scholarly journals The Archaeology and Paleoecology of the Aubrey Clovis Site (41DN479) Denton County, Texas

2014 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Cluster Complex ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Environmental Archaeology ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Outlet Channel ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
Denton County

This report contains the results of interdisciplinary investigations of the Aubrey Clovis Site (41DN479}, located at Lake Ray Roberts, Denton County, Texas, and conducted by the Center for Environmental Archaeology, University of North Texas for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. Exposed by construction of the artificial outlet channel for the reservoir, the site is a multi-cluster complex of archaeological features and artifact-fauna! concentrations buried 7-9 meters below the flood plain of the Elm Fork Trinity River. The Clovis-age materials are geologically situated on a paleo surface within a 14 m thick sequence of late Quaternary deposits, associated with spring, lacustrine, alluvial and colluvial sedimentary environments. A stratigraphically consistent set of 23 radiocarbon ages establishes a sound chronometric frame for these deposits between 1.6 Ka and 14.2 Ka. The Clovis occupations are directly dated by two radiocarbon ages of ca. 11,550 Ka determined on charcoal from a hearth. These ages are securely bracketed by stratigraphically and numerically consistent ages above and below, within the period of ca. 12,300 to 10,940 Ka. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions for the periods before, during and after Clovis occupations have been afforded by pollen, insects, mollusks, vertebrate faunas as well as sedimentary and geochemical data. In the early post-glacial period, the site environs was a cool grassland with moderate effective precipitation, that evolved towards significantly warmer and drier conditions prior to Clovis occupations. The environment ameliorated at about the time of occupations, but exhibited a maximum of Late Quaternary mammalian biodiversity. Clovis artifacts and faunas occur in multiple clusters, including ·camps 8 and F" that contain ca. 9,800 lithic artifacts, over 4,000 fauna! remains and features including hearths, lithic concentrations and a pit considered to be a well. These concentrations were adjacent to a Clovis-age pond and river. Bison bones and associated artifacts indicate a butchering (and "kill"?) locus on the pond shore opposite Camp 8 . Subsistence data from the camps indicate exploitation of a broad set of animals, ranging from mega-mammals (Bison and possibly Mammoth) down to small game, fish and birds. Lithic artifacts show procurement from a minimum of almost 200 km from the site, with materials dominated by Tecovas quartzite, white Novachert and Edwards chert, and including chalcedony, Alibates chert, and Morrison or Dakota sandstone. The assemblage is dominated by repair and maintenance debris associated with bifacial and unifacial tools. Latest stage manufacture is indicated for a biface(s), while all other activities were apparently performed with only resharpening/ repair of other stone tools. Detailed spatial patterning indicates quite well differentiated activities within and between these occupation clusters. Overall, the uniquely detailed record of Clovis occupations at Aubrey registers an adaptive strategy characterized by high mobility, broad exploitation of dispersed, variable resources, long-distance raw material procurement coupled with efficient blank and tool depletion, and a probable combination of functional flexibility and strong within group task differentiation and integration.

Carnivore Size and Quaternary Climatic Change in Southern Africa

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Klein
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Mathematical Relationship ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Quantitative Estimates ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Problematic Aspect ◽  
Cool Conditions

The relationship between carnassial length and latitude south is analyzed for 17 African carnivore species to determine if individuals tend to be larger in cooler climates, as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. With modern data in support, middle and late Quaternary temperatures might then be inferred from mean carnassial length in fossil samples, such as those from Equus Cave, Elandsfontein, Sea Harvest. Duinefontein, and Swartklip in the Cape Province of South Africa. One problematic aspect of the study is the use of carnassial length and latitude as necessary but imperfect substitutes for body size and temperature, respectively. For some species, another difficulty is the relatively small number of available modern specimens, combined with their uneven latitudinal spread. Still, in 14 of the species, carnassial length does tend to increase with latitude south, while mean carnassial length in the same species tends to be greater in those fossil samples which accumulated under relatively cool conditions, as inferred from sedimentologic, palynological, or geochemical data. Given larger modern samples from a wide variety of latitudes, refinement of the mathematical relationship between carnassial length and latitude in various species may even permit quantitative estimates of past temperatures in southern Africa.

Elemental proxy evidence for late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change in southern African sedimentary records: interpretation and applications

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Humphries
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Cape Coast

Abstract Sediments are the most important source of Late Quaternary palaeoclimate information in southern Africa, but have been little studied from a geochemical perspective. However, recent advances in analytical techniques that allow rapid and near-continuous elemental records to be obtained from sedimentary sequences has resulted in the increasing use of elemental indicators for reconstructing climate. This paper explores the diverse information that can be acquired from the inorganic component of sediments and reviews some of the progress that has been made over the last two decades in interpreting the climatic history of southern Africa using elemental records. Despite the general scarcity of elemental records, excellent examples from the region exist, which provide some of the longest and most highly resolved sequences of environmental change currently available. Records from Tswaing crater and marine deposits on the southern KwaZulu-Natal coastline have provided rare glimpses into hydroclimate variability over the last 200 000 years, suggesting that summer rainfall in the region responded predominantly to insolation forcing on glacial-interglacial timescales. Over shorter timescales, lakes and wetlands found in the Wilderness embayment on the southern Cape coast and along the Maputaland coast in north-eastern South Africa have yielded highly-resolved elemental records of Holocene environmental change, providing insight into the changing interactions between tropical (e.g., El Niño-Southern Oscillation) and temperate (e.g., mid-latitude westerlies) climate systems affecting rainfall variability in the region. The examples discussed demonstrate the multiple environmental processes that can be inferred from elemental proxies and the unique insight this can provide in advancing our understanding of past climate change on different timescales. The interpretation of geochemical data can be complicated by the complex nature of sedimentary environments, various proxy assumptions and analytical challenges, and the reliability of sediment-based climate reconstructions is substantially enhanced through multi-proxy approaches.

Discovering the Polaris Fault, Martis Creek Dam, Truckee, California

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Lewis E. Hunter ◽  
Ronn S. Rose ◽  
Bruce Hilton ◽  
William McCormick ◽  
Todd Crampton
Keyword(s):  
Flood Control ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Lake Tahoe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Army Corps ◽  
Army Corps Of Engineers ◽  
Vegetation Canopy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Control Purpose

Abstract Martis Creek Dam, located in the Truckee Basin north of Lake Tahoe, CA, was initially rated as one of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ highest risk dams in the United States. While the dam has performed its flood control purpose, a history of excessive seepage during even moderate reservoir levels has prevented it from also fulfilling its potential water storage function. During seepage and seismic studies to assess and mitigate deficiencies, high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data were obtained. This imagery provides an unprecedented representation of the ground surface that allows evaluation of geomorphology even in areas with a dense vegetation canopy. At Martis Creek Dam, this geomorphic analysis resulted in the recognition of a previously unknown and through-going lineament between the spillway and dam embankment. This feature extends to the southeast, where several lineament splays are exposed on the East Martis Creek Fan. These lineaments were subsequently explored by paleo-seismic trenching at two locations and confirmed as faults with Late Quaternary to Holocene displacement. Faulting was confirmed in both trenches as unique splays of a fault zone with several feet of apparent normal (vertical) slip and an unknown magnitude, but a potentially significant, strike-slip component. Faulting was observed near the ground surface in both cases, and multiple fault events (a minimum of two) are interpreted as at least latest Pleistocene in age, and probably active in the Holocene.

scholarly journals A late Quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Muhs ◽  
Thomas A. Ager ◽  
Josh Been ◽  
J. Platt Bradbury ◽  
Walter E. Dean
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Tundra Vegetation ◽  
Shrub Tundra ◽  
Loess Deposition ◽  
Maar Lake ◽  
Glacial Time

AbstractRecent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that region. Particle size and geochemical data indicate that the mineral fraction of the lake sediments is not derived from the local basalt and is probably eolian. Silt deposition took place from at least the latter part of the mid-Wisconsin interstadial period through the Holocene, based on radiocarbon dating. Based on the locations of likely loess sources, eolian silt in western Alaska was probably deflated by northeasterly winds from glaciofluvial sediments. If last-glacial winds that deposited loess were indeed from the northeast, this reconstruction is in conflict with a model-derived reconstruction of paleowinds in Alaska. Mass accumulation rates in Zagoskin Lake were higher during the Pleistocene than during the Holocene. In addition, more eolian sediment is recorded in the lake sediments than as loess on the adjacent landscape. The thinner loess record on land may be due to the sparse, herb tundra vegetation that dominated the landscape in full-glacial time. Herb tundra would have been an inefficient loess trap compared to forest or even shrub tundra due to its low roughness height. The lack of abundant, full-glacial, eolian silt deposition in the loess stratigraphic record of central Alaska may be due, therefore, to a mimimal ability of the landscape to trap loess, rather than a lack of available eolian sediment.

scholarly journals Design theory analysis of biface technology at the Botanie Lake Dam site (EcRj 15), south-central British Columbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Ewonus
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
Contact Materials ◽  
Lithic Assemblage ◽  
South Central ◽  
Dam Site ◽  
Lithic Artifacts

Editor’s note: This article appears as a reprint from Volume 18 due to printing errors. Nexus apologizes to the author for the delay in publishing the work in its entirety. A design analysis is applied to six bifacial tools recovered from the Botanie Lake Dam site (EcRj 15) on the Plateau of southern British Columbia. While these artifacts, selected from the lithic assemblage of this late pre-contact period mat lodge campsite, show some internal variation, they share important characteristics indicative of their use by Plateau peoples. Acute edge angles and less durable raw material suggests that these bifacial tools were used to cut relatively soft contact materials such as herbaceous plants. Their lengthy use lives and multifunctionality make them effective solutions for the requirements of plant and animal processing during a mobile seasonal round. This application of design theory to a small sample of lithic artifacts from a seasonal camp site with an hypothesized focus on root resource harvesting and processing adds to the growing number of studies employing this approach to lithic analysis.

scholarly journals Lithic Raw Material in the Cantabrian Region: Dialectical relationship between flint and quartzite in the Palaeolithic record

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Prieto ◽  
Alvaro Arrizabalaga ◽  
Iñaki Yusta
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
The State ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Western Sector ◽  
Cantabrian Region ◽  
Lithic Raw Material

The increase, in quantitative and qualitative terms, of research attending to the geological nature of rocks found in archaeological contexts is changing our perspectives about social and economic territories articulated by Palaeolithic societies in the Cantabrian Region. Practically the only raw material researched in a solid geoarchaeological approach in this area is flint. This paper addresses how the near absence of in-depth geoarchaeological research into raw materials other than flint is modifying our perception of the procurement and management mechanism of raw material in the Cantabrian Region during the Palaeolithic. To consider this matter in depth, we present the bibliographic and quantitative analysis of 30 representative archaeological sites from the Cantabrian Region whose assemblages were described lithologically using basic and primary categories. The state of play depicts a geographic distribution of raw material in the Cantabrian Region where quartzite is associated with the western sector and flint with the east. Interconnected with this axis, there is a chronological tendency that promotes standardisation in the use of flint by Palaeolithic societies following a chronological order, from the older to the more recent periods. This information, and its contextualisation with the new perspectives resulting from the application of the geoarchaeological proposal used to understand flint procurement, allows us to understand the general tendencies of raw material distribution of the region. Especially, we can detect how the absence of geoarchaeological methodologies of other raw materials than flint has modified the perception of the economic and social dynamics articulated around raw material by Palaeolithic people. This bias does not only affect the geographical and chronological axes, emphasising information from the regions and periods where flint is represented, but also promotes the over-interpretation of long-distance procurement, therefore, building up narratives exclusively based on human mobility. This situation has generated an incomplete and unbalanced picture of the procurement and management strategies followed by Palaeolithic societies because quartzite, the second most-often used lithic raw material, and other raw materials have only been studied using geoarchaeological methods within the last few years. This research finally points to the continuation of in-depth research of quartzite and other raw materials as the next steps to re-interpret the current paradigms about procurement and management of raw material by Palaeolithic societies, and, therefore, modify our perspectives of social and economic territories. The research presented here addresses this situation and proposes the in-depth research of quartzite as the next step to re-interpret the current paradigms about procurement and management of raw material by Palaeolithic societies, and, therefore, modify our perspectives of social and economic territories. To do so, we have proposed a general raw material framework in the Cantabrian Region based on the 30 most representative sites whose assemblages were described lithologically using basic and primary categories. The state of the art depicted a geographic distribution of raw material in the Cantabrian Region where quartzite is associated with the western sector and flint with the east. Interconnected with this axis, there is a chronological tendency that promotes standardisation in the use of flint by Palaeolithic societies following a chronological order, from the older to the more recent periods. This information, and its contextualisation with the new perspectives resulting from the application of the geoarchaeological proposal used to understand flint procurement, allows us to understand the bias derived by the absence of geoarchaeological methodologies of other raw materials than flint. These biases are not only related with the geographical and chronological axes, emphasising information from the regions and periods where flint is represented, but also with the overinterpretation of long-distance procurement, therefore, promoting narratives exclusively based on human mobility.

scholarly journals A prehistoric jade axe from Galicia (Northwestern Iberia): Researching its origin

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar Lantes-Suárez ◽  
Carlos Rodríguez-Rellán ◽  
Ramón Fábregas Valcarce ◽  
Arturo De Lombera Hermida ◽  
Aida González Pazos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Geological Samples ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
X Ray ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Geological Source ◽  
Northwest Iberia

The Vilapedre axe (Lugo, Northwest Iberia) has been traditionally considered by archaeologists as evidence of prehistoric long-distance contacts along the Atlantic Coast of France and Spain. This artefact - as other “Tumiac type” axes (long polished blades, generally butt-perforated) - would have been produced in Brittany during the Neolithic (5th millennium BCE) using jadeitite as raw material, a green-coloured rock for which there are sources in the western Italian Alps. In this paper, we have traced the possible archaeological origin of this artefact back by examining the personal files of one of its first owners, Santiago de la Iglesia. Furthermore, we have conducted a mineralogical (X-Ray Diffraction, XRD) and an elemental analysis (Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Detection, SEM-EDX) of both the Vilapedre axe and geological samples from several places at the Alps where prehistoric quarrying of greenstones has been reported. The aims were physicochemically characterizing the axe to provide information about its possible geological source. During our analyses, we have found significant compositional similarities between the Vilapedre axe and one of the geological samples coming from the Alps (Alp06). The results are therefore consistent with the alleged Alpine origin of this artefact. The presence of this axe in Northwest Spain, together with other evidence, such as the presence of objects of Iberian origin in Breton monuments, strongly suggests the existence of contacts between both regions of the Atlantic façade during the Neolithic onwards in which seafaring would undoubtedly have played an important role.

scholarly journals Nuevos datos del uso de la costa en el extremo sur del continente por cazadores-recolectores durante el Holoceno tardío. El sitio Cabo Vírgenes 24 (Santa Cruz, Argentina) / NEW DATA ON HUNTER GATHERER COASTAL USE AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE CONTINENT ...

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Flavia Carballo Marina ◽  
Juan Bautista Belardi ◽  
G. Lorena L’Heureux
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Lama Guanicoe ◽  
Spheniscus Magellanicus ◽  
Otaria Flavescens ◽  
Aptenodytes Patagonicus ◽  
European Contact ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
Resources Exploitation

<p>El sitio Cabo Vírgenes 24 (CV24) se ubica en el extremo sureste de la Patagonia continental y presenta ocupaciones entre 753-888 (1270 ± 60 14C A.P - LP3229) y 545-626 años Cal A.P (619 ± 26 14C A.P - AA106800). Los artefactos líticos se confeccionaron con materias primas disponibles localmente (dacita y RGFO). El componente expeditivo de la tecnología concuerda con la de cazadores de guanacos del interior del continente. Se observa una baja densidad y riqueza moderada de especies marinas y terrestres con un énfasis en la explotación de pinnípedos (Arctocephalus australis y Otaria flavescens), seguida de guanacos (Lama guanicoe) y un menor uso de aves marinas (Phalacrocorax sp., Spheniscus magellanicus y Aptenodytes patagonicus). La información provista por CV24 reafirma las tendencias observadas respecto de la utilización esporádica y marginal de la localidad de Cabo Vírgenes por parte de cazadores-recolectores desde el Holoceno tardío hasta el contacto con los europeos.</p><p>Palabras claves: Holoceno tardío; costa patagónica; cazadores-recolectores del interior; tecnología expeditiva; explotación de recursos terrestres y marinos.</p><p>Abstract</p><p><br />Cabo Vírgenes 24 (CV24) is an archaeological site located at the Southeastern end of continental Patagonia and shows occupations between 753 to 888 (1270 ± 60 14C B.P; LP3229) and 545 to 626 Cal B.P (619 ± 26 14C B.P; AA106800). Lithic artifacts were mainly made on locally available raw material (dacite and RGFO). The identified technological expedient component is in accordance with inland guanaco hunters. The faunal record shows low density and moderate richness of marine and terrestrial faunal species. There is an emphasis on exploitation of pinnipeds (Arctocephalus australis and Otaria flavescens), followed by guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and, to a lesser extent, seabirds (Phalacrocorax sp., Spheniscus magellanicus and Aptenodytes patagonicus). The archaeological record of CV24 reaffirms the observed trends related to the sporadic and marginal use of the Cabo Vírgenes locality by hunter-gatherer populations since the Late Holocene until the European contact.</p><p>Key words: Late Holocene; coastal Patagonia; inland hunter-gatherer; expedient technology; marine and terrestrial resources exploitation.</p>

scholarly journals Using Debitage Analysis to Investigate an Alberta Archaeological Site

COMPASS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hallson
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Aggregate Analysis ◽  
New Information ◽  
Lithic Artifacts ◽  
Field Schools

Ahai Mneh (FiPp-33) is a significant pre-contact archaeological site in Alberta. Located west of Edmonton on Lake Wabamun, this site contains material from the Early Prehistoric right up until Late Prehistoric pre-contact times. Ninety-five percent of the lithic artifacts collected are pieces of debitage. Aggregate analysis is a method of examining the whole of the debitage collection, rather than analysing singular pieces. This method is more time efficient, less subject to bias, replicable, and is used often, and successfully, at archaeological sites with immense quantities of debitage. Here I use aggregate analysis to examine the debitage assemblage from two field schools at Ahai Mneh. I investigate various characteristics such as size, raw material type, cortex amount, and number of dorsal scars. I argue that this method is successful, as it provided new information on where people were acquiring raw materials, as well as what types of flintknapping occurred at this site. These analyses resulted in the determination of a focus on local raw material, yet this material was being brought to the site as prepared cores or blanks, rather than complete unaltered cores. Tool production was the focus at this site, and this trend continued throughout time.

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