In terms of land use, an increase in logistical foraging (where a forager travels afield in search of food before returning to a central base camp) could look like exploitation of environments beyond the immediate setting of the residential site. 600 BP), privatization of other plant food is proposed to have happened in tandem with changes in land use, towards an increase in logistical mobility and use of more distant resources (Eerkens 2012b). Later in time, correlated with the spread of pottery (c. Similarly, if Newberry-era residents “underused” plants (Bettinger 2015:43), we might expect a more extensive, generalized plant assemblage in that era this could look like greater usage of roots and tubers, which are often less energetically costly than seeds (Gremillion 2014). Thus, we would expect an increase in pinyon usage (as measured by an increase in archaeological pinyon abundance) between the Newberry and Marana periods.

The spread of the bow-and-arrow around 1500 BP is hypothesized to have contributed to a social reorganization partially oriented around pinyon intensification. This study considers the role resource intensification plays in social phenomena, including the sharing and storing of resources, and risk management and privatization, which have greater implications for the cascading effects of new technology, subsistence intensification, and social reorganization in the region. To address these goals, I have synthesized existing paleoethnobotanical datasets for the region to create a comprehensive dataset, as well as analyzed extant archaeological materials from four lakeside sites for inclusion in the regional dataset: 1) CA-INY-3806/H, 2) INY-7448, 3) INY-8768, and 4) INY-5207. 150 years BP) 2) to better understand how ancient residents of Owens Valley used locations in the valley beyond the modern-day Highway 395 corridor and 3) to examine the adoption and spread of bow-and-arrow and ceramic technologies, two events separated by roughly 600 years, through a paleoethnobotanical lens. 3300 years Before Present ) through the Contact period (c. This dissertation has three goals: 1) to synthesize existing data with regards to plant use from the late Newberry period (c. However, two issues related to the body of paleoethnobotanical data available for the region are identified and addressed in this dissertation: 1) the region lacked a comprehensive synthesis of paleoethnobotanical data and 2) most of the archaeological investigation have been limited to the Highway 395 corridor, which has resulted in uneven coverage of plant use data, especially on the valley shore (e.g., along the shores of Owens Lake). Our greater understanding of these large-scale social changes as observed archaeologically dovetail well with paleoethnobotanical studies in the region. Over the last 1,500-1,000 years in Payahuunadü, today known as Owens Valley, significant social and political changes have been observed archaeologically for the populations who resided in this area. 2, 242 (2012).Questions of social reorganization, the adoption and spread of novel technologies, and subsistence shifts have long been of interest to archaeologists, but especially those working in both California and the Great Basin. Chang, et al., Science (Washington, DC, U.

Eskola, et al., Science (Washington, DC, U.

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