Geoarchaeological Significance of a Younger Dryas Aged Black Mat, Tularosa Basin, Southern New Mexico

Abstract

Recent findings in the Tularosa Basin have revealed stratified deposits that contain a black mat that formed during the Younger Dryas (10,900–9,800 ¹⁴C yr BP). This black mat is in a sequence of buried geomorphic surfaces dating from 12,300 to 9,500 ¹⁴C yr BP, which together have a high probability of containing buried, intact Paleo-American remains. Continued research will yield important information about the peopling of the Americas and climate change during the late Pleistocene–Holocene transition.

Keywords:

• Younger Dryas
• black mat
• Paleo-American age geomorphic surfaces
• southern New Mexico