All posts by Alison Stenger

The Archaeoclimatology Atlas of Oregon: The Modeled Distribution in Space and Time of Past Climates

The Archaeoclimatology Atlas of Oregon: The Modeled Distribution in Space and Time of Past Climates
Click on the image to purchase this book online

Research on the effects of climate change on people and the environment has its roots in decades of study by archaeologists and meteorologists. The Archaeoclimatology Atlas of Oregon provides an in-depth look at the modeled climatic and environmental history of the region over the past 14,000 years and analyzes the relationship between climatic variables and people in the past.

The Macrophysical Climate Model (MCM) used for the atlas presents an innovative means of modeling past climate that has been rigorously tested and verified against field evidence worldwide. Broad-scale reconstructions of specific times in the past provide detailed site-specific graphs of precipitation, temperature, evaporation, and snowfall for more than 75 locations in Oregon.
Applications of the model and its implications for human populations in Oregon are explored for each region of the state, demonstrating the variability of human-climate interactions.

Alternative Uses for Early Bifaces?

Click on the image to read the complete published article.

In a recent issue of CAHO, a request for information was posted. It stated that a number of Haskett and

similar point types had been recovered from water environments, and that the condition of all of the bifaces was

excellent. People were asked to report any of these early types, when the provenienced location was one that was submerged.

Research topics are endless!

The following articles and research papers are provided for your use.  More will be added soon. Please share with others and cite the appropriate sources.

What fun to compare the data from one site with that from another.

Photo provided by Mark Fitzsimmons

Colleagues from around the world share data with us, and we are happy to reciprocate. Researchers of note include Andrei Tabarev, Tom Gilbert, Eske Willserslev, Steve Jett, Betty Meggers, Priscilla Wegars, and others whose work will be included in this website.  Please look them up online in the interim!

 

Image on left courtesy of Dr. Reid Bryson and CCR.  Was the Land Bridge a viable route for the earliest peopling of the Americas? Not according to experts such as Dr. Betty Meggers and Dr. Reid Bryson.


Article:  Read about the relationship between archaeology and old or ancient climate data for the Salem, Oregon area: 

web3PaleoXSalem  All of the information was ground truthed”, through excavations and laboratory analysis.

This article was originally published in Screenings, a publication of the Oregon Archaeological Society.


 

PCC Archaeology of an Hawaiian Island 2013

This year’s PCC travel class changed from two islands to one.  The focus was upon aquaculture, and the multiple ways in which Hawaiians sustained themselves  and their leaders in ancient times.  The first adventure was to find the  four aquaculture “ponds” that were documented historically, and then to interpret their use.  This was followed by visits to other  archaeological areas, including abandoned villages and petroglyph sites that  aren’t discussed in the usual literature.  Afternoons were free time, which included everything from paddle boarding to relaxing under a palm tree. 

Paths Across the Pacific

SITKA – 2013

If you have an interest in archaeology or anthropology, make it a point to keep track of the papers from this conference. Speakers included Stephen Jett, Don Ryan, the now famous son of Thor Heyerdahl, himself a fine researcher, and Betty Meggers of the Smithsonian Institution.  Please go to the Paths website for further information and abstracts.

Pre-Clovis in the Americas – Professional Participation Only, Please

Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. – November 2012

Below is some preliminary information on this invitational meeting, including names of some of the participants and some preliminary titles.  PLEASE CHECK BACK. We are just now updating this section.

Adovasio, Jim
Director, Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, Erie, Pennsylvania
Abstract: Plant Fiber Technologies and the Initial Colonization of the New World
Abstract: Meadowcroft Rockshelter: Retrospect 2012

Agenbroad, Larry
Principal Investigator, Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, South Dakota

 Araujo, Astolfo
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology
University of São Paulo, Brazil
Abstract: The Archaeological Record of Eastern South America and its Implications on the Clovis / Pre-Clovis Debate

 Aubry, Thierry
Instituto Portugués de Archaeologia, Vila Nova de Foz Coa, Portugal

 Bradley, Bruce

University of Exeter
Abstract: Older Than Clovis Bifacial Technologies of Eastern North America

Chatters, Jim
AMEC Earth and Environmental, Inc., Bthell, Washington

Clark, Jorie
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences,
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OregonAbstract: Regional Variability in Deglacial Sea-Level Rise Across the Western U.S. Continental Shelf: Implications for the Archaeological Record

Collins, Mike
Gault School of Archaeological ResearchAbstract: Older-than-Clovis Components at Gault in a Western Hemispheric Perspective

Dillehay, Tom
Distinguished Professor in the Department of Anthropology
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
Professor Extraordinaire and Honorary Doctorate at the Universidad Austral de Chile

Harris, John
Chief Curator,  George C. Page Museum, Los Angeles, Ca.

Hemmings, Andy
Research Professor of Anthropology / Archaeology University of Texas
Abstract: Drowned Paleoindian Sites in the Gulf of Mexico

Holen, Stephen / Holen, Kathleen
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Abstract: Percussion Technology in the Americas: Evidence from Bone  Assemblages Utilized by Pleistocene Humans

Lieb, Trudy

Lowery, Darrin
Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013
Department of Geography, University of Delaware
Abstract: Pedologic and Geologic Protocols for Understanding the Archaeology of Exploration: A Middle Atlantic Pre-Clovis Case Study

Parrott, Colby

Pettitt, Paul
Reader in Palaeolithic Archaeology The University of Sheffield Sheffield, United Kindgom

Rice, David
Tkwinit Twati Anthropological Services
Abstract: Origin and Antiquity of a Western North American Stemmed Point Tradition:  A Pre-Clovis Perspective

Schneider, Alan
Conference Co-chair Institute for Archaeological Studies

Stanford, Dennis
Chairman, Department of Anthropology
Smithsonian Institution
Abstract: 5 Pre-Clovis Sites

Stenger, Alison
Conference Co-chair
Institute for Archaeological Studies Portland, Oregon
Abstract: Characterizing Pre-Clovis Sites, Material Culture, and Origins

Suarez, Rafael
Departamento Arqueología Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay and Museo de Arqueología y Ciencias Naturales (Salto)
Abstract: Early Paleoamerican Pre-Fishtail settlement in the South Cone: Evaluation and discussion of the evidence

Tallman, Donna

 

Wagner, Dan
Geo-Sci Consultants University Park, Maryland
Abstract: Why Cactus Hill

 

Wah, John
Matapeake Soil and Environmental Consultants, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
Abstract: Pedologic and Geologic Protocols for Understanding the Archaeology of Exploration: A Middle Atlantic Pre-Clovis Case Study

 

Waters, Mike
Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Geography
Director, Center for the Study of the First Americans
Executive Director, North Star Archaeological Research Program Texas A&M University
Abstract: In Search of the First Americans – What the Friedkin Site, Texas, and Manis Site, Washington Tell us About the First Americans

Wernecke, Clark
Gault School of Archaeological Research
Abstract: Older-than-Clovis Components at Gault in a Western Hemispheric Perspective

Willerslev, Eske
Director, Centre of Excellence in GeoGenetics and the National CryoBank and Sequencing Facility Professor, National History Museum and the Biological Institute, University of Copenhagen Visiting Professor at Oxford University