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Part 1: Paleohistory of the American West

Petroglyphs, Mastodon Mystery and Climate Change - Three Discussions about the prehistoric American West & what lessons can be applied to the present day. Part 1: Paleohistory of the American West. North America Satellite view. North America Satellite view 12kya. Keeling Curve.

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Part 1: Paleohistory of the American West

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  1. Petroglyphs, Mastodon Mystery and Climate Change- Three Discussions about the prehistoric American West & what lessons can be applied to the present day Part 1: Paleohistory of the American West

  2. North AmericaSatellite view

  3. North AmericaSatellite view12kya

  4. Keeling Curve

  5. PaleoClimate Change

  6. Tardis, from Dr. Who

  7. Pictograph

  8. PictographBarrier Canyon Style

  9. PictographBarrier Canyon Style

  10. PictographBarrier Canyon Style

  11. Cliff Dwellings at Mesa Verde

  12. Anasazi Cliff Dwelling

  13. Some Ancient Indian Cultures

  14. Petroglyphs – Atlatl Rock NV

  15. Valley of Fire, Nevada. Impressive group of people, animals and designs etched in a desert sandstone wall.

  16. Atlatl www.uwlax.edu

  17. Modern Petroglyph

  18. Chichen Itza

  19. Carocal (Observatory) at Chichen Itza

  20. Maize & Kokopeli

  21. Great Basin Curvilinear ca 2-3 kya

  22. Great Basin CurvilinearFallon, NV

  23. Petroglyphs are more than just graffiti. This is another example of Great Basin Curvilinear (ca 2-3000 yrs bp). Circles and lines do not reveal much about the meaning or purpose of this petroglyph. Can you imagine what the artist was depicting?

  24. PetroglyphFallon, NV

  25. Pit & Groove ca 5 kya

  26. Pit and Groove Petroglyphs are older than 5000 years. Petroglyphs are dated by the amount of discoloration, "Desert Varnish", which has formed on the etching.

  27. A Wall of Petroglyphs at Petroglyph Point at Lava Bed National Monument, California overlooks Tule Lake and distant sacred Mount Shasta. When these carvings were made, the wall was next to the shore of Tule Lake. It is now easily accessible and is protected with a 100 yard fence.

  28. Dry Lake in Death Valley

  29. Pleistocene Nevada greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/mf-maps/mf-2323/

  30. Crater Lake

  31. Ash Layer near Missoula MT

  32. Lake Missoula Floods

  33. North America ca. 11 kya

  34. Holocene Pleistocene Pliocene Miocene Oligocene Eocene Paleocene 10,000 ya-present 1.8 mya – 10 kya 5.3 mya – 1.8 mya 23 mya – 5.3 mya 34 mya – 23 mya 55 mya – 34 mya 65 mya-55mya Epochs

  35. Holocene Climate (10,000 years to present) Cool & Dry Warm & Dry Cool & Wet Warm & Wet Lake Bonneville Flood Mayan Civilization Lake Missoula Floods Bow & Arrow Appear Anasazi Disappear Clovis Culture Mt Mazama Explodes Maize Developed Columbus Medi- thermal Early Archaic Altithermal 10 8 6 2 0 4 Years Before Present Megafauna Extinction Pit & Groove Great Basin Curvilinear Modern

  36. Conclusions • Global Temperatures were constant during the Holocene • There were major changes in precipitation patterns (drought) in the West • Some Cultures probably disappeared because of drought • Major Catastrophes also occurred that probably killed humans

  37. Puebloan tradition holds that the ancestors had achieved great spiritual power and control over natural forces, and used their power in ways that caused nature to change, and caused changes that were never meant to occur. Possibly, the dismantling of their religious structures was an effort to symbolically undo the changes they felt they caused due to their abuse of their spiritual power, and thus make amends with nature. - Bryce Harrington Dec 1, 2006 Wikipedia

  38. Geological Eras • Holocene 10,000 years ago to present  • Pleistocene .01 – 2 Million years ago • Pliocene 2 – 13 Million years ago • Miocene 13 – 25 million years ago • Oligocene 25 - 58 million years ago • Eocene 58 – 36 million years ago • Paleocene 65 – 58 million years ago

  39. Holocene (10,000 bp) Chronology Lake Missoula Floods & Megafaunal Extinction Bow & Arrow Columbus Great Basin Curvilinear Clovis People Kennewick Man Anasazi Disappear Mt Mazama Explodes Pit & Groove Maize Early Archaic Alti- thermal Medi- thermal Terminal Archaic Pueblo Climate Compared to 10 ky average John Kantner http://sipapu.ucsb.edu/timeline/index.html N. C. Heywood (nheywood@uwsp.edu)

  40. Crater Lake & Ash Crater Lake Present Day – 7700 & 7100 years after Volcanic Explosions (VEI=7) Layer of Volcanic Ash near Missoula, MT - Probably killed humans and animals

  41. MegaFloods 10,000 ya 14,500 ya

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