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Land Use Variation on Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland and Lowland Archaeology Sites

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Land Use Variation on Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland and Lowland Archaeology Sites Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses Spring 2016 Land Use Variation on Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland and Lowland Archaeology Sites Cathy J. Anderson Central Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Anderson, Cathy J., "Land Use Variation on Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland and Lowland Archaeology Sites" (2016). All Master's Theses. 385. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/385 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LAND USE VARIATION ON MID-COLUMBIA PLATEAU UPLAND AND LOWLAND ARCHAEOLOGY SITES A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty Central Washington University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Resource Management By Cathy Jean Anderson June 2016 i CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Graduate Studies We here by approve the thesis of Cathy Jean Anderson Candidate for the degree of Master of Science APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY ______________ __________________________________________ Dr. Patrick T. McCutcheon, Committee Chair ______________ __________________________________________ Dr. Steven Hackenberger ______________ __________________________________________ Dr. Craig S. Revels ______________ __________________________________________ Dr. Kevin Archer, Dean of Graduate Studies ii ABSTRACT LAND USE VARIATION ON MID-COLUMBIA PLATEAU UPLAND AND LOWLAND ARCHAEOLOGY SITES by Cathy Jean Anderson June 9, 2016 Investigators of the Mid-Plateau archaeological record have interpreted artifact deposits in their environmental settings as evidence of human land use labeled as site types. Land use models consisting of cultural and environmental variables were developed from those studies. Those variables were compared to a sample of archaeological records located in the upland east Saddle Mountains and lowland Wenas Creek-Yakima River confluence. While much of the archaeological record fits expectations derived from cultural-environmental models of human land use developed during this research thesis, significant variation in the archaeological record remains unexplained. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research is dedicated to Central Washington University’s Dr. Warren Owen Dugmore, Professor Nick Zentner, the late Dr. Martin Kaatz, and lately retired Dr. Morris Uebelacker. I extend intense thanks to my thesis committee, Drs. Patrick T. McCutcheon, Steven Hackenberger, and Craig S. Revels. I nominate stars for the crowns of the pillars of the Department of Anthropology, Kathleen Barlow and Penelope D. Anderson, for their relentless encouragement during my undergraduate and graduate studies. My work at Central Washington University has entirely been done in honor of Richard Stanley Coffin (1948-1995) and our son, Laban Younger Coffin. What a ride, gentlemen, what a ride! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I ........................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 PROBLEM .......................................................................................................................... 3 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................... 5 SIGNIFICANCE ................................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER II ....................................................................................................................... 9 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 9 Physiographic Environment of Previous Archaeological Investigation........................................ 9 Previous Archaeological Investigation ....................................................................................... 17 Previous Archaeological Work in the East Saddle Mountains ................................................... 49 Previous Archaeological Work in the Wenas Creek-Yakima River Confluence ......................... 65 Projectile Point Chronology from Previous Archaeological Investigations................................ 70 Precontact Land Use Models ..................................................................................................... 73 Ethnography ............................................................................................................................... 81 History ........................................................................................................................................ 85 Previous Historic Period Archaeological Research .................................................................... 91 Historic Period Land Use Models ............................................................................................. 100 CHAPTER III ................................................................................................................. 106 STUDY AREAS ............................................................................................................. 106 Upland Study Area ................................................................................................................... 109 Lowland Study Area ................................................................................................................. 110 Upland and Lowland Study Area Environmental Comparison ................................................. 112 Precontact Cultural-Environmental Classification ................................................................... 121 Historic Period Cultural-Environmental Classification ............................................................. 126 CHAPTER IV ................................................................................................................. 131 METHODS AND TECHNIQUES ................................................................................. 131 Research Database Biases ........................................................................................................ 133 Surface Survey Data Recovery Techniques .............................................................................. 135 Precontact Data Analysis and Classification ............................................................................ 136 Historic Period Data Analysis and Classification ...................................................................... 151 CHAPTER V .................................................................................................................. 158 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 158 Precontact Period Results ........................................................................................................ 158 Statistical Results of Analysis and Classification ...................................................................... 179 Historic Period Results ............................................................................................................. 183 CHAPTER VI ................................................................................................................. 187 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................... 187 Precontact Period Overview .................................................................................................... 187 Historic Period Overview ......................................................................................................... 190 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 192 References Cited ................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Appendix A: Mid-Columbia Plateau Precontact Land Use Models ............................... 215 Appendix B: Historic Period Mid-Columbia Plateau land use models based on archaeology site type, two variables, and inferred human activities. ............................. 222 v Appendix C: Surface Survey Data Recovery Techniques .............................................. 226 Appendix D: Precontact Database of Artifacts and Features .......................................... 231 Appendix E: Historic Period Database of Artifacts and Features ................................... 236 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Environmental Variables Examined During Previous Mid-Columbia Plateau Archaeological Investigation. ........................................................................................... 19 Table 2. Projectile Point Phase Chronology of Mid-Plateau Precontact Land Use Models (after Nelson 1969). .......................................................................................................... 72 Table 3. Upland and Lowland Locational, Geological, and Physiographic Profiles. ..... 108 Table 4. Definition of Surface Visibility Relative to Vegetation and Sediments. .......... 121 Table 5. Precontact Cultural-Environmental
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