The Pleistocene-Holocene Transition

The Transition

• 11,200 - 8000 years ago
• Marked differences in archaic/prearchaic lifestyles 
• Plant species shift in range and abundance
• High species turnover - dynamic landscape
• Early Holoscene had high biodiversity 

Foragers/Hunter-gatherers

• Due to lack of megafauna butchering sites, hunting was different
• Growing number of faunal assemblages - seeds/fish/small game
• Foragers flourished between 10,500 - 8,500 years ago
• Low population density and high residential mobility
• Little variability between sites, suggesting long ranges 

Change in environments

• Drastic decrease in existing lakes - Bonneville
• Lakes largest between 14,000 - 13,000 BP
• Abrupt warming dries lakes - Salt Flats
• Early Holocene was wet, by Middle drying takes place
• Shift from wet to dry hampers biodiverstiy

Behavior Ecology

• Diet breadth - diversity of food intake (DBM)
• Path Choice - method of acquiring resource (PCM)
• Risk - cost / benefit analysis (Z-score)
• These factors help form an evaluation of resource strategies

Elston, Robert, and David Zeanah. "Thinking outside the box: a new perspective on diet breadth and sexual division of labor in the Prearchaic Great Basin". Print.