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MISSION STATEMENT
Integrating natural and social sciences to promote
ecological and economic sustainability through transdisciplinary research,
education and stewardship initiatives
NEWEST MA THESES AVAILABLE
Bechberger 2010
BIOGEOMORPHIC PROCESSES AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE FORMATION
IN THE ABSAROKA MOUNTAINS OF NORTHWESTERN WYOMING
Archaeologists frequently associate Thomomys taploides,
the Northern Pocket Gopher, with the loss of stratigraphic integrity.
Disturbance from subsurface burrowing and the redistribution of sediment can
result in both lateral and vertical movement of cultural material. However,
fossorial activity does not necessarily negate the research potential of a site.
Burrowing mammals may actually reveal previously unidentified archaeological
sites, help land managers develop effective site testing plans and evaluate site
significance, and contribute to a better understanding of a region’s
archaeological record and past environmental conditions. This research explores
the influence of pocket gopher activity on site formation at a high elevation
prehistoric flaked stone scatter in the Absaroka Mountains of northwestern
Wyoming (48PA2874). Archaeological data were examined in conjunction with pocket
gopher behavioral patterns and geomorphic processes to better understand the
affect of burrowing and sediment relocation on cultural material. This project
provides a general background for further research on pocket gopher impacts to
archaeological material in alpine settings. With additional research the effect
of pocket gopher activity on artifact distribution in high elevation
environments can be better understood.
Ollie 2008
LANDSCAPE CHANGE AND STABILITY IN THE ABSAROKA RANGE,
GREATER YELLOWSTONE ECOSYSTEM, WYOMING
The archaeological record in the Upper Greybull of northwestern Wyoming is an
integral part of landscape dynamics. A dominant force across this region is
landslides, and over 60% of archaeological sites in this study were found to be
associated with remnant landslide features. These relationships are analyzed at
two different spatial scales to better understand landscape evolution in the
Upper Greybull. An investigation of site 48PA2811 shows the relationship between
disturbance regimes, environmental change, and archaeological preservation at a
local scale. This investigation included the documentation of surface and
subsurface archaeological deposits, site geomorphology, physical and chemical
soil analyses, site stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dating.
Reiser 2010
TREE-RINGS, HISTORIC DOCUMENTS, AND INTERPRETING PAST LANDUSE
AND ENVIRONMENTS IN THE UPPER GREYBULL RIVER WATERSHED,
NORTHWESTERN,
WYOMING
As a
snapshot of ongoing research, this thesis presents tree-ring crossdating results
for four historic cabins and associated structures collected prior to the Little
Venus fire of 2006, including crossdates from a historic cabin that burned to
the ground. Crossdating results are also presented for culturally modified trees
in the area, including culturally peeled trees, and for a “ghost forest,” which
may represent the remnants of an ancient forest that succumbed to fire in the
late-1400s to mid- iv 1600s. Based on these crossdated samples, a preliminary
standardized index of annual tree-ring growth, or master chronology, has been
established which extends the tree-ring chronology back to 1260. This master
chronology was then compared to historic documents from the region and accounts
by early settlers of environmental conditions in the Upper Greybull River
Watershed. This comparison has resulted in a more complex and nuanced
understanding of past climate and human landuse, as well as highlighting stories
about the past that only trees and historic accounts can tell. This thesis is
part of an ongoing and urgent effort to collect, preserve and crossdate
tree-ring samples from this fire-prone region. Like much of the West, forests in
this area have been devastated by a recent bark beetle epidemic, posing a
significant threat to cultural resources, especially those made of wood.
For other MA theses relating to this
project,
click here |
GRSLE PROJECT
OverviewLANDSCAPE TAPHONOMY
Definition/Overview
Graphic
BUNDLING & BRIDGING
Definition
Graphic
1
Graphic 2
GREYBULL MA THESES
MA
Thesis Research
RESEARCH PAPERS:
Plains Conference 2003
Other 2003 Papers
Plains Conference 2004
Other 2004 Papers
Plains Conference 2005
Other 2005 Papers
Plains Conference 2006
Other 2006 Papers
Plains Conference 2007
Other 2007 Papers
Plains Conference 2008
Other 2008 Papers
FIELD CLASS 2008
Overview
Reading Assignments
PHOTO GALLERIES
2003 photos
2004 photos
2005 photos
2006 photos
2007 photos
SITE DOCUMENTATION
In-Field Artifact Codes (pdf)
Summary Data
Summer 2005 Fieldwork
Summer 2006 Fieldwork
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With its headwaters
high in the Washakie Wilderness, northwestern Wyoming's Big Horn Basin,
the upper Greybull River travels through some of the most remote
backcountry within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Along
its 145 km (90 mile) corridor, the Greybull's waters move from elevations
over 3960 m (13,000 ft) in the heart of the Absaroka Mountains, to only
1370 m (4500 ft) at its confluence with the Bighorn River.
For at
least the last 13,000 years, humans have been an active part of the
Greybull River ecosystem. For most of this time, mobile
hunter-gatherers traversed the area .and have left a complex record of
their changing interactions with their biological, physical, and social
environments. For nearly the last 150 years, a new form of
human-landscape interactions -- livestock grazing, agriculture, and gas
and oil exploration and production have--have created a different series
of interactions.
Visitors --
Since 12 Sept. 2005
For additional information contact:
lctodd@grsle.org
Last Updated:
Wednesday April 07, 2010
GRSLE project supervised by
L.C. Todd
http://humanpaleo.org/Todd.htm
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At
the beginning of the 21st Century there are indications that
yet another major set changes can be expected in the ways humans and the
Greybull River landscapes interact. The larger ranches are becoming
a thing of the past, livestock numbers are declining, recreational uses of
the the area are increasing, and a new series of human-landscape linkages
are being forged.
The
Greybull River Sustainable Landscape Ecology
(GRSLE) project seeks a deeper understanding of each of these
multi-faceted landscapes: the prehistoric, the historic/contemporary, and
the series of alternative futures that lay ahead. The heart of this
project is an archaeological perspective on landscapes,
which begins with the premise that all landscapes are the result a richly
interwoven series of cultural, biological, and abiotic processes that have
left multiple records of the their combined interactions.
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 These
WebPages provide an introduction to GRSLE's long-term goals, objectives,
and recent investigations. We hope that our attempts to
combine science and stewardship will aid in the development of sustainable
ecological and economic futures for this remarkable drainage system and
that the Greybull may be an important component in helping to preserve the
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, it's lands, it's wildlife, it's vegetation,
soils, waters, and peoples.
CONTACT
Larry
Todd lctodd@grsle.org
Todd CV |
