Paleoindian Geoarchaeology of the Southern High Plains

320 Pages·1997·17.52 MB·English

by  Vance T. Holliday

Paleoindian Geoarchaeology
of the Southern High Plains
TEXAS ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOHISTORY SERIES
Thomas R. Hester, Editor
PALEOINDIAN
Geoarchaeology of the
Southern High Plains
VANCE T. HOLLIDAY
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS
Austin
Copyright © 1997 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 1997
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to
Permissions, University of Texas Press, Box 7819, Austin, TX 78713-7819.
® The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements
of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence
of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI 739.48-1984.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Holliday, Vance T.
Paleoindian geoarchaeology of the southern High Plains / Vance T. Holliday. —
ist ed.
p. cm. — (Texas archaeology and ethnohistory series)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 0-292-73114-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)
i. Paleo-Indians—High Plains (U.S.) 2. Excavations (Archaeology)—High
Plains (U.S.) 3. Archaeological geology—High Plains (U.S.) 4. High Plains
(U.S.)—Antiquities. I. Title. II. Series.
E78.G73H&3 1997
978—dc2o 96-25213
I dedicate this volume to Vance Haynes with respect and admiration. His
work in geoarchaeology and Paleoindian archaeology first inspired me as
an undergraduate, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to follow in
his footsteps when I began working on the High Plains. During my gradu-
ate and subsequent professional career he became a source of ideas and in-
spiration, a great colleague, and, above all, a friend.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Foreword by Thomas R. Hester xv
Preface and Acknowledgments xvii
CHAPTER ONE
Paleoindian Studies, Geoarchaeology, and the Southern High Plains 1
CHAPTER TWO
History of Paleoindian Research on the Southern High Plains 21
CHAPTER THREE
Stratigraphy, Soils, and Geochronology of Paleoindian Sites 50
CHAPTER FOUR
Regional Comparisons 149
CHAPTER FIVE
Discussion and Conclusions 174
APPENDIX ONE
Site Settings and Stratigraphic Descriptions 229
APPENDIX TWO
Lithic Resources of the Southern High Plains 244
References Cited 253
Index 289
This page intentionally left blank
Illustrations
Figures
1.1. Map showing the location of the Southern High Plains 2
1.2. Physiographic map of the Southern High Plains 3
1.3. Paleoindian sites on the Southern High Plains investigated
by the author 4
i .4. Schematic cross section of the Southern High Plains 11
2.1. Visitors to the Clovis gravel pit in the summer of 1933 23
2.2. E. B. Howard and John Cotter examine artifacts from
the Clovis site 23
2.3. Stratigraphic correlation chart for the gravel pit at the
Clovis site and the Anderson Basin area 24
2.4. Mammoth vertebra and Clovis point found during Cotter's
excavations in 1936 26
2.5. The Miami site at the end of Sellards' excavations in 1937 27
2.6. Frank H. H. Roberts' excavations at the San Jon site early
in the 1941 season 29
2.7. The Lubbock Lake site in Yellowhouse Draw 33
2.8. View along the west side of the reservoir cut at Lubbock Lake 34
2.9. Excavations at the Milnesand site in 1953 36
2.10. The geocultural sequence of the Southern High Plains proposed
by E. H. Sellards and Glen Evans 37
2.11. Locality i at the Midland site in 1953 and coring in 1990 39
2.12. Trenching at the Midland site (Locality i) by E. H. Sellards
in late 1954 41
2.13. Two views of the Clovis site in the early 19605 46-47