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25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2013

Some thoughts on the factors that controlled prehistoric maize production in the American Southwest with application to southwestern Colorado

In this paper, we present a model of prehistoric southwestern Colorado maize productivity. The model is based on a tree-ring reconstruction of water-year precipitation for Mesa Verde for the period A.D. 480 to 2011. Correlation of historic Mesa Verde precipitation with historic precipitation at 11 other weather stations enabled the construction of an elevation-dependent precipitation function. Prehistoric water-year precipitation values for Mesa Verde together with the elevation-dependent precipitation function allowed construction of the elevation of southwest Colorado precipitation contours for each year since A.D. 480, including the 30-cm contour, which represents the minimum amount of precipitation necessary for the production of maize and the 50-cm contour, which represents the optimum amount of precipitation necessary for the production of maize. In this paper, calculations of prehistoric maize productivity and field life for any specific elevation are also demonstrated. These calculations were performed using organic nitrogen measurements made on seven southwestern Colorado soil groups together with values of reconstructed water-year precipitation and estimations of the organic nitrogen mineralization rate.

Colorado↗
USGS2013

Dating North America's oldest petroglyphs, Winnemucca Lake subbasin, Nevada

On the west side of the Winnemucca Lake subbasin, Nevada, distinctive deeply carved meter-scale petroglyphs are closely spaced, forming panels on boulder-sized surfaces of a partially collapsed tufa mound. The large, complex motifs at this side are formed by deeply carved lines and cupules. A carbonate crust deposited between 10 200 and 9800 calibrated years B.P. (ka) coats petroglyphs at the base of the mound between elevations of 1202 and 1206 m. Petroglyphs above the carbonate crust are carved into a branching form of carbonate that dates to 14.8 ka. Radiocarbon dates on a multiple-layered algal tufa on the east side of the basin, which formed at an elevation of 1205 m, as well as a sediment-core-based total inorganic carbon record for the period 17.0–9.5 ka indicate that water level in the Winnemucca Lake subbasin was constrained by spill over the Emerson Pass Sill (1207 m) for most of the time between 12.9 ± 0.3 and ≥9.2 ka. These and other data indicate that the lake in the Winnemucca Lake subbasin fell beneath its spill point between 14.8 and 13.2 ka and also between 11.3 and 10.5 ka (or between 11.5 and 11.1 ka), exposing the base of the collapsed tufa mound to petroglyph carving. The tufa-based 14C record supports decreased lake levels between 14.8–13.2 ka and 11.3–10.5 ka. Native American artifacts found in the Lahontan Basin date to the latter time interval. This does not rule out the possibility that petroglyph carving occurred between 14.8 and 13.2 ka when Pyramid Lake was relatively shallow and Winnemucca Lake had desiccated.

Nevada↗
USGS2014

Mummy Lake: An unroofed ceremonial structure within a large-scale ritual landscape

The structure at Mesa Verde National Park known historically as Mummy Lake and more recently as Far View Reservoir is not part of a water collection, impoundment, or redistribution system. We offer an alternative explanation for the function of Mummy Lake. We suggest that it is an unroofed ceremonial structure, and that it serves as an essential component of a Chacoan ritual landscape. A wide constructed avenue articulates Mummy Lake with Far View House and Pipe Shrine House. The avenue continues southward for approximately 6 km where it apparently divides connecting with Spruce Tree House and Sun Temple/Cliff Palace. The avenue has previously been interpreted as an irrigation ditch fed by water impounded at Mummy Lake; however, it conforms in every respect to alignments described as Chacoan roads. Tree-ring dates indicate that the construction of Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace began about A.D. 1225, roughly coincident with the abandonment of the Far View community. This pattern of periodically relocating the focus of an Anasazi community by retiring existing ritual structures and linking them to newly constructed facilities by means of broad avenues was first documented by Fowler and Stein (1992) in Manuelito Canyon, New Mexico. Periods of intense drought appear to have contributed to the relocation of prehistoric Native Americans from the Far View group to Cliff Palace/Spruce Tree House in the mid-13th century and eventually to the abandonment of all Anasazi communities in southwestern Colorado in the late-13th century.

Journal of Archaeological Science↗
USGS2021

The enigma of the Předmostí protodogs. A comment on Prassack et al. 2020

Prassack et al. (2020) analyzed dental microwear in a sample of canids from the Gravettian site of Předmostí that had been identified as either Paleolithic dogs or Pleistocene wolves ( n = 10 in each group), accepting that the morphological differences between the groups validly distinguished the (self-domesticating) protodogs from wolves. The authors then concluded that differences in one m2 microwear pattern separated those groups and indicated enhanced anthropogenic based durophagy in the putative protodogs. The study also inferred protodog diets from another isotope study.

Journal of Archaeological Science↗
USGS2009

High-resolution sclerochronological analysis of the bivalve mollusk Saxidomus gigantea from Alaska and British Columbia: techniques for revealing environmental archives and archaeological seasonality

The butter clam, Saxidomus gigantea, is one of the most commonly recovered bivalves from archaeological shell middens on the Pacific Coast of North America. This study presents the results of the sclerochronology of modern specimens of S. gigantea, collected monthly from Pender Island (British Columbia), and additional modern specimens from the Dundas Islands (BC) and Mink and Little Takli Islands (Alaska). The methods presented can be used as a template to interpret local environmental conditions and increase the precision of seasonality estimates in shellfish using sclerochronology and oxygen isotope analysis. This method can also identify, with a high degree of accuracy, the date of shell collection to the nearest fortnightly cycle, the time of day the shell was collected and the approximate tidal elevation (i.e., approx. water depth and distance from the shoreline) from which the shell was collected. Life-history traits of S. gigantea were analyzed to understand the timing of growth line formation, the duration of the growing season, the growth rate, and the reliability of annual increments. We also examine the influence of the tidal regime and freshwater mixing in estuarine locations and how these variables can affect both incremental structures and oxygen isotope values. The results of the sclerochronological analysis show that there is a latitudinal trend in shell growth that needs to be considered when using shells for seasonality studies. Oxygen isotope analysis reveals clear annual cycles with the most positive values corresponding to the annual winter growth lines, and the most negative values corresponding to high temperatures during the summer. Intra-annual increment widths demonstrate clear seasonal oscillations with broadest increments in summer and very narrow increments or no growth during the winter months. This study provides new insights into the biology, geochemistry and seasonal growth of S. gigantea, which are crucial for paleoclimate reconstructions and interpreting seasonality patterns of past human collection.

Alaska;British Columbia↗
USGS2009

Fire and vegetation history on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands, and long-term environmental change in southern California

The long-term history of vegetation and fire was investigated at two locations – Soledad Pond (275 m; from ca. 12 000 cal. a BP) and Abalone Rocks Marsh (0 m; from ca. 7000 cal. a BP) – on Santa Rosa Island, situated off the coast of southern California. A coastal conifer forest covered highlands of Santa Rosa during the last glacial, but by ca. 11 800 cal. a BP Pinus stands, coastal sage scrub and grassland replaced the forest as the climate warmed. The early Holocene became increasingly drier, particularly after ca. 9150 cal. a BP, as the pond dried frequently, and coastal sage scrub covered the nearby hillslopes. By ca. 6900 cal. a BP grasslands recovered at both sites. Pollen of wetland plants became prominent at Soledad Pond after ca. 4500 cal. a BP, and at Abalone Rocks Marsh after ca. 3465 cal. a BP. Diatoms suggest freshening of the Abalone Rocks Marsh somewhat later, probably by additional runoff from the highlands. Introduction of non-native species by ranchers occurred subsequent to AD 1850. Charcoal influx is high early in the record, but declines during the early Holocene when minimal biomass suggests extended drought. A general increase occurs after ca. 7000 cal. a BP, and especially after ca. 4500 cal. a BP. The Holocene pattern closely resembles population levels constructed from the archaeological record, and suggests a potential influence by humans on the fire regime of the islands, particularly during the late Holocene.

California↗
USGS2025

Integrating marine historical ecology into management of Alaska’s Pacific cod fishery for climate readiness

The Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocephalus ) fishery was closed in 2020 after a rapid decline in biomass caused by the marine heat waves of 2014–2019. Pacific cod are exceptionally thermally sensitive and management of this fishery is now challenged by increasingly unpredictable climate conditions. Fisheries monitoring is critical for climate readiness, but short-term monitoring data may be inadequate for recognizing and anticipating change under rapid climate changes. We propose an interdisciplinary, marine historical ecology framework that looks to long-term records (local and traditional knowledge, history, archaeology, and paleoclimatology) to capture a long range of ecological variability and provide historical context for management. In order to connect to contemporary fisheries management, this framework must be built on a common vocabulary and an understanding of the key metrics used in fisheries stock assessments. Here, we propose metrics derived from Pacific cod stock assessment and synthesize information relevant to understanding the effects of past warming periods on cod populations across the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. This case study provides a framework for thinking about how to use these historical records in the context of fisheries management under rapidly changing climate conditions.

Alaska↗