Late Pleistocene Archaeological Discovery Models on the Pacific Coast of North America. (2nd January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: McLaren, Duncan; Fedje, Daryl; Mackie, Quentin; Davis, Loren G.; Erlandson, Jon; Gauvreau, Alisha; Vogelaar, Colton
• Is Part Of: PaleoAmerica. Volume 6:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 63
• Publication Date: 2020-01-02
• Subjects: Peopling of the Americas -- coastal entry theory -- paleo-coastline reconstruction -- stemmed projectile points; Land settlement patterns, Prehistoric -- America -- Periodicals; Land settlement patterns, Prehistoric -- Periodicals; Prehistoric peoples -- Population -- Periodicals; Prehistoric peoples -- America -- Periodicals; Antiquities, Prehistoric -- America -- Periodicals; Antiquities, Prehistoric -- Periodicals; 970.011
• DOI: 10.1080/20555563.2019.1670512
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2055-5563

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Pacific coast of North America is a hypothesized route by which the earliest inhabitants of the Americas moved southwards around the western margin of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet just after the last glacial maximum. To test this hypothesis, we have been using a stepwise process to aid in late Pleistocene archaeological site discovery along the coast. The steps involved include: (1) creating localized sea level curves; (2) generating detailed bare earth digital elevation models; (3) creating archaeological predictive models; (4) ground truthing these models using archaeological prospection; and (5) demonstrating that archaeological materials found date to the late Pleistocene. Here, we consider the use of these steps and how they have been employed to find late Pleistocene archaeological sites along the Pacific Coast of North America.