Date of Award:

5-2024

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Sociology and Anthropology

Committee Chair(s)

Judson B. Finley

Committee

Judson B. Finley

Committee

L. Suzann Henrikson

Committee

Anna Cohen

Abstract

The range of mobility demonstrated to overcome challenges with resource distribution is a hallmark of hunter-gatherer societies. Previous studies in southeast Idaho have investigated the possibility that precontact human movement was impacted by climatic differences. According to preliminary studies on regional obsidian toolstone conveyance, land use patterns were already changing throughout the early Holocene due to increased aridity. However, the geographical distribution of Northern Side-notched projectile points suggests a significant expansion in mobility at the early Holocene/middle Holocene transition. This thesis tests the hypothesis that precontact early middle Holocene human mobility in the study area was conditioned by environmental factors during this period through the X-ray Fluorescence analysis of 376 volcanic glass projectile points dating to the terminal Pleistocene, early Holocene, and early middle Holocene periods. The results of this study indicate that human mobility was heightened during the early Holocene period rather than the early Middle Holocene period. This research contributes a deeper course-grained understanding of the land use patterns of precontact peoples in the study area.

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