book chapter

The stratigraphy and archaeology of Ventana cave, Arizona

University of Arizona Press • Tucson • Published In 1950 • Pages:

By: Haury, Emil W. (Emil Walter).

Abstract

This excavation report describes Haury's excavations and findings from Ventana Cave. Also included are lengthy discussions on the geology, climate, and possible dates for the various stratum and the surround area. The cave deposits date from the Pleistocene to the time of Haury's excavation in 1941. As the cave contains a spring, the earlier human occupied stratum only contained stone tools. Drier stratum existed in the upper layers of the cave with better preservation, but these stratum are outside the time period for the Early Desert Archaic. Haury excavated at Ventana Cave in the early 1940s. This was before the invention of carbon 14 dating. So he had to use many methods to try to date the deposits. More recently, some of the material from the Volcanic Depris stratum has been dated by AMS radiocarbon dating to 10,700 and 8700 BP. So the Red Sand strata dates to after 8700 BP and the Conglomerate layer has a date greater than 10,700 BP. Both the Volcanic Debris and the Red Sand layers are considered to be from the Early Desert Archaic period. It is now thought that the bones of the extinct fauna were from the Pleistocene Conglomerate strata and were not associated with any artifacts. An end date for the Red Sand strata has not been determined but Bruce Huckell (eHRAF document no.21) states the Early Archaic period ends around 5500 BP in the Southwest. Therefore, only the data that pertain to the Volcanic Debris and the Red Sand stratum were marked for Outline of Cultural Materials codes. The reader is also urged to use caution when reading this document as the tables and text do not always agree on the number or kind of tools that were found in the Volcanic Debris or the Red Sand stratum. Also, Haury analyzed the artifacts in groupings based on the kind of artifact. So all the projectile points, knives, scrapers, etc. from all the stratum were analyzed together and it is up to the readers to sort out which artifacts belong with which stratum.

HRAF PubDate

2010

Region

North America

Sub Region

Southwest and Basin

Document Type

book chapter

Evaluation

Creator Type

Archaeologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Sarah Berry; 2010

Field Date

18 March-27 May 1941, 5 February-11 April 1942

Coverage Date

older than 10,700-58 BP (older than 8700 BC-AD 1942)

Coverage Place

Ventana Cave, Arizona, United States

Notes

by Emil W. Haury; collaborators: Kirk Bryan [and others]

Includes bibliographical references (p. 565-578)

LCCN

51000802

LCSH

Indians of North America--Arizona

Indians of North America

Ventana Cave (Ariz.)