Paleoindian Occupations in the Great Basin: A Comparative Study of Lithic Technological Organization, Mobility, and Landscape Use from Jakes Valley, Nevada

Abstract

Previous research on Paleoindian occupations in the Great Basin has provided many more questions than answers. Central to understanding this early period is the relationship between its Western Fluted and Western Stemmed Tradition occupants. Little is known of the temporal, cultural, and technological behaviors of Western Fluted peoples, while the Western Stemmed Tradition inhabitants are only slightly better understood. This thesis presents the results of intensive technological studies that focused on determining raw material provisioning strategies, lithic conveyance zones, and landscape use to identify mobility and settlement patterns. Lithic assemblages from 19 Paleoindian era occupations, encompassing several environmental zones within Jakes Valley in eastern Nevada, provide data on the technological organization and movement patterns of early humans in the Great Basin, and reveal previously unknown behaviors that help differentiate the early hunter-gatherer groups who made Fluted and Stemmed projectile points.