Evolution of landscapes on the double mountain fork of the brazos river, West Texas: Implications for preservation and visibility of the archaeological record

Abstract

The Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River is an ephemeral stream that flows across the western Rolling Plains of West Texas. Intensive pedestrian archaeological survey, covering some 8700 acres of the drainage, produced a site inventory with a general paucity of identifiable Paleoindian and Early to Middle Archaic components, whereas Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric sites were widespread and found in a diversity of landscape positions. Geoarchaeological investigations were conducted in conjunction with this survey and later testing activities, and suggested that much of this temporally and spatially skewed archaeological record may be attributable to the evolution of landscapes during the late Pleistocene and Holocene time period, rather than original occupation intensities. Most of the landscape in the study area has been subject to erosional stripping, but in selected localities late Pleistocene and Holocene depositional landform‐sediment assemblages of fluvial, alluvial/colluvial fan, and eolian origin are preserved. With few exceptions, however, depositional contexts or stable geomorphic surfaces more than 3000 years old are erosionally truncated, completely absent, or deeply buried. As a result, a bias is imposed that renders older cultural records either poorly preserved or deeply buried and of low visibility to traditional survey techniques. Similar natural formation processes are likely at other locations on the western Rolling Plains, and should be considered during interpretation of prehistoric population dynamics in the area. The biases imposed by such natural formation processes on the western Rolling Plains are slightly different from other areas in the Southern Great Plains of the United States, but in most cases the known archaeological record corresponds with opportunities for preservation and visibility provided by geologic trajectories, and may reflect little on spatial and temporal discontinuities in prehistoric cultural activity.

Quaternary stratigraphy and geoarchaeology of the colorado and concho rivers, west texas

“…In contrast to other settings in the Southcentral United States (see Hall, 1988Hall, , 1990Blum et al, 19921, there are no extended gaps in the sedimentary record from the time period of human occupation, and consequently little inherent bias in the preserved archaeological record due to widespread erosion. The lone exception to this may be the earlier parts of the Paleoindian period, which postdate abandonment of late Pleistocene floodplains, coincide in time with excavation of bedrock valleys, and predate significant accumulations of Holocene valley fill sediments.…”

“…In the past few years the impact of alluvial histories on the archaeological record has been discussed from several different but complementary perspectives. These studies emphasize a number of critical points, namely, that much of the prehistoric record may be missing due to widespread erosion along valley axes, or of limited visibility due to deep burial (e.g., Hall, 1988;Bouseman et al, 1988;Ferring, 1990a;Blum et al, 19921, that the spatial and temporal segregation of preserved archaeological records depends in part on the rates of fluvial sedimentation (e.g., Ferring, 19861, and that long periods of prehistoric cultural activity may be compressed within a few centimeters on top of present, or formerly stable but now buried, land surfaces that were characterized by soil development (e.g., Ferring, 1986;Holliday, 1990). It is now clear that the impact of geomorphic processes on the development, preservation, and visibility of the archaeological record must be assessed before it is possible to focus on prehistoric population dynamics, settlement patterns, and subsistence strategies.…”

Late Quaternary Stratigraphy and Geochronology of the Spring Creek Drainage along the Southern High Plains Eastern Escarpment, Northwest Texas

“…From a landscape perspective, the preservation of these older sediments was controlled by local topography. This topographic control also affected the broader regional soils record [1,2,22,29].…”

“…Across the North American grasslands, a number of large-scale (e.g., [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]) and small-scale (e.g., [26][27][28][29][30]) Late Quaternary landscape studies have been undertaken. These studies indicate a variety of natural processes affecting landscape development and preservation of sedimentological, biotic, and cultural records through time.…”

Controles geoarqueológicos e modelos morfoestratigráficos: implicações para o estudo das ocupações pré-históricas na costa sul-sudeste do Brasil

“…O desenvolvimento da abordagem geoarqueológica e as implicações das chamadas "ciências da terra", em teoria e métodos arqueológicos foram abordados por vários autores, dentre os quais RAPP (1975), HASSAN (1978HASSAN ( , 1979; GLADFELTER, (1977GLADFELTER, ( , 1981 A possível inter-relação dos aspectos de formação do registro arqueológico (Teoria Formativa), suas conseqüências sobre os métodos de recuperação e produção de evidências (Teoria de Recuperação) e a produção de inferências (Teoria Inferencial) ou interpretações (Teria Explanatória) tem sido esboçada por diferentes autores (ASCHER, 1968;COWGILL, 1970;COLLINS, 1975;SCHIFFER, 1972SCHIFFER, , 1976; entre outros). Por sua vez, SCHIFFER (1983SCHIFFER ( , 1987 (WATERS, 1992;BLUM ET AL., 1992;KELLOGG, 1995;WATERS & KUEHN, 1996;BROOKS ET AL., 1996;RICKLIS & BLUM, 1997;FAUGHT & DONOGHUE, 1997;BROWN, 1997;GUCCIONE ET AL., 1998;WATERS cobertura vegetal, camadas sedimentares). Por fim, pode-se associá-la aos métodos e técnicas de prospecção, que em síntese nada mais são que a escolha do tipo de "observador" que queremos, ou ainda, qual o alcance de "observação" pretendido, condições essas que podem alterar a visibilidade de uma área ou registro" (Brochier,op cit,p.38) the precision an, therefore, the resolution at which interpretation can be made (Stein, 1993:3-4) As incertezas em escalas ocorrem quanto a observação/registro de dados ou a The relationship of controls to archaeological theory has been strangely neglected, despite the implicit importance of controls whenever archaeological theory is discussed or used.…”