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Intrasite Spatial Analysis, Ethnoarchaeology, and Paleoindian Land-Use on the Great Plains:
The Allen Site
Author(s): Douglas B. Bamforth, Mark Becker and Jean Hudson
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 70, No. 3 (Jul., 2005), pp. 561-580
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40035314 .
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Thispaper examines the way in which patterns of human occupation and geomorphicprocesses interacted to produce a
highly structureddistributionof artifacts and hearths over a period of over 3,000 years at the Allen site (25FT50), a Pale-
oindian campsite in southwesternNebraska.Despite accumulationof roughlya meter of sediment,artifact concentrations
remainedin almost exactly the same horizontal locations throughoutthe period of site occupation. Hearth locations var-
ied considerably,but were virtually always located in areas of low artifact density. Considered in light of ethnoarchaeo-
logical studies of hunter-gatherersite structure,our data indicate that the excavatedportion of the site was at theperiphery
of a domestic area and was usedfor secondary discard and otherpurposes. Trashappears to have been collected and dis-
carded onto previously existing and continuously visible middens throughoutthe occupation, and new hearths appear to
have been located to avoid these middens. Wediscuss the implications of these patternsfor currentmodels of Paleoindian
landuse on the Plains andfor studies of hunter-gatherer site structurein general.
561
Figure 2. North-South stratigraphic profile of the Allen Site along the east 35 gridline.
OL1)definitelytie togetherdistinctlevels;the oth- levels of the site, variationin the densityof archae-
ers fall intothe groupwhose stratigraphiclocation ologicalmaterialtracksvariationin therateof accu-
is slightlyuncertain(see above).These data,then, mulationof geologic sediment.However,thisdoes
implystronglythatthe verticalstructureof the site not appearto be the case in the uppermostlevels
is largelyintact. of thesite,whereartifactandfeaturedensitiesseem
Althoughartifactsand hearthswere presentin to vary independentlyof each other and, as sug-
varyingfrequenciesthroughoutthe site sediments, gested by the low density of artifactson the sur-
Table2 also suggests thathearthand artifactfre- face of OL2, of the rateof sedimentation.
quenciesdo not simplyvarytogether.Instead,they
areverysimilarfromstratumto stratumin theInter- HorizontalArtifactand FeatureDistributions
mediateZone and OccupationLevel 1, but they Whilethe precedingdatashow an essentiallycon-
fluctuateless consistently in the levels defined tinuousverticaldistribution
of artifactsandhearths,
withinOccupationLevel 2. Naturalprocessesthus the dataon horizontalpatternsshow a highlyclus-
do seemto havehelpedto structuretheverticaldis- tereddistribution(Figures5 through7 showexam-
tributionof materialwithinthesite:withinthelower ples of these distributions): in all nine levels,
Level
Level Above 2 2 Upper 2 Surf. 2 Low IZ TUrj 1 Surf. 1 Low
Above 2 - 1
2 Upper - ..-._--
2 Surface - 4
2 Low - 2
IZ 10
1 Upper - _______
1 Surface - _____ 21 -
1 Low - : : - : : : 1
Table4. Frequencyof Bone (NISP) and Evidence of Exposurein ScatterFeatureson the Surfaceof Occupationlevel 1.
Figure 6. Horizontal distribution of flaked stone artifacts Figure 7. Horizontal distribution of flaked stone artifacts
in the intermediate zone. Contour interval 25 artifacts/ on the surface of occupation level 2. Contour interval 25
grid square. artifacts/grid square.
Figure 10. Median flake size (in mm) by grid square on the Figure 11. Median flake size (in mm) by grid square within
surface of occupation level 1. Contour interval .5 cm. the intermediate zone. Contour interval .5 cm.
However,such detailis not essentialto all tem- thediversityof thestonerepresentedin anyof these
poralscales of analysisandall researchquestions. concentrations,virtually all of which is locally
We believe thereis a good fit betweenthe moder- availablejasper,the greatdiversityof rawmaterial
atelyfine-grainedscaleof theAllen site spatialdata color andconsistencyrepresentedin each of them
andouremphasison aggregatelong-termpatterns is consistentwith this inference.
ratherthan on the detailed structureof the com- We have noted that structuralfeaturesof par-
munitypresentduringanysingleoccupationof the ticularcampsitesare likely to influencethe ways
site (althoughidentifyingsuch detailed structure in which space is used in those sites. Thereis evi-
would illuminatemany other importantissues). dencethatthe excavatedareaof theAllen site may
Thatis, ouremphasisis on a contextthatethnoar- have been at the very upslope edge of the Early
chaeologicalcontextsilluminatebut do not repli- Holocene terracealong MedicineCreek.The site
cate. was found in the T-2 sediments, which were
depositedin thedrainagefollowinga periodof ero-
Occupationand Reoccupation sion of Pleistocene(T-3) sediments.E.M. Davis's
The absenceof sterilelevels at theAllen site along fieldnotes(16 November1949) indicatethatthesite
with the evidencefor minimalverticalmovement geologists assertedthat T-3 sediments appeared
of artifactsimplythatPaleoindiangroupsused the only a few metersbeyondthe limits of the excava-
site persistentlyfor roughlythreemillennia.More tion. If this is so, thenthe site areamusthavebeen
specifically,we believethatthattheAllen site data at the base of a high cutbank;similarcutbanksin
indicatethatPaleoindiangroupsusedthesiteso fre- the drainagetoday areimpassableand sometimes
quentlythattheyoftendiscardedtheirtrashon the sloughoff largechunksof sediment.Such a situa-
still-visible middens of the site's previousoccu- tion in the past would have createda settingthat
pants. mighthavebeen well-suitedto trashdisposal,with
This inferencerestson the absenceof evidence moregeneralizedoccupationperhapsconcentrated
for verticalartifactmovementand on the remark- close by butslightlycloserto MedicineCreekitself.
able continuityin the horizontallocationsof arti- However,while this may help to accountfor the
fact clusters within the site over time. This constantuse of theexcavatedareafortrashdisposal,
continuitydoes not appearto havebeen createdby it cannotby itself accountforthepersistentdiscard
postdepositionalprocesses;instead,it mustreflect of trashon moreor less exactlythe samepointson
a consistentpatternof humandiscard.Furthermore, the ground.
ourrefittingindicatesclearlythatthe artifactpiles The only explanationwe can find for a pattern
atthe site arenotthe resultof in situ flintknapping. in which trashwas depositedin this way for some
This point is essentialto ourunderstandingof the 3,000 yearswhile approximatelya meterof natural
patternswe have documentedhere.Intact,or rea- sediments also accumulatedis that Paleoindian
sonablyintact,flakingareasshouldproducelong groupsreturnedto the site often enoughthatpast
sequencesof conjoinablepieces, as shoulddebris garbagewas still visible on the ground surface.
cleanedintensivelyfrom such areas,and refitting These groupseitherswept up trashfromprevious
efforts comparableto the ones we appliedat the occupationsor generatedtheirown trashwhile in
Allen site regularlyshow this (i.e., Becker 1999; residence(ordidboth),andsimplyaddedthismate-
Spurrell1880). However,despiteintensiveefforts rial to existing garbagepiles. Wilk and Schiffer
over a numberof years,we havebeen able to refit ( 1979) referto thisas the"ArloGuthrieTrashMag-
about2.0 percentof thetotalcollection.Indeed,one net Effect,"referringto a similarpatternof older
concentration from a single grid square that trashattractingnewertrashin morerecenttimes.1
includedhundredsof flakes ("a nice pile of flint The variationin the conditionof bone in different
chippings,"as the excavator'sfield notes put it) locationson the surfaceof OL1 providesparticu-
producedno conjoinablepieces at all. Given this, larlyclearevidencefor multipleepisodesof depo-
these piles must representpreviously discarded sition on this surfaceover an extendedperiod of
debris in nearbyareas that was gatheredup and time.
moved to the locations from which it was exca- Althoughit thus seems clearthattheAllen site
vated.Althoughwe havenot attemptedto quantify was reusedoften, it is difficultto assess just how