|
Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3
<br />230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment
<br /> PAGE 3-245
<br />• Site data may be updated as other nearby projects increase the number of known sites in the
<br />Project vicinity.
<br />Also, the record search identified 31 cultural resource surveys that have been conducted within 75 feet of
<br />either side of the Action Alternative centerlines, including the NNR Alternative. As a result of previous
<br />and recent surveys of federal land along some route segments by the YNCRP (Camuso and Lally 2014),
<br />the proportion of surveyed land is 67 percent within the 150-foot wide corridor and 65 percent within the
<br />500-foot wide corridor.
<br />3.11.2 Cultural History / Regional Overview
<br />3.11.2.1 Prehistoric Period
<br />The following summary of the prehistoric occupation of the Columbia Plateau cultural region is based on
<br />a chronology developed by Ames (2000). Ames identifies three major occupation periods (I, II, and III),
<br />each containing several phases. This summary is intended to reflect the general cultural trends that
<br />occurred during the three periods over the last 13,000 years.
<br />Period I (13,000 to 6,500 years ago)
<br />Ames (2000) divides the earliest period in the chronological sequence into two phases: Windust and
<br />Vantage. The Windust Phase extended from approximately 13,000 to 9,000 years ago and is characterized
<br />primarily by the presence of stemmed or shouldered projectile points, large knives, edge-ground cobbles,
<br />and simple, generalized stone tools. Upland environments were heavily relied upon by early Native
<br />Americans with a secondary focus on river habitats, where seasonally available resources were exploited.
<br />The Windust Phase is characterized by a subsistence strategy that included hunting large mammals, such
<br />as bison, elk, and deer; salmon fishing; and the gathering of plants and aquatic foods (Cressman 1960;
<br />Chatters 1986). Caves, rockshelters, and open areas were all used for habitation.
<br />During the Vantage Phase (9,000 to 6,500 years ago) similar foraging subsistence patterns continued
<br />across the Columbia Plateau. The addition of certain projectile point types and an increase in the
<br />frequency of grinding and pounding tools in the later Vantage Phase suggest there may have been subtle
<br />adaptive changes to the diet (Galm et al. 1981). Subsistence adaptations included hunting both large and
<br />small mammals such as elk, deer, antelope, rabbit, beaver, and, perhaps, bison. Salmon fishing may have
<br />increased in importance over time during this Phase, as indicated by net weights and salmon bones
<br />(DePuydt 1990). Tool assemblages of the Vantage Phase include lanceolate and other projectile points,
<br />scrapers, atlatl weights, needles, cobble tools, leaf-shaped and ovate knives, manos, mortars, bone awls
<br />and needles, and Olivella beads (Nelson 1969; Galm et al. 1981).
<br />Period II (circa 6,500 to 3,900 years ago)
<br />The transition from Period I to Period II is not clear-cut in the archaeological record. Ames (2000)
<br />suggests that in some portions of the southern Plateau, Period II sites differ little from Period I sites, but
<br />in other areas, there are marked differences. Artifact assemblages and settlement patterns show a marked
<br />transition during the Period II Frenchman Springs Phase (Rice 1968). The Frenchman Springs Phase is
<br />characterized by a variety of projectile points, knives, scrapers, and bone and antler tools, and also
<br />includes pithouses. About 5,200 years ago, the early appearance of pithouses indicates a less nomadic
<br />lifestyle and the repeated re-occupation of specific locations for salmon harvesting (Ames et al. 1998;
<br />Chatters and Pokotylo 1998). Hunting of deer, antelope, elk, mountain sheep, and small mammals was
<br />common. Storage pits within structures and rockshelters often contain remains of fish, deer, sheep,
<br />antelope, roots, and freshwater mussels (Swanson 1962; Nelson 1969). An increase of groundstone and
<br />cobble tools suggests that upland plant resources may have taken on higher priority than in Period I.
|