Evaluating Kill-Camp Organization in a Terminal Pleistocene Lithic Scatter: Computational Spatial Analysis of the Reddin Folsom Site, San Luis Valley, USA

Abstract

Models of terminal Pleistocene (Early Paleoindian) land-use in North America explore the interplay of residential and logistical mobility. Researchers often structure interpretations using simple site categories, like residential camp or kill site. Excavations in several components reveal terminal Pleistocene groups occasionally tethered residential and logistical choices, forming kill-camp sites characterized by hunting activities, animal butchery, and residential downtime. A popular rule-of-thumb method for distinguishing camping from hunting activities involves comparing the types and quantities of projectile point fragments between localities. Researchers have classified entire sites as camps, kills, or kill-camps using this metric. However, much of the Early Paleoindian record is dominated by surface scatters which exhibit continuous and diffuse artifact distributions, lacking discrete localities. Some lithic scatters far exceed the normal sizes of single component sites and better reflect a lithic landscape, making it difficult to define site categories or analyze spatial relationships between artifacts. In this paper, I first define a spatially explicit framework for projectile point fragment discard in kills and camps, addressing behavioral inferences for discrete occupations and surface scatters. I then use computational techniques to characterize the spatial covariance of projectile fragments at the Reddin site, which is the largest Folsom lithic scatter in North America. I address a long-standing hypothesis which suggests Folsom groups segregated hunting activities away from campsites on the landscape. Results of the analysis do not support this hypothesis, but suggest Folsom groups formed kill-camp deposits across the site surface.