ICE-SCOURED BEDROCK, LAURENTIDE MELTWATER, AND LAKE TONAWANDA WIND SEICHES: GLACIAL EFFECTS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HISCOCK SITE

Much of Parker Calkin's distinguished career has focused on understanding the Late Quaternary geology of New York State. His regionally widespread and definitive research is often cited in both large- and small-scale contemporary studies. The Hiscock Site, located near Byron, is one such study which draws heavily from Calkin's body of work. In a 1988 paper, Calkin, along with Ernest Muller, established a baseline for interpretations at the Hiscock Site. Further research by Calkin and others led to a refining of the timing of postglacial events in New York and at the Hiscock Site.

The Hiscock Site is significant in many regards, but perhaps most notably for its dramatic megafauna remains and Paleoindian artifacts. Research from the Hiscock Site has led to much discussion on the paleontological and anthropological aspects of western New York from about 11,575 radiocarbon years (13,478 ± 103 cal BP) to the present. However, the nature, sequence, and timing of geomorphic processes affecting the site have been somewhat unclear since excavations were commenced. New data from ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying suggest the likelihood of subglacial erosion as a mechanism for bedrock shaping and formation of the Hiscock swamp depression. Sediment coring and GPR results provide support for the hypothesis that the site underwent subsequent fluvial erosion related to the West-East drainage of meltwater along the Laurentide ice margin. Recent basal radiocarbon dates from the Hiscock Site suggest that the deposition of the lower Fibrous Gravelly Clay unit may have been related to (or initiated by) pre-Younger Dryas flooding of Lake Tonawanda, a process previously linked to wind-set seiches.