SURVIVING ON DRY LAND: GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR A POTENTIAL NATIVE AMERICAN OCCUPATION DURING THE 4.2 KA DROUGHT IN WESTERN NEW YORK

The 4.2 ka drought event marks the current geochronological divide between the Northgrippian and Meghalayan Ages of the Holocene Epoch. The 4.2 ka event represents a period of intense, centennial-scale aridification that impacted the mid- to low-latitudes of the northern Hemisphere. Although the 4.2 ka event is linked to mid-Holocene societal upheaval throughout parts of northern Africa, the Middle East, and southern and western Asia, only limited evidence is known that directly links drought conditions with Native American occupation in North America. How Native Americans adapted to this pronounced period of climate change remains understudied despite its broad implications for understanding our own adaptive responses to warming climates.

The McKendry archaeological site is a multi-component, precontact Native American occupation on a relict levee of Cattaraugus Creek, a tributary of Lake Erie in western New York. On-going geoarchaeological study including SEM, colorimetry, MS, LOI, and grain-size analysis has identified three primary lithostratigraphic units for the upper 2.4 m of sediment: a basal overbank alluvium (Unit I) overlain by high-energy fluvial sands (Unit II) and capped by silty aeolian sediment (Unit III). Aeolian sediment primary is disturbed by recent plowing, but in a few areas, observed sub-Ap, pale-colored, massive, silty sediments are interpreted as reflecting intact loess (Unit IIIb). Significantly, Unit IIIb has direct evidence of Native American occupation including common flakes, pottery, charcoal, burnt earth, and features. A cooking hearth entirely contained within Unit IIIb yielded a radiocarbon date of 3980±30 RCYBP (4525-4305 cal yrs BP), an age that not only dates the timing of loess deposition but also closely aligns with the reported 4.2 ka event. This raises the possibility that 4.2 ka-related sedimentation was occurring concomitant to Native American occupation of the relict levee. If true, the McKendry site represents a rare North American example of Native American occupation directly upon a drought-impacted landscape. As such McKendry may hold important clues concerning how precontact Native Americans adapted to prolonged periods of aridity in eastern North America.