Assessing a Reassessment of Early" Pre-Littoral" Radiocarbon Dates from the Oregon Coast (original) (raw)

Early Holocene adaptations on the southern Northwest Coast

Journal of California and Great Basin …, 1998

recently debated the archaeological evidence for a ' 'pre-littoral'' adaptive stage on the southern Northwest Coast. We review the evolution of the usage of the term "pre-littoral," trace its connections with the earlier works of Richard Ross and Clement Meighan, and argue that such terminology is problematic because its etymology is not consistent with its definition and use by Lyman (1991,1997). This has misled other workers who have taken the term more literally. To alleviate this confusion, we propose that one alternative is to abandon the term ' 'pre-littoral'' and use the more neutral ' 'Early Holocene' 'for this period of southern Northwest Coast prehistory. We also discuss the limited archaeological data for this time period on the Oregon Coast and explain why available data are more accurately represented by an Early Holocene designation.

The Middle Holocene Cultural Record on the Oregon Coast

A host of environmental factors (sea level rise, erosion and sedimentation, and an active tectonic history) has biased the Oregon coast archaeological record in favor of the late Holocene, making it difficult to build a supportable picture of land use history for early and middle Holocene times. We review the slowly expanding middle Holocene evidence, and evaluate it with reference to residential and logistical patterns known from neighboring regions with more well known archaeological records. This broader context provides a framework for hypothesizing coastal patterns that are more robust than the data would otherwise permit.

A Reassessment of Early "Prelittoral" Radiocarbon Dates from the Southern Northwest Coast

Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 1995

Tahkenitch Landing on the central Oregon coast were obtained from below shell midden deposits and have been cited as evidence of a "pre-littoral" adaptation in this region. However, association of the Neptune site date with human occupation is suspea, and the Tahkenitch Landing dates are associated with evidence of exploitation of marine resources in an adjacent estuary. No securely dated evidence currently exists for a ' 'pre-littoral'' adaptation along the southern Northwest Coast.

A Discussion of Two Early Headland Sites on the Southern Oregon Coast

Late-Quaternary marine transgression has greatly skewed archaeological per-spectives on early coastal adaptive patterns along the Northwest Coast. Be-cause of this, early coastal sites are more likely to be found in portions of the modern landscape that were much more distal to what was the late-Pleistocene to early-Holocene Pacific shoreline. Along Oregon's southern coast, these types of early cultural occupations are known as "bluff sites" owing to their preservation on tectonically uplifted headlands and absence of marine re-sources (Lyman 1991; Ross 1984). To date, late-Pleistocene and early-Ho-locene bluff sites from this region include Indian Sands (35CU67C), a multi-component site with evidence of human occupation dating from 10,430 ± 150 RCYBP (Beta-170406, charcoal) to 6440 ± 670 CALYBP (thermoluminescence) (Davis 2006; Davis et al. 2004), and Devil's Kitchen (35CS9), which contains a stratified record of human occupation that begins sometime after 11,000 ...

Mid-Holocene Culture and Climate on the Northwest Coast of North America.

On the Northwest Coast of North America, the middle Holocene was a time of changing climate and culture. In this chapter, we review the paleoclimatic and archaeological records of this region with the intent of approaching possible causal relationships between them. Early Holocene archaeological sites are relatively few, containing artifact assemblages predominantly of chipped stone, and only rarely, faunal remains. The mid-Holocene climate of the Northwest Coast was cooler and wetter than the early Holocene, but warmer and somewhat drier than today. Archaeologists have observed that compared to the early Holocene, during the mid-Holocene the number of archaeological sites increased, their average size was larger, and shell middens became common, preserving bone and antler technologies as well as abundant faunal remains. Archaeologists have traditionally viewed 5800 cal yr BP (5000 14 C yr BP) as a major turning point in the prehistory of the Northwest Coast. Many archaeologists have perceived the supposed dramatic cultural changes as related to environmental changes including stabilization of sea levels, shellfish beds, and salmon runs. This review demonstrates that archaeological sites with mid-Holocene components are not common, nor are they well known. Nevertheless, a time of cultural transition does appear to be indicated at about 4850 cal yr BP (4300 14 C yr BP). Mid-Holocene climate change undoubtedly affected Northwest Coast societies, and we suggest a few ways in which changing climate may have affected some of the key resources upon which people relied. Limitations of both the paleoclimatic and archaeological records, however, preclude all but a preliminary treatment of these issues.

Late Holocene Occupation of the Birch Creek Site (35ML181), Southeastern Oregon

2009

Recent studies of the Late Archaic period in the Great Basin have identified major changes in settlement, subsistence, and technology compared to those seen during the Middle Archaic. The concern of this study is whether the Late Archaic at the Birch Creek Site (35ML181) is marked by a significant change in adaptive strategy, as it appears to be in much of the Great Basin. This thesis uses the sediments encountered and material recovered from the 2006 excavations of the Birch Creek Site, including datable samples, ancient pollen, ground stone tools, chipped stone tools and debitage, faunal remains, and evidence of ceramic technology as evidence of the adaptive strategy of Late Archaic people at the Birch Creek Site. The Late Archaic component was expected to be structured very differently from earlier materials if it were created by a new group of people practicing a new adaptive strategy beginning during the Late Archaic. Comparisons of Late Archaic artifact assemblages to previously studied materials from the Middle Archaic component of the Birch Creek Site were used to determine if a discontinuity in adaptive strategy exists. Material evidence of settlement, subsistence, and technological organization do not reflect direct continuity, nor do they indicate an abrupt shift, in adaptive strategies. The adaptive strategy during Late Archaic occupation of the Birch Creek Site appears to be a product of relatively local conditions related to subsistence and tool raw material resources, with some indications of wider regional interactions.