It is with excitement that we share the Preliminary Program for the 38th Biennial Great Basin Conference (GBAC) to be held in Bend, OR October 18-21st. With just under one month to go, things are coming together and we look forward to catching up with everyone soon. In the meantime, please review the Preliminary Program and the 160 paper and poster abstracts that will make this year’s conference a great one. To date, 17 vendors have reserved tables in the Book Room, ensuring that it will be a vibrant gathering place featuring a range of goods and services. We wish to share a couple of important announcements along with the Preliminary Program: Individuals wishing to donate to the GBAA may do so by visiting this page: https://greatbasinanthropologicalassociation.org/gbac/donate/ Thank you everyone for your continued support of the GBAC and GBAA. This year’s conference is going to be great one. Watch for more updates and news in the coming weeks! Preliminary Program for the 38th Biennial Great Basin Conference

Continue reading

Today’s featured symposium is “Tradition, Teaching, and Technology: Papers in Honor of Dan Stueber.” Dan’s career as an archaeologist spans four decades and has been marked by a devotion to understanding flintknapping and lithic technology. During that time, Dan has freely shared his extensive knowledge with both the professional and avocational communities, students, and Tribal members. Today, he is a leading researcher of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) in the American West and is working concurrently on several significant late Pleistocene and early Holocene sites in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. He is also firmly committed to collaboration with Tribal nations and works to share his knowledge with Indigenous communities. Finally, Dan has played an important role in the lives of countless students and professional researchers who share his passion for lithic technology. Papers in this symposium honor Dan by focusing on projects in which he has played an integral role or helped shape through his mentorship of researchers who will continue his legacy for decades to come. We would also like to recognize two organizations who have sponsored the GBAC at the Mojave Level, Great Basin Consulting Group and HRA, Inc. Great Basin Consulting Group, LLC, is a cultural…

Continue reading

Today’s featured symposium is “Exploring the Intersections of Human Ecology and Culture History in the Great Basin.” Evolution and ecology-minded Great Basin archeologists are often frustrated when their research ultimately falls back on historical explanation. Culture historians increasingly incorporate paleoecological information in their analyses, albeit often in the absence of models that might elucidate causal links between environmental and behavioral variability. This symposium presents the latest in research from these competing but also clearly interrelated (and arguably complementary) perspectives with an eye towards exploring how they might better inform one another to provide comprehensive explanation for the diversity of human behavior across the Great Basin. Today, we recognize two corporate sponsors: Chronicle Heritage at the Bonneville Level and Rondeau Archaeological at the Mojave Level. Chronicle Heritage is a global cultural and heritage resource management consultancy committed to the possibilities in a prosperous balance between the needs of the future and the uses of the past. Throughout their history, they have worked for clients in both the public and private sectors, guiding one successful project after another through the complex regulations that govern the management of prehistoric, historic, architectural, and paleontological resources. To learn more, please visit chronicleheritage.com

Continue reading

Today’s featured symposium is “Beyond Stones and Bones: Current Research on Fiber Artifacts in the Great Basin.” While much of the global archaeological record is dominated by stone and bone, the Great Basin boasts perhaps the most extensive, diverse, and ancient records of fiber artifacts in the world. Studies of plant and animal fiber artifacts in the region have traditionally focused on normative analysis, using structural traits to explore geographic and chronological patterning. More recent work has pioneered fiber identification techniques to better understand environmental context and land use strategies, explored the use of radiocarbon dating of fiber artifacts to achieve chronological control of disturbed contexts, and extracted microfossils from basketry to interpret dietary uses. This symposium examines the status of current research in Great Basin fiber artifacts and explores future directions for fiber investigations. We would also like to recognize sponsorship at the Lahontan Level by two companies, Archaeological Services LLC and WestLand Resources. Archaeological Services LLC (ASCC) is based out of Vancouver, WA. They have grown from a one-person operation working solely in Clark County to a firm that employs six full-time archaeologists who carry out projects throughout the Pacific Northwest. To learn more about ASCC, please visit https://archaeologicalservices.com/about-ascc/…

Continue reading

The submission portal for presentations and posters is now closed. The 38th GBAC will feature 159 presentations and posters organized into one plenary session, nine symposia, 2-3 general sessions, and two poster sessions. Watch for the Preliminary Program on the GBAA website and Facebook page in the next 7-10 days. It’s going to be a great conference, with everything you have come to expect from the GBAC as well as a Keynote Lecture by Dr. David Hurst Thomas at Friday evening’s banquet. So, what now? Here is how you can help make this year’s GBAC a success: 1. Register in advance and book your hotel room. The Riverhouse is sold out of rooms for Wednesday, October 18th but there are still rooms available at the conference rate of $120-135/night for Thursday, October 19th and Friday, October 20th. Riverhouse rooms are still available at the non-conference rate for Saturday, October 21st. To register for the conference, please visit: https://greatbasinanthropologicalassociation.org/gbac/gbac-registration/ To book your Riverhouse room, please visit: https://greatbasinanthropologicalassociation.org/gbac/venue-hotel/ In the event that Riverhouse rooms are unavailable for the dates you need, the Red Lion Inn & Suites (541-388-4114) is offering rooms at a comparable price and is located just across the street from the Riverhouse. 2. Reserve a spot…

Continue reading

Today’s featured symposium is “From Channel Flakes to Bison Jumps: Current Archaeological Investigations”, organized by Suzann Henrikson. The 11 papers in this symposium promise to enrich our understanding of a range of topics. Analysis of the Pewaishe Suakiga debitage assemblage sheds light on Folsom technology in the Pioneer Basin, while new AMS assays and protein residue analyses address the Folsom mammoth hunting proposition in Owl Cave. The source attributions of volcanic glass Haskett points from the eastern Snake River Plain (including the Haskett type site specimens) suggest land use patterns in contrast with regional fluted assemblages. Recent analyses indicate that the Owl Cave bison bone bed represents a single early Holocene mass kill likely executed as an organized communal event with strong evidence for gourmet processing behaviors. Stable isotope values provide much needed insights regarding the seasonality of the mass kill. Potential changes in land use and mobility at the Early Holocene/Middle Holocene transition are examined via geospatial and XRF analyses of volcanic glass projectile points. Recent excavations in the Birch Creek Valley provide evidence of increased hunting success during the late Holocene, due in part to the use of bow and arrow technology. The natural landscape at Buffalo’s Little…

Continue reading

Today’s features GBAC symposium is “Recent Research in Fremont Studies,” organized by David Yoder, Scott Ure, and Michael Searcy. Fremont cultures of the eastern Great Basin and northern Colorado Plateau continue to simultaneously fascinate and puzzle archaeologists working in the region. Recent excavations, analysis of museum collections, application of technology, and reanalysis of previous held ideas and data are helping to us to better understand Fremont peoples and systems. The papers in this symposium highlight some of the current Fremont studies being performed by archaeologists in academia, government, museums, and the private sector. We also wish to recognize two additional sponsors at the Bonneville Level, Broadbent and ASM Affiliates. Broadbent offers Cultural Resource Management (CRM) services in support of projects in development, infrastructure, mining, and renewable energy. Their CRM team has project experience throughout the Intermountain West. Broadbent’s archaeologists and architectural historians understand how to guide projects through federal, state, and local laws to ensure cultural resources projects are completed on time and on budget. For more information, please visit broadbentinc.com/services/cultural-resource-management/ ASM Affiliates is a professional cultural and heritage resources management consulting firm with over 40 years of experience providing archaeology, historic preservation, GIS, drone, and other specialized services throughout the…

Continue reading

Today’s featured GBAC symposium is “A 6,500-year Record of Indigenous Occupation and Environmental Change at Payahuunada (Owens Lake),” brought to us by our good friends at Far Western Anthropological Research Group. The symposium will present the results of recent archaeological investigations at 59 component areas located within a highway construction corridor along the west shore of Owens Lake, California. Dating from the Middle Holocene through the mid-20th Century ethno-historic period, the archaeological record provides a window into Native responses to changing climates and lake levels, as well as to later-dating colonial intrusion. The project area is the ancestral home of the Paiute/Shoshone and is of high significance to contemporary Native people throughout eastern California. The symposium reviews Native perspectives of the archaeological record and other important tribal resources through the ongoing development of a Traditional Cultural Landscape. We also wish to recognize sponsorship at the Bonneville Level by two organizations, Far Western Anthropological Research Group and Archaeological Investigations Northwest. Since 1979, Far Western has worked in partnership with private industry, government agencies, tribal organizations, and non-profit groups to achieve the broader goals of the environmental review and compliance process. Today, they are recognized as one of the leading cultural resources…

Continue reading

Megan McGuinness is currently residing in La Grande, Oregon. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with an MA Anthropology, and BS in Anthropology / Sociology with a minor in Native American Studies from Eastern Oregon University. When she is not walking pluvial lake shorelines, she is painting pictures of landscapes seen during archaeological projects. Megan believes. . .

Continue reading

2023 Plenary Session: Beyond Boundaries Bend sits in the heart of Oregon, where the Great Basin, Columbia Plateau, and Pacific Northwest come together. The people who have lived in the area since time immemorial defy easy assignment to one of these culture areas. Instead, their traditional lifeways feature elements drawn from each region, emphasizing that the Great Basin has always been part of a broad social and economic fabric. In recognition of this fact, the theme of this year’s Plenary Session is Beyond Boundaries. Our carefully curated set of presentations highlights recent work that crosscuts geographic boundaries, like those which intersect near this year’s conference location, but also methodological, political, temporal, and theoretical boundaries. We hope that the plenary presentations will collectively inspire attendees to reflect on their own work and consider how they might move beyond boundaries to conduct more innovative, collaborative, and relevant research as our field continues to evolve.

Continue reading

The University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History is the official partner of the 38th Great Basin Anthropological Conference. The Museum has committed generous financial and logistical support for this year’s GBAC and Museum staff have volunteered their time and efforts to make it a great one. For more information, please visit https://natural-history.uoregon.edu/

Continue reading