Human Responses to Middle Holocene (Altithermal) Climates on the North American Great Plains

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Meltzer
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Diet Breadth ◽  
Underground Water ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
The North

The climate of the Great Plains during the middle Holocene varied considerably, but overall it was marked by a north–south gradient of increasingly warmer and drier conditions, with a reduction in effective moisture, surface water, and resource abundance, and an increase in resource patchiness, sediment weathering, erosion, and aeolian activity. Pronounced drought conditions were most evident on the Southern High Plains. Understanding the human responses to middle Holocene climates is complicated by a lack of archaeological data, which is partly a result of geomorphic processes that removed or deeply buried sites of this age, and by the varying adaptive responses of hunter-gatherers during this period. On the Southern High Plains, where drought was most severe, surface and groundwater sources dried and bison populations were diminished, prompting substantial adaptive changes, including local abandonment, well-digging to tap underground water, and a widening of the diet breadth to incorporate higher-cost, lower-return seed and plant resources. Sites of this age on the Central and Northern Plains also show a possible increase in diet breadth (with the incorporation of plant foods in the diet), and perhaps changes in settlement mobility (including possible shift into higher elevation areas, or mapping-on to extant rivers and springs). But linking those changes to middle Holocene drought is less straightforward.

scholarly journals The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in north-central New Mexico–Linking Colorado Plateau stratigraphy to the stratigraphy of the High Plains

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 117-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer Lucas
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Far East ◽  
River System ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Morrison Formation ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North

Most study of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation has focused on its spectacular and extensive outcrops on the southern Colorado Plateau. Nevertheless, outcrops of the Morrison Formation extend far off the Colorado Plateau, onto the southern High Plains as far east as western Oklahoma. Outcrops of the Morrison Formation east of and along the eastern flank of the Rio Grande rift in north-central New Mexico (Sandoval, Bernalillo, and San­ta Fe Counties) are geographically intermediate between the Morrison Formation outcrops on the southeastern Colorado Plateau in northwestern New Mexico and on the southern High Plains of eastern New Mexico. Previous lithostratigraphic correlations between the Colorado Plateau and High Plains Morrison Formation outcrops using the north-central New Mexico sections encompassed a geographic gap in outcrop data of about 100 km. New data on previously unstudied Morrison Formation outcrops at Placitas in Sandoval County and south of Lamy in Santa Fe County reduce that gap and significantly add to stratigraphic coverage. At Placitas, the Morrison Formation is about 141 m thick, in the Lamy area it is about 232 m thick, and, at both locations, it consists of the (ascending) sandstone-dominated Salt Wash Member, mudstone-dominated Brushy Basin Member, and sandstone-dominat­ed Jackpile Member. Correlation of Morrison strata across northern New Mexico documents the continuity of the Morrison depositional systems from the Colorado Plateau eastward onto the southern High Plains. Along this transect, there is significant stratigraphic relief on the base of the Salt Wash Member (J-5 unconformity), the base of the Jackpile Member, and the base of the Cretaceous strata that overlie the Morrison Formation (K unconfor­mity). Salt Wash Member deposition was generally by easterly-flowing rivers, and this river system continued well east of the Colorado Plateau. The continuity of the Brushy Basin Member, and its characteristic zeolite-rich clay facies, onto the High Plains suggests that localized depositional models (e.g., “Lake T’oo’dichi’) need to be re-eval­uated. Instead, envisioning Brushy Basin Member deposition on a vast muddy floodplain, with some localized lacustrine and palustrine depocenters, better interprets its distribution and facies.

Middle Holocene Fisher-Hunter-Gatherers of Lake Turkana in Kenya and Their Cultural Connections with the North: The Pottery

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Keding
Keyword(s):  
East Africa ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Nile Valley ◽  
Lake Turkana ◽  
Diagnostic Features ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
The North ◽  
Wavy Line ◽  
Cultural Connections

AbstractDuring the Early and Middle Holocene, large areas of today’s arid regions in North and East Africa were populated by fisher-hunter-gatherer communities who heavily relied on aquatic resources. In North Africa, Wavy Line pottery and harpoons are their most salient diagnostic features. Similar finds have also been made at sites in Kenya’s Lake Turkana region in East Africa but a clear classification of the pottery was previously not available. In order to elucidate the cultural connections between Lake Turkana’s first potters and North African groups, the pottery of the Koobi Fora region that was excavated by John Barthelme in the 1970/80s was re-assessed in detail. It was compared and contrasted – on a regional scale – with pottery from Lowasera and sites near Lothagam (Zu4, Zu6) and – on a supra-regional scale – with the pottery of the Central Nile Valley and eastern Sahara. The analyses reveal some significant points: Firstly, the early fisher pottery of Lake Turkana is clearly typologically affiliated with the Early Khartoum pottery and was thus part of the Wavy Line complex. Secondly, certain typological features of the Turkana assemblages, which include only a few Dotted Wavy Line patterns, tentatively hint to a date at least in the 7th millennium bp or earlier. Thirdly, the pottery features suggest that the East African fisher-hunter-gatherers adopted pottery from Northeast Africa.

scholarly journals The North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is Recolonizing the Llano Estacado

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garret D. Langlois ◽  
Robert D. Cox ◽  
Philip S. Gipson ◽  
Richard D. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Castor Canadensis ◽  
Exhaustive Search ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
Definitive Evidence ◽  
The North ◽  
American Beaver

Five millennia ago, the North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) was extirpated from the Southern High Plains by droughts. Beaver were found to be largely absent from the Llano Estacado, despite exhaustive search efforts. Here we report the first definitive evidence of an extant C. canadensis population recolonizing the Llano Estacado.

scholarly journals The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in north-central New Mexico–Linking Colorado Plateau stratigraphy to the stratigraphy of the High Plains

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 117-129
Author(s):  
Spencer G Lucas
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Colorado Plateau ◽  
Far East ◽  
River System ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Morrison Formation ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North

Most study of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation has focused on its spectacular and extensive outcrops on the southern Colorado Plateau. Nevertheless, outcrops of the Morrison Formation extend far off the Colorado Plateau, onto the southern High Plains as far east as western Oklahoma. Outcrops of the Morrison Formation east of and along the eastern flank of the Rio Grande rift in north-central New Mexico (Sandoval, Bernalillo, and San­ta Fe Counties) are geographically intermediate between the Morrison Formation outcrops on the southeastern Colorado Plateau in northwestern New Mexico and on the southern High Plains of eastern New Mexico. Previous lithostratigraphic correlations between the Colorado Plateau and High Plains Morrison Formation outcrops using the north-central New Mexico sections encompassed a geographic gap in outcrop data of about 100 km. New data on previously unstudied Morrison Formation outcrops at Placitas in Sandoval County and south of Lamy in Santa Fe County reduce that gap and significantly add to stratigraphic coverage. At Placitas, the Morrison Formation is about 141 m thick, in the Lamy area it is about 232 m thick, and, at both locations, it consists of the (ascending) sandstone-dominated Salt Wash Member, mudstone-dominated Brushy Basin Member, and sandstone-dominat­ed Jackpile Member. Correlation of Morrison strata across northern New Mexico documents the continuity of the Morrison depositional systems from the Colorado Plateau eastward onto the southern High Plains. Along this transect, there is significant stratigraphic relief on the base of the Salt Wash Member (J-5 unconformity), the base of the Jackpile Member, and the base of the Cretaceous strata that overlie the Morrison Formation (K unconfor­mity). Salt Wash Member deposition was generally by easterly-flowing rivers, and this river system continued well east of the Colorado Plateau. The continuity of the Brushy Basin Member, and its characteristic zeolite-rich clay facies, onto the High Plains suggests that localized depositional models (e.g., “Lake T’oo’dichi’) need to be re-eval­uated. Instead, envisioning Brushy Basin Member deposition on a vast muddy floodplain, with some localized lacustrine and palustrine depocenters, better interprets its distribution and facies.

Food Habits of American Kestrels In the Southern High Plains of Texas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clint W. Boal ◽  
Madeleine A. Thornley ◽  
Shea D. Mullican
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Food Habit ◽  
Ground Squirrels ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Large Prey ◽  
Sylvilagus Floridanus ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
Brood Rearing ◽  
American Kestrel ◽  
General Decline

ABSTRACT The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is in general decline across its North American distribution. In contrast to widespread patterns of decline, kestrel populations appear stable in the southern Great Plains region. Historically, this region had a very low occurrence of kestrels, and their current abundance is highly likely due to vegetation and structures associated with settlement by people of European descent. To determine prey use by breeding kestrels, we placed motion-activated video cameras at preexisting kestrel nest boxes located in the Southern High Plains in 2017. We recorded over 4200 prey deliveries during 1748 hr of observation at five nests over the 4-wk brood-rearing period. On basis of frequency, these deliveries were dominated by reptiles (74.8%), with invertebrates (18.2%), mammals (4.4%), birds (2.9%), and unidentified (1.2%) prey used to lesser extents. Prey delivery rates were high relative to other studies; across the brood-rearing period we recorded an average of 2.3 deliveries/hr, equating to an average of 0.49 deliveries and 3.85 g of prey/nestling/hr. Because invertebrates dominate the diet reported in most kestrel food habit studies, the volume of reptiles captured as prey was unexpected. Even more unanticipated was the number of large prey captured, including juvenile eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) and ground squirrels (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus, Xerospermophilus spilosoma). We suspect the proportion of vertebrate prey captured during the nesting season may explain the local high rates of nesting success and number of young fledged.

Detection of drought-related human migration and population change on the North American Great Plains

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert McLeman ◽  
Clara Grieg ◽  
George Heath ◽  
Francesca Fontanella
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
North American ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Population Change ◽  
Spatial Regression ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
The North ◽  
Context Specific

<p>Rural migration responses to drought are complex, context specific, and multi-directional. Migration is one of many possible adaptive responses to drought, and is typically initiated only after other, less disruptive strategies have been attempted. The potential for drought to stimulate migration or displacement is inversely related to the range of alternative adaptation options available to households, and is lowered through coordinated vulnerability-reduction mechanisms such as institutional water-management regimes and crop insurance programs. When drought-related migration does occur, it tends to flow along pre-existing social networks to known destinations, which are usually urban centres within the same state/country or in contiguous ones. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines geospatial tools, quantitative methods (i.e. random forest and spatial regression) and qualitative data gathered through archival research and local interviews, we have generated detailed models of the changing influence over time of drought on rural population patterns on the North American Great Plains. In this presentation we highlight key findings from our work, describe data needs and limitations, discuss the predictive power of various quantitative methods, identify non-climatic variables that mediate migration outcomes, and emphasize the importance of mixed-methods approaches.</p>

scholarly journals Topographic Thresholds and Soil Preservation along the Southern High Plains Eastern Escarpment, Northwest Texas, USA

Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
Travis Conley ◽  
Stance Hurst ◽  
Eileen Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Buried Soils ◽  
Lateral Migration ◽  
South Fork ◽  
The South ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Semi Arid

The eastern escarpment of the Southern High Plains (USA) is today a semi-arid erosional landscape delineated by canyon breaks and topographic relief. A series of buried soils were identified, described, and sampled at 19 soil profile localities exposed along terraces of the South Fork of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River (South Fork) and two associated tributaries (Spring Creek and Macy 285 drainage). Radiocarbon dating revealed late-Pleistocene to early Holocene (~12,580–9100 14C B.P.), middle-Holocene (~6025–4600 14C B.P.), and late-Holocene (~2000–800 14C B.P.) buried soils. The late-Pleistocene to middle-Holocene soils were preserved only at higher elevations within the upper section of the South Fork and Spring Creek. A topographic position analysis was conducted using GIS to identify and examine the impacts of a soil topographic threshold on the preservation and distribution of buried soils within this geomorphic system. Above the identified ~810 m threshold, lateral migration of channels was constrained. Extensive channel migration below the threshold removed older terraces that were replaced with late-Holocene terraces and associated buried soils. Landscape topography constraints on geomorphic processes and soil formation impacted the preservation of archaeological sites in this semi-arid region.

Altithermal Archaeology and Paleoecology at Mustang Springs, on the Southern High Plains of Texas

1991 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Meltzer
Keyword(s):  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
High Plains ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Southern High Plains ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Water Wells ◽  
Age Estimates

Excavations at Mustang Springs on the southern High Plains of Texas have yielded a relatively fine-grained record of late Pleistocene to middle Holocene environments and climate. The site contains over 60 Altithermal age water wells, direct evidence of the human adaptive response to this locally severe drought and of a drop in the water table of nearly 3 m. New radiocarbon dates from the wellfield are substantially earlier than previously published age estimates, putting the age of well digging in a brief period at the onset of the Altithermal. Human adaptive strategies during this period are yet undetermined, but the evidence points to generalized and highly mobile strategies and to the conclusion that this wellfield is surely not unique. The geology of Mustang Springs helps explain the scarcity of other Altithermal age sites on the southern High Plains.

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