Paleoindian Settlement Decisions in the Great Basin: A Test of the Pluvial Lake Hypothesis with the Ideal Free Distribution Model

ABSTRACT

Researchers propose that early Great Basin occupants preferentially settled near pluvial lakes to exploit highly profitable wetland habitats. Here we offer a preliminary systematic evaluation of this Pluvial Lake Hypothesis by testing two predictions from an ideal free distribution (IFD) model using a comprehensive database of radiocarbon-dated archaeological sites relative to reconstructed lake extent. We find that Paleoindian (> 8000 calendar years ago) settlements are significantly closer to wetlands than random across the Great Basin. However, when broken out by subregion (western, central, and eastern), the trend only holds for the western basin, likely because wetlands are so abundant in the central and eastern subregions that even random settlements fall within a 10-km foraging radius. The eastern subregion is the most suitable, having the lowest average distance to wetland habitats, and is the earliest occupied, which supports IFD predictions. This general pattern may help explain Paleoindian settlement patterns more broadly.

KEYWORDS:

• Paleoindian
• Prearchaic
• behavioral ecology
• ideal free distribution
• geographic information systems

Acknowledgements

We thank the following individuals for their inspiration and helpful insights: David Zeanah (California State University, Sacramento), Peter Yaworsky (Aarhus University), Kenneth Blake Vernon (University of Colorado, Boulder), Jack Broughton (University of Utah), Tyler Faith (University of Utah), and D. Craig Young (Far Western Anthropological Research Group) for guidance and comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. Special thanks to members of the University of Utah Archaeological Center for constructive feedback on previous iterations of this project, especially Jim O’Connell. Robert Kelly (University of Wyoming), Erick Robinson (Arizona State University), Bill Hildebrandt (Far Western Anthropological Research Group), and Jack Myer (Far Western Anthropological Research Group) graciously provided access to their updated ¹⁴C datasets. We are grateful for the detailed comments from three anonymous reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for data collection was provided by the following National Science Foundation grants (BCS-1632521, -1632522, -1632526, and -1921072).

Notes on contributors

Paul E. Allgaier

Paul E. Allgaier, Jr, MS, is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeological Center at the University of Utah. He is an archaeologist specializing in the behavioral ecology of Great Basin Paleoindian foragers and earned an MS from the University of Utah in Anthropology. Since 2019, he has been pursuing a PhD, continuing his research into Paleoindian foragers.

Brian F. Codding

Brian F. Codding is a Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Archaeological Center at the University of Utah. His research seeks to explain variations in human behavior relative to the local ecology. Current projects couple theory from behavioral ecology with quantitative statistical models to explore past and present adaptations across western North America, including long-term human-ecosystem dynamics in coastal California, Paleoindian settlement in response to climate change in the Great Basin, and the drivers and ecological consequences of farming on the Colorado Plateau.