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Altithermal Archaeology and Paleoecology at Mustang Springs, on the Southern High Plains of Texas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

David J. Meltzer
David J. Meltzer*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0336
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Abstract

Excavations at Mustang Springs on the southern High Plains of Texas have yielded a relatively fine-grained record of late Pleistocene to middle Holocene environments and climate. The site contains over 60 Altithermal age water wells, direct evidence of the human adaptive response to this locally severe drought and of a drop in the water table of nearly 3 m. New radiocarbon dates from the wellfield are substantially earlier than previously published age estimates, putting the age of well digging in a brief period at the onset of the Altithermal. Human adaptive strategies during this period are yet undetermined, but the evidence points to generalized and highly mobile strategies and to the conclusion that this wellfield is surely not unique. The geology of Mustang Springs helps explain the scarcity of other Altithermal age sites on the southern High Plains.

Résumé

Résumé

Las excavaciones de “Mustang Springs” en el Sur de las Planicies Altas de Texas, han producido un registro arqueológico relativamente preciso sobre los medio-ambientes y climas del Pleistoceno tardío y Holoceno medio. El sitio contiene más de 60 pozos acuíferos de edad Altitermal que representan evidencia directa de las respuestas de adaptación humana a una sequía severa, y al descenso de casi tres metros en el nivel freático. Las nuevas fechas de radiocarbono del campo de pozos acuíferos son substancialmente más tempranas que las estimadas en publicaciones anteriores, poniendo la edad de construcción de los pozos durante un corto período en el principio del Altitermal. Las estrategias humanas de adaptación en este período continúan siendo indeterminadas, pero la evidencia señala una estrategia generalizada y móvil, y la conclusión de que este campo de pozos acuíferos seguramente no es el único. La geología de Mustang Springs ayuda a explicar la escasez de otros sitios de edad Altitermal en el Sur de las Planicies Altas.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , April 1991 , pp. 236 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1991

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