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Pollen, plant macrofossils, and sedimentary analyses from archaeological deposits at North Creek Shelter (NCS) on the Colorado Plateau provide data on vegetation and climate change during the Holocene. From 11,300–10,200 cal yr BP, NCS was embedded in a mixed conifer forest of cool-adapted species (e.g.,Abies,Pseudotsuga menziesii, andPinus ponderosa) with anArtemisiaunderstory. During this interval, NCS pollen corresponds to modern pollen fromPicea–Abiesforests that reside 950 m higher in elevation. Rapid deposition rates of NCS sediments indicate that climatic conditions during the Early Holocene were more mesic than today, with increased precipitation. The onset of warmer conditions at NCS began at 10,200 cal yr BP, and pollen and plant macrofossils indicate that a semiarid woodland and scrub mosaic dominated byPinus edulis,Juniperus osteosperma, and Amaranthaceae surrounded NCS by 9300 cal yr BP. This is corroborated by fossil pollen that is similar to modern pollen fromP. edulis–J. osteospermawoodlands and Amaranthaceae scrub that currently surround NCS. Sedimentary analyses suggest that during this time, accumulation rates were very low due to low precipitation and a drier climate overall. Migration ofP. edulisinto southern Utah is directly dated to 8100 cal yr BP, thus confirming recently proposed patterns of northward expansion.

The Arizona Strip, a sparsely populated region in the northwest corner of Arizona, is poorly known archaeologically, especially for the Pre-Puebloan periods. Recorded Archaic sites on the Strip tend to date after 4,000 years ago, although few sites of that age have been investigated and reported in the extreme western area. Modest tests at Rock Canyon Shelter on the Uinkaret Plateau yielded insights into late Archaic use of the region, while Zea mays dates document Basketmaker II at the shelter nearly 2000 years ago. Comparisons with contemporary assemblages at open sites to the east along Short Creek provide insights into regional dietary shifts from wild resources to greater reliance on domesticates and weedy plants as well as a diminishing importance of large game once domesticates are introduced.

Excavations at the site of Wadi Mataha, located in Southern Jordan, revealed stratified Epipalaeolithic occupations containing Geometric Kebaran, Early Natufian, and Late Natufian deposits. Although the Middle Epipalaeolithic occupation at the site is small, it contains a human burial in a face-down burial position, along with groundstone artifacts, suggesting a unique burial practice was enacted at the site. This paper explores the Geometric Kebaran component of Wadi Mataha, focusing on the lithic assemblage and the recovered human burial. Despite the small size of the assemblage, techno-typological and functional analysis of the lithics and the presence of a human burial suggests that small, limited term occupations were still considered important and symbolically charged places in the landscape. Wadi Mataha represents one of the southernmost extents of Geometric Kebaran occupations in Jordan, making it an interesting case study to understand regional mobility and movement during the Middle Epipalaeolithic.

Despite the rich array of perishables Julian Steward (1937) recovered during his 1930s excavations, the Promontory Cave assemblages were dated in relative terms with just a handful of radiocarbon assays until recently. Yet Promontory Caves 1 and 2 are the type sites from which the Promontory Culture was defined, and these assemblages have a critical bearing on our conception of three significant issues in western North American prehistory: the terminal Fremont transition, Numic expansion, and the potential presence of migrating ancestral Apachean populations. To better fix the age of the Promontory Phase, we have undertaken an additional 45 AMS determinations for Promontory perishables. Because of a research focus concerning Promontory footwear, most age estimates come from moccasins, but we have also dated gaming pieces, a bow, an arrow, netting, basketry, matting, and cordage. With the exception of a winnowing basket fragment and some ceramic residue dates, all Promontory Phase assays are tightly focused in an interval running from 662 to 826 radiocarbon years before present (a calibrated 2s range spanning A.D. 1166–1391). Bayesian analyses of the Cave 1 and 2 Promontory Phase perishables suggest that this late period occupation comprised one or two human generations, centering on the interval running from ca. A.D. 1250–1290.

Recent literature on Paleoarchaic and Early Archaic strategies in the arid west of North America has characterized the shift from the earlier to later period as constituting an adaptive discontinuity. The empirical bases for this conclusion are shifts in mobility, subsistence, and technology. Paleoarchaic peoples are described as highly mobile, focused on a diversity of animal resources, including birds and small game, and using more exotic toolstone, an aspect of mobility. In contrast, Early Archaic strategies are less mobile, yet more focused on large game, using more local toolstone, and adopting grinding tools presumably to process small seeds. Accompanying this transition is the shift from stemmed to notched projectile points. Data bearing on this transition on the Colorado Plateau have been scarce. Excavations of finely stratified deposits at North Creek Shelter on the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah have yielded support for the adaptive discontinuity position, although qualitative differences between the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau are apparent in mobility and faunal use.

The timing and degree of reliance on maize agriculture in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest has been a central issue in studies that examine the origins of Puebloan society. Both diffusionist (various, but see Wills 1995) and migrationist (Berry and Berry 1986; Matson 1991) models have been proposed to explain the processes responsible for the movement of maize (Zea mays) north into the Four Corners region. This paper reports bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values with paired accelerator radiocarbon dates on a large collection of human remains from western Basketmaker II/III sites in Marsh Pass and other areas of northeastern Arizona, as well as data on a small number of Puebloan remains including Chacoan Great House burials. The results make clear that Basketmaker II people were heavily depen- dent on maize by 400 B.C. Moreover, their degree of dependence is similar to that of Pueblo II and III farmers of the Four Corners region. These findings and the apparent rapidity of maize dependence support a migrationist model for the origins of maize farming in the northern Southwest. El grado y momento de dependencia de agricultura maizana en la region de las Cuatro Esquinas del sudoeste de norte america han sido los temas centrales en los estudios que examen los origenes de la sociedad Puebloana. Los modelos de difusionismo (varias, vea Wills 1995) y migracionismo (Berry y Berry 1986; Matson 1991) han sido propuestos para explicar los procesos responsables del movimiento de maiz (Zea mays) al norte hacia el interior de la region de las cuatro esquinas. Este articulo presenta datos de cocientes de isotopos carbonos y nitrogenos de colageno que ha sido radiocarbono fechado con un aceler- ador de una grande coleccion de huesos humanos de los sitios II/III de los Basketmaker del oeste en Marsh Pass y otras areas del nordeste de Arizona, al igual que datos similares de una cantidad pequena de huesos Puebloanos incluyendo enterramientos del Chacoan Great House. Los resultados afirman que la gente de Basketmaker II era completamente dependiente de maiz con la llegada del ano 400 a.c. Ademas, su grado de dependencia es semejante a la dependencia de los agricultores de los Pueblo II y III de la region de las Cuatro Esquinas. Estos resultados y aparentemente rapidez hacia la dependencia de maiz apoyan un modelo migracionisto para explicar los origenes del cultivo de maiz en la parte norte del sudoeste.