PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-04-28DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2019.1698189
M. Brea, Diana Mazzanti, G. Martínez
{"title":"Xerophytic Forest Record of the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition and Use of Wood Resources by Early Human Groups in the Eastern Tandilia Range, Argentina","authors":"M. Brea, Diana Mazzanti, G. Martínez","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2019.1698189","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2019.1698189","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This contribution analyzes the charcoal records found in archaeological sites dating to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition (9032 ± 30 - 10,672 ± 56 radiocarbon years ago) located in the eastern Tandilia Range, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The archaeological charcoal identified for the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were Celtis ehrenbergiana, Salix humboldtiana, Schinus sp., Colletia sp., Baccharis sp., and Senecio sp. Charcoals with high caloric values and long combustible duration were an excellent source of heat and were probably used by hunter-gatherers for heating, cooking, and lighting. The presence of xerophytic forests at least from ca. 10,000 radiocarbon years ago in the eastern Tandilia Range were inferred by the record of C. ehrenbergiana found in four archaeological sites during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. During this period, vegetation developed under a cold arid to semi-arid climate.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"234 - 249"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2019.1698189","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41960462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-04-02DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2019.1689010
Angelina G. Perrotti, B. Winsborough, Jessi J. Halligan, M. Waters
{"title":"Reconstructing Terminal Pleistocene-Early Holocene Environmental Change at Page-Ladson, Florida Using Diatom Evidence","authors":"Angelina G. Perrotti, B. Winsborough, Jessi J. Halligan, M. Waters","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2019.1689010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2019.1689010","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The Page-Ladson site, currently buried and submerged in a sinkhole in northwestern Florida, demonstrates evidence of human occupation in North America by 14,550 calendar years ago (cal yr BP). This paper combines new diatom evidence with existing palynological data to strengthen paleoenvironmental interpretations at the site. The Page-Ladson sinkhole was not entirely submerged between ∼15,100 and 14,400 cal yr BP. Conditions at the site became warmer and wetter, and the sinkhole became a turbid pond from ∼14,400 to 12,900 cal yr BP. From ∼12,900 cal yr BP until ∼11,000 cal yr BP, a disappearance of diatoms in the coring location suggests the sinkhole margin was dry. Water levels rose between 11,000 and 9000 cal yr BP, submerging the coring location on the pond margin. These environmental data help contextualize the archaeological data in the region.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"181 - 193"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2019.1689010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60043930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-04-02DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2019.1653747
B. Huckell, C. Vance Haynes, V. Holliday
{"title":"Comments on the Lithic Technology and Geochronology of the Goodson Rock Shelter","authors":"B. Huckell, C. Vance Haynes, V. Holliday","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2019.1653747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2019.1653747","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In a recent article published in PaleoAmerica, authors Metin I. Eren, David J. Meltzer, and Brian M. Andrews describe a set of Clovis-like artifacts recovered from an Archaic context at Goodson Rock Shelter, Oklahoma. With this discovery, they conclude that we cannot reliably recognize true Clovis assemblages and sites, especially caches, without true Clovis points, and that we should not consider other technological characteristics such as overshot flaking and prismatic blade manufacture as unequivocally representing Clovis. In this essay, we propose two additional working hypotheses that potentially explain the reported record from Goodson Rock Shelter: (1) the assemblage is not a Clovis look-alike at all; or (2) the assemblage is Clovis, but mixed with artifacts from younger occupations. We respectfully call on Eren, Meltzer, and Andrews to provide additional information about the Goodson Rock Shelter assemblage’s context and associations, as well as a more thorough luminescence analysis of the site’s lowest deposits.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"131 - 134"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2019.1653747","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45132697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-03-23DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2020.1733384
C. Méndez, Roxana Seguel Quintana, Amalia Nuevo-Delaunay, I. Murillo, Patricio López Mendoza, D. Jackson, A. Maldonado
{"title":"Depositional Contexts and New Age Controls for Terminal-Pleistocene Megafauna in North-central Chile (31°50′S)","authors":"C. Méndez, Roxana Seguel Quintana, Amalia Nuevo-Delaunay, I. Murillo, Patricio López Mendoza, D. Jackson, A. Maldonado","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2020.1733384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1733384","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Sites in north-central Chile have yielded late-Pleistocene megafauna bone remains, occasionally associated with human-made artifacts. However, little is known about the depositional characteristics, the conditions that allow their preservation, and how to identify recurrences facilitating their discovery. This work presents contextual and stratigraphic data, coupled with radiocarbon dates on bone material from surface findings and excavations conducted in Los Vilos (Coquimbo, Chile), which show that this area was rich in Pleistocene terrestrial mammals and that alluvial sequences and dunes have allowed bone preservation and exposure. These results have implications for the search for new evidence and for the interpretation of their historical trajectories. Radiometric age distribution indicates mainly terminal-Pleistocene specimens with the potential of some taxa persisting into the Holocene. These results are used to discuss coexistence and interaction scenarios between extinct faunas and the early record of human beings in the region.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"357 - 373"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2020.1733384","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44366703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-03-15DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2020.1728872
Y. Feng
{"title":"Microblades in MIS2 Central China: Cultural Change and Adaptive Strategies","authors":"Y. Feng","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2020.1728872","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1728872","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The diffusion of Northeast Asian microblades and their relation to human migration are key issues to understanding the peopling of the Americas. However, understanding of this process is hindered by a lack of a cultural framework for terminal Pleistocene Central China. This paper reviews data from microblade sites located in Central China dating to Marine Isotope Stage 2, uses a modified typology based on the chaîne opératoire to build a chronological sequence of changing lithic technology and typology, and further divides the Central Chinese sequence into four main phases: 29,000–22,000 cal yr BP, 22,000–17,000 cal yr BP, 17,000–14,000 cal yr BP, and 14,000–10,000 cal yr BP. By comparing this chronology with established sequences for other parts of Northeast Asia, it is evident that these technological phases appeared in different orders across the region, which is best explained by human migrations driven by climate change and possibly transition in adaptive strategies.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"139 - 157"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2020.1728872","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41952339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-03-04DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2019.1710934
G. F. Bonnat
{"title":"Lithic Technological Analysis of a New Archaeological Site (Cueva Alí Mustafá, ∼12,000 cal yr BP) of the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition in Eastern Tandilia, Buenos Aires, Argentina","authors":"G. F. Bonnat","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2019.1710934","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2019.1710934","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper presents and discusses the analysis of the lithic assemblage from a newly discovered archaeological site, Cueva Alí Mustafá, located in the eastern sector of the Tandilia Range (Buenos Aires, Argentina). Lithic artifacts associated with several hearths and scattered fragments of charcoal were dated in 10,450 ± 38 and 9032 ± 30 radiocarbon years ago, respectively. The site is interpreted as an ephemerally occupied camp in which lithic knapping activities were carried out, related to the late and final stages of stone-tool manufacture. The use of a wide variety of lithic raw materials from different sources was identified, most frequently two sedimentary varieties, one of which is a fine-grained rock whose source is more than 100 km from the archaeological site, and another, a medium-grained rock that is locally available. Other rocks were identified in lower frequencies, including, remarkably, the presence of silicified limestone which can be traced to more than 500 km away.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"223 - 233"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2019.1710934","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49128365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-02-27DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2020.1727270
Nathaniel R. Kitchel, H. Rockwell, A. Barker
{"title":"Red Chert Quarries in the Munsungun Lake Formation: Moving beyond Norway Bluff","authors":"Nathaniel R. Kitchel, H. Rockwell, A. Barker","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2020.1727270","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1727270","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Red chert attributed to the Munsungun Lake geologic formation located in northern Maine is common in terminal-Pleistocene, fluted-point-period lithic assemblages throughout New England. A visually identical material also appears in some later-period sites in coastal Maine. Until recently no bedrock source for this red chert showing convincing evidence of precontact use was known. Here we present the NKP site complex, a series of quarry-related stone-tool-manufacturing workshop sites associated with outcrops of high-quality red/green chert. These outcrops represent the only known source of this material with evidence of precontact human use within the Munsungun Lake formation. Although unequivocal fluted-point-period artifacts, such as fluted bifaces, are not yet documented at the NKP complex, the recurrent appearance of red Munsungun chert in fluted-point-period lithic assemblages in New England suggests the manufacture of fluted points took place in the vicinity of these outcrops.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"169 - 180"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2020.1727270","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45452299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-02-20DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2020.1725380
J. Hoffecker, S. Elias, O. Potapova
{"title":"Arctic Beringia and Native American Origins","authors":"J. Hoffecker, S. Elias, O. Potapova","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2020.1725380","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1725380","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The central lowland of Beringia (aka the Bering land bridge) has been viewed alternately as a barrier or a refugium to the Native American founder population during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Here we suggest that an equally – if not more – likely LGM home for the founder population is the arctic zone of Beringia. People were drawn to eastern arctic Beringia during the post-LGM Younger Dryas (YD) cold period and occupied western arctic Beringia during the cold interval preceding the LGM (GS5/HE3). Arctic Beringia probably contained adequate resources for an LGM human population, especially across the exposed East Siberian Arctic Shelf (“Northwest Beringian Plain”), which supported an extensive steppe-tundra habitat populated by mammoth and other large mammals before and during the LGM. An arctic Beringian refugium would explain a growing body of evidence that indicates an early (or pre-) LGM divergence of the Native American founder population from its Asian source.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"158 - 168"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2020.1725380","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45182003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-02-20DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2019.1709032
L. Magnin, V. Lynch, E. García Añino
{"title":"Intra-Site Use Patterns during the Early Holocene in the Cueva Maripe Site (Santa Cruz, Argentina)","authors":"L. Magnin, V. Lynch, E. García Añino","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2019.1709032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2019.1709032","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this paper, we make a quantitative analysis of spatial patterns for the earliest archaeological component (early Holocene) at Cueva Maripe, a multiple-activity site located in Santa Cruz province (Patagonia, Argentina). We worked in a geographical information systems environment to systematize the analogical and digital information from excavations including the location of registered hearths, the frequency of lithic artifacts and bone remains, and the distribution of burnt materials. The visualization techniques and spatial statistics allowed us to define the intra-site structure of the site. Results suggest that Cueva Maripe was probably used as a short-term temporary camp. This spatial approach leads to a better understanding of the formation and occupation history of the site, as well as a method for comparing different intra-site use patterns between sites.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"268 - 282"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2019.1709032","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44781276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PaleoAmericaPub Date : 2020-02-16DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2020.1722545
Thomaz Pinotti, F. R. Santos
{"title":"Genetic Evidence against a Paleolithic European Contribution to Past or Present Native Americans","authors":"Thomaz Pinotti, F. R. Santos","doi":"10.1080/20555563.2020.1722545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/20555563.2020.1722545","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Modern and ancient genomics have recently ignited new debates in the field of peopling of the Americas, sometimes bringing up some odd scenarios. One of those is the Solutrean hypothesis. We argue that not only is the archaeological evidence supporting it rather tentative, but also it is not possible to reconcile what is known about the genetics of past and present Native Americans with the occurrence of a transatlantic dispersal during the late Pleistocene.","PeriodicalId":37319,"journal":{"name":"PaleoAmerica","volume":"6 1","pages":"135 - 138"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/20555563.2020.1722545","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47612367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}