ROOTS OF THE PAST: EXPLORING HUMAN-PLANT INTERACTIONS DURING THE MIDDLE HOLOCENE AT THE KELLY FORKS WORK CENTER SITE (10CW34)

Sonya Anwyn Sobel

doi:10.7273/000007202

This thesis explores plant-human interactions during the middle Holocene in the Clearwater River basin of north-central Idaho, specifically relating to subsistence strategies and technological organization, using plant microfossil and cobble use-wear and attribute analysis. The middle Holocene (8.2–4.2 cal BP) in the Clearwater River basin is generally referred to as the ‘Cascade Phase’ by archaeologists and is characterized by a distinctive lithic typology and seasonal mobility and subsistence practices. However, middle Holocene plant use has received considerably less attention compared to animal subsistence and associated lithic technology from this period, and middle Holocene has generally been understudied in comparison to the late Pleistocene archaeological record, and the impacts of colonization. This study aims to fill a gap in the archaeological literature by examining middle Holocene technological organization, subsistence strategies, and land use patterns through the analysis of a Cascade Phase cobble feature at the Kelly Forks Work Center site (10CW34), located along the North Fork of the Clearwater River. This thesis combines a macroscopic use-wear attribute analysis with extraction and identification of plant starch and phytolith microfossils to explore the use of cobble artifacts in plant processing activities during the middle Holocene, in addition to adding to the regional plant microfossil reference collection through characterization of cous biscuitroot (Lomatium cous), bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), and balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) microfossils. The results indicate that there is geographic variation in the morphology of cous biscuitroot and bitterroot starch grains, but also highlight potentially diagnostic attributes that should be studied with future analyses. Macroscopic use-wear, attribute analysis, and plant microfossil analysis of middle Holocene cobbles at the Kelly Forks revealed minimal evidence for their use in plant processing activities, implying that the site was used for other activities, likely fishing. Combined, our results suggest that technological activity and land use at Kelly Forks was centered around expedient tasks that maximized use of locally available riverine resources and repeated use of the site over time. This implies that upland sites, such as Kelly Forks, played an important role in a broader seasonal subsistence round in the Clearwater River basin during the middle Holocene. These practices express the continuity of relationships and connections between people and the land that are reflected in contemporary Nez Perce culture, the people who have stewarded the Clearwater River basin since time immemorial.

ROOTS OF THE PAST: EXPLORING HUMAN-PLANT INTERACTIONS DURING THE MIDDLE HOLOCENE AT THE KELLY FORKS WORK CENTER SITE (10CW34)

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