Geoarchaeology of the Clary Ranch Paleoindian sites, western Nebraska

This fitrip addresses multidisciplinary field research conducted since 2001 in Ash Hollow basin at both archaeological sites and cut bank exposures. Six lithostratigraphic units (I through VI, from oldest to youngest) are recognized in alluvium near the base of the valley fill below the 18-m-high Terrace 2 in the basin. Unit I is presumably Late Wisconsin, while units II through VI are early Holocene alluvial units comprised of silt loam and distinguished on the basis of color, sedimentary structures, and texture. Unit V contains the cultural material (multiple components at both archaeological sites), and was deposited at a rate of between about 0.1 and 1.5 cm/year, based on calibrated radiocarbon ages of charcoal in cut bank exposures. With such rapid rates of sedimentation, artifacts at both the Clary Ranch site (25GD106) and O.V. Clary site (25GD50) were well preserved. Landscape evolution is reconstructed in the context of the Late-Paleoindian components at the two archaeological sites. © 2007 The Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.