DIRTY SAND: ARCHAEOLOGY AND KEN PIERCE

Dr. Kenneth L. Pierce arrived in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in 1965 shortly after being hired by the US Geological Survey in 1963 tasked with mapping the poorly understood deposits left by glaciers in the region. Landscape patterns from this study lead to another crucial study in the understanding of uplift associated with the Yellowstone Hot Spot.

Understanding these large-scale geologic processes was crucial to more fine-grained studies of landforms for which archaeological deposits were preserved in the GYE. His first collaboration with archaeologists was on the Jackson Lake Archaeological Project in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. This work lead to a detailed understanding of the geomorphic history of the Snake River delta at the northern end of Jackson Lake.

Collaborative studies continued over the next 20 years in Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. These studies included applying archaeological chronometric data as controls on Yellowstone Lake levels which showed a much more vigorous flow of the Yellowstone River, as well as changes in shoreline levels related to uplift and subsidence of the caldera over the past 14ka. The Holocene history of the Goetz site on the National Elk Refuge, and the geomorphic setting of three sites along the Wilson-Fall Creek Road in Wilson, Wyoming. Ken was also instrumental in the collection and mapping toolstone grade volcanic glass deposits in the GYE. Ken's work has also been applied to the creation of an archaeological burial model for Jackson Hole.

Each of these collaborative studies drew heavily on Ken's unique understanding of the interconnectedness of these large-scale and fine-grained systems and how they influenced the human occupation of these sites.