Reconsidering the potential role of saline springs in the Paleoindian occupation of Sandy Springs, Adams County, Ohio

Purtill, Matthew P.

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.03.054

Cited by 4 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Aeolian sediments are located on both the north bank of the Ohio River at Sandy Springs and on the south bank in Vanceburg, Kentucky ( Figure 1D). When mapped in total, aeolian deposits include ∼304 ha of land (Morris and Pierce, 1967;Lucht and Brown, 1994;Purtill and Kite, 2015;Purtill, 2016Purtill, , 2017. Currently, pool elevation for this river reach is dam-controlled at 148 m, although early navigation charts list a low-water elevation of 141 m at Sandy Springs (Jones, 1916, p. 163).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three separate geomorphic classifications of the Sandy Springs valley bottom have been proposed and each delineates between two and four alluvial/outwash surfaces or terraces above a modern floodplain (Morris and Pierce, 1967;Pavey et al, 1999;Purtill and Kite, 2015;Purtill, 2016Purtill, , 2017. In the 1960s, the valley bottom initially was mapped as consisting of a high surface (Qo) at 185 m with an assumed Illinoian age (ca.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent analysis of LiDAR data resulted in a second reclassification of the valley bottom (Purtill and Kite, 2015;Purtill, 2016Purtill, , 2017. Valley-bottom morphometrics suggest four geomorphic surfaces (S0-S3) above the Ohio River's pre-lock and dam low-water elevation.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sandy Springs aeolian landforms are presently vegetated or in cultivation that includes seasonal tilling (Figure 2). Where undisturbed, aeolian landforms host a remnant sand-prairie vegetation of xeric plant species such as eastern prickly pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa), passion flower (Passiflora incarnata), little whitlow grass (Draba brachycarpa), spreading sandwort (Arenaria patula), and silkgrass (Chrysopis graminifolia) (Vincent et al, 2011;Purtill, 2017). Pollen data from the upper Ohio Valley suggest a transition from an early savanna-like setting dominated by spruce (Picea sp.)…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most aeolian research in the eastern United States has focused either on deglaciated landscapes including alluvial valleys, paleochannels, lake plains, and outwash plains (e.g., Arbogast et al, 2002;Arbogast and Packman, 2004;Rawling et al, 2008;Miao et al, 2010;Wang et al, 2011;Hanson et al, 2015) or coastal settings such as the Gulf Coastal Plain or the Atlantic Coastal Plain (e.g., Ivester et al, 2001;Ivester and Leigh, 2003;Kilibarda et al, 2014b;Forman, 2015;Markewich et al, 2015;Swezey et al, 2016). Aeolian landforms also occur in many unglaciated interior alluvial valleys (e.g., Bettis et al, 2003;Busacca et al, 2004;Markewich et al, 2015) and have the potential to yield paleoenvironmental data, help assess valley sensitivity to climate change, and reveal archeological evidence of past human activity (e.g., Wagner and McAvoy, 2004;Feathers et al, 2006;Lothrop and Cremeens, 2010;Daniel et al, 2013;Purtill and Kite, 2015). Although aeolian sediments for some unglaciated valleys in eastern United States have been described in detail including the lower Mississippi Valley (e.g., Saucier, 1977;Rodbell et al, 1997;Rittenour et al, 2007;Markewich et al, 2015), aeolian landforms in other drainages such as the upper Ohio Valley have received less attention and remain largely undated (Rutledge et al, 1975;Chappell, 1988;Simard, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geochronology and Depositional History of the Sandy Springs Aeolian Landscape in the Unglaciated Upper Ohio River Valley, United States

2019

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The study of active and stabilized late Quaternary aeolian landforms provides important proxies for past climate events and environmental transitions. Despite an overall increase in the study of aeolian landforms in previously glaciated and coastal settings in eastern North America, the history of aeolian sedimentation in many unglaciated inland alluvial settings remain poorly understood. This study reports on the geochronology and depositional history of aeolian landforms and sediments in the unglaciated upper Ohio Valley at the Sandy Springs site. Aeolian landforms and sediments include complex, linear, barchan-like, and climbing dunes; an interdune sand sheet; and sandy loess that blankets high valley surfaces. At Sandy Springs, aeolian dune sands and sandy loess are restricted to intermediate (S2) and higher (S3) geomorphic surfaces. Eight optically stimulated luminescence age estimates constrain the initiation of aeolian processes on the S2 surface to sometime after 17 ka and episodic deposition on the S2 and S3 surfaces between 11 and 1.4 ka. The distribution of aeolian sediments at Sandy Springs is influenced by several past factors including local wind fetch potential, sediment availability, and underlying alluvial topography. Sediment availability is interpreted as the primary factor controlling aeolian processes and appear linked to several pan-regional paleoclimate events. Sandy loess deposition at ca. 8.2 ka on the S3 surface may reflect hydrologic variability and cooling, associated with the final pulse of meltwater into the North Atlantic from the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Dune reactivation and erosion at ca. 4.5 ka on the S2 surface indicate enhanced sediment availability possibly associated with drought conditions. These results illustrate that the deciphering the coupled fluvialaeolian records in this catchment of the Ohio River provides new insight into the nature of changing surface processes against the backdrop of climate variability over the past ca. 20 ka.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geochronology and Depositional History of the Sandy Springs Aeolian Landscape in the Unglaciated Upper Ohio River Valley, United States

2019

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More than Just Clovis: the Broad Impact of Sampling Bias on Archaeological Site Distributions

Purtill

2022

J Archaeol Method Theory

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The Road Not Taken: How Early Landscape Learning and Adoption of a Risk-Averse Strategy Influenced Paleoindian Travel Route Decision Making in the Upper Ohio Valley

Purtill

2020

Am. Antiq.

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To evaluate a model of the travel-route selection process for upper Ohio Valley Paleoindian foragers (13,500–11,400 cal BP), this study investigates archaeological data through the theoretical framework of landscape learning and risk-sensitive analysis. Following initial trail placement adjacent to a highly visible escarpment landform, Paleoindians adopted a risk-averse strategy to minimize travel outcome variability when wayfaring between Sandy Springs, a significant Ohio River Paleoindian site, and Upper Mercer–Vanport chert quarries of east-central Ohio. Although a least-cost analysis indicates an optimal route through the lower Scioto Valley, archaeological evidence for this path is lacking. Geomorphic and archaeological data further suggest that site absence in the lower Scioto Valley is not entirely due to sampling bias. Instead, evidence indicates that Paleoindians preferred travel within the Ohio Brush Creek–Baker's Fork valley despite its longer path distance through more rugged, constricted terrain. Potential travel through the lower Scioto Valley hypothesizes high outcome variability due to the stochastic nature of the late Pleistocene hydroregime. In this case, perceived outcome variability appears more influential in determining travel-route decisions among Paleoindians than direct efforts to reduce energy and time allocation.

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Reconsidering the potential role of saline springs in the Paleoindian occupation of Sandy Springs, Adams County, Ohio

Cited by 4 publications

References 32 publications

Geochronology and Depositional History of the Sandy Springs Aeolian Landscape in the Unglaciated Upper Ohio River Valley, United States

Geochronology and Depositional History of the Sandy Springs Aeolian Landscape in the Unglaciated Upper Ohio River Valley, United States

More than Just Clovis: the Broad Impact of Sampling Bias on Archaeological Site Distributions

The Road Not Taken: How Early Landscape Learning and Adoption of a Risk-Averse Strategy Influenced Paleoindian Travel Route Decision Making in the Upper Ohio Valley

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