project (ASWT), headed by Dr. Black, for providing me with the means to complete my research including equipment, funding for analysis, room and board, and logistical support. I could not have completed this thesis without the help of my committee members and the many individuals who offered up their time and analytical expertise. Dr. Charles Frederick not only provided incredible support and training during the geoarchaeolgical analyses, but gave me free range of his guest house and lab equipment, and kindly footed the bill for many of the special analyses. I am also very grateful to Ken Lawrence who graciously provided lab equipment and supplies so I could conduct some of the iv geoarchaeoogical analyses in Austin, taught me all I ever wanted to know about phosphorus and magnetic susceptibility, and fixed the calcimeter gauge for me when I could not for the life of me figure out where the leak was coming from. Many thanks to Dr. Kevin Hanselka and Dr. Leslie Bush who took on the arduous task of sorting and analyzing the botanical remains from a dry rockshelter. I am grateful to Dr. Bousman for providing statistical support and helping me sort through the plethora of data I accumulated over the course of my thesis. My appreciation goes to Dr. Chris Jurgens for taking the time to sort through and analyze the hundreds of tiny bone fragments I recovered from the 4 mm size sieve. I would like to thank Dr. Ray Mauldin at CAR for processing the radiocarbon samples collected from UT North, and to all who contributed to the ASWT radiocarbon crowdfunding campaign, without which I would may not have been able to submit a second set of samples from UT North. My gratitude goes out to all of the core 2014 ASWT crew and innumerous volunteers that helped with the field work and post-field processing, especially Charles Koenig, Jacob Sullivan, Brooke Bonorden, and Bryan Heisinger. An extra special thank you to Jacob, who volunteered his free time to help me with the first rounds of geoarchaeological analysis. I would also like to thank my graduate cohort, especially the rest of the “Nutria” (inside joke), Amanda Castañeda and Spencer Lodge, for providing encouragement and v often much needed comic relief that helped me to maintain my sanity through this process. A special thank you to my rock sorting helpers, Ashley Eyeington, Amy Gray, and Alex Soto, I owe you all one! I would also like to thank all of my coworkers at SWCA and the many supervisors I have had over the last four years for being extremely flexible and patient and allowing me to take off time to conduct my fieldwork, analyses, and writing. Most importantly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents, John and Mary Nielsen, for providing moral support and financial help (and some last minute formatting help) and to the rest of my family and friends who encouraged me every step of the way. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. xi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Research Goals .............................................................................................3 Analytic Methods .........................................................................................6 Cultural Formation Processes ......................................................................8 Thesis Organization ...................................................................................11 II. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT AND ROCKSHELTER FORMATION ....13 Flora and Fauna..........................................................................................15 Rockshelter Formation ...............................................................................16 III. ARCHAEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND .......................................................22 Overview of Investigations in Eagle Nest Canyon ....................................24 Cultural Chronology of the Lower Pecos ..................................................36 IV. ROCKSHELTER USE ....................................................................................39 Rockshelter Occupation Models ................................................................39 Rockshelter Use .........................................................................................40 Activity Areas and Spatial Organization ...................................................41 Hinds Cave .....................................................................................43 Conejo Shelter ................................................................................44 Baker Cave .....................................................................................46 Moorehead Cave ............................................................................47 Skiles Shelter and Kelley Cave ......................................................48 vii Eagle Cave .....................................................................................49 Discussion and Conclusions ......................................................................50 V. FIELD AND LABORATORY METHODOLOGY .........................................53 Field Methods ............................................................................................53 Stratum and Physical Characteristic Documentation .....................54 Strat Sampling ................................................................................56 Geoarchaeological Sampling .........................................................56 Micromorphological Sampling ......................................................57 Laboratory Methods ...................................................................................60 Bulk Matrix and Artifact Sort ........................................................60 Macrobotanical Analysis ...............................................................61 Faunal Analysis ..............................................................................62 Radiocarbon Analysis ....................................................................63 Geoarchaeological Analysis .......................................................................63 Magnetic Susceptibility (MS) ........................................................64 Loss-on-Ignition (LOI) ..................................................................65 Calcium Carbonate Analysis ..........................................................66 Phosphorus Analyses .....................................................................67 Particle Size Analysis ....................................................................68 X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) ..............................................................69 Micromorph Sample Processing ....................................................69 Thin Section Analysis ....................................................................70 VI. STRATIGRAPHIC LAYER AND FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS AND RADIOCARBON ASSAYS ......................................................................71 Stratigraphic Documentation .....................................................................73 PS4A U5 ........................................................................................75 PS4B U11 Upper............................................................................78 PS4C U14
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