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…

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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…

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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…

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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. . .

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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.

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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/

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