ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES AND STREAM DYNAMICS: NEW INSIGHTS FROM LEETSDALE (SITE 36AL480) AND WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

With an eye toward synthetic modeling, this paper examines several deeply stratified archaeological sites, including Leetsdale (36AL480), at the southern margin of the Wisconsinan glaciation and along major Pennsylvania drainages. Latest Pleistocene through Holocene landscapes are considered as the detailed geomorphic histories of these sites are examined. Results from both small-scale testing and large-scale data recovery projects are reviewed, highlighting important features of the pedostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy from key sites. Cultural deposits from the Middle Archaic though Late Woodland are viewed through the dual lenses of well-defined chronostratigraphic frameworks (detailed soil-sediment suites) and improved paleoclimatic reconstructions at the local level. These deposits include a series radiometrically dated archaeological features and paleosols, which have been exposed to biogeochemical, paleobotanical, micromorphological, and other laboratory assays for maximum analytical recovery. The goal of this synthesis is to illustrate the complexity of these Eastern alluvial landscapes and the potential for improved intersite comparison.