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THE ONSET OF SMALL SEED PROCESSING ON THE COLORADO PLATEAU

David T. Yoder, Mark L. Bodily, Sara Hill, Joel C. Janetski, and Bradley A. Newbold

ABSTRACT Small seeds played an important dietary role during the Archaic period in the arid west of North America. The timing of the onset of intensive small seed use is of interest as it suggests a broadening of diets by early peoples and has implications for climatic change. Here we review both direct and indirect evidences of small seed use at critical sites in the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau. This information combined with new data from North Creek Shelter in the Escalante Valley of southern Utah suggests this shift occurred by 9,000 years ago. RESUMEN Semillas pequeñas eran parte importante de la dieta durante el periodo arcaico en el oeste árido de Norte América. La época en la que empezó el uso intenso de semillas pequeñas es de interés porque infiere una expansión en la dieta de los primeros habitantes, y tiene implicaciones de cambio climático. Aquí, examinamos evidencias directas e indirectas del uso de semillas pequeñas en sitios importantes del Great Basin y el Colorado Plateau. Esta información junto con datos del North Creek Shelter en el Valle de Escalante del sur de Utah, indica que esta expansión ocurrió hace 9,000 años.

INTRODUCTION The beginning of intensive small seed use as a dietary staple marks an important shift in subsistence and cultural organization for hunter-gatherers around the world. In the semi-arid Great Basin and Colorado Plateau of North America, this shift marks the termination of the Paleoarchaic and the onset of broad spectrum foraging referred to as the Archaic (Madsen 2007). Based on evidence from Danger Cave, Utah, this shift was thought to occur as early as ~10,000 BP in the Great Basin (Jennings 1957). Work by Rhode et al. (2006), however, has shown that intensive small seed use did not begin at Danger Cave until ~8600 BP. After reviewing basketry, ground stone, and coprolite data, Phil Geib and Ed Jolie (2008) have suggested that intensive small seed use may have begun in the south and spread to the Great Basin through the Colorado Plateau. Recent work at North Creek Shelter, a Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene site on the northern KIVA: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, Vol. 75, No. 4 (Summer 2010), pp. 425–446. Copyright © 2010 Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. All rights reserved. 425

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Colorado Plateau, has yielded evidence suggesting intensive small seed use may have been in place by 9000 BP, a conclusion that supports the Geib and Jolie model. THE SPREAD OF SMALL SEED INTENSIFICATION Geib and Jolie (2008) used the recovery of a small coiled basket in Cowboy Cave, Utah, to challenge the assumption that small seed intensification began in the eastern Great Basin and diffused southward onto the Colorado Plateau. According to Geib and Jolie, proponents of this theory suggest that coiled basketry was independently invented in the eastern Great Basin by approximately 9000 BP as a tool to process small seeds more efficiently. Geib and Jolie dispute this argument by reviewing current data which imply that coiled basketry is not found in significant amounts until after small seed intensification is seen at such sites as Danger Cave (~8600 BP). As an alternative, they suggest that early Holocene drying likely first affected low-lying southern regions, followed by the more arid portions of the Colorado Plateau, and finally the relatively water-rich eastern Great Basin. The proposition that small seed use may have actually spread to the eastern Great Basin rather than beginning there is significant. One way to assess the validity of such an idea is to examine the ground stone record from both regions based on the assumption that ground stone is indirect evidence of seed processing. In the following paragraphs, the existing data on early ground stone and intensification are reviewed, and new data from North Creek Shelter are added to evaluate the possibility that small seed intensification occurred first on the Colorado Plateau and later in the eastern Great Basin. PALEOARCHAIC VERSUS ARCHAIC SUBSISTENCE The early Holocene proliferation of grinding tools (manos and metates) used to process small seeds may be the most important development exemplifying a shift in subsistence from the Paleoarchaic to Archaic systems. In discussing Paleoarchaic subsistence and settlement patterns in the Great Basin, Madsen goes so far as to state, “What separates Paleoarchaic from Archaic foragers, if indeed they can be separated at all? Basically, there is but a single factor: the appearance of ground stone by about 8500 BP . . . and the processing of hard, small seeds that, because of their high processing costs, have relatively low return rates” (Madsen 2007:15) (italics added). In making such a statement, Madsen is building on the work of Jennings (and others), who, when discussing the archaic Desert culture, stated, “Grinding stones, used to make wild grass seeds digestible, are the hallmark of this period” (Jennings and Norbeck 1955:3), and two years later in his classic Danger Cave monograph added, “The twin hall marks of the Desert culture were the basket and the flat milling stone” (Jennings 1957:7).

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With this understanding, it is hard to overstate the importance of ground stone in the archaeological record when discussing the transition from the Paleoarchaic to the Archaic. The earliest examples of ground stone in the Great Basin are found in the northern portion of the region from such sites as Fort Rock and Connley Caves, the Tucker site, Paulina Lake, and Dirty Shame Rockshelter. EARLIEST GRINDING TOOLS IN THE GREAT BASIN In 1967 Stephen Bedwell excavated at both Fort Rock Cave (35LK1) and the Connley Caves (35LK50) in the Fort Rock Basin of central Oregon (Figure 1). At Fort Rock Cave he found a single-sided mano (in addition to thirteen other artifacts) lying on gravels that formed the base of the cave’s deposits. A single radiocarbon date from organics on top of the gravel returned a date of 13,200±720 BP (Bedwell 1973). Most scholars dismiss this date as there is no proof of the contemporaneity of the organic materials and the artifact assemblage (Haynes 1971; Grayson 1993; Beck and Jones 1997). Bedwell also found an unreported number of manos in the Unit 3 deposits at Fort Rock Cave (and one mano fragment at Connley Caves), which he placed at ~11,000 to 8,000 BP based on multiple radiocarbon dates (Bedwell 1973:148). Although the dating of Unit 3 seems relatively solid, Bedwell reports no stratigraphic provenience for the grinding tools, so they may fall anywhere within the 3000-radiocarbon-year range. In addition, we do not know the actual number of ground artifacts, as Bedwell only states that “a number” were found (Bedwell 1973:148). The number of manos and metates does not appear to increase significantly until ~5000 to 3000 BP (Bedwell’s Unit 1) (Bedwell 1973:155–156) The Tucker Site (35LK3227) in the Dietz Basin of Lake County, Oregon (Figure 1), at an elevation of ~1320 m (4330 ft.) also yielded early ground stone. In 1996 and 1997, the excavators recovered four fragments of a single metate from two features, one of which dated to 9430±80 BP (Pinson 2004:66–67). The refit metate measured roughly 15 cm in diameter and was ground on the upper surface and lateral margins. No other ground stone was found at the site, leading Pinson to state, “The paucity of ground stone milling tools is consistent with low levels of grass seed use” (Pinson 2004:73). The Paulina Lake Site (35DS34) in central Oregon, elevation ~1932 m (6340 ft), was excavated between 1990 and 1992 (Figure 1). The earliest grinding tools at the site consisted of eight fragments from Component 2 which dated between 9060±80 and 7930±80 BP (Connolly and Jenkins 1999); however, five of the fragments were refit to form two artifacts, reducing the total to five. All five were flat or tabular cobbles, “generally of handstone (mano) size,” and the authors noted that some of the artifacts may have been used more as abraders than as grinding tools associated with plant food processing (Connolly and Jenkins 1999:125). The only other grinding tool from the site included two pieces from Component 3, which dated from 7560±190 to 6540±150 BP.

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Figure 1. Location of sites with evidence of early ground stone use or intensive small seed processing in the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau: (1) Paulina Lake Site, (2) Fort Rock Cave, (3) Tucker Site, (4) Dirty Shame Rockshelter, (5) Hogup Cave, (6) Danger Cave, (7) Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, (8) Joes Valley Alcove, (9) Sudden Shelter, (10) Cowboy Cave and Walters Cave, (11) North Creek Shelter, (12) Old Man Cave, (13) Dust Devil Cave and Sand Dune Cave, (14) Tsosie Shelter.

Dirty Shame Rockshelter (35ML65) in southeast Oregon is located on the Owyhee Plateau at an elevation of ~1430 m (4700 ft) (Figure 1). The University of Oregon excavated the site in 1973 and found cultural debris dating back to 9500±95 BP (Aikens et al. 1977). But, like many rockshelters, the site had very complicated stratigraphy impacted by both natural and cultural agents (Hanes 1988). Beck and Jones have stated that the earliest grinding tools from Dirty Shame Rockshelter (which includ twelve metate fragments and one mano) date between 9500 and 7880 BP (1997:209). They appear to base their statement on two earlier dates from Lower Zone VI; however, these dates are closer to the front of the shelter and appear unassociated to the grinding tools. A different reading of Hanes’s

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original data indicates that these tools can be more precisely associated with radiocarbon dates of 8865±95 BP, 8850±75 BP, and 7925±80 BP (Hanes 1988). Although a number of coprolites were recovered from the site, none date to the earliest occupations. Analysis of seven samples from Zone IV indicates that plants such as sedges (Cyperaceae), wild rose (Rosa fendleri), and sunflower (Helianthus) were being consumed as early as 6800–6300 BP (Hall 1977). As the above examples illustrate, grinding tools that were probably used for processing food items appear in parts of the northern Great Basin as early as 9430 BP, and may possibly have been in use since 11,000 BP (although data for such early use are both scant and arguable). While these sites demonstrate that ground stone technology was present during the terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene period, most researchers recognize that the first solid evidence for intensive processing of small seeds comes from Danger Cave in the eastern Great Basin. THE EASTERN GREAT BASIN AND INTENSIFICATION The site that has exemplified a focus on small seed processing and an attendant heavy ground stone use in the Great Basin is Danger Cave (42TO13). Located roughly one mile to the northeast of Wendover, Utah, at an elevation of ~1318 m (4325 ft) (Figure 1), Danger Cave was excavated in the 1940s and 1950s by the University of Utah. The site contained abundant ground stone, seed processing residue (layers of pickleweed chaff), and coprolites containing large amounts of seeds, all of which were thought to date as early as ~10,300 BP (Jennings 1957). A recent reexamination of the critical evidence, however, has shown that significant small seed processing and consumption at Danger Cave did not occur until ~8600 BP (Rhode et al. 2006). Rhode et al. radiocarbon dated 15 palaeofaecal specimens that contained small seeds from the lowest levels of Danger Cave and found that the oldest specimen dated to 8680±50 BP, while many others dated to ~6000, 5000, or even 3000 BP (Rhode et al. 2006:Table 3). They then radiocarbon dated the earliest level of pickleweed chaff and found that the bottom of the level dated to 8570±40 BP while the top of the level dated to 8380±60 BP. Finally, by reexamining the excavation notes they found that the distribution of ground stone did not conform to expectations of intensive seed processing by 10,000 BP. Specifically, they separated the ground stone in the DII stratum at Danger Cave into three stratigraphic layers (according to Jennings’ site notes) which included the upper (F30), middle (F16), and lower (F31) layers. By tallying the number of ground stone “lots” and comparing them between strata, they found that the upper layer of DII contained 26 lots (53 percent), the middle layer 18 lots (37 percent), and the lower layer 5 lots (10 percent). Rhode et al. state, “These data (assuming they adequately represent overall grinding stone distribution) suggest that grinding stone artefacts were abundant in the upper part of DII dating after c. 8500 b.p. (90 percent), but they were far fewer (10 percent) in the lower part dating c.

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10,000-9800 b.p.” (Rhode et al. 2006:336). Further, the few pieces of ground stone that were found in the lower levels (pre-8500 BP) could easily be accounted for by deposit mixing as is evidenced by the range of dates (~8700–3000 BP) from the fifteen palaeofaecal specimens, all of which came from the lower levels. Bonneville Estates Rockshelter lies south of Danger Cave just west of the Nevada-Utah border at an elevation of approximately 1580 m (5184 ft) (Figure 1) (Graff 2007). Major excavations began at the site in 2000 and have continued through 2008. Preliminary analysis of macrobotanics indicates that small seeds such as ricegrass, dropseed, wild rye, goosefoot, saltbush, and others were all being utilized between 11,010±40 and 8830±60 BP (Rhode and Louderback 2007). However, ground stone does not appear until 7420±50 BP, indicating to Rhode and Louderback that the “use of small seeds was therefore apparently not intensive until the Early Archaic” (Rhode and Louderback 2007:240). Hogup Cave (42BO36) is located in northwestern Utah at an elevation of 1433 m (4700 ft) (Figure 1). It was excavated in 1967 and 1968 by the University of Utah under the direction of Melvin Aikens. Although occupation of the cave dates into the Early Archaic, multiple radiocarbon dates from this period have large age uncertainties (±380 being the most extreme) and are only roughly consistent with the stratigraphy (Aikens 1970:Table 2). Despite these problems, some general trends can be delineated. Four metate fragments and one mano fragment came from the earliest stratum at the site (Stratum 1), which dated between 8350±160 and 7860±160 BP. Stratum 2 yielded two metate fragments, but the associated radiocarbon date was much too early for its stratigraphic position and was thrown out by Aikens. A significant increase in ground stone occurred in Strata 3 through 7, which dated to sometime between 7860±160 BP (the top of Stratum 1) and 6190±110 BP (Stratum 7) (Aikens 1970:Table 8). Analysis of twenty-seven coprolites from the early levels of the cave showed that the seeds of chenopods and cactus pads (Opuntia) were being utilized from at least as early as Stratum 2 (Fry 1976), and the significant increase of ground stone in Stratum 3 is perhaps due to a corresponding increase of small seeds in the diet. Pollen analysis from fourteen of the coprolites from the early levels also showed elevated amounts of cheno-ams (Kelso 1976). Although the earliest evidence of intensive use of small seeds has been adjusted to ~8600 BP in the Great Basin (based on Danger Cave data), it is still earlier than what has traditionally been believed for the Colorado Plateau; however, with the excavation of North Creek Shelter this picture is changing. EARLY GROUND STONE AND INTENSIFICATION ON THE COLORADO PLATEAU A number of sites on the Colorado Plateau have yielded useful information on early ground stone and small seed use. These include Tsosie Shelter, Sand Dune

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Cave, Dust Devil Cave, Old Man Cave, Cowboy and Jim Walters Cave, Sudden Shelter, and Joes Valley Alcove. The southernmost of this group is Tsosie Shelter (D:7:2085), which is located at an elevation of 2057 m (6840 ft) on the northern portion of Black Mesa in northeastern Arizona (Figure 1). Excavated in 1982 and 1983 as part of the Peabody Coal Company’s Black Mesa Archaeological Project (Powell and Smiley 2002), a single piece of ground stone was associated with the earliest occupation of the site which dated between 8130±80 and 7110±70 BP, nine pieces were associated with levels dating from 6780±70 BP to 5600±90 BP, and one piece came from levels dating to 4775±120 BP and 4750±80 BP (Burgett et al. 1985:105– 111). Very little botanical or faunal information is reported from the site. Sand Dune Cave (NA7523) is on the Rainbow Plateau in southeastern Utah, roughly 7.5 km south of Dust Devil Cave (Figure 1). It sits at an elevation of 1780 m (5840 ft) and was excavated in 1961 by the Museum of Northern Arizona during the Glen Canyon work. Unfortunately, the site was excavated by arbitrary levels so that mixing of culturally distinct strata occurred (Lindsay et al. 1968). Four metate and four mano fragments were found in the “Desha” component, which was dated from three sandals to between 7700±120 and 7150±130 BP (Ambler 1996:40; Lindsay et al. 1968:37). Dust Devil Cave (NA7613), also on the Rainbow Plateau in southeastern Utah, is roughly 7.5 km north of Sand Dune Cave near the Utah-Arizona border at an elevation of 1487 m (4879 ft) (Figure 1). The site was tested in 1961 by the Museum of Northern Arizona during the Glen Canyon Project and then fully excavated in 1970. From the 1961 excavations, 12 metate and 9 mano fragments were recovered from Stratum IV, which dated between 8830±160 and 6740±110 BP (Ambler 1996:Table 7; Geib 1996b; Lindsay et al. 1968:Table 22). These numbers were increased significantly by the 1970 excavations that recovered an additional 68 metate specimens (11 of which were complete) and 40 manos (34 of which were complete) (Geib 1984; Phil Geib, personal communication 2008). This brought the total amount of ground stone from Stratum IV of Dust Devil Cave to 80 metates or metate fragments and 49 manos or mano fragments. In addition to the ground stone, 97 coprolites from Stratum IV were analyzed for dietary information, of which 97 percent contained seeds with dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus) and goosefoot (Chenopodium sp.) being most widely represented (Van Ness 1986; Van Ness and Hansen 1996). The majority of dropseed specimens were whole and uncharred, while the goosefoot seeds exhibited signs of parching and grinding (Van Ness and Hansen 1996). One of the coprolites containing seeds was directly dated to 7630±120 BP (Geib 1996a: Table 5). While certainly showing evidence of intensive small seed use, the stratigraphic provenience of the artifacts within Stratum IV is currently unknown, meaning that the ground stone and coprolites may lie anywhere between ~8800 BP and 6700 BP.

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Old Man Cave (42SA21153) lies on the northeastern edge of Cedar Mesa in southeastern Utah at an elevation of 1600 m (5249 ft) (Figure 1). Limited testing of the site took place in 1991 and 1992 and revealed a sequence of occupation stretching back to ~7800 BP (Geib and Davidson 1994). Evidence of the earliest seed processing comes from the Early Archaic occupation dating from 7790±80 to 6120±70 BP and is composed of abundant chaff from dropseed (Sporobolus sp.), coprolites, and ground stone (Geib and Davidson 1994; Van Ness and Hansen 1996). Early Archaic grinding tools include eight manos (mostly complete) and five metate fragments, one with red pigment on one surface (Phil R. Geib, personal communication 2009). The latter is evidence of non-dietary use of ground stone. The analysis of twenty-eight coprolites from the Early Archaic levels showed that prickly pear cactus (Opuntia polyacantha), dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus), marshelder (Iva spp.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), and goosefoot (Chenopodium leptophyllum) were all well represented in both frequency of use and abundance (Van Ness and Hansen 1996). One of the coprolites was directly dated to 7680±90 BP (Geib 1996a:Table 5). According to Van Ness and Hansen (1996), ground stone was present in the Early Archaic levels, although no specifics have been reported. Critical to Geib and Jolie’s (2008) argument is Cowboy Cave (42WN420) in southeastern Utah in the northern portion of the Glen Canyon region. It lies at an elevation of 1700 m (5577 ft) and was excavated in 1975 by the University of Utah (Figure 1). Schroedl and Coulam (1994) have differentiated three discrete episodes of use during the Early Archaic period at the site. The first occupation (Stratum IIb) dated to 8275±80 BP and contained (among other things) fragments of seven metates and one mano (Jennings 1980:Table 3; Dodge 1980; Schroedl and Coulam 1994). The second occupation (Stratum IIIa) was undated, but contained three metate fragments. The third, and last, of the discrete Early Archaic episodes (Strata IIIb-IVb) lasted from 7215±75 to 6385±85 BP, and contained ninety-four pieces of ground stone (Schroedl and Coulam 1994; Dodge 1980). Pollen analysis from ground stone in all levels of the site suggested to Lindsay that “the high grass counts, based on the metate samples alone, indicate an extremely heavy reliance on grass at all times of the cave occupancy” (Lindsay 1980). Analysis of thirty coprolites from the Early Archaic period (IIb-IVb) showed significant use of sunflower (Helianthus annomolus) and sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus), as well as lesser amounts of dicoria (Dicoria brandegei), bugseed (Corispermum hyssipfolium), carex (Carex spp.), and cactus pads (Opuntia) (Hogan 1980). Hogan (1980:208) notes that most sunflower seeds were not processed but believes that the sand dropseed may have been. Adjacent to Cowboy Cave is Jim Walters Cave (42WN421), which was tested by the University of Utah during their Cowboy Cave excavations (Figure 1). According to Jennings and others, the majority of the site was left unexcavated for future study, as its stratigraphy and occupational history was so similar to that of Cowboy Cave (Jennings 1980; Schroedl and Coulam 1994; Geib 1996a). One mano

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and one metate fragment were recovered from Stratum III in Jim Walters Cave, which likely dates to 6350±85 BP (Geib 1996a) (but also Schroedl and Coulam [1994] who suggest an earlier date of 8875±125 BP). Ground stone is equally sparse in later strata, with one piece occurring in Stratum IV, four pieces in Stratum V, and thirty-one pieces on the modern surface of the site. Farther to the north, Sudden Shelter (42SV6) lies on the eastern edge of the Old Woman Plateau in central Utah overlooking Ivie Creek and was excavated by the University of Utah in 1974 (Figure 1). It sits at an elevation of 2,267 m (7438 ft.), much higher than the other sites discussed. One mano fragment was recovered from Stratum 2, which is dated to 7840±330 BP and 7565±115 BP based on two charcoal radiocarbon samples (Jennings et al. 1980). Two other mano fragments were recovered below Stratum 2, indicating that they were as old or older than the Stratum 2 fragment. The amount of ground stone at the site increases slightly through time until Stratum 7 (dating between 6670±180 and 6310±240 BP), after which it increases significantly. Joes Valley Alcove (42EM164) is the northernmost site in the group and is located in Lower Joes Valley at an elevation of 2,145 m (7040 ft) on the northwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau (Figure 1). Excavated by the U.S. Forest Service in 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1978 (DeBloois 1983; DeBloois et al. 1979), as well as by the University of Utah in 1990 (Barlow and Metcalfe 1993), the site yielded just two manos and one mano fragment from deposits dating between 8940±180 and 8510±130 BP (Barlow and Metcalfe 1993:Table 2). Water seepage from the back of the alcove did not allow for the preservation of botanicals in the lower levels. A review of the evidence from the Colorado Plateau indicates that ground stone has been present since at least 8510±130 BP, and possibly as early as 8940±180 BP. Because of the wide range of dates at many of the sites discussed above, intensification of small seed use is much harder to pin down, but seems to have occurred sometime between ~8800 and 6700 BP. Based on these data it is hard to evaluate the hypothesis that the intensification of small seed use occurred first on the Colorado Plateau and later in the eastern Great Basin. Recently excavated North Creek Shelter, however, offers additional data that may support the Colorado Plateau–first proposition. NORTH CREEK SHELTER North Creek Shelter lies on the west edge of the Escalante Valley in south-central Utah at the confluence of the Escalante River and North Creek at an elevation of 1875 m (6150 ft) (Figure 1). Located at the base of a sheer sandstone cliff, the site was excavated from 2004 to 2008 by Brigham Young University. Seventeen radiocarbon dates show that multiple, but non-continuous, occupations of the site began as early as 9960±30 BP and extend into the historic period (Table 1). Lower strata at the site are fine-grained with multiple-use surfaces containing thermal

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Beta 197358 Beta 221411 Beta 26176 Beta 261677 Beta 261678 Beta 221414 Beta 221412 Beta 239024 PRI-07-102-4364 Beta 207167 Beta 210253 Beta 197359 Beta 239023 PRI-07-102-4029 Beta 194030 Beta 195226 Beta 207168 Beta 221415 Beta 239022 PRI-07-102-3716

Sample No. VIIa VIIb VIIa VId VIc VId Vu Vu Vu Vt Vt Vq Vh Vh Vc IVi IVa IIIa IIa IIa

Stratum Zea mays Zea mays Zea mays Zea mays Zea mays Juniperus Acer, Pseudotsuga, Pinus Juniperus Juniperus Juniperus Juniperus/Pinus Pinus Juniperus Juniperus Pinus Atriplex Pinus Juniperus/Pinus Salicacaea Salicacaea

Material (all charred)

Table 1. Radiocarbon Dates from North Creek Shelter 940 ± 40 BP 1050 ± 40 BP 1130 ± 40 BP 1130 ± 40 BP 1030 ± 40 BP 6020 ± 60 BP 7670 ± 80 BP 7700 ± 50 BP 7990 ± 30 BP 7970 ± 80 BP 8320 ± 120 BP 8310 ± 70 BP 8310 ± 40 BP 8860 ± 25 BP 9020 ± 70 BP 890 ± 40 BP 9510 ± 80 BP 9690 ± 60 BP 9690 ± 50 BP 9960 ± 30 BP

Conventional age

2 sigma cal age AD 1010–1190 AD 900–1030 AD 780–1000 AD 780–1000 AD 900–1040 5050–4760 BC 6650–6400 BC 6640–6450 BC 7049–6776 BC 7080–6640 BC 7580–7060 BC 7540–7140 BC 7220–7190 BC 8208–7840 BC 8300–8170 BC AD 1030–1240 9190–8610 BC 9250–9110 BC 9310–9220 BC 9653–9310 BC

760–940 BP 920–1050 BP 1160–950 BP 1160–950 BP 1050–910 BP 7000–6710 BP 8600–8350 BP 8590–8400 BP 9000–8720 BP 9030–8590 BP 9530–9010 BP 9490–9100 BP 9170–9140 BP 10,160–9860 BP 10,250–10,120 BP 710–920 BP 11,140–10,560 BP 11,200–11,060 BP 11,260–11,170 BP 11,420–11,260 BP

2 sigma cal BP age

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features, storage pits, stone tools and debitage, and abundant faunal bone. The site stratigraphy is grossly divided into eight strata ( I through VIII) with multiple surfaces and lenses within those strata that are herein referred to as Levels (Figure 2). Formal ground stone appears first on Level Va at North Creek Shelter, which is a fire-reddened surface with a small pit and hearth associated. A date of 9020±70 BP from Level Vc (just above Level Va) suggests these grinding tools date prior to 9000 BP (Table 1). Grinding tools lying on this surface consist of two shaped, one-handed manos (one complete and one fragmented) and seven thin sandstone slabs (two quite small) with clear evidence of pecking and grinding. The two manos and five larger grinding slabs from this level are described in more detail below, and two of the metate fragments and the two manos are illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. FS 4369.1. This is a sandstone metate fragment with a distinct used surface on one face (Figure 3a). In contrast to FS 2220.1 (see below), little pecking is visible along the use area margins, although some light, parallel striations are visible in raking light. As with FS 2220.1, this artifact is best described as a slab metate with a central basin, although the basin on this tool exhibits more depth than FS2220.1. It measures 24 cm by 24 cm by 3.8 cm thick. FS 2220.1. This sandstone metate fragment has clear evidence of use on one face (Figure 3b), but the used surface does not extend to the edges of the existing fragment. The artifact may best be described as a slab metate with an incipient basin, although basining is very slight. Pecking is present on the margins of the use surface, as well as parallel striations. It measures 18 cm on the maximum dimension and 12.2 cm on the other, and is 3.5 cm thick. FS 4591.1. This small sandstone fragment shows clear evidence of use on a restricted portion of one face in the form of pecking and smoothing, suggesting it is a portion of another slab metate. It measures 8 cm by 8.5 cm by 1.5 cm thick. FS 4368.1. Heavy pecking and smoothing over much of one face characterize this sandstone metate fragment. In addition, parallel striations are clearly visible on the worked surface, although that surface has suffered a trowel scrape. As with specimen FS 4591.1 above, this artifact is quite thin (1.14 cm). Other dimensions are 13 cm by 14.5 cm. FS 2254.1. This specimen contrasts with the others in that one face is completely smoothed by grinding. Little to no pecking is evident. The smoothed surface appears slightly dished with a more heavily worn arc marking the edge of the slight depression. It is likely this is a central portion of a grinding slab rather than an edge section such as those described above. Measurements of this fragment are 14.9 cm by 13.4 cm by 2.4 cm thick. FS 3072.1. This complete sandstone cobble has rounded edges and a subtle central basin on one side with some light pecking and smoothing within the basin. This pattern suggests modest use for processing an unknown material by pounding and some grinding. The use of a cobble rather than a flat slab is in

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Figure 2. North Creek Shelter profile along the 100 East line (west facing).

436

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Figure 3. Examples of grinding slab fragments from Stratum Va at North Creek Shelter: a) 2004.8.4369.1, b) 2004.8.2220.1

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contrast with the several artifacts just described and reinforces functional differences between FS 3072.1 and what appear to be thin metates with central basins. This artifact measures 27.5 cm long by 22.2 cm wide and 4.6 cm thick. FS 4370.1. This complete, one-handed sandstone mano is unusual as one worn face is flat and the other is sharply beveled (Figure 4a). All margins are heavily pecked which has restricted the grinding surfaces which are quite smooth from use. It measures 9.35 cm long by 9.25 cm wide and 6.75 cm thick on one margin and narrows to 3.01 cm on the other. FS 649.1. This one-handed sandstone mano fragment measures 5.7 cm long by 6.9 cm and 3.8 cm thick (Figure 4b). Grinding use has created a wellworn, flat, smooth face, with subtle striations running at right angles to the long axis. A second face shows only modest use, but is dimpled from pecking (perhaps to refresh the surface for more efficient grinding). The tool is slightly wedgeshaped in cross section, and all intact margins are shaped by pecking. Six small (less than 6.5 cm on maximum dimension) fragments of thin (0.5 cm thick) sandstone slabs with light but undeniable grinding were recovered from the Paleoarchaic Level IV, directly below Va. Two of these fragments refit, and others are possibly from the same artifact given similarities in size and smoothing patterns, bringing the total to four from Stratum IV. Another possible grinding tool (2004.8.4759.1) came from Level IVm. It is a large (46 cm by 16 cm by 6 cm thick) sandstone slab with a central depression and some minimal adjacent smoothing, but the depression looks more eroded than ground; consequently, it cannot be confirmed as a grinding tool. Also, Level IIIe yielded a cobble apparently used to process hematite. That cobble exhibited very subtle pecking and some smoothing, and hematite remnants were clearly present in pecked cavities. Considering the above, Level Va, with its several thin metate fragments and two well-used mano fragments, is here considered to represent the earliest appearance of the intensive use of grinding technology at North Creek Shelter. Presumably the majority of these tools were used to process small seeds, although we recognize ground stone is indirect evidence of that function. Additional analysis for phytoliths, pollen, and perhaps starch grains would provide more direct evidence of tool function. Although grinding or pounding tools are present in earlier levels, those numbers are minimal compared to the dramatic increase seen in Stratum V (Figure 5). Grinding tools were recovered from several surfaces in Stratum V but were particularly abundant in Level Vt. This level, which dates between 8320±120 and 7970±80 BP (Table 1), is fire-reddened, and was heavily used as is evidenced by 10 pits and at least one formal hearth crowded into a roughly 3 by 3 meter area. This surface yielded 22 pieces of ground stone including 7 manos and 15 metate fragments. Also present on Level Vt was a post hole, and the surface, although relatively level in the central portion, basined up on both the north and south edges, suggesting it may have been covered with a superstructure.

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439

Figure 4. Manos recovered from Substratum Va at North Creek Shelter: a) one-handed mano (2004.8.4370), b) fragmented one-handed mano (2004.8.649.1)

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Figure 5. Grinding tool frequency by stratum at North Creek Shelter.

Macrobotanical remains are common in both the Early Archaic and Paleoarchaic levels and include charred seeds of cheno-ams, grasses (Poaceae), and Asteraceae (most likely sage) (Table 2). Uncharred hackberry (Celtis reticulata) seeds are common in these levels as well. It is worth noting that the absence of charring does not preclude these seeds being cultural given that the calcium carbonate endocarp of these seeds is very hard and endures without charring, even in open sites. In any case hackberry is not present in the immediate vicinity of the site today. INTERPRETATION Although grinding tools may appear as early as ~9500 BP at North Creek Shelter, the first significant (and well-dated) use of the technology is in Level Va, dated to just prior to 9000 BP. Here, ten ground stone artifacts were uncovered lying on a

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Total

Paleoarchaic IVr IVo IVm Ivk IVi IVg IVf IVe IVd IVb IVa IIIg IIIf IIIe IIIc IIg IIf IIe IIa

Early Archaic Vu Vt Vs Vj Vh Ve Vc Vb Va

Stratum

311

7

38

1

2

1

3 1

38 24 1

3

46

2

1 1

8

5

2 1

Uncharred

Poaceae Charred

26 1

5

Uncharred

2

25

11 7

26 12

8 16

88 1

2 2

Charred

Chenopodiaceae

1

1

Charred

44

2 1

1 1

4

2 6 1 11 1 1

3 1

3 1 3

1 1

Uncharred

Celtis

233

3

18 12

23

143

20

3 6

2

1

2

Charred

0

Uncharred

Asteraceae

1

1

Charred

0

Uncharred

Quercus

Table 2. Macrobotanical Remains from the Paleoarchaic and Early Archaic Levels at North Creek Shelter

12

5

1

3

2 1

16

1 1 2 1

1

2

1 3

1

3

Uncharred

Unknown Charred

671

4 29 14 2 23 18 11 46 1 173 4 79 1 66 38 3 3 6 3

5 3 1 1 95 2 3 10 27

Total Seeds


441

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442


fire-reddened use surface. Roughly 1000 years later, twenty-two pieces of ground stone were discarded on Level Vt. In both instances, the relative scarcity of other formal tools (four chipped stone tools on Va and seven on Vt) on the surfaces suggests that plant processing was an important activity at the site at those times. In addition, ground stone from both Va and Vt is technologically well developed. Many of the manos and metate fragments found in Stratum V (including those on Va and Vt) have been heavily ground on multiple surfaces (Figure 3). This is evidence that the grinding tools used during these occupations were not expedient, but were part of a well-developed technology being used to intensively process staple resources. Finally, the amount of ground stone recovered from Stratum V indicates the continued use of this technology throughout the Early Archaic period. It should be noted that hunting was a critical subsistence focus during the Early Archaic as well since small artiodactyl (deer and mountain sheep) bones and Pinto projectile points are common throughout these levels. Grinding technology to process plants appears to be an additional tool to supplement traditional subsistence pursuits. CONCLUSION Geib and Jolie have used basketry and climatological data as the basis for an argument that small seed intensification may have begun in the south, perhaps northern Mexico and/or southern Southwest, and spread to the Great Basin through the Colorado Plateau. Ground stone may appear in the Great Basin as early as 11,000 BP, but solid evidence from Danger Cave indicates that intensive small seed processing does not occur until 8600 BP in the eastern Great Basin (Rhode et al. 2006; Rhode and Louderback 2007). New data from North Creek Shelter suggest that formal ground stone was present on the Plateau by ~9000 BP. Although lacking the direct evidence of intensification provided by coprolites and microbotanical remains, the amount, context, and level of technological sophistication of ground stone found at North Creek Shelter suggest that the intensification of the use of small seeds likely began at least by 9000 years ago on the northern Colorado Plateau, predating that of the eastern Great Basin by several centuries. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We gratefully acknowledge landowners Jeff and Joette Rex for allowing access to this fascinating archaeological site as well as providing direct support for the field crews. In addition we are grateful to the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument for use of trailers to house research staff. Utah State Archaeological Society volunteers and others assisted in the fieldwork as well. Financial support has come from the National Science Foundation, Award no. BCS-0818971, the Charles Redd Center at Brigham Young University, and grants from the Graduate and

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Professional Student Association, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This manuscript was substantially improved by comments provided by Phil R. Geib, although the authors take full responsibility for its final contents. REFERENCES Aikens, C. Melvin 1970 Hogup Cave. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 93. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Aikens, C. Melvin, David L. Cole, and Robert Stuckenrath 1977 Excavations at Dirty Shame Rockshelter Southeastern Oregon. Tebiwa Miscellaneous Papers of the Idaho State University Museum of Natural History no. 4. Pocatello. Ambler, J. Richard 1996 Dust Devil Cave and Archaic Complexes of the Glen Canyon Area. In Glen Canyon Revisited, by Phil R. Geib, pp. 40–52. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 119. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Barlow, K. Renee, and Duncan Metcalfe 1993 Excavations at Joes Valley Alcove. University of Utah Archaeological Center Reports of Investigations 93-1. Salt Lake City, Utah. Beck, Charlotte, and George T. Jones 1997 The Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene Archaeology of the Great Basin. Journal of World Prehistory 11(2):161–236. Bedwell, Stephen F. 1973 Fort Rock Basin: Prehistory and Environment. University of Oregon, Eugene. Burgett, Galen R., Alison Rautman, James K. Feathers, and Monica M. Bargielski 1985 Arizona D:7:2085. In Excavations on Black Mesa, 1983: A Descriptive Report, edited by Andrew L. Christenson and William J. Parry, pp. 86–123. Center for Archaeological Investigations Research Paper no. 46. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Connolly, Thomas J., and Dennis L. Jenkins 1999 The Paulina Lake Site (35DS34). In Newberry Crater. A Ten-Thousand-Year Record of Human Occupation and Environmental Change in the Basin-Plateau Borderlands, by Thomas J. Connolly, pp. 86–127. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 121. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. DeBloois, Evan I. 1983 High Altitude Sites in Utah. In High Altitude Adaptations in the Southwest, edited by J. C. Winter, pp. 53–68. Cultural Resource Management Report no. 2, USDA Forest Service, Southwestern Region. DeBloois, Evan I., Dee F. Green, and Jerry Wylie 1979 Joes Valley Alcove: An Archaic-Fremont Site in Central Utah. Manuscript on file, MantiLaSal National Forest, Price, Utah. Dodge, James E. 1980 Ground Stone. In Cowboy Cave, by Jesse D. Jennings, pp. 113–116. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 104. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Fry, Gary F. 1976 Analysis of Prehistoric Coprolites from Utah. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 97. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Geib, Phil R. 1984 Archaic Lithic Artifacts from Dust Devil Cave. Paper presented at the 19th Biennial Great Basin Conference, Boise, Idaho.

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1996a

Glen Canyon Revisited. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 119. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. 1996b AMS Dating of Plain-Weave Sandals From the Central Colorado Plateau. Utah Archaeology 9(1):35–53. Geib, Phil R., and Dale Davidson 1994 Anasazi Origins: A Perspective from Preliminary Work at Old Man Cave. KIVA 60(2): 191–202. Geib, Phil R., and Edward A. Jolie 2008 The Role of Basketry in Early Holocene Small Seed Exploitation: Implications of a ca. 9,000-Year-Old Basket from Cowboy Cave, Utah. American Antiquity 73(1):83–102. Graff, Kelly E. 2007 Stratigraphy and Chronology of the Pleistocene to Holocene Transition at Bonneville Estates Rockshelter, Eastern Great Basin. In Paleoindian or Paleoarchaic? Great Basin Human Ecology at the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, edited by Kelly E. Graff and Dave N. Schmitt, pp. 82–104. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Grayson, Donald K. 1993 The Desert’s Past. A Natural Prehistory of the Great Basin. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, D.C. Hall, H. J. 1977 A Paleoscatological Study of Diet and Disease at Dirty Shame Rockshelter, Southeast Oregon. Tebiwa Miscellaneous Papers of the Idaho State University Museum of Natural History no. 8. Pocatello. Hanes, Richard C. 1988 Lithic Assemblages of Dirty Shame Rockshelter. Changing Traditions in the Northern Intermontane. University of Oregon Anthropological Papers no. 40. Eugene. Haynes, C. Vance, Jr. 1971 Time, Environment, and Early Man. Arctic Anthropology 8(2):3-14. Hogan, Patrick F. 1980 Appendix IX. The Analysis of Human Coprolites from Cowboy Cave. In Cowboy Cave, by Jesse D. Jennings, pp. 201–211. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 104. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Jennings, Jesse D. 1957 Danger Cave. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 27. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. 1980 Cowboy Cave. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 104. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Jennings, Jesse D., and Edward Norbeck 1955 Great Basin Prehistory: A Review. American Antiquity 21(1):1–11. Jennings, Jesse D., Alan R. Schroedl, and Richard N. Holmer 1980 Sudden Shelter. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 103. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Kelso, Gerald 1976 Hogup Cave, Utah: Comparative Pollen Analysis of Human Coprolites and Cave Fill. In Hogup Cave, by C. Melvin Aikens, pp. 251–262. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 93. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Lindsay, Alexander J., J. Richard Ambler, Mary Anne Stein, and Philip M. Hobler 1968 Survey and Excavations North and East of Navajo Mountain, Utah, 1959–1962. Glen Canyon Series 8, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 45. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.

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Lindsay, La Mar W. 1980 Appendix X. Pollen Analysis of Cowboy Cave Cultural Deposits. In Cowboy Cave, by Jesse D. Jennings, pp. 213–2224. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 104. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Madsen, David B. 2007 The Paleoarchaic to Archaic Transition in the Great Basin. In Paleoindian or Paleoarchaic? Great Basin Human Ecology at the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, edited by Kelly E. Graff and Dave N. Schmitt, pp. 3–20. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Pinson, Ariane Oberling 2004 Of Lakeshores and Dry Basin Floors: A Regional Perspective on the Early Holocene Record of Environmental Change and Human Adaptation at the Tucker Site. In Early and Middle Holocene Archaeology of the Northern Great Basin, edited by Dennis L. Jenkins, Thomas J. Connolly, and C. Melvin Aikens, pp. 53–76. University of Oregon Anthropological Papers no. 62. Museum of Natural History and Department of Anthropology, Eugene, Oregon. Powell, Shirley, and Francis E. Smiley (editors) 2002 Prehistoric Cultural Change on the Colorado Plateau: Ten Thousand Years on Black Mesa. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson. Rhode, David, and Lisbeth A. Louderback 2007 Dietary Plant Use in the Bonneville Basin During the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene Transition. In Paleoindian or Paleoarchaic? Great Basin Human Ecology at the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition, edited by Kelly E. Graff and Dave N. Schmitt, pp. 231– 247. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. Rhode, David, David B. Madsen, and Kevin T. Jones 2006 Antiquity of Early Holocene Small-Seed Consumption and Processing at Danger Cave. Antiquity 80:328–339. Schroedl, Alan R., and Nancy J. Coulam 1994 Cowboy Cave Revisited. Utah Archaeology 7(1):1–34. Van Ness, Margaret A. 1986 Desha Complex Macrobotanical Fecal Remains: An Archaic Diet in the American Southwest. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. Van Ness, Margaret A., and Eric Hansen 1996 Archaic Subsistence in the Glen Canyon Region. In Glen Canyon Revisited, by Phil R. Geib, pp. 117–125. University of Utah Anthropological Paper no. 119. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

DAVID T. YODER William Self Associates [email protected]

MARK L. BODILY Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest [email protected]

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SARA HILL Department of Anthropology University of Nevada, Las Vegas [email protected]

JOEL C. JANETSKI Department of Anthropology Brigham Young University [email protected]

BRADLEY A. NEWBOLD Department of Anthropology Washington State University [email protected]

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