Conference Presentations by Joshua R Boyd
In this poster I explore a regional perspective on the lithic raw material variability of endscra... more In this poster I explore a regional perspective on the lithic raw material variability of endscraper assemblages from ten Folsom sites within the Northern Plains, Southern Plains and Rocky Mountains. Folsom hunter gatherers are known to have occupied a wide range of habitats and environments extending from the Canadian prairie to Northern Mexico. Previous research has confirmed regional patterns in landscape and raw material use with a lithic technological complex designed for high mobility bison hunting. These theories are in a constant need for reevaluation through new analysis and this research is an attempt at this. This poster endeavors to differentiate regional behavior and infer mobility strategies through the exploration of raw material diversity of one facet of lithic technology associated with processing; endscrapers. In this examination I use a measure of raw material diversity to shed light on aspects of mobility within geographically bounded regions and test whether differential patterns of raw material use suggest regional differences with regards to processing technologies. These conclusions will be utilized to shed light on broad cultural patterns or regional variations of Folsom hunter gatherer behavior in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.
Perhaps due to their near ubiquitous presence throughout time chipped stone scrapers are often v... more Perhaps due to their near ubiquitous presence throughout time chipped stone scrapers are often viewed as mundane and technologically simple components of prehistoric toolkits. Only through rigorous experimentation can we begin to understand contributions that endscrapers provide to somatic ends. However, their performance characteristics are little known. How long does an endscraper last? How many scrapers does it take to process a bison hide? Building on a previous experiment, this poster illuminates the performance characteristics of endscrapers. Expectations derived from marginal value theorem suggest the longer a resource is used the less effective it becomes, providing theory to test the optimal rate of endscraper resharpening? To this end we conducted an experiment in which dried bison hide was partitioned into analytic units and scraped. We collected data on dermis mass removed every 24 scrapes for thereby tracking the efficacy of the scraper bit throughout this task. Establishing this relationship provides a predictive measure for interpreting the role and intensity of scraper retouch.
Papers by Joshua R Boyd
We argue that variation in Younger Dryas-aged fluting in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains was... more We argue that variation in Younger Dryas-aged fluting in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains was primarily conditioned by cold-mediated time budgeting concerns. Foragers that lived in cold environments had more time to flute projectile points during prolonged periods of downtime relative to those in warmer, southerly environments. We show that fluting meets the expectations of a time budgeting model because (a) its frequency is negatively correlated with temperature and (b) it was most often executed in interior spaces, presumably during prolonged periods of downtime. Aided by a channel flake use wear study, we conclude that fluting was not functional in a purely economic sense. Rather, it was a form of practice, enacted by those for whom wasting time was of little concern.
Using a set of high-quality radiocarbon dates, including three new dates from the Hanson site and... more Using a set of high-quality radiocarbon dates, including three new dates from the Hanson site and one from the Folsom component of Hell Gap, we provide a revised estimate of the duration of the Folsom period. Limiting our sample to bone collagen samples pretreated using the XAD resin chromatographic or ultrafiltration techniques, calcined bone, and charcoal from hearth features, we show that Folsom sites fall within a limited range from 12,610 to 12,170 BP, or 440 years. This duration is considerably shorter than previous estimates. Additionally, we show that there is little correlation between the onset and termination of the Younger Dryas and the start and end of the Folsom complex. Finally, the youngest Clovis sites and the last of the Pleistocene megafauna correlate well in time, but are followed by a 100-year gap until the earliest Folsom sites, most likely a result of small sample size.
While Folsom projectile points and bifaces have been exhaustively researched and discussed, much ... more While Folsom projectile points and bifaces have been exhaustively researched and discussed, much less can be said regarding the ubiquitous Folsom endscraper. Utilizing a large dataset (n = 720) of Folsom and Midland endscrapers this research uses retouch intensity in order to illuminate expected behavioral patterns of stone tool economies. Although theoretical expectations of behavior suggest that raw material abundance should lead to profligate discard while raw material scarcity should lead to intensive tool utilization strategies. However, results endscrapers retouch in this sample bears no apparent relationship to raw material availability, mobility strategies, site occupation spans, or site function. Endscraper retouch intensities are not useful proxies for these behavioral elements. Instead, endscraper hafting appears to be the cause of uniformity in endscraper retouch intensity.
Grey Literature Reports by Joshua R Boyd
This is a summary of surface recording, auger testing, and test excavations conducted at the Duck... more This is a summary of surface recording, auger testing, and test excavations conducted at the Duck Creek site (48AB2802) in August of 2013 and 2015 by students associated with the University Wyoming. In total these efforts documented 694 flakes, 60 prehistoric and protohistoric tools, 2 stone circles, and several historic artifacts. Most notably, the site contains a small, but diverse assemblage of Late Paleoindian projectile points, including Hell Gap, Pryor-stemmed, Foothills/Mountain, and Great Basin stemmed varieties, as well as a single metal projectile point. Test excavations documented the presence of well-stratified alluvial and colluvial sedimentary deposits extending from present to ca. 11,800 cal yr BP containing artifacts that span most of this time. Auger testing suggests that sediments spanning this time exist over an area of over 1,000 m2. The Duck Creek site holds great potential for clarifying a number of unresolved issues in northwest Plains archaeology, including Late Paleoindian Foothills/Mountain chronology, shifts in upland land use between the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene, and other issues related to use of this reoccupied upland base camp.
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Conference Presentations by Joshua R Boyd
Papers by Joshua R Boyd
Grey Literature Reports by Joshua R Boyd