" Evfidfi Archaeologist Volume 5, Number 1, 1985

" EVfiDfi Archaeologist Volume 5, Number 1, 1985

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Obsidian Clovis point from the Coal Valley Water Gap, Southeastern Nevada (drawing by John Zaneanella) ...... ftda Archaeological Association Hvvada Archavologlcal BOARD Association The Board of the Nevada Archaeologist is elected by the members of the Nevada Archaeological Association. The Board appoints the editor of the Nevada Archaeologist The desigll for the NAA logo u'as taken from a Garfield Flat petroglyph for a term of three years. by Robert Elstoll. Member Janelle Nixon ARCHAEO-NEVADA SOCIETY Las Vegas, Nevada

MEMBERSHIP Member Rex Fraizer ARCHAEO-NEVADA SOCIETY The Nevada A rchaeological Association is an incor- Las Vegas, Nevada porated, non-profit organization registered in the State of Nevada, and has no paid employees. Membership is open Member James (Pat) Green to any person interested in archaeology and its allied NEVADA ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSN. sciences, and in the conservation of archaeological resources. Requests for membership and dues should be Member Amy Dansie sent to the corresponding secretary whose address is listed NEVADA ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSN. below. Make all checks and money orders payable to the Carson City, Nevada Nevada Archaeological Association. Membership cards will be issued on payment of dues, and active members Member Robert Elston Nevada Archaeologist. receive subscription to the Subscrip- Drawer A tion is by membership only, but individual or back issues Silver City, Nevada 89428 may be purchased separately. Member Sharon E. Taylor N.A.A. OFFICERS P.O. Box 1303 Fernley, Nevada 89408 President T. Hal Turner 885-5476 P.O. Box 2650 BACK ISSUES Carson City, NV 89702 Back issues of the Nevada Archaeologist may be ordered through Amy J. Dansie, Nevada State Museum, Secretary Jean Stevens Carson City, Nevada 89710. Checks or money orders P.O. Box 341 should be made out to the Nevada Archaeological East Ely, NV 89315 Association. Volume 1 (one issue), and Volume 2, Numbers 1 and 2, are available at $3.00 each issue. Treasurer Janelle Nixon Volume 3, Number 1 and following issues are $4.00. 1855 S. Duneville Street Las Vegas, NV 89152 FUTURE ISSUES Editor Donald R. Tuohy 885-4812 Manuscripts submitted to the Nevada Archaeologist Nevada State Museum should follow the style guide of the January, 1979 issue Capitol Complex of American Antiquity. Manuscripts should be typed and Carson City, NV 89710 double spaced throughout. including notes and bibli­ ography, and illustrations should be camera-ready with DUES a caption typed on a separate sheet of paper, also Student...... 5.00 double-spaced. Something less than these standards Active ...... 10.00 will be accepted reluctantly if what you have to say is Active Family...... 12.00 more important than the format expressed above. Supporting...... 25.00 Sponsor...... 50.00 More manuscripts relating to Nevada archaeology Patron...... 100.00 and anthropolgy, in general, are solicited.

All "Student" through "Patron" members receive sub- scription to the Nevada Archaeologist, the journal of the . Copyright by the Nevada Archaeological Association, Association. Spring 1985. HEVADA Archaeologist

Volume 5, Number 1 1985

ON ROCK ART As promised on the editorial page of the last issue of the Nevada Archaeologist (Volume 4, No.2), additional information on minimal standards for recording art sites is presented herein. The standards are those developed by the American Committee to Advance the Study of Petroglyphs and Pictographs, and were compiled by B.K Swartz, Jr. and nine contributors. Their work was summarized in Datum, Heritage Conservation Branch Newsletter, Volume 6, No.2, by Doris Lundy of the British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, and her permission to reprint the standards here is gratefully acknowledged.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Minimum Recording Standards Proposed by the American Committee to Advance the Study of Petroglyphs and Pictographs ...... 2 Amateur Archaeologists Speak - Tiny Points from the Carson and Humboldt Sinks by Norma and Herb Splatt...... 4 Clovis Points from Lahontan Reservoir and the Nevada Test Site, Nevada by Ronald L. Reno ...... 7 Clovis Point from Coal Valley Water Gap, Southeastern Nevada by Richard M. Ryan...... 10 A Snake Valley "Flooter" Notes on a Fluted Point from Snake Valley, East-Central Great Basin by Brian C. Amme ...... 13 Notes on the Great Basin Distribution of Clovis Fluted and Folsom Projectile Points by Donald R. Tuohy...... 15 A Preliminary Report on the Las Vegas Valley Archaeological Research Project by Kevin Rafferty...... 19

1 MINIMUM RECORDING STANDARDS nature and do not require physical contact. PROPOSED BY THE AMERICAN Careful photographic work and draughtsman­ COMMITTEE TO ADVANCE THE STUDY ship are probably sufficient for basic OF PETRO GLYPHS AND PICTOGRAPHS petroglyph and pictograph recording, but easy-to-record additional metric data should It is imposs~ble to prepare a uni­ be included to provide useful comparative versal, objective set of standards for information. recording petro glyphs and pictographs. Five types of petroglyph-pictograph Data collected often relate to specific records should be made. problems being investigated. Much of 1. FACE RECORDING FORM the data is not objective by nature -­ but is observational or contextual. Metric data (objective) Also, strictness of standards should Site and face (or panel) designation vary by site fragility and accessibility. Face datum A deteriorating petroglyph 100 miles Face dimensions (straight) from permanent settlement, encountered Face dimensions (surface) by a solitary archaeologist doing survey Direction of face (in degrees, compass, work in rugged wilderness, requires check for magnetic distortion, iron different treatment than one scheduled in rock, etc.) for imminent demolition by highway Inclination of face (in degrees, plumb construction or petroglyph that is bob and protractor) thoroughly stabilized. The following Height of base of face from ground standards are minimal and based on Height of top of face from ground non-returnable, transitory, single (check over-hangs, boulder tops, etc.) visits to friable surface localities. Discrete design element designation Important recording opportunities, such and dimensions as the relation of the season and time Distances between design elements of day with face-light exposure for Distance of design element data from photographic enhancement, are not al­ face datum ways available. Broad, regional archae­ Range of line width (for each discrete ological observations should be made in design element and each style) concert with specific petroglyph re­ Range of line depth (for each discrete cordings. design element and each style, In deciding which techniques to apply petroglyphs) in a particular case, one's goal should Cross-section of lines (for each discrete be optimal data recording with minimal design element and each style, petro­ resource destruction. Methods requir­ glyphs ing surface pressure, application or Colors including rock surfaces (Munsell insertion, such as painting (aluminum Color Chart, pictographs) powder, tempera, etc.), tracing, rub- Hardness of rock (Moh Scale) bing, molding or grid-anchoring, cannot Observational data (descriptive) be universally condoned and should not Vandalism be attempted on friable surface mark­ Natural defacement (e.g .. erosion of ings. These approaches can break down surface, waterlines, lichen, patinq, the basic rock structure or may con- smoke blackening, etc.) taminate or alter the surface, dis- Old ground surfaces torting potential trace-element studies. Superpositions Also, direct transfer records demand Type of rock greater storage space. Chalking should Conformation of rock (cracks, holes never be done; water spraying, espec- incorporation, etc.) ially of pictographs, should not be Wear surface (e.g. carved, cut, engraved, done unless there is no doubt that panel pecked, ground or abraded, rubbed, is scheduled for destruction. drilled, secondary smoothing, etc. for Various photographic techniques are petroglyphs; or brushed, daubed, blown, stressed, since they are documentary in stencilled, etc. if a pictograph)

2 I I. PHOTOGRAPHS V. GENERAL DESCRIPTION Take a large number of photographs, Mention the geomorphology of the area, especially if in inaccessible regions, landforms, e.g. routes, passes, washes, both fine-grained black and white, and, etc., site situation, e.g. river valley especially for pictographs, externally cliff, cave, mountain top, distribution coupled color (Kodachrome) film with of plant cover, location of other archaeo- a Macbeth ColorChecker. Avoid using logical sites in the area, cultural assoc- internally coupled film, even if truer iations (portable and non-portable), color is rendered. Vary exposure and especially diagnostic and decorated re­ angles, take close-ups, use slide- mains such as points and pottery, tools lighting, experiment with filters, and or materials that may have been used to panoramas from site and of site. produce the markings. Note unique features Photograph everything, attempt to use of the surroundings. This section can be constant distances and systematic refined and standardized by eventual coverage and record procedure. Keep comparison of such accounts in varied areas. records of photographs with site and Future conservation recommendations face designations. Scales are optional may be made based on site uniqueness, if face dimensions are recorded and may condition and location, i.e. ignore clutter photographs. Black and white (initate no policy-keep from public), negatives should be fully processed protect (barriers, fences, grilling, chemically -- not machine processed. security system), restore, stabilize Developed color film should be sent to (impregnation, coating), or salvage a professional laboratory for processing. (further, more intensive recording if Store prints in acid-free envelopes. being destroyed). III. DRAWINGS Compiled by: B.K. Swartz, Jr. Contributors: V.E. Richard Baravalle, Make drawings to a consistent scale. Georgia Lee, Doris Lundy, William Breen Work with pencils, so you may revise. Murray, Karen Nissen, Joseph J. Snyder, Use a different color for each technique James L. Swauger, Christy G. Turner II, of rendering, style, or pigment if Sharon L. Warner. pictograph, and to note by "drawing over" superpositions. Learn important The American Committee to Advance the design element conventions, note off- Study of Petroglyphs and Pictographs setting in designs. Do not assume the was organized in 1979-1980. It is com­ markings are art, and avoid interpretive posed of approximately 41 scholars. The preconceptions. Record all markings, Committee recognizes the fact that pro­ including "graffiti." If at all possible, fessional archaeologists have long have two or more persons make drawings neglected rock art research, and it seeks independently. Though comparable informa­ in part to rectify that situation. tion is on Face Recording Form include The foregoing paper on minimum scale, directional indicator and site and recording standards was one of the initial face designations on each drawing. projects of the Committee. IV. MAP Doris Lundy, Canadian Rock Art Research Associates, The map should show relationship Exhibits Division, of faces within sites, and of sites British Columbia Provincial Museum, to each other, unmarked boulders, trails, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 1A1. other significant landforms, data points (preferably from GS bench marks) to map, site and face, directional indicator, and complete field numbering of sites and faces.

3 AMATEUR ARCHAEOLOGISTS SPEAK by damming a part of the Lahontan irri­ Tiny Points from the gation drainage system. Carson and Humboldt Sinks The site is sand-covered interdune area with a moderate amount of vegetation. by It measures about 200 by 250 feet. The Norma and Herb Splatt surface has been somewhat disturbed. We know of at least one Search and Rescue When arrowhead collectors of north­ Squadron camp-out on this site during a west nevada get together, talk often weekend of practi~e maneuvers. We did not gets around the the tiny points of the dig any test pits, but a careful checking Carson and Humboldt Sinks. The refer­ of tire ruts and rodent holes leads us ence to tiny points pertains to any to believe that it is only a surface site. projectile point measuring 18.5 mm or The unusual aspect of this site is less and weighing under 0.7 g. Robert that the only artifacts found are the tiny Kelly (1983:33-36) has recently dis­ points, a few small flakes of chert and cussed these tiny points and has tenta­ tiny chips of obsidian; yet camp sites tively termed them "Carson Projectile within a 500 yard radius have produced Points. " Mary Ruseo (Ruseo and Davis many types of projectile points, shell 1983:185-187) also has discussed beads, and ground stone. miniature points from the Rye Patch The points on the site described herein Reservoir project, designating the are not concentrated in one spot, but are points "Rye Patch Miniatures". The lightly dispersed over the whole site. descriptive characteristics of Rusco's This seems to rule out burials or a cache, small paint, however, differ noticably unless at one time this was a sand dune from the tiny points reported herein. that has shifted, leaving a one-time con­ The smallest miniature point described centration now widely dispersed. Ninety­ by Rusco is larger than the largest five per cent of the projectile points in "tiny" point we have examined. Other this site are of obsidian. A few flakes descriptions of tiny paints are included are of chert, but there are quite a in Fenenga and Riddell (1949) and Tuohy number of tiny obsidian flakes. Could (1963). this have been a final finishing spot? Looking through several amateur If so, why are so many tiny projectile collections, we find the tiny points points still found there? were recovered almost exclusively in The tiny points are very weather worn, the Humboldt and Carson Sink areas. but one can still tell the ones that are They tend to be most similar to Elko fully chipped from the ones with only one and Rosegate series points in shape. edge chipped. The accompanying table The few found outside those two areas shows the proportions of types of chipping, seem to be similar to Cottonwood Tri­ material, and apparent type of projectile angular or Desert Side Notched types. point. In some amateur collections there are We have come to no conclusion as to very few tiny points; in others they the age or use of these tiny artifacts. run as high as 20% of the collection. Our hope is that we can encourage other I can think of two reasons for this. collectors to come forward with any infor- First, some people can easily miss mation they may have on tiny projectile such small artifacts. Second, in many points so that some day archaeological cases there is a heavy concentration researchers may find some answers. The of tiny points, so if one is found, apparent tendency for these distinctive many more are likely to be spotted. artifacts to occur in clusters suggests This report is about one site we some functional pattern, but much more have recorded, designated 26Ch769 in information on the distribution and as­ the Nevada State Museum site file. We sociations of these points is needed for know well over 100 tiny points were meaningful analysis to be possible. collected within the site area. We have 90 projectile points cataloged. The References Cited site is at an elevation of 3900 feet Fenenga, Franklin and Francis A. Riddell and it about 100 yards from Big Indian 1949 Excavation of Tommy Tucker Cave, Lake, which is an artificial lake made Lassen County, California.

4 American Antiquity, Volume 14(3). Salt Lake City.

Kelly, Robert L. 1983 An examination of amateur col ­ l e c tions from the Car son Sink, Ne vada. BLM Nevada, Contribu­ tions to the s t udy o f Cultural o Resources, Technical Report No. 10 , Reno . s .... Rusco , Mary K. and Jonathan O. Davis 1981 Th e Humboldt project, Rye Pat ch archaeology Phase IV - final 1 repor t. Nevada State Mus eum Ar chaeological Services Re ports. Carson City.

Tuohy, Donald R. 1963 Ar chaeological survey in south­ western Idaho and northern Nevada . Nevada St ate Museum An thropologi cal Papers, Number 8 . Carson City.

Figure 1. Three miniature point s found in a typical Stillwater playa site. Such sites usually contain groundstone fragments, many waste flakes, and Dese rt Si de-no tched pro­ jectile point s. These miniatur e po ints are Desert Side-notched also , but they differ in size, are finely-c hipped, and show very little weathering . These differences s uggest a possibl e different period of time a nd useage.

TABLE 1. Descriptive data on tiny projectile points .

SITE CHIPP ING MATERIAL POSSIBLE TYPES SIZE Full Full One Edg es Obs i­ Chert Elko Rose- Cotton- Un - Over Under Side Only Only dian Gate wood known 18.5 18.5 rom mID

26Ch769 58 13 19 87 3 4 1 43 2 4 1 89

Ca nvas- back Gun Club 21 17 21 14 3 o o 38

To tal 58 12 19 108 20 62 57 5 4 1 127

Total Sample Size : 128

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Figure 2 . Miniature points from s i te 26ch769, a site l ocated near Big I ndian Lake in the Cars on Sink , Churchill COlliIty) Nevau<:i. 6 CLOVIS PROJECTILE POINTS FROM at its base and were used to shape the LAHONTON RESERVOIR AND THE concave edge. The cross-section of the NEVADA TEST SITE, NEVADA point is lenticular in the portion anterior to the fluting. This cross­ by section is ideal for fluting purposes, as Ronald L. Reno it provides the craftsman with dorsal and Desert Research Institute, Reno ventral ridges to guide the course of the A Clovis Projectile Point Found at flutes. Lahontan Reservoir, Lyon County, Nevada Most of the flaking that can now be seen on this point is of comparatively On September 6, 1975 I recorded a recent origin. The base of the point is fluted projectile point on the edge of distinctly more weathered than the an­ Lahontan Reservoir in Lyon County, Nevada. terior portion. The reworked edge is still Due to the high probability that the very sharp and ragged, far too much so site would be disturbed by wave action or to have been residing in a relatively by collection by amateurs this artifact loose sand matrix for thousands of years. was collected; the collection location Also, several of the recent flakes over­ was permanently marked, and a site form ride the fluting scars. completed. The artifact is curated at The tip is truncated by a large num­ the Nevada State Museum in Carson City. ber of short steep flake scars that The site is located on the south terminate in hinges or steps in most side of the Dead Camel Mountains at an cases. These scars occur on both faces elevation of 4130 feet (Fig. 1). It is of the artifact, indicating a powerful about 90 meters downslope of the high blow from the front aligned on the long water line on a sand beach that is axis. Flake scars from the reworking of inundated annually. At present, only a the anterior portion of the artifact sparse scatter of small willows occur on predate the blow that demolished the the beach. This area was covered by low front of the point. shrubs before the construction of the Although there is no doubt this pro­ dam and reservoir. jectile point is a Clovis, there is no Unfortunately, the projectile point reason to believe that it was deposited appears to be an isolate. A basalt mana at the find spot in Paleo Indian times. was found about 10 meters from the loca­ In this case, the evidence suggests tion of the Clovis point two months that the Clovis point actually was cur­ after collection of the projectile point, ated as a Shoshonean or late Archaic but this association could easily be artifact in the context of the site accidental since artifacts of widely where it was found. Such a remarkable different ages are commonly found along artifact could easily have been re-used the shoreline. An extensive search in by a long succession of people and undisturbed sediments upslope of the found its way by trade over long distances. find failed to disclose any locations where artifacts were eroding into view. A Clovis Projectile Point from the The projectile point is made of a Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada very fine grained dark red chert. It On January 29, 1983, Dennis Bill weighs 16.3 grams, is 5.9 em long, collected a fluted projectile point base 3.3 em wide, and 0.75 em thick (Fig. 2). from a portion of a large lithic scatter Both lateral edges of the artifact near that occurs on both sides of Fortymile the base as well as the concave base Wash, which drains into the Amargosa display steep retouch and abrasion. Both Desert, Nye County, Nevada. This col­ the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the lection was being performed by the point are deeply fluted. The fluting Desert Research Institute to clear an was done primarily by the removal of area for a large gravel pit to serve one large flake from each surface, the needs of the proposed Nevada Nuclear although several smaller flakes con­ Waste Storage Facility on nearby Yucca tributed to the thinning of the point Mountain. This site (26Ny3193) and

7 others along the wash, collectively called on the basis of the da ta we have from the Fortymile Wa sh Quarry, are char­ the sites tested so far. acterized by on-the-spot reduction o f alluvial cobbles of red/ brown we lded tuff, References obsidian, and various cherts into bi­ Pippin, Lonnie C., Robert L. Clerico, and fac ial tools (Pippin, Clerico, and Ronald L. Reno Reno 1982:63-64). Many of the projectile 1982 An Archaeologi cal Reconnaissance points found along the wash are Great of the NNWSI Yucca Mountain Pro­ Basin Stemmed Series artifacts, although ject Area , So uthe rn Nye County, the chronol ogy of the surface remains is Nevada. Social Sciences Center somewhat confused by the presence of Publication No. 28. Desert Research smaller numbers of more recent point Institute, Reno. types. The Clovis is made of very fine Worman, Frederick C. V. grained white altered tuff (Fig. 3). 1969 Archaeologi cal Investigations at This tuff is heavily desert-varnished the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's in comparison with debitage of the s ame Nevada Test Site and Nuclear material t ype at the site. It is deeply Rocket Dev el opment Station. LA- fluted on both surfaces and heavily 412S,UC-2, General, Mi scellaneous edge-ground. The only complete measure­ and Progress Reports, TIDO-4500. ment for the specimen is the width, Los Alamos Sc ientific La boratory which is 31.5 rnm. Partial length is of the University o f California, 29.2 mm and it weight 6.3 grams. The Los Alamos. brea k in the projectile point has been used as the striking platform in an aborted a ttempt to rework the artifac t. Tes t pits at this and other terrace sites in the area indicate that while a number of artifacts are commonly f ound subsurface, at this time there is no indica tion that they are a result of anything more than turbation (Pippin 19 84:228) . Unfortunately , although sev­ eral distinc t activity areas have been defined on the s ite, preliminary results do no t indicate that the Clovis point can be r eliably associated with any of the m. Only one other basally thinned Clovis-like point has been found in the immediate v i cinity. This banded chert artifac t was found by Donald G. McGuffin at the McKinnis Site (26Ny218) which is located in Fortymile Canyon about 13 miles upstream of Site 26Ny3193 (Worman 1969:33). There is presently no indication tha t either of these points are more than isolates. Although some of the lithic debris occurring nearby may be associated with the point, such an association cannot yet be demonstrated. It also may be that the association of the Cl ovis point and the Great Basin Stemmed points is not fortuitous, but Fi gure 1. Location of Clovis projectile this a l so cannot be proven at this time point find spot at Lahonton Reservoir.

8 Length 57 .8 nun Width 33. 0 mm Thickness 7.5 nun Weight 16.3 g

Figure 2 . Clovis projectile point from the Lahontan Reservoir, Lyon Count y, Nevada (sketch by Shelly Moore).

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Fi gur e 3. Two views of a Cl ovis projectil e point from the Nevada Test Si te , Nye County , Nevada .

9 CLOVIS POINT FROM observations the inference is made that COAL VALLEY WATER GAP, the artifacts have not been transported SOUTHEASTERN NEVADA* for a great distance over a long period of time in the wash. It appears likely by that the obsidian artifacts have come out Richard M. Ryan of the side walls of the wash in a re­ Desert Research Institute, Reno cent slump. Also it was observed that The Coal Valley Water Gap Clovis point most of the surface artifacts in Water (Fig. 1) was recovered by Desert Research Gap are chert, while those found in the Institute archaeologists during an wash are obsidian. Two dark organic inventory and clearance survey for seismic lenses deep in the wash wall stratigraphy exploration in October, 1984 (Ryan and were noted near the find spot of the Reno 1984). Water Gap is BLM land in Clovis point. Whether this charcoal was southeastern Nevada and has a rather produced by human activity and is unique natural setting. The Golden Gate associated with the artifacts remains Range provides a division that separates to be determined. two large basins, Coal and Garden Valleys. Clovis points have been dated roughly The basin floors of the two valleys do around 9,000 B.C., which is within the connect, however, through a spectacular final surges of the Pleistocene, or Ice break in the Golden Gate Range known as Age, near the beginnings of the Holocene Water Gap. Through this opening an (modern Limes). Hence, the Clovis alluvial plain joins the bottoms of Coal culture has been variously referred to and Garden Valleys. The narrow passage as "Pleistocene Man, Ice Age Man, is a conduit for humans and animals Wisconsin Man, Glacial Man," and so Oll. alike to transit the two valleys. The It is agreed, although not unanimously, Clovis point was collected at 5,200 feet that Clovis was a hunting society. The (1,485 m) from the bottom of a single dry Rancholabrean Megafauna of the Ice Age wash which passes through Water Gap into included Casteroides, a large beaver Coal Valley. For a detailed prehistory weighing 450 lbs., Mylodon, the giant of Coal and Garden Valleys refer to Busby ground sloth, elephants, including Mammut (1979) as listed in the references. and Mammuthus, horses, camels, tapirs, The tip of the projectile point has numerous large cats, and Arctodus, an been broken and subsequently reworked. A enormous bear with speed far greater large flake scar begins at the tip of the than that of modern species. At that time, point and continues toward the base for the Great Basin enjoyed a climatic regime nearly a third of the point's total radically different from that of today. length (Fig. 1). This flake scar is an At present, Water Gap receives six to impact flute, the result of end shock at ten inches of annual rainfall and is time of breakage. One lateral edge of the considered semi-arid. During the glacial point near the base has been ground, and epoch it was markedly wetter. For example, the corresponding lateral edge is the barren playa of Coal Valley then naturally flat, being a surface left held a pluvial lake. The principal feeder from the blank stage. Both fluting stream which maintained this 69 square­ flakes taken from the base left flake mile freshwater lake was the now dry scars which terminate in a hinge fracture. Water Gap Wash. Furthermore, at higher Cross flake scars are parallel, broad, latitudes in the Great Basin, Bristlecone and were produced by well controlled Fine and other subalpine conifers percussion. The point has very little descended, thus dominating the vegetative fine retouch, and shows little evidence types to near pluvial levels (Thompson of stream rounding, considering that it and Mead 1982). In brief, Clovis culture is made of obsidian and came from the existed within plant and animal hot tom of a wash. Obsidian waste flakes communities adapted to an environment observed just upstream in the wash also differing vastly from that of our own were very little water-worn. From these experience.

* Permission to publish this note was granted by Dr. Cynthia Irwin-Williams who directed the field work for this project.

10 As yet, Nevada has no known deeply Table 1. Attributes of Coal Valley Water stratified Clovis sites*, with only sur­ Gap Clovis Point. face finds such as this one having been reported. The situation Water Gap Present length suggests is the possibility of a buried 58mm Estimated compo length Clovis component in the vicinity of the 65-8Omm Maximum width wash. Hopefully, further reconnaissance 26mm Width at base will be undertaken to assess the import­ 22mm Depth, basal concavity ance of the location and the signifi­ 3mm Length of fluting: cance of the site. obverse l6mm Acknowledgements: The author wishes to reverse l8mm acknowledge the efforts of John Length, lateral grinding l4mm Zancanella, BLM archaeologist, Ely, Weight 1195 g Nevada, who executed the line drawing Raw material obsidian accompanying the article. References Busby, Colin I. 1979 The Prehistory and Human Ecology of Garden and Coal Valleys: A Contribution to the Prehistory of Southeastern Nevada. Anthro­ pological Research Facility, Dept. of Anthropology, Univ. of Cal. Berkeley. Publication no. 39. Ryan, Richard M. and Ronald Reno 1984 Garden Valley, Nevada, seismic archaeological survey. BLM CR report no. 04-694(p), on file, BLM, Ely, Nevada. Thompson, Robert S. and Jim I. Mead 1982 Late Quaternary environments and biogeography of the Great Basin. Quaternary Research 17:39-55.

*Editor's note: A fragment of a Clovis Fluted point was recovered at site 26Pe670, the "Old Humboldt Site" in the Rye Patch Reservoir during exca­ vations there. The point was analyzed by E. Hattori, and it is reported by Davis (1984). Davis, Jonathan O. (editor) 1984 1983 Excavations at Archaeo­ logical Site 26Pe670 Rye Patch Reservoir, Nevada. Desert Research Institute Technical Report No. 38. Reno.

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Figure 1. Obsidian Clovis point from the Coal Valley Water Gap, Southeastern Nevada (drawing by John Zancanella). A SNAKE VALLEY "FLOaTER" TABLE 1 NOTES ON A FLUTED POINT FROM SNARE VALLEY SNARE VALLEY, EAST-CENTRAL GREAT BASIN FLUTED POINT DIMENSIONS By Length (tip missing) 5.3 cm. Length (overall) 6.2 cm. (projec­ Brian C. Annne ted with Ely District, Bureau of Land Management tip) Max. Width 2.6 cm. In late 1982, a fluted point was col­ Basal Width 2.4 cm. lected from the desert, northeast of Garri­ Basal Indention Ratio 0.3 cm. (3mm) son, Utah, at the southern end of Snake Max. Width Position 32% (projected Valley. Snake Valley is located along the 37% length) Nevada-Utah border in the east-central Basal Width/Max. Width Great Basin. The valley is bounded by the .92 Max. Thickness .6 cm. (6mm) Deep Creek Mountains to the west. The Length of flute 3.6 cm. site, an isolated find-spot, is located Wid th of flu te 1.3 cm. on the north alluvial fan piedmont slope Weight 11.25 grams of the Burbank Hills. The area is char­ acterized by bar or terrace features that Few fluted points have been reported from encompass an area of ponding. The ponding this area of the Great Basin. Examples are is associated with the remnant features of known from Dry Lake Valley, Long Valley, an arm of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, Steptoe Valley and Railroad Valley. One that once extended south into Snake Valley. fluted point from Railroad Valley bears The site was relocated in 1984, and the close resemblance to the Snake Valley find, lower bar features were surveyed with neg­ although it is slightly smaller in size and ative results. Bar features to the south, of basalt. A fluted variant, one that has and upslope, however, have not been sur- possibly been reworked, recently has been veyed, and still may yield further data. reported from Independence Valley. At this time the evidence suggests the The discovery of a fluted point in Snake fluted point to be an isolated occurrence. Valley is certainly an important and unique The fluted point is a Western Clovis, occurrence. Although Pleistocent Lake made from a light-tan, mottled chert. Bonneville once occupied this region, it The point is lanceloate in shape and dis­ is likely that the point is associated tinctly fluted on one site (Figure 1). with the remnant playas and marsh areas The opposite surface displays only a that characterize the Post-glacial Western small and distinctly 'thumbnail' type Pluvial Lakes Tradition. The Smith Creek flake scar, l.lcm. wide, and 0.9cm. Canyon rockshelters located 26 miles long. The point displays broad, fairly northwest, offer interesting associations even, parallel collateral flaking. The with the western pluvial adaptations in flake scars average about 0.5-0.6cm. in this region of the Great Basin (Tuohy and width. The base is moderately concave Rendall 1979). with fairly rounded basal projections. The proximal one-third of the point References (from max. width to base) has slight- Tuohy, Donald R. and Doris L. Rendall ly dulled lateral edges, possibly the 1979 The archaeology of Smith Creek result of preparation for hafting. Canyon, Eastern Nevada. Nevada Noticeable lateral edge grinding is State Museum Anthropological not present. The total length of dul­ Papers Number 17. Carson City. led edges corresponds closely with the Max. Width Pos. ratio. The cross-sec­ tion of the point is lenticular and bilaterally symmetrical. Dimensions are given in Table 1.

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Figure 1. A Clovis point made of chert from the Snake Valley in the East-central Great Basin. NOTES ON THE GREAT BASIN DISTRIBUTION nature of such Paleo-Indian incursions, OF CLOVIS FLUTED AND FOLSOM utilizations, or trade relationships. PROJECTILE POINTS References By Amme, Brian C. Donald R. Tuohy 1985 A Snake Valley "Flooter" Notes on This paper is written to supplement a fluted point from Snake Valley, the data presented by B. Amme, R. Ryan, east-central Great Basin. Nevada Archaeologist Vol. 5, Number 1. and R. Reno (this volume) on the distri­ Carson City. bution of Clovis and other fluted points in Nevada. It will also supplement a Blackburn, Thomas C. (editor) paper I recently authored on the same 1985 Woman, Poet, Scientist: Essays in topic (Tuohy 1985:144-160). The latter New World Anthropology honoring Dr. was included in the "festschrift" volume Emma Louise Davis. Ballena Press for Dr. Emma Louise Davis published by Anthropological Papers, No. 29, Los Ballena Press (Blackburn 1985). Because AI tos. my revision of a able and a distribution Clewlow, C. William map missed a deadline for the "fest­ 1968 Surface archaeology of the Black schrift" volume, the published version Rock Desert, Nevada. Reports of the therein is incomplete. Therefore, I am University of California Archaeolo­ taking this opportunity to publish the gical Survey, Number 73:1-93. revision for Figure 1 and Table 1 in Berkeley. the Nevada Archaeologist. In doing this, both the Utah and Davis, Emma Lou and Richard Shutler, Jr. Oregon distributions listed in Tables 1969 Recent discoveries of fluted points 2 and 3 respectively, and shown in in California and Nevada. The Figure 1 in the aforementioned publi­ Nevada State Museum Anthropological cation (Tuohy 1985:149-152), remain Papers 14:154-169. Carson City. unchanged. It is only the Nevada dis­ Davis, Jonathan (editor) tribution which needs to be corrected. o. 1984 1983 Excavations at archaeological Accordingly, the total number of sites site 26Pe670 Rye Patch Reservoir. or localities listed for Nevada in­ Desert Research Institute Social creases from 23 to 36 as shown in Sciences Center Technical Report Table 1 and in Figure 1. No. 38. Reno. The major difference between the previously published distribution map Elston, Robert G. (Tuohy 1985:150) and this one (Figure 1983 Gund Ranch Cultural Resource 1) is that more Clovis find-spots and Research and Preservation Program: sites are plotted both in the eastern Phase III. Report submitted to and western basins of Nevada, while the Nevada State Division of His­ the central and southern distributions toric Preservation and Archaeology. in the state remain about the same on Prepared by the Agricultural Exper­ the map. This kind of broad distri­ iment Station, the Max C. Fleisch­ bution information tends to support mann College of Agriculture, Uni­ recently postulated environmental and versity of Nevada, Reno. linguistic factors affecting disper­ C. Vance sal of native ethnic groups in the Haynes, 1964a Geochronology and Dispersion of Great Basin (Smith 1985, Rogers 1985). Clovis and Folson Projectile Points. There does seem to have been some selctivity exercised by Early Man for Science 145:1408-1413. certain basins as places for lakeshore 1964b Notes on Clovis Fluted Point From habitation or use. Future research in Huntoon Valley, Nevada. Manuscript the Great Basin should determine the on file, Department of Anthropology,

15 TABLE 1 PALEO INDIAN FINDS IN NEVADA

Site or Period of Literature Locality Number Occupation Reference

1. Lake Tonopah C Davis and Shutler 1969; Haynes 1964a; Tuohy 1969, 1984 2. Lovelock area C Davis and Shutler 1969 3. Caliente C Davis and Shutler 1969 4. Carlin F Davis and Shutler 1969 26Ek1 James 1981 5. Sarcobatus Flat c Davis and Shutler 1969 6. Washoe Lake C Davis and Shutler 1969; Tuohy 1977 7. Star Peak area F Davis and Shutler 1969 8. Black Rock Desert C Davis and Shutler 1969; Clew low 1968 9. Mud Lake C Davis and Shutler 1969 10. Lovelock C Davis and Shutler 1969 11. Huntoon Valley C Davis and Shutler 1969 12. Dry Lakes Valley C Davis and Shutler 1969 13. Walker Lake area C Tuohy 1971 14. Gilbert Dry Lake C Elston 1983 15. 26Ek962 (Elko County) C James 1981 16. Dry Lake Valley C Amme 1985 17. Groom Valley C Amme 1985 18. Kane Spring Wash C Perkins 1967 19. 26Ck404 (Clark County) C Perkins 1967 20. Clark and Lincoln Counties C,F Perkins 1968 21. No. Washoe County C Richards 1968 22. Nevada Test Site C Worman 1969; Pippin 1984 23. Rye Patch Reservoir C Rusco and Davis 1984; Davis 1984 24. Steptoe Valley C Amme 1985 25. Railroad Valley C Amme 1985 26. Long Valley C Hutchinson 1984; Amme 1985 27. Lahontan Reservoir C Reno 1985 28. Garden Valley C Ryan 1985 29. Yucca Mountain C Reno 1985 30. Timber Mountain C Pippin 1984 31. Montgomery Pass C Haynes 1964b 32. Truckee River C Tuohy (notes) 33. Spring Valley C Amme 1985 34. Coal Valley C Ryan 1985 35. Duck Flat C Layton 1977 36. Independence Valley C Amme 1985

16 I I>

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o ~ hOQ ...... r-=;::,;;-; 17,";;-,: t _--I- ~-_ C . -l

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Figure 1. Great Basin Paleo-Indian projectile point find spots or base camps ; see Table 1 f or key. The base map i s from Houghton 1976; r epr oduced with permissi on of Arthur H. Cl a rk Co.

17 the Nevada State Museum, Carson Rogers, Richard A. City. 1985 Hisconsinan glaciation and the Houghton, Samuel G. dispersal of native ethnic groups 1976 A Trace of Desert Haters: The in North America. In, "Woman, Poet, Scientist: Essays in New World Great Basin Story. The Arthur Anthropology Honoring Dr. Emma H. Clark Co. Glendale. Louise Davis." Ballena Press An- Hutchinson, P.W. thropological Papers No. 29:105-113. 1984 Archaeology: The Prehistoric Los Altos. Dwellers at Lake Hubbs; Lithic Mary K. and Jonathan O. Davis Artifacts from Lake Terraces. Rusco, 1982 The Humboled project, Rye Patch Manuscript on file, Nevada Reservoir, Phase IV: Archaeological State Museum, Carson City. Data Synthesis Final Report. Nev­ James, Stephen R. (editor) ada State Museum Archaeological 1981 Prehistory, Ethnohistory, and Services Reports. Carson City. History of Eastern Nevada. Ryan, Richard Culture Resource Series No.3, 1985 Clovis point from Coal Valley Hater Bureau of Land Management, Reno. Gap, Southeastern Nevada. Nevada Layton, Thomas N. Archaeologist Volume 5, Number 1. 1977 Letter from T.N. Layton to D. Carson City. Tuohy, November 5, 1977, regar­ Smith, George 1. ding an obsidian Clovis point 1985 Possible impacts on Early Man of on road to Eagleville, Calif. Late Quaternary lake fluctuations Perkins, R.F. in the Great Basin. In, lI~{oman, 1967 Clovis-like points in Southern Poet, Scientist: Essays in New Nevada. Nevada Archaeological World Anthropology in Honor of Dr. Survey Reporter 1(9):9-11. Enrrna Louise Davis." Ballena Press Reno. Anthropological Papers No. 29. Los Altos. 1968 Folsom and Sandia points from Clark County. Nevada Archaeo­ Tuohy, Donald R. logical Survey Reporter 2(4): 1985 Probable Early Man migration 4-6. Reno. routes in the Great Basin. In, Pippin, Lonnie C. (editor) "Woman, Poet, Scientist: Essays in New Horld Anthropology in Honor of 1984 Limited test excavations at Dr. Emma Louise Davis." Ballena selected archaeological sites Press Anthropological Papers No. in the NNHSI Mountain Project 19. Los Altos. Area, southern Nye County, Nevada. Desert Research Insti­ 1984 Implications of obsidian hydration tute Social Sciences Technical Report No.4. Reno. readings and source determinations for 28 presumed "Early Man" points Reno, Ronald L. from Nevada. In, "Obsidian Studies 1985 Clovis Points from the Lahon­ in the Great Basin," edited by tan Reservoir and the Nevada Richard E. Hughes, pp. 193-221. Test Site, Nevada. Nevada Ar­ Contributions of the University of chaeologist, Volume 5, Number California Archaeological Research 1, Carson City. Facility, Number 45. Berkeley. Richards, Brian 1977 More on Clovis points from Washoe 1968 A Clovis point from Northwest­ Lake, Nevada. Nevada Archaeological ern Nevada. Nevada Archaeolo­ Survey Reporter 10(4):1-7. Reno. gical Survey Reporter 2(3): 13-14. Reno.

18 A Preliminary Report on the community for many years. Las Vegas Valley Things began to change in the 1970s Archaeological Research Project with the entry of the federal government into cultural resource management, which by has prompted much of the work that has Kevin Rafferty, Director taken place in the last decade. Most of Division of Anthropological Studies this work has been of a piecemeal nature Environmental Research Center consisting of small, project specific University of Nevada, Las Vegas surveys aimed at clearance of land slated for development although there ABSTRACT have been exceptions to this rule (Lyneis Las Vegas Valley has been a poorly et al. 1978, 1979). Thus, the archaeology understood and badly neglected research of this region has lagged far behind area whose importance as a frontier zone the rest of the Great Basin or the South­ between several cultural traditions has west in areas such as culture history, been misunderstood. Recent excavations settlement/subsistence patterns, and at an Anasazi/Paiute campsite, survey other research concerns. data from riparian zones within and This paper discusses recent work adjacent to Las Vegas and the analyses conducted by the Division of Anthropo­ of settlement/subsistence patterns logical Studies (DAS), University of through time reveal a rich pattern of Nevada, Las Vegas in the last year aimed occupation dating at least to the Lake at looking at some of these questions. Mojave Period (9,000-7,500 B.P.). Further Two surveys (Rafferty 1984a, 1984b), one evidence is presented to demonstrate of which has recently concluded, and two the importance of the Las Vegas Valley excavation projects (Green, Rafferty as a contact zone for several different and Blair 1983; Rafferty and Blair 1984a) cultural traditions during the Puebloan have provided fresh data on the Las Period (2,000-850 B.P.). Vegas Valley and suggest that this area, and indeed all of southern Nevada, is Introduction unlike anywhere in the Great Basin ~ith Since the early 1900s it has been cultural traditions originating in south­ known that the Las Vegas Valley and sur­ ern California, the Great Basin and the rounding regions had a diverse archaeo­ Southwest having been present in logical data base (Duffield 1904; Kidder the region. The study area was a unique 1924). The history of research in the cultural frontier where cultures met valley has been a checkered one despite this knowledge. Sites such as Gypsum and, in some cases, blended to form new and unusual patterns. Based on this Cave (Harrington 1933) and Tule Springs research, preliminary exposition of the (Harrington 1934; Harrington and Simpson data and new ideas concerning the region 1961; Wormington and Ellis 1967) attracted the attention of the national are presented. archaeological community for short ENVIRONMENT periods due to their involvement in the The Las Vegas Valley (Map 1) lies Ilearly man" controversies that arose in the Mojave Desert with a climate earlier in the century_ However the typical of the area. Summers are hot main focus of research in southern and dry while winter temperatures average Nevada was on the Virgin Anasazi ruins comfortably above freezing. This allows in the Virgin and Muddy River valleys for a minimum of 230 continuous frost­ both early in the century (cf. Shutler free days a year. Precipitation is sparse, 1961) and of late, in the form of averaging only 4.7" a year. There is several Master's theses (Jenkins 1981; significant year-to-year variation that Clark 1982) and one doctoral disserta­ may have had serious consequences for tion (Soule 1981). Las Vegas was the aboriginal inhabitants of the region treated with a sort of benign neglect, (USDT,BLM 1980; NOAA 1955-1978). left unattended by the professional The valley is dominated by the creosote

19 OREGON I D A H 0

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Map 1. The inset shows the project area of the Las Vegas and Duck Creek surveys.(Based on Las Vegas 15' USGS, 1952; Las Vegas SW and SE 7.5' USGS, 19(2).

20 TABLE 1. Cultural Chronology, Las Vegas Valley

Period Time Span Cultural Slgnificata

Tule Springs ca. 13,000-10,000 B.P. Paleo Indian Period - fluted points, megafauna.

Lake Mojave ca. 9,000-7,500 B.P. Generalized hunters and gatherers adapted to woodlands/grasslands ecozones: rockrings or cleared areas; Lake Mohave, Silver Lake points.

Hiatus (?) ca. 7,500-5,500 B.P. Aridity leads to abandonment of southern Nevada; hypothetical unproven period.

Pinto-Gypsum ca. 5,500-2,000 B.P. Archaic Period - desert hunters and gatherers; Pinto, Gypsum, Elko, Humboldt points; seed grinding; exploitation of a wide variety of ecozones; Proto-Numic peoples.

Puebloan ca. 2,000-850 B.P. Occupation of Las Vegas by Virgin Anasazi due to population pressure and requirements of long distance trade network; symbiotic relationship developed with Numics, contact with Lower Coloradoan groups.

Paiute ca. 850-200 B.P. Virgin Anasazi abandon region; Paiute and Lower Coloradoan groups reside in and exploit valley resources; semi-sedentary occupation of the region.

Historic ca. 200 B.P.-Present Anglo or European settlement; destruction of Paiute culture.

21 vegetative community and it's assoc- see Rafferty 1984b; also Table 1) were iated flora and fauna. There are also unknown although isolated artifacts from numerous springs and seeps that helped the period have been recorded. Data from to create two semipermanent streams in the ceramic periods are abundant although the valley, Las Vegas and Duck Creek analysis and interpretation of these (Map 1). These streams supported a large data have been generally lacking. riparian community. A large mesquite A note of uncertainty has been added forest, three miles wide and twelve to this picture by the rapid destruction miles long, existed on the eastern of the data base by the expansion of the side of the valley (Paher 1971; Lyneis Las Vegas urban area. Because of this a et al. 1979). large scale program to record and recover The major faunal resource was the as much of this data as possible was desert tortoise (Gopherus agassazi) and needed. Therefore, the Division of Anthro­ rabbits, along with quail and numerous pological Studies has launched a two-to­ other small rodents and birds. The three year program of survey and excava- nearby Spring Mountains contained abun- tion to achieve this goal. The results dant floral resources such as juniper, of the first stage of this project pinyon, agave, Opuntia sps., gambel's (Rafferty 1984b, 1984c), plus the data oak, and wild grape while faunal re­ from three other projects have been sources included mule and white tail integrated into a larger, more compre- deer, bighorn sheep, rabbits and other hensive picture of Las Vegas Valley pre­ small game (USDI, BLM 1980). history. The results of this research The last major resource in the have been enlightening and the second valley enumerated here is the presence of year promises even better results. the Glendale-Land association soils 1983-1984 Research which are centered around the semi- Contract archaeology can make a permanent creeks and the Las Vegas major contribution to the general field Wash drainage system. These soils are of archaeology through the establishment quite productive when irrigated for of research designs to guide the work agriculture (Langan et al. 1957). (Goodyear et al. 1978; McGimsey and The numerous sand dunes adjacent to Davis 1977; Schiffer and Gumerman 1977). these soils were also exploitable for Two documents, the Nevada Archaeological agriculture in much the same way as Element (Lyneis 1982) and the author's that employed by the Hopi (Hack 1942; own Las Vegas Valley overview (Rafferty Plog 1978) and prehistoric Anasazi 1984c) provided the basic framework for groups in north-central Arizona (Doyel future work. The synthesis of these two 1981). Historic Paiutes practiced horti­ works provides a rough chronological culture in the valley (Stoffle and skeleton (Table 1) for the interpretation Dobyns 1983), and it is likely that the of the archaeological remains and a set Virgin Anasazi groups that lived in the of research questions and implications valley did the same (Rafferty 1984a, to be asked of the data. 1984b; Rafferty and Blair 1984a). Funded by the Nevada Division of The study area was attractive for human habitation, therefore it would be Historic Preservation and Archaeology, the Las Vegas Archaeological Project was expected that the archaeological record proposed as a combined sample and intui­ of the area would be diverse and rich with a long history. This is what the tive survey in the southern portion of earliest work has indicated. Time depth the Las Vegas Valley, centered around the Duck Creek and Whitney Mesa area. to Paleo Indian times has been suggested by the Tule Springs excavations. Archaic This area was selected due to the presence Period occupation is suggested by the of water in the recent past and the Gypsum Cave work and intuitive surveys presence of previously recorded sites. Such an area would have attracted human around Duck Creek. However, sites of the Lake Mojave Period (9,000-7,500 B.P.; groups as long as water was available,

22 characteristics. One such use could have capabilities of the culture in question been as storage caches for seeds that (Rafferty 1984b, 1984c). could not be transported back to base The mixture of artifactual materials camps or habitation areas. An additional provided complicating factors to the inter­ use could have been as water catchment pretations. Of the 34 sites, four were features in areas with little or no pure Virgin Anasazi, six Paiute, 10 permanent water sources, such as the Lower Coloradoan and eight contained California Wash area north of Las Vegas. artifacts from all three traditions. Chinked with mud, such features would The remaining six contained various com­ allow use of extremely arid and waterless binations of materials. All of the base areas in summer months following rains. camps contained materials from all three By storing rainfall that brought on the traditions and the percentage of mix­ initial flowering of wild floral re­ ture was significant: Paiute and Lower sources, the range and time period during Coloradoan material comprised no less which the gathering of wild resources than 11 percent of the assemblages of took place would be extended. There are these sites and in some instances com­ probably other uses that these features prised 40 percent or more of the total. could have been employed and future Excavations performed by DAS prior to research will help to reveal these uses. the survey (Rafferty and Blair 1984a) The Pinto-Gypsum Period, dated 5,500- at the Midby Site revealed a mixture 2,000 B.P., is represented by six sites of ceramics that were 11 percent Lower in the study area including one, the Coloradoan and 26 percent Paiute, with Beland Site, excavated by DAS in 1983 the rest being Virgin Anasazi. Data (Green, Rafferty and Blair 1983). from the Berger Site also confirm this Cross-dated by the presence of Pinto, sort of ceramic mixture at local sites. Gypsum, Humboldt and Elko points, these The exact relationships of these cul­ sites were situated on, or adjacent to, tures is uncertain, but based on the mesquite covered dunes near springs or research of the last year and a half, Duck Creek. The one possible exception our hypothesis is this: the Anasazi was one site containing rock circles, and Paiute may have occupied sites situated on desert pavement south of simultaneously and that the so-called Duck Creek, which contained a Pinto "Numic expansionll never occurred, at point. This sort of data was present in least in southern Nevada (Cf. Rafferty the Las Vegas Wash area and thus was and Blair 1984b). Several researchers not entirely unexpected. These sites note that both the linguistic (Miller represent a generalized hunting/gather­ 1966; Goss 1977) and archaeological ing population oriented around the Duck data (Fowler et al. 1973: Lyneis 1982b) Creek riparian zone (Rafferty 1984b, for the Numic expansion are quite weak 1984c). and may not fully support such an The following Puebloan and Paiute hypothesis. There are both archaeological periods contained the most numerous sites and ethnohistorical data that in many recorded in the field surveyor records areas of the Southwest sedentary agri­ search, 34 or 32 percent of the site culturalists and mobile hunter/gatherers totals. They also provided the most con­ coexisted, perhaps in a symbiotic fash­ fusing data to deal with. Three environ­ ion, often at the same sites (Upham mental variables seemed to govern site 1982, 1984). Given this evidence the location: location within mesquite­ main hypothesis of in situ Paiute devel­ covered dune areas; location within 3/4 opment becomes much more plausible. They of a mile of Duck Creek; and being could have acquired the arts of ceramic situated within or adjacent to the manufacture and horticulture from the Glendale-Land soils. Thus, it is possible Anasazi in exchange for information on that sites could be oriented towards locally available resources, trade items hunting and gathering, or agriculture, and other information valuable to the or both, given the possibilities pro­ Virgin Anasazi. A modern analogy would vided by the environment and the be the relationship developed between

23 which, in this area, was many thousands discussed and placed into perspective in of years. the survey report, including a number A survey universe of 25,000 acres that have been destroyed in the last 10 was delineated and a 10 percent sample years. Examination of the data revealed of the universe was selected for survey. patterns that had been unexpected or un­ A simple random sample was used and recorded for the study area (see resulted in 55-40 acre quadrats being Rafferty 1984b, 1984c for detail). surveyed. This scheme was selected due Results to the presence of many highly developed No sites of Paleolndian age were areas being located in the study unit recorded by the survey. This may be boundaries and because only two environ­ attributed to either the burial of sites mental zones - the Duck Creek riparian by alluvial deposition or destruction of zone (the largest percentage of the study these sites by local collectors or van­ area) and the creosote bush/desert pave­ dals. ment area (roughly 24 percent of the The following Lake Mojave Period, area) - were present in the study area. defined as dating between 9,000 and These complications negated any advantage 7,500 B.P. (Rafferty 1984b), was repre­ that stratifying the survey area would sented by five, and perhaps six, sites in have provided. the study area. Five of them contained An additional 15-40 acre quadrats rock circles or cleared areas and the were selected intuitively. These were artifact assemblages from these sites placed in locations where development resembled those described as Malpais immediately threatened the destruction (Rogers 1939), San Dieguito (Warren 1967), of suspected site concentrations or in Western Lithic Co-tradition (Davis 1978), areas where the environmental variables or Western Pluvial Lakes Tradition led the project director to suspect (Bedwell 1978, 1973; Hester 1973). These sites would be located. The 70 quadrats sites were situated on desert pavement chosen resulted in a 12.5 percent sample and were proximal to water sources of the survey universe. either now dry or greatly reduced, such Additional archival research was as Duck Creek. One site, 26Ck333, was undertaken to identify and to recover situated on Whitney Mesa south of Duck data already recovered from the survey Creek and contained at least 25 rings area. The archives of DAS and the lab­ and thousands of basalt cobble/chopper oratory of the Department of Anthro­ tools in the area of III acres. This pology, University of Nevada, Las site was occupied during several time Vegas were researched and data from periods but seems essentially to date to previous projects and field methods this period (Rafferty 1984b, 1984c). classes run by the Department of Anthro­ Sites quite similar to these have pology over the last 10-15 years were been recorded in the Las Vegas Wash area gathered and included in the survey re­ northeast of the study area by the Divi­ port. sion of Anthropological Studies both A total of 50 sites were recorded this previous spring (Rafferty 1984a) and during the field survey phase of the in the late 1970s (Ferraro 1975; project, ranging in type from isolated Ferraro and Ellis 1982). A total of 48 artifacts to rock circle/fragile pattern rock circle sites were recorded in the sites to ceramic period campsites and wash area, some containing artifacts gathering loci. The archival research similar to those found in the study area, allowed five sites that were previously while other artifacts date from the collected but not officially recorded to Archaic, Puebloan and Paiute periods. be entered into the Nevada State Museum Blair (1984), in a preliminary study records system. Data for an additional of such rock features, has suggested two 50 sites already assigned Smithsonian possible uses for these features depend­ numbers were recovered by the archival ing on their size and morphological research. Thus a total of 105 sites were

24

:my Q the Paiute and early Anglo settlers in the Virgin Anasazi and the Paiute~ based southern Nevada where the Paiute entered on the continuing mixtures of Lower into a relationship with the settlers Colorado artifacts in sites containing (mostly out of necessity) exchanging those of other cultural traditions information and labor for medical treat­ (Rafferty 1984b, 1984c). ment, employment and food. To believe Based on the ceramics present there, that similar situations could not the Virgin Anasazi groups resided in the develop in the prehistoric past is at area from A.D. 500-1150/1200, the majority best ethnocentric. of their occupational duration in southern Following the Virgin Anasazi aban­ Nevada. Confusion in the Paiute and Lower donment of the region, the Paiute re­ Colorado ceramic sequences makes an mained in their ancestral lands and assessment of the dates for these groups evolved into the peoples recorded and difficult. Both traditions' ceramics have discussed by the earliest explorers use-spans ranging from the ninth or tenth and settlers in the region. centuries A.D. to the late 1800s, and The reasons for the Anasazi occu­ thus the best that can be said is that pation were essentially two-fold. The the Paiute and Lower Colorado groups first was to provide living space for resided in Las Vegas somewhere in this an expanding population during the time span overlapping the Anasazi Lost City phase (A.D. 700-1100) of occupation. Only Paiute groups are de­ Virgin Anasazi prehistory. The second scribed by the earliest explorers and reason was to facilitate the acquisi­ settlers in the Las Vegas area so the tion of rare resources such as tur­ Lower Colorado groups most likely left quoise, salt, shell and other items the area prior to the first white contact. from the southern California and Conclusion southern Nevada regions for use in The first phase of the Las Vegas Valley the pan-Southwestern trade system Archaeological Project has produced a large that eventually centered on Chaco body of data both usable and, in some Canyon by the 11th and 12th centuries cases, unexpected. Phase II in 1985 will A.D. Las Vegas would have been a include test excavations and mapping of nexus of occupation that could several of the larger Phase I sites, provision expeditions to and from plus additional survey work. It is the southern California, the Colorado intention of DAS to continue to push River Valley, and into the Great the archaeological data in the study area Basin. Such acquired resources were to their logical extremes to flesh out eventually taken to Lost City and the culture history, delineate the pat­ from there passed into the pan­ terns of contact between cultures in Southwestern trade system. This trade the valley, and deal with questions of eventually involved the Virgin Anasazi culture process as they are manifest in in the Mesoamerican "World System" of economic and political relation- the archaeological record. This may be the last chance that the profession ships directed from the Toltec capital of Tula (Rafferty and Blair 1984b; has to gather data to answer these questions in the Las Vegas area, given Rafferty 1984b; 1984d, 1984e, n.d.). the rapid development of the region. The sheer quantity of Lower Colo­ Las Vegas was unique in the prehistory rado sites in the study area was quite of the Great Basin and the Southwest surprising. Twenty-three of the thirty­ four sites contained either pure or and we hope to demonstrate this over the next few years. This research has mixed assemblages from this tradition. Thus it seems that these peoples used much to offer the general body of archaeological fact and theory if the study area and the southern Nevada developed properly, and we plan to do region much more intensively than has just that. been previously suspected. They also seem to have been in close contact with

25 References Ferraro, David and Robert Ellis Bedwell, Stephen F. 1982 The survey and mitigation of 1970 Prehistory and environment of thirteen archaeological sites the Pluvial Fork Rock Lake area within the Las Vegas Wash Pro­ of south-central Oregon. Doctoral ject. ARC Report 1-3-13. Archaeo­ dissertation, Department of logical Research Center, Museum Anthropology, University of of Natural History, University Oregon. of Nevada, Las Vegas. 1973 Fort Rock Basin prehistory. Goodyear, Albert C., L. Mark Raab, and University of Oregon Press, T.C. Klinger Eugene. 1978 The status of archaeological research design in cultural re­ Binford, Lewis R. source management. American 1980 Willow smoke and dog's tails: hunter­ Antiquity 43(2):159-173. gatherer settlement systems and archaeological site formation. Goss, James A. American Antiquity 45(1):4-20. 1977 Linguistic tools for the Great Basin prehistorian. In Models Blair, Lynda and Great Basin prehistory-a 1984 Minimal architectural features symposium, edited by Don Fowler. in southern Nevada. Paper pre­ Desert Research Institute Publi­ sented at the 19th Biennial cations in the Social Sciences Great Basin Anthropological 12:49-70. Reno. Conference, Boise. Green, Eileen, Kevin Rafferty and Clark, Jeanne Wilson Lynda Blair 1984 Prehistoric settlement in the 1983 Archaeological test excavations Moapa Valley. Nevada State at 26Ck3186, Paradise Valley, Museum Anthropological Papers, Nevada. DAS Report 5-62-2. Number 20, pp 1-136, Carson City. Division of Anthropological Davis, E. L. Studies, Environmental Research 1978 The ancient Californians: Center, University of Nevada, Rancholabrean hunters of the Las Vegas. Mojave Lakes County. Science Hack, John T. Series 29. Natural History Museum 1942 The changing physical environ­ of Los Angeles County. ment of the Hopi Indians of Doyel, David Arizona. Papers of Peabody 1981 Prehistoric environment, sub­ Museum of American Archaeology sistence and land use in Dead and Ethnology 35(1). Cambridge. Valley, east-central Arizona. Harrington, Mark R. The Kiva 46(3):143-153. 1933 Gypsum Cave, Nevada. Southwest Duffield, M. S. Museum Papers 8. Los Angeles. 1904 Aboriginal remains in Nevada 1935 A camel hunter's camp in and Utah. American Anthro­ Nevada. The Masterkey 8(1):22-24. pologist 6. Harrington, Mark R. and Ruth D. Simpson Ferraro, David 1961 Tule Springs, Nevada, with other 1975 Colorado River Basin Salinity evidences of Pleistocene Man Control Project, Title II-Las in North America. Southwest Vegas Wash Unit, Nevada­ Museum Papers 18. Los Angeles. Archaeological Research in the Las Vegas Wash. ARC Report 1-3-2. Hester, Thomas Roy Archaeological Research Center, 1973 Chronological ordering of Great Museum of Natural History, Basin prehistory. Contributions University of Nevada, Las Vegas. of the University of California Archaeological Research Facility 17. Berkeley.

26 Jenkins, Dennis National Oceanic and Atmospheric 1981 Cliff's Edge: a Pueblo I site Administration on the lower Virgin River. 1955- Climatological data summary, Unpublished M.A. Thesis, 1978 Nevada. Climatic Center, Ashville, Department of Anthropology, North Carolina. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Paher, Stanley 1971 Las Vegas: as it began-as it grew. Kidder, Alfred E. Nevada Publications, Las Vegas. 1924 Introduction to Southwestern Archaeology. Yale University Plog, Fred 1978 The Keresan bridge; an ecological Press, New Haven. and archaeological account. In Langan, L. N., L. I. Larson and Social archaeology: beyond sub­ C. T. George sistence and dating, edited by 1957 Soil survey of the Las Vegas C.L. Redman et al. Academic Press, and Eldorado Valleys area, New York. Nevada. United States Depart­ ment of Agriculture, Soil Rafferty, Kevin 1984a A cultural resource survey of the Conservation Service, Washington. proposed Lake at Las Vegas reser­ Lyneis, Margaret (compiler) voir development catchment basin 1982a An archaeological element for in the Las Vegas Wash, Clark the Nevada Historic Preservation County, Nevada. DAS Report 5-7-4. Plan, 1982. Prepared for the Division of Anthropological Nevada Division of Historic Studies, Environmental Research Preservation and Archaeology, Center, University of Nevada, Carson City. Las Vegas. 1982b Prehistory in the southern 1984b On common ground: Las Vegas as a Great Basin. In Man and cultural frontier in prehistory. environment in the Great Basin, DAS Report 2-5-10. Division of edited by David B. Madsen and Anthropological Studies, Environ­ James O'Connell. Society for mental Research Center, University American Archaeology Papers of Nevada, Las Vegas. 2:172-185. 1984c Archaeological research in the Lyneis, Margaret, J. W. Clark, E. Acker Las Vegas Valley. Paper presented and T. Shepperson at the 19th Biennial Great Basin 1979 Archaeological inventory, City Anthropological Conference, of Las Vegas, Phase II. Depart­ Boise Idaho. ment of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. 1984d Cultural resources overview of the Las Vegas Valley. Contribu­ Lyneis, Margaret, J. W. Clark, R. tions to the Study of Cultural McCarty and T. Shepperson Resources, Technical Report in 1978 Archaeological element, his­ press. Bureau of Land Management, toric preservation assessment Reno. and planning process, City of Las Vegas. Department of 1984e Virgin Anasazi settlement in the Anthropology, University of Las Vegas Valley, Southern Nevada. Nevada, Las Vegas. Paper presented at the 49th Annual Meetings of the Society McGimsey, C. R. and H. A. Davis of American Archaeology, Portland. 1977 The management of archaeo­ n.d. The Virgin Anasazi and the Pan­ logical resources: the Airlie Southwestern trade system, A.D. House Report. Special Publi­ 900-1100. Ms. on file, Division of cation of the Society for Anthropological Studies, Environ­ American Archaeology. Washington. mental Research Center, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

27 Rafferty, Kevin and Lynda Blair Upham, Steadman 1984a Archaeological mitigation of 1982 Politics and power. Academic 26Ck3115 and 26Ck3117, Midby Press, New York. Complex, Paradise Valley, Adaptive diversity and South­ Nevada: final phase. DAS Report 1984 5-50-4. Division of Anthropo­ western abandonment. Journal of Anthropological Research 40 logical Studies, Environmental (2) . Research center, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Warren, Claude N. 1967 The San Dieguito Complex: a 1984b Billy Goat Peak: an investi­ gation and reinterpretation of review and hypothesis. American Antiquity 32(2):168-185. Virgin Anasazi and Paiute prehistory. DAS Report 2-5-9. Warren, Claude N., Martha Knack and Division of Anthropological Elizabeth von Till Warren Studies, Environmental Research 1980 A cultural resource overview Center, University of Nevada, of the Amargosa-Mojave Basin Las Vegas. Planning Units. Cultural Resources Publications: Anthro­ Rogers, Malcolm J. pology-History. Bureau of Land 1939 Early lithic industries of the lower basin of the Colorado Management. Riverside. River. San Diego Museum Papers 3. Wormington, H. M. and D. Ellis (editors) 1967 Pleistocene studies in southern Schiffer, Michael and George Gumerman Nevada. Nevada State Museum 1977 Conservation archaeology. Anthropological Papers 13. Academic Press, New York. Shutler, Richard, Jr. 1961 Lost City: Pueblo Grande de Nevada. Nevada State Museum Anthropological Papers 5. Carson City. Soule, Edwin C. 1981 Agriculture, aridity and salinity in the prehistoric Moapa Valley. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside. Stoffle, R. W. and H. F. Dobyns 1983 Nuvugantu: Nevada Indians comment on the Intermountain Power Project. Cultural Resource Series 7. Bureau of Land Manage- ment. Susia, Margaret 1964 Tule Springs archaeological surface survey. Nevada State Museum Anthropological Papers 12. Carson City. United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management 1980 Final environmental assessment NV-050-9-30, oil and gas leasing in the Red Rock Canyon Recreation Lands. Las Vegas District Office.

28 The Nevada Archaeological Association was organized in 1972 to provide a bond of communication be­ tween professionals in the field of archaeology and its allied sciences, members of various amateur organizations, and the people of Nevada towards the furtherance of public education and involvement in responsible preservation of Nevada's finite archaeological and historical resources. The need for recording these cultural resources of the past for the enlightenment of future generations grows more pressing with each day of development and progress. The goals of the Nevada Archae­ ological Association are: to provide a focal point for general information and study of non-renewable cultural resources; to provide a central point for recording artifact collections from Nevada and the Great Basin and the verbal knowledge of provenience and associations accompanying these collections; to correlate this knowledge with that information already professionally recorded for the mutual benefit of the amateurs and professionals with research interests; to provide assistance with education towards responsible public participation in archaeology; to assist in the preservation of sites by the establishment and maintenance of a registry of available, capable, and technically skilled amateurs in Nevada who would be able to work with professionals in accordance with the Code of Ethics and Standards of Research Performance as advocated by the Society of Professional Archaeologists, particularly in the immediacy of salvage archaeology; and to provide a bond of communication between professionals, amateurs, and the general public by publishing a journal, Nevada Archaeologist. To these ends the Nevada Archaeological Association was incorporated in 1972, in the State of Nevada, with its organizational and editorial offices as listed on the inside cover, and with designated conference and meeting center located in Tonopah, Nevada. Membership is open to all those interested in the archaeology, ethnology, and history of the human inhabitants and their natural habitats in Nevada, the Great Basin, and adjacent environs.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES IN NEVADA

NEVADA ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION In Las Vegas: THE ARCHAEO-NEVADA SOCIETY OFFICERS President: Rex Fraizer NAA President 85 T. Hal Turner Treasurer: Marion Van Buren NAA Treasurer 85 Janelle Nixon Secretary: Helen Dwyer NAA Secretary 85 Jean Stevens & family 3176 Camelback Drive NAA Board Amy Dansie Las Vegas, NV 89109 NAA Board Sharon Edabum-Taylor Telephone: (702) 735-4878 NAA Board Robert Elston NAA Board James (Pat) Green

In Fallon: Churchill County Chapter of the In Reno: AM-ARCS OF NEVADA NEVADA ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSN. President: David S. Johnson President: Myrl Nygren Treasurer: Kitty Rose Vice-President: Dianne Jennings Secretary: vacant Secretary-Treasurer: Ginger Stockton Telephone: (702) 882-1506 c/o Churchill County Museum 1050 South Maine Fallon, Nevada 89406 Telephone: (702) 423-3677

Residents of all other Nevada communities are asked to join the Nevada Archaeological Association until such time as there are sufficient numbers of people willing to form local chapters of the above organization. Information on the Constitutions and By-laws of the above organizations may be obtained at cost from the secretaries of the above organizations, Large knives from the Helen and Tom Derby Collection at the Nevada State Museum, The knives were recovered in the Humboldt Sink (print by Phil Hutchinson).

'''Copyright by the Nevada Archaeological Association, Spring 1985