Archaeological Correlates and Evolution of Geophyte Procurement in the Northwestern Great Basin Kelly McGuire Far Western Anthropological Research Group, Inc. and Nathan Stevens

INTRODUCTION California State University, Sacramento

The economic importance of geophytes north of the Humboldt River and along the northwestern rim of the Great Basin is such that the entire region has been broadly categorized as the “root complex” with respect to Great Basin ethnographic lifeways (Fowler). For such an important food staple, however, the archaeological manifestations of geophyte gathering, processing, storing, and consuming are not well understood.

The Ruby project corridor provides a unique opportunity to address the DIGGING STICKS AND THE TOOLS USED IN THEIR MAINTENACE AND MANUFACTURE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSEMBLAGES FROM BARREL SPRINGS VERSUS LONG VALLEY archaeology of geophyte use. How do speci c tool types, assemblages, and even settlement patterns shift along this transect in response to an increasing The digging stick was the essential tool for the harvesting of geophytes by northern • Iit is the flake tools, formed flake tools, and cores that show increases in subsistence focus on geophytes? Can we identify a toolkit and technology Great Basin and Plateau populations Given the hard clay soils that characterize many densities by orders of magnitude: ake tools are nearly 50 times denser and associated with geophyte procurement, and with the added dimension of geophyte habitats, the digging stick was “an extremely personal object that was cores 26 times denser at Barrel Springs. time, can we chart the prehistoric evolution of geophyte use? carefully selected and maintained to last as long as possible…and noted by Barrett • But there is a striking divergence between flaked stone tools and milling and Giord (1933: 197) as being more eective than a steel spade for digging bulbs equipment, with the latter actually slightly higher in Long Valley. from the sun-baked, hard ground” (Gleason, 2001: 237). O 0 123 • Secondary processing activities, such as roasting and milling, generally do not Miles Insofar as digging sticks were wooden and generally do not preserve in the occur at root camps in epos harvest zones, as the bulk of the crop is stored for archaeological record, the key to tracking their prehistoric use—and geophyte consumption in winter camps at lower elevations in Long Valley, where dried procurement in general—is through the aked stone tools used in their epos is processed using a handstone and millingstone. manufacture. Gleason (2001: 555–558) explores this relationship, as well as other archeological signatures of geophyte use, and points to the critical role of utilized akes, scrapers, choppers, and other implements used in this process. Frequency and Density of Barrel Springs Major Tool Classes: Barrel Springs versus Long Valley

Description Barrel Springs Long Valley Formed Flake Tools from Barrel Springs. n Density n Density

Projectile Point 351 44.5 118 10.5 Drill 14 1.8 4 0.4 Biface 1,364 172.9 296 26.3 THE EVOLUTION OF A GEOPHYTE-BASED SETTLEMENT-SUBSISTENCE SYSTEM AT Formed Flake Tool 57 7.2 0 0.0 BARREL SPRINGS Flake Tool 1,679 212.9 48 4.3 Core Tool 15 1.9 1 0.1 Geophyte Harvest = Digging Sticks. Core 255 32.3 14 1.2 • PRE-5,700 CAL B.P. With respect to diet breadth and the evolution of foraging Long Valley Flaked Stone Tool Totals 3,735 473.5 481 42.8 systems that incorporated epos, we would expect that this resource was target Millingstone 20 2.5 83 7.4 ed by the earliest inhabitants of Barrel Springs. Without the benefit of long-term Handstone 30 3.8 43 3.8 Bowl Mortar 5 0.6 0 0 storage or a stable residential pattern, these early inhabitants were probably Pestle 12 1.5 1 0.1 relegated to a pattern of harvest and immediate consumption con ned to a Pipeline Route Milling Tool Totals 67 8.4 127 11.3 Detail Map Extent short time in May and June when epos was readily available.

Note: Density (per 100 acres) is con gured on total area of Barrel Springs (788.5 acres) and Long Valley (1,127 acres) project segments; n – Number. • 5,700 to 1,000 CAL BP. Starting around 5700 years ago, perhaps reaching its highest levels during the Middle Archaic, commenced a transition to an energy-maximizing strategy that included storage. This would have Barrel Springs/Long Valley Area. A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF FORMED OF FLAKE TOOLS substantially increased epos procurement, allowing surpluses to be banked for critical winter consumption. This tethered winter base camps to stored THE STUDY TRANSECT: BARREL SPRINGS AND LONG VALLEY • A high percentage of formed flake tools found along the project corridor resources, thereby in creasing overall sedentism, thus dramatically probably functioned as scrapers for working wood transforming subsistence-settlement systems in this region of the Great Basin. The Barrel Springs uplands (5500–6500 feet in elevation) are part of a prominent volcanic plateau that rises above surrounding valleys and alluvial • POST-1,000 CAL BP. Given the stability of the late Holocene geophyte basins. This area is speci cally identi ed as an important geophyte collection procurement system described above (measured in millennia), it is surprising area by Isabel Kelly (1932) in her work with the Surprise Valley Paiute, as well that the proxies of land-use intensity at Barrel Springs drop o near the Late as by members of the contemporary Fort Bidwell Paiute (Deuer, 2010). The Archaic-Terminal Prehistoric transition. Two potentially related explanations biological productivity of geophytes at Barrel Springs, particularly epos, has come to mind, one being severe climatic conditions perhaps associated with also been con rmed by recent scienti c study (O’Connell and Bird, 2005; • 84% of formed flake tools the MCA, and the other being the arrival of Numic-speaking populations with O’Connell et al., 2008; Trammell et al., 2008). The adjacent Long Valley is exhibit edge damage consistent with use on hard new systems of land use. situated at lower elevations and is not prime epos habitat. Settlement and contact material. assemblage structure in Long Valley provides a comparative base from which (photo courtesy of Marilyn Couture) • 63% of simple flake tools to view settlement and assemblage structure Northern Paiute Women Harvesting Biscuitroot with a Metal Digging Stick. exhibit edge damage consistent with use on hard contact materials. Chronological Pro le of Barrel Springs: Dated Components and 3,000 Time-Sensitive Projectile Points

2,500 Components Surface Projectile Points Period Temporal Per Per 2,000 Interval (cal BP) n 1,000 Years n 1,000 Years Obsidian flake tool used for scraping hard material. r Dorsal edge at 10x magnification. Note extensive dorsal step-fractures and flake removals. Terminal Prehistoric 600-1000 0 0.0 1 2.0 1,500 Late Archaic 1300-600 1 1.4 25 35.7 kca l/ho u Edge Damage on Flake Tools Indicative of Likely Use on Wood. Middle Archaic 3800-1300 19 7.6 66 26.4

1000 Early Archaic 5700-3800 7 3.7 43 22.6 Post-Mazama 7800-5700 3 1.4 11 5.2 Paleoarchaic 12,800-7800 3 0.6 2 0.4 500 Paleoindian 14,500-12,800 1 0.6 1 0.6 Totals - 34 2.4 149 10.3

0 t r k k k s s s s k k e e e h) e s s s Note: Major obsidian sources: Massacre Lake/Guano Valley, Mosquito Lake, Bidwell Mountain, ak a a a a d a y n i a o Rye O O O oots r P p a R

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nopod Bordwell Group, and Craine Creek; n – Number. n l m i c c e l o a adscale lue a a Bittero o y l l ce W hadscal h B al i

Maygra nb a (Y Bluegr a Sunflow B B Ch e in S V a P n T a i l tal S Bulrush t po s a Bulrush See olden C u E S t Basin Wild G Nu ndian R I Gre a

Key Great Basin and California Plants A Late-Spring, Early Summer Epos Bloom at Barrel Springs. Comparison of Energetic Return Rates for Key Great Basin and California Plants (adapted from Rosenthal and Fitzgerald 2012:85, Figure 4.6).