The Palaeoindian-Archaic transition in North America: new evidence from Texas.

Bousman, C. Britt ; Collins, Michael B. ; Goldberg, Paul 等

The Wilson-Leonard site in Central Texas (FIGURE 1) provides a record of human occupations spanning ~13,500 years (Collins 1998). Between ~9500 and 8250 cal BC (10,000-9500 BP) hunter-gatherers at this site manufactured stemmed projectile points, supported themselves with a broad-spectrum economy and buried their dead. (1) This stemmed projectile point occupation, known as Wilson, is stratified between Early and Late Palaeoindian occupations. Wilson points, typical of Archaic designs, pre-date established Early Archaic occupations in the south central US by 2500 years (Collins 1995; Prewitt 1985). Additionally, the Wilson occupation burial (WL-2) is one of the oldest and most complete human skeletons in the Western Hemisphere (Steele & Powell 1992). Unlike most Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene human remains recovered in North America, it is securely dated by radiocarbon and stratigraphically associated with an occupation. The Wilson-Leonard site contains unique clues regarding the transition from Palaeoindian to Archaic societies in North America.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Archaeological background

To understand this transition, we examine the distinctions between the Palaeoindian and Archaic stages in North America. Willey & Phillips (1958: 107-11) in their classic Method and theory in American archaeology systematically; define the Archaic and Palaeoindian stages. They state that the Archaic Stage differs from the Palaeoindian Stage in nine aspects:

1 shift from large animal hunting to exploitation of a variety of smaller animals,

2 increase in plant food use & gathering,

3 increase in the use of plant processing and other ground stone tools,

4 greater number and variety of chipped stone tools some of which appear to have been used for working wood,

5 manufacture of stemmed, corner-notched or side-notched projectile points,

6 greater stability of population with less evidence for high residential mobility,

7 greater use of organic materials for tool manufacture,

8 systematic burial of the dead, and

9 intensive use of stone for cooking in ovens. Many of these distinctions are still valid today (Fiedel 1992); however, the transition varies regionally within North America. Below we briefly review the archaeological record of this transition for the regions surrounding the Wilson-Leonard site.

Between 11,500-7000 cal BC (11,500-8000 BP) in the Southern Prairie-Plains, many Palaeoindian groups exploited megafauna at sites such as Aubrey, Blackwater Draw, Bonfire Shelter, Cooper, Horace Rivers, Lipscomb, Lubbock Lake, Miami and Plainview, even though this period witnessed the extinction of numerous species of megafauna at the end of the Pleistocene (Bement 1999; Bouldurian & Cotter 1999; Dibble & Lorrain 1968; Ferring 2001; Hofman et al. 1991; Holliday et al. 1994; E. Johnson 1987; Knudson et al. 1998; Mallouf & Mandel 1997; Sellards et al. 1947). Non-local lithic materials from sources such as Alibates in the Texas Panhandle and the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas reflect the extensive exploitation of large territories by Palaeoindian hunter-gatherers (Amick 1999). Early Archaic groups replaced Palaeoindians in the Southern Prairie-Plains by 7000 cal BC (8000 BP). They continued to hunt bison, but began to process plants in bulk at sites like Lubbock Lake (E. Johnson 1987). Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene skeletal remains are extremely rare in this region (Young 1988; Wendorf et al. 1955).

Palaeoindians in the US Southwest also hunted Pleistocene megafauna (Haury et al. 1959; Haynes & Hemmings 1968). A few sites with unclear cultural associations and economic evidence date to the terminal Pleistocene and earliest Holocene, but by 8250-7000 cal BC (9000-8000 BP)in southern Arizona and by 6400 cal bc (7500 BP) in northwestern New Mexico Archaic societies had replaced Palaeoindians groups (Huckell 1996; Irwin-Williams 1979). This shift is accompanied by the exploitation of small game and plant use, but clear evidence of the exact timing of this economic transition is lacking (Vierra 1994). No Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene human burials have been discovered in the US Southwest.

In the Eastern US, although still not unanimously accepted, the earliest Palaeoindian occupation is at Meadowcroft Shelter (Adovasio et al. 1990). Although the radiocarbon record is weakest in the east, Anderson et al. (1996) believe that Palaeoindians occupied the region until ~9500 cal BC (10,000 BP). However, many Eastern Palaeoindians exploited a wide range of animal and plant resources (Meltzer 1988), and non-local raw material use indicates Palaeoindians exploited large territories and/ or maintained extensive exchange networks (Meltzer 1989). Early Archaic groups replaced Eastern Palaeoindians between 9500-8250 cal BC (10,000-9500 BP) at sites such as Dust Cave in Alabama, St Albans in West Virginia and Rodgers Shelter in Missouri (Broyles 1971; Driskell 1996; Kay 1982; Wood & McMillan 1976). Eastern Early Archaic groups continued to hunt diverse animal species (Meltzer & Smith 1986). Late Pleistocene human remains are absent, but systematic burial of the dead during the Early Archaic Period is wide spread in eastern North America and a few true cemeteries are known (Doran et al. 1990).

The Wilson-Leonard Site

The Wilson-Leonard site (30[degrees]32.14'N, 97[degrees]46.68'W) is 65 km north of Austin on Brushy Creek, a tributary of the Brazos River, a few kilometres west of the Balcones Escarpment. This escarpment forms the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau. Brushy Creek deposited alluvial sediments to a thickness of 6-7 m at the site in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Three primary deposits (Units I-III) and eight subunits were identified (FIGURE 2).

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Fifty-five [sup.14]C assays fix the chronology of the site's deposits (TABLE 1). These represent a selection from 96 assays (Collins 1998) of the most parsimonious dates based on stratigraphic constraints and comparisons with the radiocarbon record from other sites in the region (Collins 1995; Prewitt 1985). TABLE 1 lists the calibrated intercepts and 2-sigma calibrated age range for each radiocarbon assay (Stuiver et al. 1998).

Valley scouring marks the initial alluvial event at the Wilson-Leonard site and correlates to drought conditions identified at nearby Boriack Bog (Bousman 1998) and Halls Cave (Toomey et al. 1993) between 13,700 and 12,100 cal BC (13,000-12,000 BP). At this time, erosion of alluvial sediments in valley bottoms is wide spread in central Texas (Blum et al. 1994). The basal Unit Igl gravels, with Clovis artefacts, were deposited after this event. Above the gravels, silty deposits (Isi) contain the Early Palaeoindian occupation known as the Bone Bed Component. Quantitative analysis of a regional sample of Palaeoindian projectile points indicates the single lanceolate projectile point from the Bone Bed Component (FIGURE 3a) is most similar to Plainview forms (Kerr 2000). Unit Icl, above the Bone Bed Component, interfingers with the upper portion of Unit Isi. Unit Icl consists of clayey cienega (marsh) deposits, and produced the oldest radiocarbon assays. These assays show that the Bone Bed Component predates ~11,200 cal BC (11,200 BP).

[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]

Capping the cienega deposits, a cumulic A-horizon, known as the Leanne Soil (Unit Isi-c), formed. The Leanne Soil dates between ~9500 and 8250 cal BC (10,000-9500 BP). A thin discontinuous silt deposit (Unit I-d) caps the Leanne Soil. Unit I-d, undated by radiocarbon, must have accumulated immediately after the formation of the Leanne Soil. Units Isi-c and I-d contain the Wilson Component. This component is distinctive because of the manufacture of stemmed Wilson projectile points (FIGURE 3b-e). Erosion at ~8250 cal BC (9500 BP) marks an unconformity at the top of Unit I and corresponds to a second dry period identified in the phytolith and charcoal records at the Wilson-Leonard site and the Boriack Bog pollen spectra (Bousman 1998).

Unit II consists of undivided colluvial and alluvial deposits. Overlap with the youngest Unit I and oldest Unit II radiocarbon dates suggests that Unit II began to accumulate at ~8250 cal BC (9500 BP). The youngest 14C assays indicate that Unit II sediments continued to accumulate until at least ~8000 cal BC (8800 BP) and possibly as late as 7050 cal BC (8050 BP). Abundant Late Palaeoindian artefacts were excavated from Unit II sediments. These include projectile points (Golondrina, Barber, St Mary's Hall, Scottsbluff, Big Sandy, San Patrice and Angostura, FIGURE 3f-i), bifaces, gouges, drills, burins, spurs, scrapers and net sinkers. A few Wilson points were also excavated from the lower portion of Unit II, but definition of individual components in Unit II was not possible due to mixing and compressed stratigraphy.

Sediments that form Unit III date between ~7500-7050 cal BC (8400-8050 BP) and present. A complete sequence of Early (Unit IIIa), Middle (Unit IIIb), and Late Archaic (Unit IIIc) components as well as Late Prehistoric (Unit IIIc) occupations were recovered.

The Wilson Component

The Leanne Soil encases Wilson artefacts scattered around 10 small stone-lined hearths, two or possibly three small pits of unknown function and a single human grave. Archaeomagnetic analysis (Gose 2000) of burned stone from two hearths in the Leanne Soil, seven hearths in Unit II and numerous burned rock features, including two large ovens, in Unit III demonstrates that these features cooled in place and remained in situ. The vertical distribution of animal bone, stone artefacts and hearths shows at least two superimposed Wilson occupations.

Nine stemmed Wilson projectile points were recovered amongst the 10,953 pieces of lithic debris and cores and 186 other stone tools in the Leanne Soil. These points, with thick expanding stems and ground edges, reflect new hafting and possibly hunting strategies not present amongst Palaeoindian groups. These new hunting strategies may include the use of atlatls although direct evidence is lacking. Wear on Wilson points shows their use as projectiles and knives, and they did not break as frequently as Late Palaeoindian lanceolate forms. Wilson hunter-gatherers intensively resharpened many points to exhaustion, and recycled a few into other tools such as burins or end scrapers. It is possible that Wilson points were more flexible in a functional sense but they certainly were more durable than Palaeoindian lanceolate forms.

Other tool forms, typical of Archaic lithic assemblages such as gouges, burins, and scrapers, are present in the Wilson Component. These forms suggest the regular manufacture of wooden, hide, and bone artefacts. However, only two fragments of ground stone were excavated from the Wilson occupations and this could be due to limited plant food processing at the site. Many Early Archaic sites in Central Texas contain abundant ground stone artefacts (L. Johnson 1987), and their scarcity in the Wilson Component is inconsistent with Archaic technological and economic strategies.

The presence of lithic materials from a variety of sources in the Edwards Plateau demonstrates that the Early Palaeoindians exploited a wider range of non-local materials, and there was a gradual and steady increase in the use of highly local materials from the Early Palaeoindian to the Middle Archaic (FIGURE 4). As local raw material use increased, this probably reflects the gradual reduction in the size of the exploited territories of these respective groups. Drought conditions were most severe during the Middle Archaic period (Bousman 1998), and it appears that these Middle Archaic hunter-gatherers were tethered strongly to local reliable waterholes along the Balcones escarpment.

[FIGURE 4 OMITTED]

Wilson peoples excavated a shallow grave, WL-2, in the Leanne Soil (FIGURE 5). Radiocarbon assays of burial pit sediments (Tx-4787, Tx-4793) and charred tree roots grown over the WL-2 burial pit (CAMS-14807, CAMS-14805) provide a minimum age for the grave (see TABLE 1). However, the top of the grave originated within the lower portion of the Leanne Soil (Unit Isi-c) and extended into the underlying cienega deposits (Unit-Icl) indicating the actual age of the grave is between 9500 and 9230 cal BC (10,000-9750 BP).

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

The individual buried in the grave was represented by a crushed but almost complete skull and post-cranial skeleton. The remains were those of a ~25-year-old female of average height (~158 cm) lying in a flexed position on her right side. Cause of death could not be determined. A detailed assessment of her biological affinity was not possible because of the crushed and distorted skull. In life, she would have had a relatively longer and narrower brain case and face and slight prognathism of the front teeth and supporting bone. She is similar to other females of comparable antiquity in North America (Steele & Powell 1992).

A large unmodified subangular Cretaceous limestone cobbie, a feldspathic sandstone grindstone-chopper, and a Cretaceous-aged fossil shark tooth were in the burial pit. Found near the neck, the fossil shark tooth probably represents a portion of an ornament, and it could have been collected from Edwards Plateau limestone. The purpose of the limestone cobble is unknown. It might have held down an object such as a skin wrap covering the body. The feldspathic sandstone originated in the mineral district of Central Texas, but these occur as cobbles in the Colorado River terraces as close as 15 km.

Microscopic pits and moderate to large striations on the teeth of the WL-2 Burial resulted from masticating a varied diet that included hulls or hard seeds (Powell & Steele 1994). This wear pattern would be expected amongst Archaic hunter-gatherers, but not Palaeoindians. Bone collagen was too diagenetically altered for stable isotope analysis; however, bone apatite produced a [[delta].sup.13]C value of-11.2[per thousand]. Krueger & Sullivan (1984) argue that carbon in human bone apatite is acquired mostly from plant carbohydrates, then less from meat lipids and only small amounts from meat protein. This implies that the diet from the WL-2 Burial probably included a mix of [C.sub.3], [C.sub.4] and perhaps CAM plants.

Edible plant remains in the Wilson Component were extremely scarce. We found only one charred black walnut shell (Juglans major). Live oak (Quercus virginiana) and juniper (Juniperus sp.) charcoal was also present, but we do not know if acorns or juniper berries were consumed. Evidence for intensive plant-food collection, processing and cooking is not present until the Early Archaic occupations in Unit IIIa, where two large Early Archaic stone-lined ovens contained charred wild hyacinth (Camassia scilloides) bulbs and a wide variety of animal remains.

Additional dietary information from the Wilson Component comes from 15,612 bones and bone fragments. These include snakes (Colubridae and Viperidae), fish (Chondrichthyes), turtles (Kinosternidae and Emydidae), rodents (Blarina sp. Spermophilus mexicanus, Sigmodon hispidus, Microtus sp., Oryzomys palustris, Geomys sp. and Neotoma sp.), unidentified birds and bird eggs, hares (Lepus californicus), rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.), squirrels (Sciurus sp.), raccoons (Procyon lotor), deer (Odocoileus sp.) and bison (cf. Bison antiquus sp.). If all or even a majority of these remains represent human food refuse (67.5 % were burned, 1.1% had spiral fractures, and none gnawed by carnivores), NISP frequencies suggest these people were generalized hunters who focused their exploitation efforts upon rabbit, hare, turtle and deer.

A comparison with the other major components at Wilson-Leonard (see FIGURE 4) indicates that Early Palaeoindians in the Bone Bed Component exploited the highest frequency of large-sized animals such as bison and horse. Wilson groups increased their diet breadth by utilizing more medium-sized animals, such as deer or antelope. Early Archaic groups exploited the greatest number of small-sized animals, such as rabbits and reptiles, and had the greatest diet breadth. Middle Archaic peoples shifted back to medium-sized animals. Late Archaic and Late Prehistoric groups increased their exploitation of large-sized fauna. It is well known that bison population densities in the Southern Plains waxed and waned throughout the Holocene and that these changes occurred in concert with climatic changes (Dillehay 1974; McDonald 1984). The faunal changes at the Wilson-Leonard site are probably due, in large part, to bison availability.

Discussion

Beginning at 9500 cal BC (10,000 BP) and for the next 1250 years, Wilson hunter-gatherers manufactured expanding stem projectile points, buried their dead with offerings and exploited a wide range of animals, and possibly plants, within moderate-sized territories. Occupations in the Southern Prairie-Plains, correlated to the Palaeoindian interval, with stemmed or notched projectile points are known from sites like Devil's Mouth, Wharton County, Quince, Horn Shelter, Buckner Ranch and Packard (Johnson 1964; Patterson & Hudgins 1985; Perttula et al. 1994; Redder 1985; Sellards et al. 1940; Sorrow 1968; Wyckoff 1985). However, often their chronologies are imprecise and their significance is unclear because unmixed cultural components could not be isolated stratigraphically.

In Texas, most early sites with stemmed or notched projectile points are limited to the southern half of the State (see FIGURE 1). The northwestern extent of their distribution reflects a cultural boundary with coeval Palaeoindian groups living a very different lifestyle in the Southern Plains (E. Johnson 1987; Knudson et al. 1998).

At Rodgers Shelter in Missouri, Dalton Palaeoindian occupations, dating between 10,500-8250 cal BC (10,500-9500 BP), are fully contemporary with the Wilson Component at the Wilson-Leonard site (Kay 1982: 103). However, Lopinot et al. (2000) excavated stemmed projectile points similar to Wilson points and possibly of a similar age at the nearby Big Eddy site. This site might extend the range of Wilson groups to the northeast. Wilson points are strikingly similar to Early Archaic Kirk points from the Southeastern US (Anderson & Sassaman 1996), but the oldest Kirk occupations post-date the earliest Wilson occupation at the Wilson-Leonard site by 1250 years (Anderson et al. 1996). At the Wilson-Leonard site, after 8250 cal BC (9500 BP) Late Palaeoindian societies replaced Wilson groups, and Early Archaic hunter-gatherers followed them after 7500-7050 cal BC (8400-8050 BP).

Wilson occupations at the Wilson-Leonard site signify that the transformation from Palaeoindian to Archaic strategies began by the beginning of the Holocene, but the Wilson Component pre-dates the full set of Archaic behaviours in the region by 2500 years. This study indicates that hunting-gathering societies in Central Texas responded to dramatic environmental changes at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary with multiple, diverse strategies. Over this 1000-2500-year period, Native Americans experimented with various ways of coping with altering environmental conditions in terms of subsistence, stone-tool designs and settlement/ mobility patterns, and the end result was the Archaic adaptation. Archaeologists must better understand these transformations, because this period sets the stage for the development of greater social complexity first witnessed during the Middle Archaic at Southern US sites like Watson-Brake (Saunders et al. 1997).

Summary

As discussed in the beginning of this paper, the hallmarks of Palaeoindian and Archaic societies differ in significant ways. Few sites in North America provide detailed evidence of the transition from Palaeoindian to Archaic societies. In North America, only the Wilson-Leonard site shows the stratigraphic interdigitation of stemmed projectile point occupations between Early and Late Palaeoindian occupations. Economic strategies shifted from hunting large fauna in the Early Palaeoindian occupation to the exploitation of diverse animal species, more typical of Archaic patterns, in the Wilson Component. The Wilson Component also produced the oldest evidence for plant food exploitation at the site. Broad-spectrum economies continued through the Late Palaeoindian and Archaic occupations. At the same time, a slow reduction in territorial size occurs.

The cultural package recognized by archaeologists as Archaic did not develop as a synchronous set in a linear fashion, rather individual embedded strategies within Palaeoindian societies developed at different rates. As the Wilson-Leonard evidence demonstrates, the process was more complex, convoluted, and lengthy than many North American archaeologists had previously believed.

TABLE 1. Radiocarbon dates from the Wilson-Leonard site. Calibrated
ages use CALIB 4.1 (Stuiver et al. 1998). The materials selected for
radiocarbon analysis include BWCN Black Walnut (Juglans major) Charred
Nutshell; DS Decalcified Sediment; HC Hackberry (Celtis sp.) Charcoal;
JC Juniper (Juniperus sp.) Charcoal; LOC Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
Charcoal; RMC Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) Charcoal; SHA Sediment Humic
Acid; UC Unidentified Charcoal; WHB Wild Hyacinth (Camassia scilloides)
Bulb.

sample no. [sup.14]C BP age intercepts & 2[sigma] cal age range

CAMS-18639 1990 [+ or -] 60 165 BC (AD 19) AD 145
ETH-14115 3780 [+ or -] 70 2453 (2206) 2000 BC
Beta-79700 5520 [+ or -] 80 4506 (4350) 4232 BC
Beta-79803 4880 [+ or -] 70 3790 (3656) 3524 BC
CAMS-10196 4440 [+ or -] 60 3351 (3091) 2909 BC
Beta-79699 5560 [+ or -] 60 4507 (4367) 4321 BC
CAMS-13514 8080 [+ or -] 70 7268 (7061) 6811 BC
CAMS-13841 7890 [+ or -] 60 7040 (6693) 6598 BC
CAMS-13512 8010 [+ or -] 60 7083 (7039) 6692 BC
CAMS-13840 7870 [+ or -] 60 7034 (6675) 6576 BC
CAMS-13513 8030 [+ or -] 60 7097 (7045) 6714 BC
CAMS-10201 8080 [+ or -] 60 7186 (7061) 6833 BC
CAMS-13844 7890 [+ or -] 80 7052 (6693) 6515 BC
CAMS-13509 8130 [+ or -] 70 7326 (7083) 6855 BC
CAMS-8355 7990 [+ or -] 60 7073 (7033) 6674 BC
CAMS-10197 8130 [+ or -] 60 7312 (7083) 7039 BC
CAMS-10194 8110 [+ or -] 70 7311 (7073) 6841 BC
CAMS-10206 8420 [+ or -] 200 7955 (7519) 7042 BC
Tx-4784a 8820 [+ or -] 120 8269 (7955) 7589 BC
Tx-4784b 8940 [+ or -] 100 8295 (8212) 7759 BC
Tx-4784c 8860 [+ or -] 150 8304 (8139, 8134, 7973) 7583 BC
CAMS-7560 9650 [+ or -] 80 9258 (9165) 8766 BC
CAMS-18640 9340 [+ or -] 60 8752 (8607) 8436 BC
Tx-4828 9530 [+ or -] 88 9213 (8788) 8611 BC
CAMS-14806 9520 [+ or -] 60 9154 (8782) 8631 BC
CAMS-6349 9500 [+ or -] 80 9186 (8772) 8606 BC
CAMS-6374 9480 [+ or -] 100 9202 (8762) 8538 BC
CAMS-6348 9540 [+ or -] 70 9202 (9096, 9091, 9066, 9055, 8793)
 8632 BC
CAMS-6373 9540 [+ or -] 80 9202 (9096, 9091, 9066, 9055, 8793)
 8632 BC
CAMS-6382 9590 [+ or -] 80 9230 (9121, 8991, 8911) 8712 BC
CAMS-6350 9610 [+ or -] 70 9230 (9130, 8975, 8935) 8755 BC
CAMS-13842 9750 [+ or -] 60 9276 (9230) 9141 BC
CAMS-14807 9430 [+ or -] 60 9102 (8713) 8560 BC
CAMS-14805 9410 [+ or -] 60 8789 (8698, 8676, 8674) 8545 BC
Tx-4787 9470 [+ or -] 170 9258 (8757) 8292 BC
Tx-4793 9650 [+ or -] 124 9293 (9165) 8633 BC
CAMS-10195 9990 [+ or -] 70 9749 (9374) 9268 BC
CAMS-19258 10,360 [+ or -] 60 10,683 (10,369) 9991 BC
CAMS-19256 10,380 [+ or -] 60 10,693 (10,379) 10,001 BC
CAMS-19261 10,610 [+ or -] 60 10,939 (10,857, 10,773, 10,713)
 10,418 BC
CAMS-19490 10,280 [+ or -] 60 10,399 (10,144, 10,058, 10.029) 9786
 BC
CAMS-19492 10,110 [+ or -] 70 10,141 (9719) 9351 BC
CAMS-19489 10,270 [+ or -] 80 10,651 (10,135, 10,071, 10,020) 9718
 BC
CAMS-19481 10,190 [+ or -] 110 10,628 (9973) 9353 BC
CAMS-19493 10,520 [+ or -] 70 10,893 (10,686, 10,507, 10,468)
 10,238 BC
CAMS-19482 10,440 [+ or -] 130 10,908 (10,654, 10,552, 10,405) 9861
 BC
CAMS-19257 10,650 [+ or -] 60 10,955 (10,871, 10,758, 10,729)
 10,461 BC
CAMS-19484 10,660 [+ or -] 90 10,977 (10,874, 10,750, 10,735)
 10,416 BC
CAMS-19485 10,330 [+ or -] 60 10,667 (10,350, 10,274, 10,193) 9973
 BC
CAMS-19487 10,660 [+ or -] 170 11,056 (10,874, 10,750, 10,735)
 10,169 BC
CAMS-19252 11,080 [+ or -] 70 11,219 (11,167, 11,131, 11,090)
 10,986 BC
CAMS-19486 10,990 [+ or -] 70 11,198 (11,047) 10,942 BC
CAMS-19262 11,400 [+ or -] 110 11,829 (11,461) 11,199 BC
CAMS-19259 10,920 [+ or -] 70 11,171 (11,007) 10,916 BC
CAMS-19260 11,190 [+ or -] 100 11,466 (11,206) 11,040 BC

sample no. stratigraphic context feature associations

CAMS-18639 IIIc/Wilson-Leonard Soil Feature 10, hearth
ETH-14115 IIIc/Wilson-Leonard Soil BRM-2, burned rock midden
Beta-79700 IIIb Feature 50, tree stump
Beta-79803 IIIb Feature 214, hearth
CAMS-10196 IIIb Feature 204, hearth
Beta-79699 IIIb Feature 199, tree stump
CAMS-13514 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-13841 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-13512 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-13840 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-13513 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-10201 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-13844 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-13509 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 181, oven
CAMS-8355 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 231, oven
CAMS-10197 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 245, oven
CAMS-10194 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 245, oven
CAMS-10206 IIIa/Stiba Soil Feature 245, oven
Tx-4784a II non-feature context
Tx-4784b II non-feature context
Tx-4784c II non-feature context
CAMS-7560 II Feature 236, hearth
CAMS-18640 II Feature 157, hearth
Tx-4828 I-II Feature 165, tree stump
CAMS-14806 I-II Feature 164, tree stump
CAMS-6349 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 253, tree stump
CAMS-6374 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 253, tree stump
CAMS-6348 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 253, tree stump
CAMS-6373 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 253, tree stump
CAMS-6382 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 253, tree stump
CAMS-6350 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 253, tree stump
CAMS-13842 Isi-c/Leanne Soil non-feature context
CAMS-14807 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 72, root over WL-2
CAMS-14805 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 167, root over WL-2
Tx-4787 Isi-c/Leanne Soil WL-2, burial pit fill
Tx-4793 Isi-c/Leanne Soil WL-2, burial pit fill
CAMS-10195 Isi-c/Leanne Soil Feature 255, hearth
CAMS-19258 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19256 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19261 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19490 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19492 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19489 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19481 Icl-cienega non-feahlre context
CAMS-19493 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19482 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19257 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19484 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19485 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19487 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19252 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19486 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19262 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19259 Icl-cienega non-feature context
CAMS-19260 Icl-cienega non-feature context

 depth
 below
 surface sample
sample no. (cm) material cultural association

CAMS-18639 11 HC Late Archaic
ETH-14115 68 WHB Late Archaic
Beta-79700 96 LOC Middle Archaic
Beta-79803 97 JC Middle Archaic
CAMS-10196 98 UC Middle Archaic
Beta-79699 108 RMC Middle Archaic
CAMS-13514 161 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-13841 163 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-13512 170 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-13840 173 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-13513 173 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-10201 177 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-13844 184 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-13509 192 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-8355 180 WHB Early Archaic
CAMS-10197 172 UC Early Archaic
CAMS-10194 174 UC Early Archaic
CAMS-10206 177 UC Early Archaic
Tx-4784a 191 UC Late Palaeoindian
Tx-4784b 191 UC Late Palaeoindian
Tx-4784c 191 UC Late Palaeoindian
CAMS-7560 208 UC Late Palaeoindian
CAMS-18640 218 UC Late Palaeoindian
Tx-4828 269 LOC Wilson/
 Late Palaeoindian
CAMS-14806 270 UC Wilson/
 Late Palaeoindian
CAMS-6349 276 LOC Wilson
CAMS-6374 277 LOC Wilson
CAMS-6348 277 LOC Wilson
CAMS-6373 277 LOC Wilson
CAMS-6382 277 LOC Wilson
CAMS-6350 277 LOC Wilson
CAMS-13842 269 BWCN Wilson
CAMS-14807 267 UC Wilson
CAMS-14805 282 LOC Wilson
Tx-4787 314 DS Wilson
Tx-4793 319 DS Wilson
CAMS-10195 319 UC Wilson
CAMS-19258 334 SHA post-Bone Bed
 Component
CAMS-19256 337 SHA post-Bone Bed
 Component
CAMS-19261 338 SHA post-Bone Bed
 Component
CAMS-19490 340 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19492 344 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19489 348 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19481 352 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19493 364 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19482 375 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19257 378 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19484 381 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19485 388 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19252 396 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19486 401 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19259 424 SHA post-Bone Bed
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CAMS-19260 427 SHA post-Bone Bed
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Acknowledgements. The Wilson-Leonard site was excavated in 1982-1984 by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) under the direction of Frank Weir and Wayne Young, and in 1992-1993 by the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at the University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Michael B. Collins and C. Britt Bousman. TxDOT funded both investigations. We appreciate the support of Diana Noble, Ken Bohuslav, Ann Irwin and Nancy Kenmotsu of TxDOT, and Thomas R. Hester, Darrell Creel and the TARL staff. The comments of David Nickels, Kent Reilly, Norman Whalen and two anonymous reviewers helped improve our logic and presentation on numerous issues.

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Charles and Anne McBurney.

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(1) Palaeoindian archaeologists often do not use the calibrated radiocarbon time scale, because many believe that the calibrations are still too imprecise to warrant using calibrated dates. For this reason, both calibrated and uncalibrated scales are used in this paper.

C. BRITT BOUSMAN, MICHAEL B. COLLINS, PAUL GOLDBERG, THOMAS STAFFORD, JAN GUY, BARRY W. BAKER, D. GENTRY STEELE, MARVIN KAY, ANNE KERR, GLEN FREDLUND, PHIL DERING, VANCE HOLLIDAY, DIANE WILSON, WULF GOSE, SUSAN DIAL, PAUL TAKAC, ROBIN BALINSKY, MARILYN MASSON & JOSEPH F. POWELL *

* Bousman, Center for Archaeological Studies & Department of Anthropology, Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos TX 78666, USA. Collins, Guy, Dial & Takac, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712, USA. Goldberg, Department of Archaeology, Boston University, Boston MA 02215, USA. Stafford, Stafford Laboratories, Inc., Boulder CO 80301, USA. Baker, US National Fish & Wildlife Forensics Laboratory & Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland OR 97520, USA. Steele & Dering, Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843, USA. Kay, Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR 72701, USA. Kerr, Center of Big Bend Studies, Sul Ross State University, Alpine TX 79832, USA. Fredlund, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI 53211, USA. Holliday, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ 85721, USA. Wilson, Geography/Anthropology Department, University of Southern Maine, Gorham MA 04104, USA. Gose & Balinsky, Department of Geology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX 78712, USA. Masson, Department of Anthropology, SUNY-Albany, Albany NY 12222, USA. Powell, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131, USA.