Vance T. Holliday

The Evolution of Paleoindian Geochronology and Typology on the Great Plains

The Great Plains contain many of the best-known Paleoindian sites in North America, and a number of these localities were key to determining the chronology of Paleoindian occupations in the years before, during, and since the development of radiocarbon and other chronometric dating methods. Initial attempts at dating were based on correlation with extinct fauna, the “geologic-climatic” dating method, and stratigraphic relationships of artifacts within sites. By the time radiocarbon dating was developed (1950), the basic Paleoindian sequence (oldest to youngest) was: Clovis-Folsom-unfluted lanceolates (such as Plainview, Eden, and Scottsbluff). Initial applications of radiocarbon dating in the 1950s did little to further resolve age relationships. In the 1960s, however, largely through the efforts of C. V. Haynes, a numerical geochronology of Paleoindian occupations on the Great Plains began to emerge On the Southern Great Plains the radiocarbon-dated artifact chronology is: Clovis (11,600–11,000 yr B.P.); Folsom and Midland (10,900–10,100 yr B.P.); Plainview, Milnesand, and Lubbock (10,200–9800 yr B.P.); Firstview (9400–8200 yr B.P.); St. Marys Hall, Golondrina, and Texas Angostura (9200–8000 yr B.P.). The chronology for the Northern Great Plains is: Clovis (11,200–10,900 yr B.P.); Goshen (ca. 11,000 yr B.P.); Folsom (10,900–10,200 yr B.P.); Agate Basin (10,500–10,000 yr B.P.); Hell Gap (10,500–9500 yr B.P.); Alberta, Alberta-Cody (10,200–9400 yr B.P.); Cody (Eden-Scottsbluff) (9400–8800 yr B.P.); Angostura, Jimmy Allen, Frederick, and other parallel-oblique types (9400–7800 yr B.P.). Fifty years after the development of radiocarbon dating, the basic typological sequence has not changed significantly except for the realization that there probably was significant temporal overlap of some point types, and that the old unilinear sequence does not account for all the known typological variation. The chronology has been continually refined with the determination of hundreds of radiocarbon ages in recent decades.

Earth sciences and archaeology

Preface P. Goldberg, et al. 1. Quaternary Geoscience in Archaeology T. Holliday. 2. A Review of Site Formation Processes and Their Relevance to Geoarchaeology J.K. Stein. 3. Evaluating Causality if Landscape Change: Examples from Alluviation C. Frederick. 4. Geoarchaeology in Alluvial Landscapes C.R. Ferring. 5. A Geomorphological Approach to Reconstructing Archaeological Settlement Patterns Based on Surficial Artifact Distribution: Re-placing Humans on the Landscape L. Wells. 6. Archaeoseismology: Shaking Out the History of Humans and Earthquakes J.S. Noller. 7. Use and Analysis of Soils by Archaeologists and Geoscientists: A North American Perspective R.D. Mandel, E.A. Bettis. 8. Micro-facies Analysis Assisting Archaeological Stratigraphy M.-A. Courty. 9. The Soil Micromorphologist as Team Player: A Multianalytical Approach to the Study of European Microstratigraphy R. Macphail, J. Cruise. 10. Buried Artifacts in Sandy Soils: Techniques for Evaluating Pedoturbation versus Sedimentation D. Leigh. 11. The Role of Petrography in the Study of Archaeological Ceramics J.B. Stoltman. 12. Microartifacts S.C. Sherwood. 13. Current Practices In Archaeogeophysics: Magnetics, Resistivity, Conductivity, and Ground Penetrating Radar K.L. Kvamme. 14. Beyond C14 Dating: A Users Guide to Long-range Dating Methods in Archaeology W.J. Rink. 15. Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotopes in Soils: Applications for Archaeological Research L.C. Nordt. 16. Sourcing Lithic Artifacts by Instrumental Analyses N. Herz. 17. A Personal View of Earth Sciences Contribution to Archaeology O. Bar-Yosef. Index.

Middle Holocene Drought on the Southern High Plains

Abstract The climate of the Southern High Plains during the middle Holocene is indicated by data from a variety of sources. Stratigraphic, geomorphic, and pedologic research at six localities in draws, several dune sites, and one playa-lake basin show that widespread eolian erosion and sedimentation began in some areas by 9000 yr B.P. and culminated 6000-4500 yr B.P., probably because of warmer, drier conditions that reduced the vegetative cover. Archaeological investigations at three sites provide evidence for the excavation of wells at this time, apparently because of a declining water table. Studies of a few vertebrate and invertebrate faunas also indicate warming and drying in the middle Holocene. Climate models and very limited isotopic data from Bison bone suggest that summers in the middle Holocene were warmer than present, with reduced effective precipitation. All lines of evidence indicate that the Southern High Plains was subjected to prolonged drought in the middle Holocene with a maximum between 6500 and 4500 yr B.P., conforming climatically and chronologically to the Altithermal.

Stratigraphy and geochronology of upper Quaternary eolian sand on the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, United States

Eolian sand in dune fields and sand sheets cover >10 000 km 2 (∼10%) of the Southern High Plains of northwestern Texas and eastern New Mexico. These deposits are concentrated in three west-east–trending belts of dunes (the Muleshoe, Lea-Yoakum, and Andrews dune fields, from north to south) that appear to be eastern extensions of the Mescalero-Monahans dune system in the Pecos River valley, and in the Seminole sand sheet, a discontinuous accumulation of sheet sands between the Lea-Yoakum and Monahans-Andrews dunes. The most common landforms are parabolic dunes associated with blowouts, coppice dunes, and sand sheets, all typical of sandy, vegetated, semiarid landscapes, barchan dunes, in keeping with a relatively limited sand supply and an underlying surface that is relatively hard (Blackwater Draw Formation, Pleistocene), and fence-row dunes, historic dunes formed along field boundaries. These eolian deposits accumulated episodically in the late Pleistocene and Holocene and provide clues to the history of regional drought and aridity. The earliest phase of sedimentation occurred when sheet sands were deposited between 11 000 and 8000 14 C yr B.P., probably in several phases, based on archaeological data, as a result of episodic drought beginning between 11 000 and 10 000 yr B.P. Eolian deposits dating between 8000 and 3000 yr B.P. are rare, although eolian sediment 8000–4500 14 C yr B.P. is ubiquitous in the draws that cross the region, and paleoenvironmental indicators show that the region was subjected to aridity throughout middle Holocene time. The middle Holocene deposits most likely were remobilized in late Holocene time. Most of the deposits and landforms of the dune fields and sand sheets are late Holocene, dating before 4000 14 C yr B.P. and mostly before 1500 14 C yr B.P. The Muleshoe and Lea-Yoakum dunes and the Seminole sand sheet underwent substantial eastward expansion in late Holocene time. Buried soils and radiocarbon ages show that the eolian sand accumulated in several stages, probably in response to cyclic drought. The Muleshoe dunes accumulated after ca. 1300 cal yr B.P. (ca. 1400 14 C yr B.P.), after ca. 750–670 cal yr B.P. (ca. 850–750 14 C yr B.P.), just after ca. 500 cal yr B.P. (ca. 450 14 C yr B.P.), and during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Lea-Yoakum dunes were active after ca. 3400 cal yr B.P. (ca. 3200 14 C yr B.P.) and historically. The Seminole sand sheet was active ca. 430–330 cal yr B.P. (ca. 360 14 C yr B.P.) and in the twentieth century. The Andrews dunes were subjected to at least two phases of eolian sedimentation after ca. 2320 cal yr B.P. (ca. 2320 14 C yr B.P.). Comparisons with eolian chronologies from other regions on the Great Plains suggest that dune mobilization was a regional phenomenon after ca. 2300 cal yr B.P. (ca. 2300 14 C yr B.P.); after ca. 1500–1400 cal yr B.P. (ca. 1650–1550 14 C yr B.P.); after ca. 700 cal yr B.P. (ca. 800 14 C yr B.P.); between 500 and 300 cal yr B.P. (ca. 450–300 14 C yr B.P.); and in the nineteenth century. The climatic fluctuations responsible for mobilizing the dunes probably were relatively minor, yet the landscape impacts were substantial, resulting in widespread wind erosion and dune construction.

Archaeological geology of the Lubbock Lake site, southern High Plains of Texas.

The Lubbock Lake site is a well-stratified archaeological locality in Yellowhouse Draw on the Southern High Plains of Texas. It has a cultural record that spans the past 11,000+ yr that is contained within a thick sequence of sediments and soils. The sequence at Lubbock Lake is one of the most closely integrated records of late Quaternary human occupation, sedimentation, and soil formation documented in North America. Stratum 1 (11000 yr B.P. and older) was deposited by a meandering stream and contains Clovis-age cultural remains. Stratum 2 is composed of lacustrine sediments (11000 to 10000 yr B.P.) and overlying marsh deposits (10000 to 8500 yr B.P.), with Paleoindian material in both units. The Firstview Soil (8500 to ∼6300 yr B.P.) formed in the top of stratum 2. Stratum 3 (∼6300 to ∼5000 yr B.P.) contains early Archaic material, eolian and marsh deposits suggestive of warm, arid conditions; and the Yellowhouse Soil, indicating a brief period of landscape stability. Stratum 4 (5000 to 4500 yr B.P.) is primarily an eolian unit that marks the second of two periods of severe drought in the middle Holocene. The Lubbock Lake Soil, formed in stratum 4 (beginning 4500 yr B.P.), coincides with the late Archaic and Ceramic periods and documents landscape stability and a return to climatic conditions similar to those of today. Stratum 5 contains late Ceramic, Protohistoric, and Historic archaeological material within eolian and slopewash sediments (and the Apache and Singer Soils), which indicate several shifts toward aridity within the past 1,000 yr.

An independent evaluation of the Younger Dryas extraterrestrial impact hypothesis

Based on elevated concentrations of a set of “impact markers” at the onset of the Younger Dryas stadial from sedimentary contexts across North America, Firestone, Kennett, West, and others have argued that 12.9 ka the Earth experienced an impact by an extraterrestrial body, an event that had devastating ecological consequences for humans, plants, and animals in the New World [Firestone RB, et al. (2007) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104:16016–16021]. Herein, we report the results of an independent analysis of magnetic minerals and microspherules from seven sites of similar age, including two examined by Firestone et al. We were unable to reproduce any results of the Firestone et al. study and find no support for Younger Dryas extraterrestrial impact.

Dating of Holocene Stratigraphy With Soluble and Insoluble Organic Fractions at the Lubbock Lake Archaeological Site, Texas: An Ideal Case Study

The Lubbock Lake site, on the Southern High Plains of Texas, contains one of the most complete and best-dated late Quaternary records in North America. A total of 117 14C dates are available from the site, determined by the Smithsonian and SMU Laboratories. Of these dates, 84 have been derived from residues (humin) and humates (humic acids) of organic-rich marsh sediments and A horizons of buried soils. Most of the ages are consistent with dates determined on charcoal and wood, and with the archaeologic and stratigraphic record. The dates on the marsh sediments are approximate points in time. Dates from the top of buried A-horizons are a maximum for burial and in many cases are close to the actual age of burial. Dates from the base of the A-horizons are a minimum for the beginning of soil formation, in some cases as much as several thousand years younger than the initiation of pedogenesis. A few pairs of dates were obtained from hurnin and humic acid derived from split samples; there are no consistencies in similarities or differences in these age pairs. It also became apparent that dates determined on samples from scraped trench walls or excavations that were left open for several years are younger than dates from samples taken from exactly the same locations when the sampling surfaces were freshly excavated.

From the Bay of Naples to the River Don: the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption and the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Eastern Europe

The Campanian Ignimbrite (CI) eruption, dated by 40Ar/39Ar and various stratigraphic methods to ca. 39,000 cal BP, generated a massive ash plume from its source in southern Italy across Southeastern and Eastern Europe. At the Kostenki-Borshchevo open-air sites on the Middle Don River in Russia, Upper Paleolithic artifact assemblages are buried below, within, and above the CI tephra (which is redeposited by slope action at most sites) on the second terrace. Luminescence and radiocarbon dating, paleomagnetism, and soil and pollen stratigraphy provide further basis for correlation with the Greenland and North Atlantic climate stratigraphy. The oldest Upper Paleolithic occupation layers at Kostenki-Borshchevo may be broadly correlated with warm intervals that preceded the CI event and Heinrich Event 4 (HE4; Greenland Interstadial: GI 12-GI 9) dating to ca. 45,000-41,000 cal BP. These layers contain an industry not currently recognized in other parts of Europe. Early Upper Paleolithic layers above the CI tephra are correlated with HE4 and warm intervals that occurred during 38,000-30,000 cal BP (GI 8-GI 5), and include an assemblage that is assigned to the Aurigancian industry, associated with skeletal remains of modern humans.

Human (Clovis)–gomphothere (Cuvieronius sp.) association ∼13,390 calibrated yBP in Sonora, Mexico

Significance Archaeological evidence from Sonora, Mexico, indicates that the earliest widespread and recognizable group of hunter-gatherers (“Clovis”) were in place ∼13,390 y ago in southwestern North America. This is the earliest well-documented population on the continent and suggests that the unique Clovis artifact style originated in the southwest or south central part of the continent, well south of the Arctic gateways into the continent. These hunters targeted gomphotheres, an elephant common in south and central North America, but unknown in association with humans or at this late age in North America. The earliest known foragers to populate most of North America south of the glaciers [∼11,500 to ≥ ∼10,800 14C yBP; ∼13,300 to ∼12,800 calibrated (Cal) years] made distinctive “Clovis” artifacts. They are stereotypically characterized as hunters of Pleistocene megamammals (mostly mammoth) who entered the continent via Beringia and an ice-free corridor in Canada. The origins of Clovis technology are unclear, however, with no obvious evidence of a predecessor to the north. Here we present evidence for Clovis hunting and habitation ∼11,550 yBP (∼13,390 Cal years) at “El Fin del Mundo,” an archaeological site in Sonora, northwestern Mexico. The site also includes the first evidence to our knowledge for gomphothere (Cuvieronius sp.) as Clovis prey, otherwise unknown in the North American archaeological record and terminal Pleistocene paleontological record. These data (i) broaden the age and geographic range for Clovis, establishing El Fin del Mundo as one of the oldest and southernmost in situ Clovis sites, supporting the hypothesis that Clovis had its origins well south of the gateways into the continent, and (ii) expand the make-up of the North American megafauna community just before extinction.

Origin of late Quaternary dune fields on the Southern High Plains of Texas and New Mexico

Mostly stabilized late Holocene eolian sands on the Southern High Plains of the United States were studied to determine their origins and to assess whether present dune stability depends more strongly on sediment supply, sediment availability, or transport limitations. Geomorphic, sedimentological, and geochemical trends indicate that late Holocene dunes formed under westerly paleowinds, broadly similar to those of today. Mineralogical and geochemical data indicate that the most likely source for the sands is not the Pecos River valley, but the Pleistocene Blackwater Draw Formation, an older, extensive eolian deposit in the region. These observations suggest that new sand is supplied whenever vegetation cover is diminished to the extent that the Blackwater Draw Formation can be eroded, in agreement with modern observations of wind erosion in the region. We conclude, therefore, that Southern High Plains dunes are stabilized primarily due to a vegetation cover. The dunes are thus sediment-availability limited. This conclusion is consistent with the observation that, in the warmest, driest part of the region (where vegetation cover is minimal), dunes are currently active over a large area. Geochemical data indicate that Southern High Plains dunes are the most mineralogically mature (quartz rich) sands yet studied in the Great Plains, which suggests a long history of eolian activity, either in the dune fields or during deposition of the Blackwater Draw Formation.