Arch Lake Woman: Physical Anthropology and Geoarchaeology

Introduction

Introduction ✦ T he Arch Lake human burial attracted little attention when it was discovered in 1967, even though the geologic context indicated considerable antiquity and it featured red pigment, a unifacial stone tool, a probable bone tool, and nineteen beads. The Blackwater Draw Museum at Eastern new Mexico University has curated the skeleton since its discovery and removal. Here the burial was exhibited from 1969 to 1985, still partially encased in surrounding matrix from within and below the burial pit. In 1990 the Research Laboratory for Archaeology at Oxford University obtained a preliminary optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) age of 13,100 ± 2450 calendar years from soil from an overlying stratum. This, along with AMS radiocarbon dating of bone and tooth organic carbon by the Oxford laboratory , provided the first chronometric confirmation of the skeleton’s antiquity (Stephen Stokes, pers. comm. 1991). In February 2000 an interdisciplinary team organized by the Department of Anthropology at the national Museum of natural History reexamined the burial to assess the following: its discovery history, geologic context, bone chemistry, AMS radiocarbon age, skeletal and dental features, cultural affiliation , burial practice, and associated artifact assemblage. The results of this work are reported herein. Arch Lake cranial and dental measurements and discrete traits, as well as cultural aspects of burial practice, are compared to other ancient north American remains, including those from Gordon Creek, Horn Shelter no. 2, Wilson-Leonard, and Buhl (Breternitz et al. 1971; Green et al. 1998; Guy 1998; Jantz and Owsley 1997, 2001, 2005; Muniz 2004; Redder 1985; Redder and Fox 1988; Steele 1998; Steele and Powell 1992, 1994; Sullivan 1998; young 1988; young et al. 1987). Discovery and Excavation The Arch Lake burial site is located on the highest promontory on the south side of the now-dry Arch Lake basin in eastern new Mexico near the Texas border. 1 2 Introduction On May 20, 1967, avocational archaeologists Gregg Moore of Elida, new Mexico, and Cecil Clark of Portales, new Mexico, discovered the grave while examining a cut bank on the north side of a dirt road that bisected a late Pleistocene dune. They initially found the left half of a heavily carbonate-encrusted mandible and subsequently located partially exposed and broken left parietal fragments of the cranium approximately 0.6 meters south and down slope from the partial mandible. Further investigation uncovered the remaining skeleton, lying supine in an extended position with the feet still buried within intact sediments in the north road bank (figs. 3a and 3b, see color section following page 48). Figure 1. Location map of the Arch Lake burial in eastern New Mexico showing the Arch Lake basin and the Clovis type site in Blackwater Draw. 3 Figure 2. Topographic map of the Arch Lake site showing location of the burial pit, geological cross section, Archaic hearth, and stratigraphic columns. 4 The exposed skeleton was left in situ. That evening James Warnica, president of the El Llano Archaeological Society of Portales, was contacted, and the three men returned the following day. The geologic context of the interment , with its well-made flake tool and red staining, convinced Warnica of the probable antiquity of the remains, and he requested assistance from Dr. F. Earl Green of Texas Technological College. Due to concern that the skeleton would be damaged or destroyed by vandalism or subsequent weathering, Green recommended its removal in a single block of matrix. notes on the burial and geologic context were recorded and the position of the skeleton was sketched and photographed. The longitudinal axis of the burial was oriented n38°W, with the head to the southeast and feet to the northwest. The sidewalls of the purposefully dug grave were nearly vertical, but whether the ends were vertical or tapered was not observed. Except for the northwest end, most of the sediments overlying the interment were eroded, making it impossible to record the precise length of the burial pit. The depth and width of the pit were clearly discernible from the exposed geologic section of the road cut (figs. 3a and 3b, color plates). The pit width varied from 27.6 cm to 35.5 cm; the depth was uniform at 1.1 m. Green’s stratigraphic profile shows that the burial trench was excavated from an ancient surface that was subsequently buried by 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) of brown eolian sand. The contact is shown as...