MODELING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF LATE PLEISTOCENE-AGED SUBMERGED LANDSCAPES ALONG THE CONTIGUOUS US PACIFIC COASTLINE: PRELIMINARY RESULTS

We present preliminary results of recent efforts to produce a GIS model of late Pleistocene-aged paleolandscapes of the now-submerged Pacific outer continental shelf region of the contiguous United States. We construct a first-order relative sea level history from available data on late Quaternary rates of crustal deformation due to glacio-isostatic and neotectonic adjustment and projected rates of eustatic marine transgression since the last glacial maximum. Bathymetric digital elevation models are combined with our relative sea level history to produce millennial synchronic paleolandscape models for the period between 18,000-10,000 RYBP. We reclassify the modeled paleolandscape under an ethological framework that scores the foraging potential of hectare-scale grid squares. The results of our model reveal a series of non-analogous marine, alluvial and terrestrial environments and patterns that have important implications for potential site distribution and early forager adaptations along North America’s late Pleistocene coastline.