Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene Cave Use in Oregon’s Fort Rock Basin: An Examination of Western Stemmed Tradition Projectile Point Assemblages from Fort Rock Cave, Cougar Mountain Cave, and the Connley Caves

Abstract

Luther Cressman’s pioneering investigations of northwestern Great Basin caves in the late 1930’s established that humans were in the region during the terminal Pleistocene/early Holocene (TP/EH) (~16,000-8300 cal BP). The Paleoindian assemblages recovered from Fort Rock Cave, Cougar Mountain Cave, and the Connley Caves suggest that these sites served as longer-term residential bases, although most other caves and rockshelters in the region saw shorter stays. In this thesis, I test the hypothesis that those three caves served as longer-term (weeks or months) residential bases. My results reveal that: (1) local-to-nonlocal projectile point toolstone proportions suggest that shorter-term occupations occurred at each site; (2) local-to-nonlocal debitage proportions suggest that longer-term occupations occurred at Fort Rock Cave and the Connley Caves; and (3) Fort Rock Cave projectile points manufactured on nonlocal toolstone are significantly more curated than those manufactured on local toolstone.