Geological contexts of the early and middle Holocene archaeological record in North Dakota and adjoining areas of the Northern Plains

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Abstract
Literature pertaining to the archaeological geology of North Dakota and adjacent areas is reviewed to identify geological contexts in which early and middle Holocene sediments, containing Paleo-Indian through Early Archaic sites, are most likely to be found. In upland contexts, early and middle Holocene sediments have been encountered in thick eolian deposits along the Missouri River, and are locally preserved in settings conducive to eolian and colluvial sedimentation, including topographic lows and the lee sides of bluffs and knolls. Most uplands, even along the Missouri Trench, have been dominated by erosion, and most eolian/colluvial deposits are late Holocene in age. Voiding of early and middle Holocene alluvium appears to have occurred in low order and steeply graded valleys like those of the Little Missouri Badlands. In mainstem valleys, early and middle Holocene sediments are often voided or deeply buried, but are preserved in alluvial fans. Shallowly buried early to middle Holocene alluvium may be most extensive in the lower to middle reaches of tributaries to the major rivers.

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