1. Archaeology of North America
The Great Basin and
Western Interior

2. The Great Basin Introduction
It is about square km
Located between the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada mountains
It includes almost all of Nevada, parts of California, Oregon, Utah and Idaho
Large environmental diversity
High mountains, valleys and rivers in the south and west
Mesas, buttes and vast area of sparse vegetation to the east

9. The Great Basin Conceptual Framework
In the past the Great Basin was considered an extension of the southwest and California
It is now clear that it stands on its own and may have even contributed to the cultures living in these adjacent regions
It was also an area studied on a site by site basis, which is now known to be limited
Instead we must look at large areas with several sites to understand a single group

10. The Great Basin Conceptual Framework
Large sites like Danger Cave and Lovelock Cave have several components but have now been proven to have been only single stops on a seasonal round
Sites also must be connected with the environment to investigate how climatic changes have affected the populations

11. The Great Basin The Environment
Most of the Great Basin receives little precipitation and this varies from year to year
The southwest is very arid and supports sparse vegetation
The mountain regions are wetter and support more species
Due to the unpredictable rainfall and its effects on the plant and animals, people had to subsist on a wide range of resources – specialization was disastrous

12. The Great Basin The Environment
None of the rivers in the Great Basin drain to the sea
Instead they drain into around 150 closed basins that have developed for millions of years
When the glaciers were melting these basins filled with meltwater
Sparking tree growth around the lakes
Between and 8600 BC many of these lakes shrank, the rivers dried up and vegetation moved northward

14. The Great Basin The Environment
At the onset of the Holocene the ice age megafauna began to disappear
Mammoth, camel and horse once grazed in the open areas
By the Mid Holocene the Great Basin became increasingly drier
Local fluctuations were also seen
These climatic changes resulted in a patchwork of environments that were productive separated by large areas of aridity

15. The Great Basin The Environment
Landscape and climate variability saw some groups living near the lakes and marshes, which were rich in resources.
These sites were more permanent seasonal camps
Others were small bands constantly on the move, living off seasonal foods from widely spread locations
These were smaller sites with few archaeological remains
In addition the Great basin is subject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
Potentially affecting the plants, animals and humans

16. The Great Basin The Vegetal Resources
The pinon pine was a very important tree to these people
The nuts were harvested and eaten in a gruel form after being processed
Settlements reflect the location of these vital trees through time, especially in the central region of the Great Basin
Other important plant resources include:
Honey Mesquite
Screwbean
Acorns

17. Pinon pine
Honey Mesquite
Screwbean

18. The Great Basin The Vegetal Resources
Collecting and processing technology
In early fall long poles were used to gather green cones of pinon pine
Baskets were used to transport thousands of the cones to the processing area
The cones were roasted in pits until they partly opened
The cones were hit or tapped to release the seeds
The seeds were parched in an open fire
The were then ground into a pulp
Finally they were mixed with hot or cold water and eaten

19. The Great Basin The Vegetal Resources
Pinon cones could be stored for 4-5 years
They were put in open pits under piles of stones, in grass or bark-lined pits or in skin bags
Mesquite and screwbean are more desert plants
Harvested in spring and eaten as fresh snacks
Harvested in fall (dried out) and stored for years
Ground into a powder (the bean) and eaten with water
Both were also major dietary staples

20. The Great Basin The Vegetal Resources
Berries, root crops and tubers, and other fruits were also harvested
Vital artefacts connected with the plant foods were:
Digging stick made out of hardwood
Metate
Mano

21. The Great Basin The Animal Resources
Most animals hunted were connected with the lakes, marshes and rivers
Bird hunting was the most common in the marshy areas
Waterfowl, migrating birds
They hunted these birds using nets attached to long sticks or drove them into netting tunnels
They also swam up the them and grabbed their legs
In the marshes, muskrats, rabbits and other rodents were also hunted

22. The Great Basin The Animal Resources
In the forests, deer, pronghorns and big horn sheep were hunted
Stalking techniques, snares, traps and game drives were used
Fishing was practiced in the lakes and rivers
Platforms were built out from the banks to use nets or spears
Basket traps, rock or bush dams were also used

23. The Great Basin The Plant and Animal Resources
With the great diversity of animal recourses it is difficult to choose a dominant one
It is likely that the plant foods served as the major dietary contributor supplemented with animals
In later years the people burned areas to increase the natural yield and to attract deer and other game with increased fodder. They may have also used fire to drive the animals to them

24. The Great Basin The Plant and Animal Resources
In general the people living in the Great Basin maintained a hunting and gathering way of life right into European times
Mobility, flexibility and detailed ecological knowledge of the great Basin were always the secret to survival here

25. The Great Basin The Cultural Stages
To best understand change over time in the Great Basin the area is loosely divided into 4 cultural stages (however the great diversity of the region does not allow a perfect package to emerge)
Paleo-Indian
Desert Archaic in the East and North
Desert Archaic in the South and West
Fremont

26. The Great Basin Paleo-Indian
– 7000 BC
Population was very sparse
Most Paleo-Indian sites are found near lakes and river banks were game was more abundant
Based on faunal remains in caves, horse, camels, bison and mammoth along with other species were the main animals living here at this time

27. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
c – 2000 BC
The early Archaic is marked by an adaptive shift in the Great Basin
Climate is becoming more arid
Megafauna is extinct
Localization of resources become the norm
Large lakes begin to dry up
In response the people developed more complex settlement patterns, making use of winter base camps with storage facilities

28. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
In the northern and eastern areas people are concentrated around the Great Salt Lake in Utah
Caves were also commonly occupied

29. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
The excellent preservation in the caves tell us a great deal about the Early Desert Archaic people
Remains include: stone and bone artefacts, food remains, hides, furs, feathers, sinew, grasses, wood and bark
Coprolites attest to the meals eaten
The multi-component cave sites allow the Desert Archaic to be divided into 3 chronological periods:

30. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
Bonneville Period (9000 – 7000 BC)
May be contemporary or later than the Paleo-Indian period
The period connects to the transition from big game hunting to the Desert Archaic period
Projectile points are fluted and stemmed
Metates are found in cave sites

31. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
Windover Period (4000 BC – AD 500)
Sites are found in a number of different environments and at different altitudes
Highly mobile groups, living at different sites a number of times throughout the year
Plants seem to be very important by this time
Coiled and twined baskets were common as were metates and manos
A variety of animals were hunted using spears, atlatls, nets and snares (deer, rabbits, rodents and waterfowl)
Other artefact include: knives and scrapers, awls, needles, leather containers, blankets and clothing and woven fiber sandals

32. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
Black Rock Period (4000 BC – AD 500)
Increased aridity, shrinking the lakes and decreasing the availability of the resources.
However, after 4000 BC population increased and more settlements are seen
Likely the groups had to go further for their resources
This period is marked with the appearance of the new and highly characteristic Elko and Gypsum projectile points.
Elko Points

33. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
Precipitation increases c BC, rising lake levels and sometimes flooding prized marshes
This forced people to adjust
Late in the period the bow and arrow appear
Projectile points became much smaller
Pinon pine became the most important staple now

34. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the East and North
Around 500 AD small amounts of pottery can be found, along with domesticate maize cobs, from the sedentary cultures in the southwest
This did not spark agriculture, instead hunting and gathering continues
By AD 800 the Fremont horticultural people settle in northern Colorado and the eastern part of the Great Basin resulting in a new economy in the region

35. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
5000 BC – European Contact
This area was as diverse as the east
At the end of the Pleistocene the lakes began to shrink and temperatures reached their maximum between 3100 and 2200 BC
Most of the population lives in the northern part of the west
In the extreme southwest, in the Mojave Desert, occupation expands years, but only around 2000 BP did seed processing become important

37. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
Early Archaic (c – 2000 BC)
There is little evidence for the beginning of this period, however by 3300 BC Gatecliff points make their appearance
The best evidence comes from Carson and Humboldt Sinks of the Lahontan Basin. Here human occupation intensified after 3000 BC
Locklock Cave and other large caves were occupied mostly as storage places or for burials by people living at camps nearby
Most of the sites are marked with lithic scatters of temporary sites

39. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
At the Cocanour locality two shallow circular house depressions measuring 2.4 – 3.4 meters across have been found.
The houses are surrounded by lithic debris, manos and metates
A diet of fish, birds, cattails and pinon pine seems to be the norm in this region
Gatecliff Points

40. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
Middle Archaic (c BC – AD 500)
The climate during this period was colder and milder so the dried lakes and marshes became filled again
Subsistence remained the same, but became even more diverse as population increased
Local recourses were relied on
Storage become very important
The winter base camps seem to be more relied on as permanent seasonal settlements
Trade in marine shells, obsidian and other exotics increase, becoming important

41. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
There are two views of subsistence for this area and period:
The limnosedentary view explains that there was enough variety and predictability in the local resources that the inhabitants enjoyed a virtually sedentary settlement pattern
The limnomobile view is that they were mobile, using more permanent sites only during certain times of the year
The former view is based only on a few sites, and does not look at the region as a whole
The latter is more likely, as many resources do not store well and those that do are not found at these more permanent sites

42. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
Late Archaic (AD 500 – European Contact)
Around 1 AD the climate became warmer and drier again. By 900 AD there were intensive drought cycles throughout the region
The bow and arrow appear, along with the Rose Spring and Eastgate projectile points
Rosegate Series points
Rose Spring and Eastgate grade into one another

43. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
Pottery appeared around 1000 AD
Plant processing becomes more sophisticated seen with the artifacts
This may go with a diversification of the plant resources, connected with increasing aridity
Rabbits and plant foods were very important, likely connected with the drought
Storage is a fundamental aspect to their lives, found at many sites

44. The Great Basin Desert Archaic in the West and South
At the site of Alta Toquima, a base camp is marked with substantial circular rock-walled houses and storage areas
Prior to this period the site was a hunting camp, but they converted it into a more permanent camp, where hunting and plant processing took place
This period may have seen the expansion of the Numic-speakers from southern California into the Great Basin but this remains debated

46. The Great Basin Overview
Overall the people of the Great Basin survived here by being adaptive and living off a diverse food supply
They overcame shortages by creating and storing surpluses at a number of sites in their seasonal round
They overcame great climatic changes by maintaining a highly mobile lifestyle

47. The Great Basin Fremont Culture and Horticulture
Around 400 AD more or less sedentary horticultural communities appeared in eastern Nevada, western Colorado, southern Idaho and much of Utah
These Fremont people lived in scattered villages and farmsteads
The name comes from a river in Utah were many farming sites are found.
Around 1300 AD they disappear; at the same time the Archaic cultures are flourishing

48. The Great Basin Fremont Culture and Horticulture
The origin of the Fremont Culture is subject to debate
They have some southwestern Pueblo traits:
pithouses, stone architecture, pottery, and maize cultivation
But are they local Great Basin people influenced by ideas from the southwest?
Or people from the southwest moving in?
Or did they come from the east, from the Great Plains?

49. The Great Basin Fremont Culture and Horticulture
Fremont Culture appear across the area at different times
Moreover at some sites it seems to be a local adoption of Fremont artifacts while at others it is more disassociated
It may be that a number of groups or influences from the southwest and Great Plains are seen
The northern sites seem to have a plains connection while the southern sites a southwestern connection
This may account for the range of appearance dates and the variation in Fremont culture
Or it could be that the diversity of the plant resources to farm created the great variation

50. The Great Basin Fremont Culture and Horticulture
Many scholars do not use Fremont because there is too much variation to create a common thread ( except horticulture)
Common Fremont artifacts include:
Anthropomorphic clay figurines, rock art, ceramic vessels, particular designs on the ceramics (Ivie Creek Black on White), pipes and moccasins

51. Ivie Creek Black on White
Fremont pipes
Anthropomorphic clay figures
Fremont ceramic forms
Fremont moccasins

53. The Great Basin Fremont Culture and Horticulture
By c. AD 1250 – 1350 most Fremont sites were abandoned, except perhaps those in the north
During this time great droughts were sweeping across North America, limiting the possibility to practice horticulture
Also at this time the Numic-speaking groups begin to arrive (like the Shoshone). Perhaps they replaced the Fremont people.

54. The Great Basin European Arrival
By the time of European contact most people living in the Great Basin were still hunting and gathering
A few were part-time cultivators and only in the western interior did village farmers flourish
Some groups did not survive the European contact, while other adapted to their presence
The harsh landscape and climate limited European settling
In fact the Shoshone living in the area between Death Valley and northwestern Utah were living in one of the last areas to be settles by the Europeans