Roots, Rocks, Rabbits: Residue Analysis of Early Holocene Ground Stone from the Little Steamboat Point-1 Rockshelter (35HA3735), Warner Valley, OR
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Authors
Kingrey, Haden Ukiah
Issue Date
2022
Type
Thesis
Language
Keywords
Early Holocene , Great Basin , Ground Stone , Protein Residue Analysis , Rockshelter , Starch Grain Analysis
Alternative Title
Abstract
The Pleistocene-Holocene Transition was a time of considerable environmental and technological change in the northern Great Basin. People adapted by seeking new modes of subsistence, and many researchers have long assumed that an increased reliance on low-ranked seeds processed using ground stone tools was one such mode. Recently, some researchers have started to reconsider the role of ground stone. The Little Steamboat Point-1 Rockshelter in Warner Valley, Oregon provides an opportunity to explore the adoption of ground stone during the terminal early Holocene (9775-8000 cal BP). The site contained a robust early Holocene cultural record with abundant ground stone and leporid (rabbit and hare) remains, but few economically important seeds, suggesting that people ground the animal carcasses after successful rabbit drives. To determine the tasks for which the tools were used, I submitted 46 ground stone tools for protein residue analysis. I also analyzed 25 of those tools for starch grains. Protein residue analysis revealed a lack of leporid protein. Starch grain analysis revealed a presence of biscuitroot (Lomatium sp.) and wildrye (Leymus cinereus) starch grains. These results have important implications regarding early Holocene subsistence-settlement patterns, foraging decisions, and how we interpret archaeological sites.
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 United States