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• 1. [Article] Searching for early archaeological sites along the central Oregon coast : a case study from Neptune State Park (35LA3), Lane County, Oregon

  Locating archaeological sites that predate the arrival of modern sea level has been difficult along the Oregon coast. This is in part believed to be the result of geologic processes that have influenced ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Searching for early archaeological sites along the central Oregon coast : a case study from Neptune State Park (35LA3), Lane County, Oregon Author: Jenevein, Steve Locating archaeological sites that predate the arrival of modern sea level has been difficult along the Oregon coast. This is in part believed to be the result of geologic processes that have influenced the preservation, distribution, and visibility of sites within the Oregon coastal landscape. Because of these changes, researchers have a poor understanding of where sites that predate modern sea level are located within the modern landscape. Geoarchaeological techniques and concepts are well suited to address these types of questions and can help place the fragments of a once much larger paleocoastal landscape into a modern context. In this thesis I use a Geographic Information System (GIS) and geoarchaeological field and laboratory techniques and concepts to conceptualize, locate, and evaluate landforms located within both the paleo and modern central Oregon coastal landscapes. Geoarchaeological investigations conducted as part of this project at the Neptune Site (35LA3) identified mid to late Holocene aged archaeological materials in addition to an erosional contact located between late Pleistocene and Holocene-aged deposits representing the loss of up to 11,400 years of stratigraphic time. To account for this loss of time, a model of landscape change that is occurring at 35LA3 is presented. Depositional sequences such as truncated late Pleistocene aged deposits that underlie mid to late Holocene sediment that are observed at the Neptune Site are similar to, and have been associated with other early sites along the Oregon coast. The identification of these types of deposits and their associated erosional features may serve as key target horizons for future coastal researchers looking for landforms and archaeological deposits and date to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Title: Searching for early archaeological sites along the central Oregon coast : a case study from Neptune State Park (35LA3), Lane County, Oregon Author: Jenevein, Steve Locating archaeological sites that predate the arrival of modern sea level has been difficult along the Oregon coast. This is in part believed to be the result of geologic processes that have influenced the preservation, distribution, and visibility of sites within the Oregon coastal landscape. Because of these changes, researchers have a poor understanding of where sites that predate modern sea level are located within the modern landscape. Geoarchaeological techniques and concepts are well suited to address these types of questions and can help place the fragments of a once much larger paleocoastal landscape into a modern context. In this thesis I use a Geographic Information System (GIS) and geoarchaeological field and laboratory techniques and concepts to conceptualize, locate, and evaluate landforms located within both the paleo and modern central Oregon coastal landscapes. Geoarchaeological investigations conducted as part of this project at the Neptune Site (35LA3) identified mid to late Holocene aged archaeological materials in addition to an erosional contact located between late Pleistocene and Holocene-aged deposits representing the loss of up to 11,400 years of stratigraphic time. To account for this loss of time, a model of landscape change that is occurring at 35LA3 is presented. Depositional sequences such as truncated late Pleistocene aged deposits that underlie mid to late Holocene sediment that are observed at the Neptune Site are similar to, and have been associated with other early sites along the Oregon coast. The identification of these types of deposits and their associated erosional features may serve as key target horizons for future coastal researchers looking for landforms and archaeological deposits and date to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Close

• 2. [Article] Geoarchaeological Investigations at the Devils Kitchen Site (35CS9), Southern Oregon Coast

  A geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Devils Kitchen archaeological site, located in the Devils Kitchen State Park along the southern Oregon coast. In this thesis research, the author ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Geoarchaeological Investigations at the Devils Kitchen Site (35CS9), Southern Oregon Coast Author: Curteman, Jessica Ann A geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Devils Kitchen archaeological site, located in the Devils Kitchen State Park along the southern Oregon coast. In this thesis research, the author paired previous and recent excavated stratigraphy profiles to define culturally significant deposits. These stratigraphic units were defined further geochemically using a multivariate statistical analysis from data gathered by a portable x-ray fluorescence. Radiocarbon dates from excavated charcoal samples associated with cultural artifacts show an intact deposit dating from 10,638±35 to 11,596±37 RCYBP. The author used textural analysis from Ro-Tap sieve shaker data and Munsell color identification extracted from 33 bucket auger units to subsurface test the Devils Kitchen State Park area. The auger samples portray an uplifted aeolian landscape once influenced by alluvial deposition, commonly observed along coastal environments altered by rising sea levels. This research applied a geoarchaeological method to identify deposits of the right age (DORA) that have the potential to contain intact, early evidence of prehistoric people. The identification of DORA can serve as a marker for future coastal research searching for rare, intact paleolandscapes and archaeological deposits dating to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Title: Geoarchaeological Investigations at the Devils Kitchen Site (35CS9), Southern Oregon Coast Author: Curteman, Jessica Ann A geoarchaeological investigation was conducted at the Devils Kitchen archaeological site, located in the Devils Kitchen State Park along the southern Oregon coast. In this thesis research, the author paired previous and recent excavated stratigraphy profiles to define culturally significant deposits. These stratigraphic units were defined further geochemically using a multivariate statistical analysis from data gathered by a portable x-ray fluorescence. Radiocarbon dates from excavated charcoal samples associated with cultural artifacts show an intact deposit dating from 10,638±35 to 11,596±37 RCYBP. The author used textural analysis from Ro-Tap sieve shaker data and Munsell color identification extracted from 33 bucket auger units to subsurface test the Devils Kitchen State Park area. The auger samples portray an uplifted aeolian landscape once influenced by alluvial deposition, commonly observed along coastal environments altered by rising sea levels. This research applied a geoarchaeological method to identify deposits of the right age (DORA) that have the potential to contain intact, early evidence of prehistoric people. The identification of DORA can serve as a marker for future coastal research searching for rare, intact paleolandscapes and archaeological deposits dating to the late Pleistocene to mid Holocene. Close