GENERAL GEOLOGY OF SANTA ROSA ISLAND, CALIFORNIA

There is growing evidence for human use of geophytes long before the advent of agriculture. Rich in carbohydrates, geophytes were important in many coastal areas where protein-rich marine foods are abundant. On California's Channel Islands, scholars have long questioned how maritime peoples sustained themselves for millennia with limited plant resources. Recent research demonstrates that geophytes were heavily used on the islands for 10,000 years, and here we describe geophyte and other archaeobotanical remains from an approximately 11,500-year-old site on Santa Rosa Island. Currently the earliest evidence for geophyte consumption in North America, our data extend geophyte use on the Channel Islands by roughly 1,500 years and document a diverse and balanced economy for early Paleocoastal peoples. Experimental return rates for a key island geophyte support archaeological evidence that the corms of blue dicks (Dipterostemon capitatus) were a high-ranked staple resource throughout the Holocene.

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Sargassum on Santa Rosa Island, Florida: faunal use and beachgoer perception

Journal of Coastal Conservation ◽

10.1007/s11852-016-0472-6 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 63-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Julie Ann Schultz Schiro ◽

Klaus J. Meyer-Arendt ◽

Sherry K. Schneider

Keyword(s):

Santa Rosa Island

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General geology and geomorphology of the Mars Pathfinder landing site

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/1998je900021 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 104 (E4) ◽

pp. 8555-8571 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

A. W. Ward ◽

L. R. Gaddis ◽

R. L. Kirk ◽

L. A. Soderblom ◽

K. L. Tanaka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Landing Site ◽

General Geology ◽

Mars Pathfinder

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Regional geology and 1:500 000 mapping in North-East Greenland

Rapport Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse ◽

10.34194/rapggu.v148.8110 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 148 ◽

pp. 16-20

Author(s):

N Henriksen

Keyword(s):

Geological Mapping ◽

Fold Belt ◽

East Greenland ◽

Regional Geology ◽

Field Mapping ◽

North East ◽

General Geology ◽

Geological Map

A three-year field mapping programme was initiated in 1988 aiming at regional geological studies and geological mapping in North-East Greenland between latitudes 75° and 78°N. This region encompasses relatively little known parts of the Caledonian fold belt and the overlying post-Caledonian sequences, which lie north of the better known regions of central East Greenland (Henriksen, 1989). Major aims of the programme include compilation a 1:500 000 geological map, and an understanding of the general geology of the region.

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General geology of the Mississippi embayment

Professional Paper ◽

10.3133/pp448b ◽

1964 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

E.M. Cushing ◽

E.H. Boswell ◽

R.L. Hosman

Keyword(s):

Mississippi Embayment ◽

General Geology

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Re-evaluating the origins of late Pleistocene fire areas on Santa Rosa Island, California, USA

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2012.06.006 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 353-362 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Torben C. Rick ◽

John S. Wah ◽

Jon M. Erlandson

Keyword(s):

Late Pleistocene ◽

Younger Dryas ◽

Fire Regimes ◽

Fire Frequency ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Sedimentary Deposits ◽

Natural Fires ◽

Human Colonization ◽

Santa Rosa Island

AbstractAt the close of the Pleistocene, fire regimes in North America changed significantly in response to climate change, megafaunal extinctions, anthropogenic burning and possibly, even an extraterrestrial impact. On California's Channel Islands, researchers have long debated the nature of late Pleistocene “fire areas,” discrete red zones in sedimentary deposits, interpreted by some as prehistoric mammoth-roasting pits created by humans. Further research found no evidence that these red zones were cultural in origin, and two hypotheses were advanced to explain their origin: natural fires and groundwater processes. Radiocarbon dating, X-ray diffraction analysis, and identification of charcoal from six red zones on Santa Rosa Island suggest that the studied features date between ~ 27,500 and 11,400 cal yr BP and resulted from burning or heating, not from groundwater processes. Our results show that fire was a component of late Pleistocene Channel Island ecology prior to and after human colonization of the islands, with no clear evidence for increased fire frequency coincident with Paleoindian settlement, extinction of pygmy mammoths, or a proposed Younger Dryas impact event.

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