Sundance Workshop, 2000

Introduction

The Sundance Archaeological Research Fund (SARF) organized a workshop for researchers interested in the peopling, and early cultures and environments of the Great Basin. The workshop, supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (Conference Grant 283), was held at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR), February 24 to 26, 2000. The workshop was organized and hosted by Don Fowler and Gary Haynes of UNR. Fowler is Executive Director, and both he and Haynes are Trustees of SARF. The workshop brought together researchers from the academic, government and private sectors.

For workshop purposes, "Early" peoples, cultures and environments were defined as those extant in the hydrographic Great Basin (and immediately adjacent environs) prior to ca. 6,500 B.P., that is, during Terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene times. The organizers and other researchers were aware that research on the Early period in the Great Basin has accelerated in recent years and saw a need for those involved to assess the current state of knowledge and chart future directions for research and maximal use of resources to answer questions of interest. It was envisioned that a consortium similar to the Southwest Archaeological Research Group (SARG) of the 1970s and 1980s might emerge: an informal group open to interested researchers which meets periodically to share information and discuss key theoretical and methodological issues.

Results of Workshop

The first day of the workshop was devoted to a series of formal presentations, with discussions following thereafter: 1. Charlotte Beck on past and future issues in the archaeology of the Great Basin Paleoarchaic; 2. Fred Nials on the use of predictive geomorphological models for locating Early sites; 3. David Rhode on paleoenvironments from 15,000 B.P. to 9,000 B.P.; 4. Bryan Hockett on Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene faunas; 5. Bill Cannon, Catherine Fowler, and Eugene Hattori on the current status of research on Early period textiles and non-chipped stone artifacts.

The presentations and discussions indicated that several lines of research seem to be developing momentum. One is the geochemical identification of basalt sources, which Charlotte Beck and Tom Jones are using successfully in studies of Early sites in eastern and central Nevada. A second is the re-analysis of older museum collections using the full range of contemporary analytical techniques available for tool materials of various types: lithics, textiles, etc. A third line of research relates to lithic analysis. There was a discussion of the need to re-assess and re-evaluate all time-marker and cultural-marker artifacts. For example, it was noted that no one individual has ever done a detailed analysis of all the "fluted" points from the Great Basin in known collections; hence it is unclear whether they are the products of one, or more, lithic technological production systems. The analysis of fluted and stemmed points, as well as crescents, should proceed with common sets of analytical categories and standards. A fourth research issue relates to deriving more information from sites during the course of excavation, through increased budgets for backhoe trenching, palynology, radiocarbon dating and faunal studies. In addition, there was discussion of a range of analytical techniques and methods and how their application might improve understanding of Early cultures and cultural/environmental relationships.

The second day of meetings was divided into two parts. The first half-day was devoted to an open, informal and extensive discussion of a range of issues involving all attendees. In the afternoon, participants split into four task groups that focused on: 1. lithics; 2. non-lithic artifacts; 3. geoarchaeology; and 4. epistemology and general theory. Everyone present found the informal extended discussion and general sharing of information to be particularly useful, especially as background for the more detailed task group discussions.

Outcomes

All of the task groups expressed interest in finding ways of developing databases and centralized reference collections that would be accessible to all researchers and students, as well as developing symposia that would target important areas in future research for presentation at Great Basin Anthropological Conferences (GBAC). The third morning was devoted to a review and discussion of suggestions brought to the full assembly by the task group leaders.

The suggestions included four potential symposia for the 2000 Great Basin Anthropological Conference. These were later changed to three. They were submitted and accepted by the program committee for presentation at GBAC 2000, October 5-7, 2000 in Ogden, Utah:

1. Mondo Great Basin c. 9000 B.P., co-chaired by: Catherine Fowler (UNR) and Max Pavesic (Boise State Univ.). During the workshop discussions, it was noted that a number of "events" occurred in Great Basin prehistory around 9000 B.P., including the earliest known burials, new forms of textiles and other artifacts, and environmental changes. A two-part symposium was put together to explore specific aspects of change and innovation within the Mondo Great Basin time frame.
2. Corralling the Stampede: Scientific Approaches to Chronology in Great Basin Prehistory, chaired by Ariane Pinson (Sundance Archaeological Research Fund). The purpose of the symposium was to evaluate current methods for establishing chronologies, especially as they relate to the Early period.
3. Sundance Workshop II, co-chaired by Don Fowler and Gary Haynes. This session continued the format of Sundance Workshop I and built upon information derived from symposia 1 and 2, above. Several "provocateurs" guided the open discussion.

In addition to suggested symposia, there were extensive discussions of a range of data and database issues:

The general issue related to centralized databases. Issues: What goes in? Who maintains and controls the databases? How are data quality control standards to be established and maintained? Specific databases discussed included:

1. Geoarchaeology/Geomorphology

1. Stratigraphic sections on/in which "Early" materials are known to, or may, exist. Where are the data for such sections? Where are the profiles and dates for those profiles?
2. Landforms and landform associations. How are landforms identified and defined? How are geomorphic processes that create the landforms defined and understood? It was agreed that Fred Peterson's (1981) Landforms of the Basin & Range Province would be acquired, copied and distributed to workshop members to provide a minimum set of standard descriptive terms, pending a more complete monograph.
3. Volcanic Ashes. Where are various ashes exposed? What are the known ranges of the plumes of various volcanic ashfalls?
4. Lake Histories. How many pluvial lakes have detailed histories? Where are the data relating to those histories? Should there be a central archive of such data?

2. Lithics and Lithic Analysis
1. Standards for characterizing obsidian toolstone sources; availability of data for finding and identifying sources of both obsidian and cryptocrystalline silicate toolstone.
2. Standards and terminology for systematics of lithic artifacts. A particular issue discussed here was how to achieve process-based categories; a related issue was how to characterize assemblages.
3. Other Material Culture Forms

It was noted that there is a wide variety of artifact forms from the Early period in addition to chipped stone. It was suggested that these forms be located in known collections and subjected to closer study, analysis, classification, and context (when known) to help fill out the picture of Early cultures. These forms include: 1. Rock art; 2. Bone points, both barbed and unbarbed; 3. Gorge hooks; 4. Shaft wrenches; 5. Ornaments; 6. Awls and needles; 7. Shuttle gages; 8. Nets and cordage; 9. Basketry; 10. Atlatls, including darts and weights; 11. Digging sticks; 12. Drills; 13. Groundstone.

4. First Peopling of the Great Basin

A theme touched upon at numerous points during the workshop was the timing and direction(s) of the first migrations into the Great Basin. It was agreed that the issues must necessarily be tied to the more general discussion of the peopling of the New World now ongoing.

One of the principal goals of the Sundance Workshop was to develop better communication among active Great Basin researchers concerned with issues of the initial peopling of the Great Basin and the understanding of Early cultures and environments. The general consensus was that the workshop achieved that goal. The three symposia scheduled for GBAC 2000, including Sundance Workshop II, will be a next step in that process. It was proposed that additional workshops be held in odd-numbered years between GBAC meetings.

Participants

The following individuals participated in the Sundance Workshop:

Pat Barker (Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office)
Charlotte Beck (Hamilton College)
Robson Bonnichsen (Oregon State University)
Leah Bonstead (University of Nevada Reno)
Alyce Branigan (University of Nevada Reno)
William Cannon (Bureau of Land Management, Lakeview District, Oregon)
Angela Christiansen (University of Nevada Reno)
Robert Elston (University of California, Davis)
Catherine Fowler (University of Nevada Reno)
Don Fowler (University of Nevada Reno)
Don Frazier (University of Nevada Reno)
Jerry Galm (Eastern Washington University)
Ted Goebel (University of Nevada Las Vegas)
Kelly Graf (University of Nevada Las Vegas)
Gene Hattori (Nevada State Museum)
Gary Haynes (University of Nevada Reno)
Bryan Hockett (Bureau of Land Management, Elko District, Nevada)
Tom Jones (Hamilton College)
Janis Klimowicz (University of Nevada Reno)
Susan McCabe (Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office)
Matthew Moore (University of Nevada Reno)
Fred Nials (University of Nevada Reno)
James O'Connell (University of Utah)
Pat O'Grady (University of Oregon)
Max Pavesic (Boise State University)
Ariane Pinson (University of Nevada Reno)
David Rhode (Desert Research Institute)
Scott Thomas (Bureau of Land Management, Burns District, Oregon)
Claude Warren (University of Nevada Las Vegas)