Evidence for a winter-snowpack derived water source for the Fremont maize farmers of Range Creek Canyon, Utah, USA

The Holocene · 2021 · 9 citations

• Geology
• Environmental science
• Geography

We present results of multiproxy analysis of a sediment core collected from Billy Slope Meadow, a spring-fed wet meadow in Range Creek Canyon, Utah. Range Creek Canyon was the home to Fremont maize farmers between roughly 1200 and 800 cal BP (AD 750–1150). Stable carbon isotope analysis of core sediments from Billy Slope Meadow indicate the Billy Slope Meadow site was used as a field for maize agriculture during that time. Some scholars have suggested the florescence of the Fremont culture may have been driven by increased summer precipitation, which improved the economic profitability of dry farming maize. But analysis of pollen, macroscopic charcoal and sediment geochemistry from Billy Slope Meadow, and a comparison with a local tree-ring chronology indicate the Fremont period in Range Creek Canyon was probably marked by reduced summer precipitation, and not an invigorated monsoon. The Fremont maize farmers of Range Creek Canyon therefore likely used winter snowpack-derived water from Range Creek for maize agriculture. This observation has significant implications, as using creek water rather than direct precipitation and runoff necessitates the construction of dams irrigation infrastructure, limited evidence for which has been reported by archaeologists working in the Fremont region.

Investigation of late and post-Fremont alluvial stratigraphy of Range Creek, east-central Utah: Use of OSL when radiocarbon fails

Quaternary International · 2014-12-21 · 11 citations

Packrat middens and the Holocene palaeohistory of Colorado piñon (<i>Pinus edulis</i>) in western Colorado

Journal of Biogeography · 2014-11-28 · 6 citations

Abstract Aim Our aim was to determine the age and dispersal history of Colorado piñon ( Pinus edulis ) in western Colorado during the early to late Holocene using radiocarbon‐dated needles and nutshells from packrat ( Neotoma spp.) middens. Location The Uncompahgre Plateau ( UP ) comprises more than 600,000 ha of public and private lands in west‐central Colorado, USA . Elevations within UP range from 1400 to 3140 m and it is characterized by numerous deep canyons and flat‐topped mesas. The Upper Gunnison Basin ( UGB ) encompasses a 243,000‐ha area enclosed within the southern Rocky Mountains in south‐western Colorado, USA . It spans 2200–4300 m in elevation, with no outlet apart from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison lower than 2650 m. Methods Middens were sampled by breaking off small sections of solidified deposits located in caves and crevices that were then disaggregated in water with repeated rinsing to separate all the plant remains. Single conifer needles and nutshells from 28 middens were radiocarbon dated to determine the age and timing of dispersal into western Colorado. Results Thirty‐two midden samples were collected, of which 28 produced identifiable plant remains that were radiocarbon dated. Piñon needles and/or nutshells were identified and radiocarbon dated from 20 of these middens from seven localities in UP . The results indicated that piñon did not become established in UP until c. 6000 yr bp , which contrasts with the nearby UGB , where piñon charcoal has been identified from seven archaeological sites with dates ranging from 8000 to 3000 yr bp . Main conclusions Our data are consistent with a model of late Pleistocene/early Holocene piñon migration into the Colorado Plateau from Arizona and New Mexico before becoming established in western Colorado. The timing of the piñon migration into south‐central Colorado along the Rio Grande corridor from New Mexico remains uncertain. While piñon–juniper woodlands currently dominate the lower elevations of UP , piñon had disappeared from UGB by c. 3000 yr bp and remains absent there today except for a few isolated trees.

Late Holocene Climate Change and the Origin of the “Figurine Complex” In Grand Canyon, Arizona

Journal of Ethnobiology · 2013-11-01 · 4 citations

Hundreds of split-twig figurines have been recovered from caves in Grand Canyon and are associated with a hunting ritual that dates from 4200–3100 14C yrs before present (BP). The caves chosen for this ritual all have Pleistocene remains of big game animals visible in packrat middens or surface deposits at the entrances. Presumably, Archaic hunter-gatherers identified these sites as entrances to the Underworld where the fossil remains represented ancestral animals. We examine the known chronology for these sites in Grand Canyon and postulate that the origin of this ritual is correlated with a period of rapid climate change that occurred on both global and regional scales beginning at ∼4000 BP. Increasingly variable conditions and the onset of modern El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) patterns in the eastern Pacific at that time probably negatively affected productivity of big game species in years with decreased winter precipitation. Thus, the caves became foci for a hunting ritual with figurines serving as a kind of offering. Most dates on the figurines or associated artifacts occur between 4100–3530 BP and many cluster to specific periods that suggest this ritual was not continuous, but may correspond with episodic droughts. Additional radiocarbon dates on figurines can test this hypothesis.

50,000 years of vegetation and climate history on the Colorado Plateau, Utah and Arizona, USA

Quaternary Research · 2008-07-01 · 49 citations

Abstract Sixty packrat middens were collected in Canyonlands and Grand Canyon National Parks, and these series include sites north of areas that produced previous detailed series from the Colorado Plateau. The exceptionally long time series obtained from each of three sites (&gt; 48,000 14 C yr BP to present) include some of the oldest middens yet discovered. Most middens contain a typical late-Wisconsinan glaciation mixture of mesic and xeric taxa, evidence that plant species responded to climate change by range adjustments of elevational distribution based on individual criteria. Differences in elevational range from today for trees and shrubs ranged from no apparent change to as much as 1200 m difference. The oldest middens from Canyonlands NP, however, differ in containing strictly xeric assemblages, including middens incorporating needles of Arizona single-leaf pinyon, far north of its current distribution. Similar-aged middens from the eastern end of Grand Canyon NP contain plants more typical of glacial climates, but also contain fossils of one-seed juniper near its current northern limit in Arizona. Holocene middens reveal the development of modern vegetation assemblages on the Colorado Plateau, recording departures of mesic taxa from low elevation sites, and the arrival of modern dominant components much later.

A 45,000 yr record of Adélie penguins and climate change in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Geology · 2006-12-27 · 133 citations

Research Article| January 01, 2007 A 45,000 yr record of Adélie penguins and climate change in the Ross Sea, Antarctica Steven D. Emslie; Steven D. Emslie 1Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Larry Coats; Larry Coats 2Department of Geography, University of Utah, 260 S. Central Campus Drive, Room 270, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kathy Licht Kathy Licht 3Geology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 723 W. Michigan Street, Room SL118, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Steven D. Emslie 1Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403, USA Larry Coats 2Department of Geography, University of Utah, 260 S. Central Campus Drive, Room 270, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, USA Kathy Licht 3Geology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 723 W. Michigan Street, Room SL118, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 08 Jun 2006 Revision Received: 03 Sep 2006 Accepted: 07 Sep 2006 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2007) 35 (1): 61–64. https://doi.org/10.1130/G23011A.1 Article history Received: 08 Jun 2006 Revision Received: 03 Sep 2006 Accepted: 07 Sep 2006 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Steven D. Emslie, Larry Coats, Kathy Licht; A 45,000 yr record of Adélie penguins and climate change in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. Geology 2007;; 35 (1): 61–64. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G23011A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Well-preserved remains of bone, tissue, and eggshell of Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) have been recovered from numerous abandoned colonies in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica. Radiocarbon dates on these remains provide an occupation history for this species ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of years ago. We completed 62 new radiocarbon dates on these remains, which now indicate that an open-water marine environment existed in the Ross Sea from ca. 45,000 to 27,000 14C yr before present (B.P.) and provide constraints for the timing of the last advance of the Ross Ice Sheet. Penguins did not recolonize the Ross Sea until ca. 8000 calendar years (cal yr) B.P., after the early Holocene retreat of the Ross Ice Sheet. Two subsequent periods of abandonment at 5000–4000 and 2000–1100 cal yr B.P. correlate with cooling episodes that caused unfavorable marine conditions for breeding penguins. Most modern colonies were established only within the past 2000 yr. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Holocene thermal maximum in the western Arctic (0–180°W)

Quaternary Science Reviews · 2004-01-15 · 866 citations

Erratum to: Holocene thermal maximum in the western Arctic (0–180°W) [Quaternary Science Reviews 23 (2003) 529–560]

Quaternary Science Reviews · 2004-07-22 · 81 citations

Late-Holocene initiation of ice-free ecosystems in the southern Ross Sea, Antarctica

Marine Ecology Progress Series · 2003-01-01 · 80 citations

New data on marine sediments, seawater paleotemperatures, and the occupation history of Adlie penguins indicate that modern ice-free conditions in the southern Ross Sea developed only within the last 1000 yr. Here we show that penguins permanently abandoned the southern Victoria Land Coast 2000 yr ago when extensive sea-ice cover blocked access to ice-free terrain for breeding. The first colonization of Ross Island in East McMurdo Sound, where over 300 000 penguins breed today, did not commence until after 1170 yr BP when coastal areas became exposed from under the Ross Ice Shelf. Our results demonstrate that investigations of abandoned penguin colonies can provide increased resolution to Holocene paleoclimatic records and paleoceanographic conditions in Antarctica.

Split-Twig Figurines in Grand Canyon, Arizona: New Discoveries and Interpretations

KIVA · 1995-01-01 · 5 citations

Five previously unreported, relatively undisturbed caves in the high vertical cliffs of Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, provide new information on Archaic culture and the function of split-twig figurines. Radiocarbon dates indicate cultural use of these sites between 4390–3700 B.P. and correspond in age with similar localities in the Grand Canyon. Unlike most other Archaic sites in the Grand Canyon, these sites contain numerous rock cairns as well as cairns built partially or entirely of indurated packrat-midden of late Pleistocene age. Archaic artifacts, including split-twig figurines, appear to be deliberately associated with fossil material of extinct mountain goat (Oreamnos harringtoni) and other vertebrate remains. Though split-twig figurines are assumed to have been associated with hunting ritual, caves for this ceremony may have been chosen for their length and fossil contents. The lack of patterns in cairn construction, size, and location also suggests that each cairn is an individual “signature” left by prehistoric humans who periodically gained entrance to these remote caves.