From the Pleistocene to the Holocene: Human Organization and Cultural Transformations in Prehistoric North America

346 Pages·2012·14.37 MB·English

by  C. Britt Bousman

From the Pleistocene to the Holocene
Number Seventeen:
Texas A&M
University Anthropology Series
D. Gentry Steele, General Editor
Series Advisory Board:
William Irons
Conrad Kottak
James F. O’Connell
Harry J. Shafer
Erik Trinkaus
Michael R. Waters
Patty Jo Watson
A list of titles in this series appears at the
back of the book.

From the
Edited by
Pleistocene to the
C. Britt Bousman
and
Holocene
Bradley J. Vierra
Human Organization
and Cultural
Transformations in
Prehistoric North
America
Texas A&M University Press
College Station
Copyright © 2012
by Texas A&M University Press
Manufactured in
the United States of America
All rights reserved
First edition
This paper meets
the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
Binding materials
have been chosen
for durability.
o y
Library of Congress
Cataloging- in- Publication Data
From the Pleistocene to the Holocene : human organization
and cultural transformations in prehistoric North America /
edited by C. Britt Bousman and Bradley J. Vierra.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Texas A&M University anthropology series ; no. 17)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
“Most chapters began as papers for a
symposium on Paleoindian- Archaic transitions in North
America, given at the Society for American Archaeol-
ogy meetings in Salt Lake City in 2005. Not all presenters
submitted a chapter, so others were solicited to expand the
geographic coverage of the volume.”—Chapter 1.
ISBN 978- 1- 60344- 760- 7 (hardcover (printed case) :
alk. paper)—ISBN 978- 1- 60344- 778- 2 (ebook)
1. Paleo- Indians—North America—Congresses. 2. Indians of
North America—Antiquities—Congresses. 3. Hunting and
gathering societies—North America—Congresses. 4. North
America—Antiquities—Congresses. 5. Antiquities,
Prehistoric—North America—Congresses.
6. Pleistocene- Holocene boundary—Congresses.
7. Paleoecology—Pleistocene—Congresses. 8. Paleoecology—
Holocene—Congresses. 9. Paleoecology—North America—
Congresses. 10. Human ecology—North America—Congresses.
11. Human beings—Effect of climate on—North America—
Congresses. I. Bousman, C. Britt. II. Vierra, Bradley J.
III. Society for American Archaeology. Meeting
(70th : 2005 : Salt Lake City, Utah)
E77.8.F76 2012
304.2—dc23
2012016414
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1. Chronology, Environmental Setting, and Views of the
Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene Cultural Transitions
in North America, 1
C. Britt Bousman and Bradley J. Vierra
2. Environmental Change and
Archaeological Transitions in Early Post- Glacial Alaska, 17
Michael R. Bever
3. The Paleo indian to Archaic Transition in the Pacifi c Northwest:
In Situ Development or Ethnic Replacement?, 37
James C. Chatters, Steven Hackenberger, Anna M. Prentiss, and
Jayne- Leigh Thomas
4. The Paleo - Archaic Transition in Western California, 67
Jeffrey S. Rosenthal and Richard T. Fitzgerald
5. The Emergence of the Desert Archaic in the Great Basin, 105
George T. Jones and Charlotte Beck
6. Paleo indian and Archaic Traditions in Sonora, Mexico, 125
Guadalupe Sanchez and John Carpenter
7. The Paleo indian to Archaic Transition:
The Northwestern Plains and Central Rocky Mountains, 149
Mary Lou Larson
8. Late Paleoindian and Early Archaic Foragers in the Northern
Southwest, 171
Bradley J. Vierra, Margaret A. Jodry, M. Steven Shackley, and
Michael J. Dilley
9. The Protoarchaic in Central Texas and Surrounding Areas, 197
C. Britt Bousman and Eric Oksanen
10. The Ozark Highland Paleoa rchaic, 233
Marvin Kay
11. The Transition from Paleo indian
to Archaic in the Middle Tennessee Valley, 253
Boyce N. Driskell, Scott C. Meeks, and Sarah C. Sherwood
12. Shades of Gray Redux:
The Paleo indian/Early Archaic “Transition” in the Northeast, 273
Kurt W. Carr and J. M. Adovasio
Contributors 319
Index 321

Acknowledgments
First and foremost, the editors of this volume would like to thank all of the
contributors who have worked hard to provide these individual chapters.
This book is only possible because of their efforts. Bousman would also like
to thank the Anthropology Department and President and Provost at Texas
State University for awarding him a sabbatical at Texas State University–San
Marcos. This allowed him to complete many of the organizational tasks
required for assembling such a volume. We would also like to thank our
families (April, Blythe, and Atticus Bousman, and Amy, Andrew, and Phil-
lip Vierra) for giving us the time and encouragement to fi nish this project.
Finally, Mary Lenn Dixon, Pat Clabaugh, Diana Vance, David Heath, and
all the folks at Texas A&M University Press have been extremely supportive
and patient and provided just the right balance of guidance and organiza-
tional latitude through the entire process.

From the Pleistocene to the Holocene