click on logo to return to GRSLE
GRSLE
Bechberger2010
Bohn 2007
Burnett 2005
Derr 2006
Kinneer 2007
Mueller 2007
Ollie 2008
Reiser 2010
Reitze 2004
RELATED PROJECTS
Adams 2006
Burke 2008
Burger 2002
Burris 2004
Gantt 2002
Visitors Since 4/20/06
Since 2004, a series of graduate students from Colorado State University have completed field research for Master's Thesis projects that form important parts of both the educational and research components of the GRSLE project. These theses are available here in order to allow a more general dissemination of the results of these investigations to both the local community and to broader audiences. Links to several other recent CSU MA projects, while not dealing with the Greybull drainage specifically, emphasize the same perspectives on transdisciplinary research that is fundamental to the GRSLE project and are also included.
GRSLE Project Theses:
Bechberger, J. M. (2010).
BIOGEOMORPHIC PROCESSES AND
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE FORMATION IN THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS OF NORTHWESTERN
WYOMING
Archaeologists frequently associate Thomomys taploides, the
Northern Pocket Gopher, with the loss of
stratigraphic integrity. Disturbance from subsurface burrowing and the
redistribution of sediment can result in both lateral and vertical
movement of cultural material. However, fossorial activity does not
necessarily negate the research potential of a site. Burrowing mammals
may actually reveal previously unidentified archaeological sites, help
land managers develop effective site testing plans and evaluate site
significance, and contribute to a better understanding of a region’s
archaeological record and past environmental conditions. This research
explores the influence of pocket gopher activity on site formation at a
high elevation prehistoric flaked stone scatter in the Absaroka
Mountains of northwestern Wyoming (48PA2874). Archaeological data were
examined in conjunction with pocket gopher behavioral patterns and
geomorphic processes to better understand the affect of burrowing and
sediment relocation on cultural material. This project provides a
general background for further research on pocket gopher impacts to
archaeological material in alpine settings. With additional research the
effect of pocket gopher activity on artifact distribution in high
elevation environments can be better understood.
Bohn, A. D. (2007).
SCATTERED GLASS: OBSIDIAN ARTIFACT
PROVENANCE PATTERNS IN
NORTHWESTERN WYOMING
Home to several high quality sources of the volcanic
glass material, obsidian artifacts are found throughout the
archaeological record in northwestern Wyoming. Obsidian is a useful
lithic raw material for evaluating
prehistoric
land use patterns because it can be matched with the geochemical
signatures of source materials. As part of the Greybull River
Sustainable Landscape Ecology (GRSLE) project, this research seeks to
evaluate obsidian distribution patterns in the Upper Greybull watershed
and the relationship to local and regional land use patterns. The study
area is located within the volcanically formed Absaroka Mountain range
where there is clear evidence of prehistoric land use from the Late
Paleoindian period to recent times. Field and laboratory components were
conducted to evaluate several research questions. During the field
component, artifacts were recorded following pedestrian surveys and a
sample of obsidian artifacts were collected for geochemical
characterization. The laboratory component consisted of the geochemical
and lithic analysis of the sampled artifacts.
Burnett, P.C. (2005).
SURFACE LITHIC SCATTERS IN THE CENTRAL
ABSAROKAS OF WYOMING
This
thesis provides baseline data on the variability of prehistoric lithic
scatters documented across surfaces in the central Absaroka Range of
northwestern Wyoming. Prehistoric hunter-gatherer behaviors and
landscape attributes driving this variability are interpreted, and the
dimensions controlling archaeological variability in this montane
setting are defined. Themes of behavioral continuity and change are
common to researching human systems, and in the Absaroka Range this
research is especially relevant for anthropologists and earth scientists
studying Holocene change.
Derr, K. M. (2006).
THERMAL LANDSCAPES: TEMPERATURE AND
SITE PLACEMENT IN
NORTHWEST WYOMING
Biotic
communities are shaped primarily by interactions between temperature,
effective moisture, topography, soil, disturbance regime and time. In a
montane ecosystem, temperature and effective moisture vary with
topography across short distances. These topographically driven changes
cause concordant variation in habitat structure. Prehistoric
hunter-gatherers in a montane ecosystem may have incorporated
topography, temperature, and habitat structure into site placement
strategies. This study seeks to understand the correlation between
topographically mediated temperature gradients (the thermal landscape)
and montane prehistoric activity areas.
Kinneer, C.C.
(2007). HIGH ALTITUDE STONE AND WOOD
STRUCTURES OF NORTHWESTERN WYOMING: EXAMPLES FROM THE UPPER GREYBULL
RIVER AREA IN THE CENTRAL ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS
This thesis presents the results of archaeological
investigations of seven sites with structures identified near the
headwaters of the Greybull River in the Absaroka Mountains of
northwestern Wyoming. These structures have in common a construction
style that consists entirely of dry-laid and/or aligned locally
available stone and, in some cases, wooden elements. Investigations,
analyses and interpretations of high altitude stone structure sites are
often framed by categorical assumptions about site and structure
functions. Assumed functions often include game drives, ceremonial
localities, location markers, architectural remnants, and windbreaks.
These ascribed functions condition the types of data that are gathered,
and thus the results of the analyses and interpretations are often
self-fulfilling. No single, best, or functionally provable argument,
beyond a possible association with hunting, will be provided for the
newly presented sites and structures, as too little is known about the
builders’ cultural and/or temporal affiliations. Rather, conclusions
with respect to site and/or structure function will be oriented around
pattern recognition and comparative discussion.
Mueller, A. C.
(2007). ABYSMAL LUCK IN THE
ABSAROKAS: GOLD REEF – A LATE 19TH EARLY 20TH CENTURY MINING LOCALITY IN
NORTHWESTERN WYOMING
This thesis examines Gold Reef, a small mining locality in the Absaroka
Mountains of northwestern Wyoming.
Gold
Reef was occupied from approximately 1895 to 1914. The mining
archaeology of Wyoming has received only minimal research to date and
this paper seeks to partly redress this imbalance. The primary goals of
this study are to provide a description of the sites at Gold Reef,
compare these sites to other contemporary mining location in the Wyoming
Absaroka Mountains, discuss the economic and social forces shaping the
development of mining at the time and to verify local indigenous
knowledge that the activities at the sites were actually fraudulent. To
address these issues the historic, geologic, archaeological and economic
aspects of the mining activities in the area are explored and discussed.
Discrepancies in the historic records along with the lack of viable
economic mineral deposits at the location indicate that the site was
indeed an attempt to defraud either investors or the company’s
management, although alternative explanations for the archaeology are
briefly explored.
Ollie, N.
(2008).
LANDSCAPE CHANGE AND
STABILITY IN THE ABSAROKA RANGE, GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM, WYOMING
The archaeological record in the Upper Greybull of northwestern Wyoming
is an integral part of landscape dynamics. A dominant force across this
region is landslides, and over 60% of archaeological sites in this study
were found to be associated with remnant landslide features. These
relationships are analyzed at two different spatial scales to better
understand landscape evolution in the Upper Greybull. An investigation
of site 48PA2811 shows the relationship between disturbance regimes,
environmental change, and archaeological preservation at a local scale.
This investigation included the documentation of surface and subsurface
archaeological deposits, site geomorphology, physical and chemical soil
analyses, site stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating.
Reiser, M. L. (2010).
TREE-RINGS, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, AND INTERPRETING PAST LANDUSE AND
ENVIRONMENTS IN THE UPPER GREYBULL RIVER WATERSHED, NORTHWESTERN,
WYOMING
As
a snapshot of ongoing research, this thesis presents tree-ring
crossdating results for four historic cabins and associated structures
collected prior to t
he
Little Venus fire of 2006, including crossdates from a historic cabin
that burned to the ground. Crossdating results are also presented for
culturally modified trees in the area, including culturally peeled
trees, and for a “ghost forest,” which may represent the remnants of an
ancient forest that succumbed to fire in the late-1400s to mid- iv
1600s. Based on these crossdated samples, a preliminary standardized
index of annual tree-ring growth, or master chronology, has been
established which extends the tree-ring chronology back to 1260. This
master chronology was then compared to historic documents from the
region and accounts by early settlers of environmental conditions in the
Upper Greybull River Watershed. This comparison has resulted in a more
complex and nuanced understanding of past climate and human landuse, as
well as highlighting stories about the past that only trees and historic
accounts can tell. This thesis is part of an ongoing and urgent effort
to collect, preserve and crossdate tree-ring samples from this
fire-prone region. Like much of the West, forests in this area have been
devastated by a recent bark beetle epidemic, posing a significant threat
to cultural resources, especially those made of wood.
Reitze, W. T.
(2004). HIGH ALTITUDE OCCUPATION AND RAW
MATERIAL PROCUREMENT: DOLLAR MOUNTAIN A NORTHWESTERN WYOMING EXAMPLE
Studying
past human behavior is best addressed by the study of the remains of
human activity thro
ugh the use of archaeological methods. But the study
of these remains of past human behavior must take into account their
context, and human behavior must be explained as a landscape based
phenomena. This thesis explores the incorporation of geoarchaeological,
geomorphological, and archaeological principles into a system of
landscape analysis. Through the study of the changing nature of the
landscape, a better understanding of human behavioral responses to a
dynamic landscape can be gained.
Related Thesis Projects:
Adams, J.A.
(2006) DEVELOPING A FRAMEWORK FOR
LATE QUATERNARY HUMAN PALEOECOLOGY IN CENTRAL ASIA: 2003-2004
INVESTIGATIONS AT ANGHILAK CAVE, UZBEKISTAN
Interdisciplinary archaeological investigations were conducted at
Anghilak Cave in 2003 and
2004. The proximate goal of this research was to develop a reliable,
chronometrically dated
stratigraphic framework for the site by integrating concepts and methods
from archaeology,
geomorphology, and taphonomy into a single methodological and analytical
framework. The
ultimate goal was to use the stratigraphic framework to address a series
of research questions
concerning human paleoecology during the Late Quaternary. Two primary
depositional units
(Units 1 and 2) comprising five stratigraphic layers (Strata I-V) were
excavated, identified,
described, sampled and analyzed. A total of five AMS radiocarbon dates
were obtained from
charcoal samples ranging from 2,798 to 43,900 BP. Stratum IV produced
three dates ranging
from 27,310 to 43,900, and contained Mousterian artifacts, hominid
skeletal remains, and a faunal
assemblage dominated by medium ungulates, small animals, and tortoise.
The results of this
research indicate that Anghilak Cave was occupied during the Last Full
Glacial (OIS 3) by
hominids producing Mousterian stone tool assemblages. Subsistence
ecology is characterized by
intensive processing of medium ungulates, followed by small-game
resources.
Burke, C.
(2008). CARNIVORE ATTRITION OF
THE KAPLAN-HOOVER BISON BONEBED: LATE
HOLOCENE PREDATORY ECOLOGY OF THE CACHE LA POUDRE BASIN,
COLORADO PIEDMONT
Zooarchaeological, taphonomic, and ethological
investigations of carnivore modification are investigated at the
Kaplan–Hoover bison bonebed (5LR3953) in Windsor, Colorado.
Kaplan–Hoover is a Late Archaic Yonkee bison bonebed dated to
approximately 2724+/-35 RCYBP. Prehistoric hunters used an arroyo to
trap approximately 200+ bison. After the kill, limited use of the
carcasses by hunters left a surplus of bison meat available for nonhuman
scavengers and predators. Carnivore attrition is present on over 40% of
the limb bones included in this study. Taphonomic analysis indicates
that the Kaplan–Hoover collection was modified and used by a range of
non-human scavengers. Using an interdisciplinary approach to methodology
as well as identifying key patterns relevant to a variety of fields of
research, including conservation biology is done. Biogenic factors
influence the taphonomy of a faunal assemblage. In addition, this
project illustrates integration of zooarchaeological research and
conservation management decisions. In order to understand human
interactions with present and future environments, a researcher must
first understand the prior behaviors that assisted in the development of
those events.
Burger,
O. (2002). A MULTI-SCALE
PERSPECTIVE FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Excavations provide detailed but small-scale windows into prehistoric
behaviors and taphonomic
processes. Archaeological surveys are valuable because they allow for
the analysis of large-scale phenomena in
ways that are unavailable in excavations. However, the methods of
documentation used in excavation are not
generally applied at the landscape-scale. Conventional survey methods do
not gather accurate samples of the
archaeological record because they are greatly biased toward
high-density artifact clusters. Important
information regarding formational processes and human landuse is
represented in the low-density portions of
the archaeological record and should be included in archaeological
research design. To achieve a more
comprehensive understanding of the archaeological record, the research
summarized in this thesis synthesizes
the approaches of siteless survey, attribute-based spatial analysis, and
multi-scale sampling.
Burris, L.E.
(2004). HARVESTER ANT MOUNDS: UTILITY
FOR SMALL OBJECT DETECTION
IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeological survey is frequently conducted at a
walking pace at 10-m spacing. Under these conditions, detection of small
(less than 5 mm) objects is extremely difficult. Unfortunately, time and
financial constraints limit the amount of additional detailed survey
that can be conducted so the presence of small artifacts is under or
unreported. An alternative presented here is to inspect the
highly-visible gravel nest mounds built by
the western harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, for this
small material. Present in much of the western United States, this ant
was found to reliably detect and collect gravel-like material from
distances as far as 20 m from the nest, although most collection
occurred within 12 m.
Gantt, E. (2002).
THE CLAUDE C. AND A. LYNN COFFIN
LINDENMEIER COLLECTION: AN INNOVATIVE METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF PRIVATELY
HELD ARTIFACT COLLECTIONS AND NEW INFORMATION ON A FOLSOM CAMPSITE IN
NORTHERN COLORADO
The Claude C. and A. Lynn Coffin Lindenmeier collection
contains 1,125 pieces, 1,122 of which are chipped stone artifacts,
collected from the Lindenmeier Folsom campsite between 1924 and the mid
1950s. A. Lynn Coffin, Judge Claude C. Coffin, and C. K. Collins are
credited with discovering Lindenmeier adding historical significance to
this collection. Furthermore, the size of the Coffin family assemblage
from Lindenmeier
is significant in comparison to the other known artifacts from the site
curated by the Smithsonian and the Fort Collins Museum. The Coffin
family assemblage from Lindenmeier more than three times as large as
that held by the Fort Collins Museum (n=333) (Ambler 1999), more than
four times that collected by the Denver Museum of Natural History
(n=278) (Cotter 1978), and a significant portion of the number of
diagnostic artifacts held by the Smithsonian (Wilmsen and Roberts 1978).