A Theoretical Consideration of Paleoindian Use of Sinkholes as Dynamic Tool-stone Procurement Locales along the Highland Rim of Southeastern North America

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study explores the hypothesis that sinkholes were used as tool-stone procurement locales by terminal Pleistocene hunter-gatherers seasonally as access to the chert deposits potentially changed due to annual precipitation regimes. The paper presents sites with major Paleoindian components directly associated with sinkholes on the Highland Rim of southeastern North America, along with an examination of sinkhole geomorphology. Admittedly, temporal and seasonal data are currently lacking that would give a clearer understanding of Paleoindian tool-stone exploitation at sinkholes, but the theoretical study seeks to add to discussions regarding a dynamic lithic landscape influenced by geomorphic processes during the terminal Pleistocene. Eighteen procurement sites in the Highland Rim of the Interior Low Plateau are presented as supporting evidence that climate change during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition potentially altered the lithic landscape of hunter-gatherer groups. The shifting access to raw materials would have influenced Paleoindian resource use, technological organization, and seasonal movements.