The Archeology of Beaver Creek Shelter (39CU779): A Preliminary Statement


Beaver Creek Nature Area

Publication: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Author: Lynn Marie Alex

Date of Publication: 1989

PDF File: Alex-The-Archeology-of-Beaver-Creek-Shelter-39CU779-.pdf

Copyright Info: Unclassified

Description


The Beaver Creek Shelter (39CU779) is a north-facing rock shelter in Wind Cave National Park. Excavations were conducted by the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1985 and, again by that institution and the South Dakota Archaeological Research Center in 1985 and 1987. This work penetrated 4.77 m of vertical rock shelter sediments. The excavations defined 22 stratigraphic horizons, many of which contain archeological materials, and produced a sequence of 12 radiocarbon dates covering most of the Holocene. The archeological specimens, the stratifications, and the radiocarbon dates indicate the shelter has the potential of providing information on the transition from the Early to the Middle Archaic Periods, and of elucidating the interrelationship between climatic trends and human prehistory throughout the Holocene