PREDICTIVE MODELS OF HUNTER-GATHERER SUBSISTENCE AND SETTLEMENT STRATEGIES ON THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS

It is recognized that the archaeological record of early prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the Central High Plains leaves many questions unanswered. This study is based on the assumption that it is possible to reconstruct subsistence and settlement patterns in terms of general principles of human behavior given knowledge of (1) the resources of the system in terms of resource composition and distribution and (2) the fixed constraints of the environment. Initially this involves an examination of general principles of behavior with special emphasis on hunter-gatherers. Secondly, it requires the reconstruction of past environmental resources and constraints on the High Plains. Meterological and paleoenvironmental evidence comprise the data base for the development of predictive models of hunter-gatherer subsistence and settlement systems for the period between 10,500 - 1,000 BC.; The models are tested using the archaeological record of early prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the Central High Plains. The adaptive strategies of these High Plains cultures are discussed in terms of resource utilization and settlement patterns and how these subsystems change in response to climatic shifts.; It is concluded that most of the recorded shifts in adaptive strategies were predicted by these models. Further, the shifts can be explained in terms of changing resources and constraints of the environment, although certain shifts in settlement patterns are believed to reflect responses to cultural rather than natural pressures.; An interesting, unexpected outcome of the research is the correlation between extremely severe environmental conditions and subsequent changes in stone tool technology. This is perceived as a result of population movements out of the High Plains during these inhospitable times, and the resultant interaction of people previously isolated from one another. This interaction allowed people to observe a wide range of technological diversity which was carried with groups which subsequently re-occupied the Plains.; I believe that the most significant contribution of this research is in providing models by which change in adaptive strategies may be explained in terms of behavioral regularities and climatic change. Although most of the changing subsistence and settlement strategies discussed here have been described in the literature in terms of the physical manifestations of these changes, through this predictive model such changes can be explained in terms of cause and effect.