Human Paleoecology in the High Desert: 12,600 Years of Human-Plant Dynamics in the Northern Great Basin, Oregon, USA

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the dynamics of climate and culture in the Great Basin of North America using multiproxy data derived from combustion features, coprolites, and sediment cores from Connley Caves and Paulina Marsh in central Oregon. This research is divided into three articles united by the theme of human paleoecology, beginning with a paleoethnobotanical analysis of five combustion features from Pleistocene and Early Holocene components at Connley Cave 5 in central Oregon. The robust archaeobotanical assemblages produced in this study reaffirms the inclusion of plants in the Paleoindian food economy and supports the idea that groups using Western Stemmed toolkits had broad-based diets. These data contribute to a growing body of research indicating that regionally adapted subsistence strategies were in place by at least the Younger Dryas and that groups using Western Stemmed toolkits may have incorporated a wider range of plants into their diets earlier than groups elsewhere. Explaining the appearance of seemingly low ranked resources in the emerging Paleoindian plant-food economy may require consideration of nutritional variables other than net caloric returns. Next, my multiproxy coprolite analysis reveals aspects of diet, seasonal mobility, and health of foragers who visited Connley Caves between 5700 and 3200 calendar years ago (cal BP). Macrobotanical, palynological, and faunal constituents indicate that people foraged for a wide range of resources from both wetland and dryland habitats during the late summer and fall. One possible instance of parasitic infection reveals aspects of human health. These data strengthen the existing settlement-subsistence record in the northern Great Basin and provides pertinent information to the broader field of coprolite research. Lastly, I present new data from five sediment cores that I obtained from Paulina Marsh. Palynological, sedimentological, and elemental data from core PAUL-2A reflect shifts in local hydrology and vegetation histories that contribute to the understanding of climate change in the northern Great Basin. These data constitute the first Early Holocene pollen record from the Fort Rock Basin and establish a framework for future work in Paulina Marsh. Cumulatively, this dissertation refines our understanding of forager food economies and the dynamics between climate, vegetation, and cultural practices.