Technical Report

Environment, Prehistory & Archaeology of Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Greg C. Burtchard



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover

Foreword to the 2003 Edition

Preface

List of Figures

List of Tables

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Mount Rainier Project

Previous Archaeology
The Present Project

Chapter 2: Environment & Land-use on Mount Rainier & in the Southern Washington Cascades

Mount Rainier and Southern Washington Cascades Geology
     Environmental Implications of General Cascades Geology
     Mount Rainier Holocene Geology

Environmental Zones, Resources and Human Land-use Patterns
     Ecological Maturity, Resource Abundance and the Northwest Maritime Forest
     Mount Rainier Environmental Zones and Human Use
          Northwest Maritime Forest
               Low to Mid-Elevation Forest
               Upper Elevation Forest
               Forest Fauna
               The Huckleberry Issue
          Low Elevation Rivers and Floodplains
               Lahars and Floods
               Anadromous Fish
               Floodplain Archaeology and Land-Use
          Subalpine Parkland
               Subalpine Meadows
               Subalpine Fauna
               Subalpine Parkland, Land-Use and Archaeology
          Alpine Tundra
               Alpine Tundra Flora
               Alpine Fauna, Land-Use and Archaeology
          Perpetual Snowfields and Glaciers

Holocene Evolution of Mount Rainier's Environment
     Late Fraser Glaciation: Vashon Stade; circa 17,000 to 13,500 B.P.
     Terminal Fraser: Everson Interglacial & Sumas Stade; circa 13,500 to 8,500 B.P.
     Modern Interlude 1; circa 8,500 to 7,800 B.P.
     Hypsithermal Interval; circa 7,800 to 4,500 B.P.
     Modern Interlude 2; circa 4,500 to 2,800 B.P.
     Burroughs Mountain Glacial Advance; circa 2,800 to 2,100 B.P.
     Modern Interlude 3; circa 2,100 to 900 B.P.
     Garda Stade Glacial Advance; circa 900 to 500 B.P.
     Modern Interlude 4; circa 500 B.P. to Present

Environment, Human Use and Mount Rainier's Archaeological Record
     Why Did Hunter-Gatherers Use Mount Rainier?
     When Did Hunter-Gatherers Use the Mountain?
     Where Did Montane Hunting and Gathering Activities Take Place?
     How Did Regional Settlement Systems and Montane Environments
          Affect Site Distribution Patterns?

Chapter 3: Archaeological History of Mount Rainier & the Southern Washington Cascades

The Early History of Archaeology in Mount Rainier National Park

In the Southern Washington Cascades, by Richard H. McClure, Jr.
     Upper White River Basin
     Upper Naches and Tieton River Basin
     Upper Cowlitz River Basin
     Chronology and Cultural Process in the Southern Washington Cascades

Chapter 4: The 1995 Mount Rainier Archeological Reconnaissance

Site Verification and Reconnaissance Procedures

The New Picture, Reported Prehistoric Sites and Isolates 1991-1995
     Formally Documented Archaeological Sites in Mount Rainier National Park

Lithic Assemblages and Site Variability on Mount Rainier by Stephen Hamilton and Greg Burchard
     General Characteristics of the Mount Rainier Assemblages
          Artifact Classes
          Technology
          Raw Materials
     Material Variability and Site Function
     Radiocarbon, Stratigraphy, Projectile Points and Temporal Range at Mount Rainier
     Artifact Variability, and Site and Isolate Groups on Mount Rainier
          Assemblage-based Site Groups
          Mount Rainier Isolated Find Groups

Environmental Characteristics and Prehistoric Site Density
     Environmental/Resource Zones and Elevation
     Slope
     Distance to Water
     Solar Exposure
     Landform

Chapter 5: Prehistoric Site Distribution & Holocene Land-use Patterns on Mount Rainier & the Southern Washington Cascades

Mount Rainier Site Types and Site Distribution Patterns
     Type 1: Multi-task, Mixed Group, Residential Base Camps or Residential Field Camps
     Type 2: Limited-task Field or Hunting Camps
     Type 3: Low Redundancy, Low Intensity Hunting Locations
     Type 4: Butchering Locations
     Type 5: Lithic Procurement and Lithic Reduction Locations
     Type 6: Stacked Rock and Talus Feature Locations
     Type 7: Culturally Modified Tree Locations
     Type 8: Plant Processing Locations
     Type 9: Prehistoric to Early Historic Period Trails
     Type IF: Isolated Lost Artifacts

Holocene Land-use Patterns; an Intensification Model
     Humans and Ecology
     Population Density, Resource Availability and Land-use Intensification
     A Brief History of Forager to Collector Intensification Models
          Origins: Willow Smoke and Dogs' Tails
          Foragers and Collectors; Spatial Variation Versus Temporal Change
          Forger to Collector Intensification in the Pacific Northwest
     An Intensification Model for Mount Rainier and the Southern Washington Cascades
          Post-Pleistocene Foraging
          Rest-Rotation Foraging
          Semisedentary Rest-Rotation Foraging
          Semisedentary Collecting
          Intensive Collecting
          Mixed Strategy Hunting and Gathering

Chapter 6: Mount Rainier Archaeology Management, Research & Interpretation

Mount Rainier Prehistoric Summary
     Why Did Hunter-Gatherers Use Mount Rainier?
          Mount Rainier Data
          Recommendations
     When Did Hunter-Gatherers Use the Mountain?
          Mount Rainier Data
          Recommendations
     Where Did Montane Hunting and Gathering Activities Take Place?
          Mount Rainier Data
          Recommendations
     How Did Regional Settlement Systems and Montane Environments Affect Site Distribution Patterns?
          Mount Rainier Data
          Recommendations

Management, Research Implementation and Interpretation
     Research Implementation
     Interpreting Mount Rainier's Prehistoric Past
          Museum Displays and Interpretive Literature
          Public Outreach Presentations
          Interpretive Archaeological Excavations

References

Appendix A: Sites and Isolate Reports in Mount Rainier National Park

Appendix B: Mount Rainier Lithic Assemblage Inventory Methodology

Debitage
     Cortical flake
     Secondary, Interior flake
     Tertiary Interior flake
     Biface flake
     Retouch flake
     Shatter
     Raw Material
Debitage Discussion
Cores
     Polyhedral
     Single platform
     Tabular
     Biface
     Standardized core
     Expedient core
Tools and Preforms
     Projectile point
     Uniface
     Used flake
     Preform
Reference

Appendix C: Ecological Succession; Implications for Plant and Animal Abundance, and Archaeological Site Distribution Patterns


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Mount Rainier and the Southern to Northern Washington Cascades
Figure 1.2 Sites, Isolates and Reported Prehistoric Finds in Mount Rainier National Park
Figure 2.1 Southern Washington Cascades and Surrounding Physiographic Provinces
Figure 2.2 Major Mount Rainier Lahars
Figure 2.3 Distribution of Selected Volcanic Deposits on Mount Rainier
Figure 2.4 Vegetation Zones: Puget Trough - S. Washington Cascades
Figure 2.5 Generalized Distribution of Mount Rainier Habitat Types
Figure 2.6 Carbon River Floodplain
Figure 2.7 Potential Salmon-Bearing River Systems in Mount Rainier National Park
Figure 2.8 Mist Park Subalpine Meadows from Mt. Pleasant Rockshelter
Figure 2.9 Mountain Goats on Burroughs Mountain Alpine Tundra
Figure 2.10 Mount Rainier National Park, Northwest Quadrant (omitted from the online edition)
Figure 2.11 Mount Rainier National Park, Northeast Quadrant (omitted from the online edition)
Figure 2.12 Mount Rainier National Park, Southwest Quadrant (omitted from the online edition)
Figure 2.13 Mount Rainier National Park, Southeast Quadrant (omitted from the online edition)
Figure 3.1 Mount Rainier Prehistoric Localities Reported through 1970
Figure 3.2 Mount Rainier Prehistoric Localities Reported through 1980
Figure 3.3 Mount Rainier Prehistoric Localities Reported through 1990
Figure 3.4 Investigated Archaeological Sites in the Vicinity of Mount Rainier National Park
Figure 3.5 Radiocarbon Age Ranges for the Southern Washington Cascades
Figure 4.1 Mount Rainier Prehistoric Localities Reported through 1995
Figure 4.2 Documented Archaeological Sites and Isolates, Mount Rainier National Park
Figure 4.3 Plot of Debitage Counts by Material Variety
Figure 4.4 Site Relative Frequency, by Environmental Zone
Figure 4.5 Site Relative Frequency, by Elevation
Figure 4.6 Site Relative Frequency, by Slope
Figure 4.7 Site Relative Frequency, by Distance to Water
Figure 4.8 Site Relative Frequency, by Solar Orientation
Figure 4.9 Site Relative Frequency, by Landform Group
Figure 6.1 Mt. Pleasant Rockshelter (FS 72-02)
Figure 6.2 Profiled Erosion Scar in Grand Park
Figure 6.3 Buck Lake Site FS 71-01


LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Sources and Ages of Volcanic Deposits on Mount Rainier
Table 2.2 Mount Rainier Environmental Zonation Systems
Table 2.3 Mount Rainier Region Late Pleistocene - Holocene Climatic Sequence
Table 3.1 Reported Prehistoric Sites and Isolates, 1899-1970
Table 3.2 Reported Sites and Isolates, 1971-1980
Table 3.3 Reported Sites and Isolates, 1981-1990
Table 3.4 Radiocarbon Dated Archaeological Sites in the Southern Washington Cascades
Table 4.1 Sites and Isolates, 1991-1995
Table 4.2 Mount Rainier 1995 Archaeological Site and Isolated Find Summary
Table 4.3 Lithic Assemblage Summary, Mount Rainier Prehistoric Sites
Table 4.4 Lithic Summary, Mount Rainier Isolated Finds
Table 4.5 Summary of Lithic Debitage from Mount Rainier Surface Assemblages
Table 4.6 Debitage Raw Material Variability at Mount Rainier
Table 4.7 Mount Rainier Projectile Point Types and Inferred Age
Table 4.8 Sites Grouped by Lithic Assemblage Similarities as an Index of Site Types
Table 4.9 Isolated Finds Grouped by Similarity of Lithic Remains
Table 4.10 Mount Rainier Site/Environmental Associations
Table 4.11 Mount Rainier Site Count and Density, by Environmental Zone
Table 5.1 Mount Rainier Site Types, Sites and Surface Remains
Table 5.2 Northwest Land-Use Intensification Models
Table 5.3 Mount Rainier Environment, Land-Use and the Archaeological Record
Table 6.1 Research Implementation Summary Recommendations
Table A1 Prehistoric Sites and Isolated Find Reports in Mount Rainier National Park through 1995

The cover photograph shows Mount Rainier and its early evening reflection in a tarn lake in Spray Park. Photo taken September 1, 1995.

This document is printed on acid-free archival paper. It is intended to be a long-term record of the archaeology of Mount Rainier National Park.




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Last Updated: Monday, 18-Oct-2004 20:10:54
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