Judson Byrd Finley
Biographic Data
| ID | 163381 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Judson Byrd Finley |
| GIVEN NAMES | Judson Byrd |
| FAMILY NAME | Finley |
| SIGNATURE | FINLEY J B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Utah State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0233-8630 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 280 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Arroyo formation impacts on an early dryland agricultural community in Northeastern Utah, USA
Indigenous Fremont farmers in Cub Creek, a part of northeastern Utah's Dinosaur National Monument, occupied the northern ecological margin of maize cultivation in western North America from A.D. 300 to 1300. Agriculture in Cub Creek was a response to multidecadal precipitation variability, but when precipitation stabilized between A.D. 750 and 1050, agricultural conditions improved and populations expanded to form villages along the floodplains o…
Fencing is perishable
His research focuses on Paleoindian lifeways, peopling of the Americas, site structure, hunter-gatherers, cultural ecology, chipped stone technology, and human use of rockshelters. Correspondence to: Marcel Kornfeld; University of Wyoming, Department 3431, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA. Email: [email protected]. AdovasioJ. M. Adovasio is currently the Director of Archaeology at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pitt…
Late Pleistocene environments of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming-Montana, USA
Limited numbers of high-resolution records predate the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) making it difficult to quantify the impacts of environmental changes prior to peak glaciation. We examined sediments from Last Canyon Cave in the Pryor Mountains of Montana and Wyoming to construct a >45 ka environmental record from pollen and stable isotope analysis. Artemisia pollen was hyper-abundant at the beginning of the record. Carbon isotope values of bulk o…
Landscape Engineering Impacts the Long-Term Stability of Agricultural Populations
Perishable artifacts from Last Canyon Cave, Montana
Perishable artifacts are rare finds in the Northwest Plains and the adjacent Rocky Mountains and any addition to the inventory makes a significant contribution. In the case of perishable objects from Last Canyon Cave in southern Montana, this is particularly true as one of the objects is unique to the region, a sandal. In this paper we describe the two items from Last Canyon, discuss their regional occurrence, and suggest the origin of the techno…
A first empirical analysis of population stability in North America using radiocarbon records
Questions regarding population stability among animals and plants are fundamental to population ecology, yet this has not been a topic studied by archeologists focusing on prehistoric human populations. This is an important knowledge gap. The fluctuation of human populations over decades to centuries – population instability – may constrain the expansion of human economies. A first step toward describing basic patterns of population stability wou…
Multidecadal Climate Variability and the Florescence of Fremont Societies in Eastern Utah
Fremont societies of the Uinta Basin incorporated domesticates into a foraging lifeway over a 1,000-year period from AD 300 to 1300. Fremont research provides a unique opportunity to critically examine the social and ecological processes behind the adoption and abandonment of domesticates by hunter-gatherers. We develop and integrate a 2,115-year precipitation reconstruction with a Bayesian chronological model for the growth of Fremont societies …
Compositional analysis of Intermountain Ware pottery manufacturing areas in western Wyoming, USA
Single-Grain Optically Stimulated Luminescence Ages of Brownware Pottery in the Middle Rocky Mountains and the Spread of Numic Ceramic Technology
This study presents the results of a single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (SG-OSL) analysis of brownware pottery from four Late Prehistoric-period sites in the Middle Rocky Mountains, Wyoming, USA. SG-OSL of quartz ceramic temper provides improved age control for sites where radiocarbon dating has proven problematic due to old wood, recent wildfires, and calibration uncertainties. SG-OSL results are compared to fine-grain infrared stimu…
Return to Fort Rock Cave
Oregon's Fort Rock Cave is iconic in respect to both the archaeology of the northern Great Basin and the history of debate about when the Great Basin was colonized. In 1938, Luther Cressman recovered dozens of sagebrush bark sandals from beneath Mt. Mazama ash that were later radiocarbon dated to between 10,500 and 9350 cal B.P. In 1970, Stephen Bedwell reported finding lithic tools associated with a date of more than 15,000 cal B.P., a date dism…
Flake Morphology, Fluvial Dynamics, and Debitage Transport Potential
Since archaeological sites are often located in or near fluvial environments, a thorough understanding of corresponding formation processes is a critical component of archaeological research. Within this context, we address the following question: how does flake morphology condition transport potential? Specifically, do flakes behave as the idealized spheres often used to characterize geological materials and if so, how might this process modify …
The frequency and typology of ceramic sites in western Wyoming
Native ceramics are rare in the northwestern High Plains and Central Rocky Mountains where prehistory is dominated by mobile foraging societies and pottery appears late in the archaeological record. Our survey of the Wyoming Cultural Resource Information System for 11 western Wyoming counties and the Yellowstone National Park found 209 sites with sherd frequencies ranging from less than 10 to more than 1,000 yielding an estimate of 6175 total she…
Obsidian Source Use in the Greater Yellowstone Area, Wyoming Basin, and Central Rocky Mountains
Using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis from nearly 2,300 sourced obsidian artifacts in western Wyoming, southwestern Montana, and eastern Idaho, we demonstrate regional diachronic changes in access to and preference for particular obsidian sources throughout the West. We focus on both (I) long-term patterns of obsidian use that may inform us about the timing of precontact migrations of Numic (Shoshone) speakers into the Rocky Mountains and (2) t…
Domestic campsites and cyber landscapes in the Rocky Mountains
The dwellings of prehistoric Native North Americans are amongst the hardest archaeological structures to find and characterise - they leave only a shallow ring of stones. But the authors show that, when recorded to modern levels of precision, these tipi-stances contain a wealth of information. The stone rings are mapped in detail by hand, and located by GPS, their hearths are located by fluxgate survey and sampled for radiocarbon dating, and the …
Correcting temporal frequency distributions for taphonomic bias
Rockshelter Archaeology and Geoarchaeology in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming
This paper reports on 10 years of research at the Black Mountain Archaeological District, located in north central Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountain range. It focuses specifically on two rockshelters: 48BH1827 (Two Moon Shelter) and 48BH1065 (BA Cave). Two Moon Shelter bears stratified Paleoindian deposits that include a Folsom projectile point fragment, a 10,060 ± 60 B.P. radiocarbon date, and an undated Paleoindian component positioned stratigraphical…
Correcting temporal frequency distributions for taphonomic bias
Obsidian Source Use in the Greater Yellowstone Area, Wyoming Basin, and Central Rocky Mountains
Using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis from nearly 2,300 sourced obsidian artifacts in western Wyoming, southwestern Montana, and eastern Idaho, we demonstrate regional diachronic changes in access to and preference for particular obsidian sources throughout the West. We focus on both (I) long-term patterns of obsidian use that may inform us about the timing of precontact migrations of Numic (Shoshone) speakers into the Rocky Mountains and (2) t…
Flake Morphology, Fluvial Dynamics, and Debitage Transport Potential
Since archaeological sites are often located in or near fluvial environments, a thorough understanding of corresponding formation processes is a critical component of archaeological research. Within this context, we address the following question: how does flake morphology condition transport potential? Specifically, do flakes behave as the idealized spheres often used to characterize geological materials and if so, how might this process modify …
A first empirical analysis of population stability in North America using radiocarbon records
Questions regarding population stability among animals and plants are fundamental to population ecology, yet this has not been a topic studied by archeologists focusing on prehistoric human populations. This is an important knowledge gap. The fluctuation of human populations over decades to centuries – population instability – may constrain the expansion of human economies. A first step toward describing basic patterns of population stability wou…
The frequency and typology of ceramic sites in western Wyoming
Native ceramics are rare in the northwestern High Plains and Central Rocky Mountains where prehistory is dominated by mobile foraging societies and pottery appears late in the archaeological record. Our survey of the Wyoming Cultural Resource Information System for 11 western Wyoming counties and the Yellowstone National Park found 209 sites with sherd frequencies ranging from less than 10 to more than 1,000 yielding an estimate of 6175 total she…
Multidecadal Climate Variability and the Florescence of Fremont Societies in Eastern Utah
Fremont societies of the Uinta Basin incorporated domesticates into a foraging lifeway over a 1,000-year period from AD 300 to 1300. Fremont research provides a unique opportunity to critically examine the social and ecological processes behind the adoption and abandonment of domesticates by hunter-gatherers. We develop and integrate a 2,115-year precipitation reconstruction with a Bayesian chronological model for the growth of Fremont societies …
Domestic campsites and cyber landscapes in the Rocky Mountains
The dwellings of prehistoric Native North Americans are amongst the hardest archaeological structures to find and characterise - they leave only a shallow ring of stones. But the authors show that, when recorded to modern levels of precision, these tipi-stances contain a wealth of information. The stone rings are mapped in detail by hand, and located by GPS, their hearths are located by fluxgate survey and sampled for radiocarbon dating, and the …
Return to Fort Rock Cave
Oregon's Fort Rock Cave is iconic in respect to both the archaeology of the northern Great Basin and the history of debate about when the Great Basin was colonized. In 1938, Luther Cressman recovered dozens of sagebrush bark sandals from beneath Mt. Mazama ash that were later radiocarbon dated to between 10,500 and 9350 cal B.P. In 1970, Stephen Bedwell reported finding lithic tools associated with a date of more than 15,000 cal B.P., a date dism…
Rockshelter Archaeology and Geoarchaeology in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming
This paper reports on 10 years of research at the Black Mountain Archaeological District, located in north central Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountain range. It focuses specifically on two rockshelters: 48BH1827 (Two Moon Shelter) and 48BH1065 (BA Cave). Two Moon Shelter bears stratified Paleoindian deposits that include a Folsom projectile point fragment, a 10,060 ± 60 B.P. radiocarbon date, and an undated Paleoindian component positioned stratigraphical…
Perishable artifacts from Last Canyon Cave, Montana
Perishable artifacts are rare finds in the Northwest Plains and the adjacent Rocky Mountains and any addition to the inventory makes a significant contribution. In the case of perishable objects from Last Canyon Cave in southern Montana, this is particularly true as one of the objects is unique to the region, a sandal. In this paper we describe the two items from Last Canyon, discuss their regional occurrence, and suggest the origin of the techno…
Single-Grain Optically Stimulated Luminescence Ages of Brownware Pottery in the Middle Rocky Mountains and the Spread of Numic Ceramic Technology
This study presents the results of a single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (SG-OSL) analysis of brownware pottery from four Late Prehistoric-period sites in the Middle Rocky Mountains, Wyoming, USA. SG-OSL of quartz ceramic temper provides improved age control for sites where radiocarbon dating has proven problematic due to old wood, recent wildfires, and calibration uncertainties. SG-OSL results are compared to fine-grain infrared stimu…
Rockshelter Archaeology and Geoarchaeology in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming
This paper reports on 10 years of research at the Black Mountain Archaeological District, located in north central Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountain range. It focuses specifically on two rockshelters: 48BH1827 (Two Moon Shelter) and 48BH1065 (BA Cave). Two Moon Shelter bears stratified Paleoindian deposits that include a Folsom projectile point fragment, a 10,060 ± 60 B.P. radiocarbon date, and an undated Paleoindian component positioned stratigraphical…
Correcting temporal frequency distributions for taphonomic bias
Domestic campsites and cyber landscapes in the Rocky Mountains
The dwellings of prehistoric Native North Americans are amongst the hardest archaeological structures to find and characterise - they leave only a shallow ring of stones. But the authors show that, when recorded to modern levels of precision, these tipi-stances contain a wealth of information. The stone rings are mapped in detail by hand, and located by GPS, their hearths are located by fluxgate survey and sampled for radiocarbon dating, and the …
Obsidian Source Use in the Greater Yellowstone Area, Wyoming Basin, and Central Rocky Mountains
Using x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis from nearly 2,300 sourced obsidian artifacts in western Wyoming, southwestern Montana, and eastern Idaho, we demonstrate regional diachronic changes in access to and preference for particular obsidian sources throughout the West. We focus on both (I) long-term patterns of obsidian use that may inform us about the timing of precontact migrations of Numic (Shoshone) speakers into the Rocky Mountains and (2) t…
The frequency and typology of ceramic sites in western Wyoming
Native ceramics are rare in the northwestern High Plains and Central Rocky Mountains where prehistory is dominated by mobile foraging societies and pottery appears late in the archaeological record. Our survey of the Wyoming Cultural Resource Information System for 11 western Wyoming counties and the Yellowstone National Park found 209 sites with sherd frequencies ranging from less than 10 to more than 1,000 yielding an estimate of 6175 total she…
Flake Morphology, Fluvial Dynamics, and Debitage Transport Potential
Since archaeological sites are often located in or near fluvial environments, a thorough understanding of corresponding formation processes is a critical component of archaeological research. Within this context, we address the following question: how does flake morphology condition transport potential? Specifically, do flakes behave as the idealized spheres often used to characterize geological materials and if so, how might this process modify …
Single-Grain Optically Stimulated Luminescence Ages of Brownware Pottery in the Middle Rocky Mountains and the Spread of Numic Ceramic Technology
This study presents the results of a single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (SG-OSL) analysis of brownware pottery from four Late Prehistoric-period sites in the Middle Rocky Mountains, Wyoming, USA. SG-OSL of quartz ceramic temper provides improved age control for sites where radiocarbon dating has proven problematic due to old wood, recent wildfires, and calibration uncertainties. SG-OSL results are compared to fine-grain infrared stimu…
Return to Fort Rock Cave
Oregon's Fort Rock Cave is iconic in respect to both the archaeology of the northern Great Basin and the history of debate about when the Great Basin was colonized. In 1938, Luther Cressman recovered dozens of sagebrush bark sandals from beneath Mt. Mazama ash that were later radiocarbon dated to between 10,500 and 9350 cal B.P. In 1970, Stephen Bedwell reported finding lithic tools associated with a date of more than 15,000 cal B.P., a date dism…
Compositional analysis of Intermountain Ware pottery manufacturing areas in western Wyoming, USA
A first empirical analysis of population stability in North America using radiocarbon records
Questions regarding population stability among animals and plants are fundamental to population ecology, yet this has not been a topic studied by archeologists focusing on prehistoric human populations. This is an important knowledge gap. The fluctuation of human populations over decades to centuries – population instability – may constrain the expansion of human economies. A first step toward describing basic patterns of population stability wou…
Multidecadal Climate Variability and the Florescence of Fremont Societies in Eastern Utah
Fremont societies of the Uinta Basin incorporated domesticates into a foraging lifeway over a 1,000-year period from AD 300 to 1300. Fremont research provides a unique opportunity to critically examine the social and ecological processes behind the adoption and abandonment of domesticates by hunter-gatherers. We develop and integrate a 2,115-year precipitation reconstruction with a Bayesian chronological model for the growth of Fremont societies …
Late Pleistocene environments of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming-Montana, USA
Limited numbers of high-resolution records predate the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) making it difficult to quantify the impacts of environmental changes prior to peak glaciation. We examined sediments from Last Canyon Cave in the Pryor Mountains of Montana and Wyoming to construct a >45 ka environmental record from pollen and stable isotope analysis. Artemisia pollen was hyper-abundant at the beginning of the record. Carbon isotope values of bulk o…
Landscape Engineering Impacts the Long-Term Stability of Agricultural Populations
Perishable artifacts from Last Canyon Cave, Montana
Perishable artifacts are rare finds in the Northwest Plains and the adjacent Rocky Mountains and any addition to the inventory makes a significant contribution. In the case of perishable objects from Last Canyon Cave in southern Montana, this is particularly true as one of the objects is unique to the region, a sandal. In this paper we describe the two items from Last Canyon, discuss their regional occurrence, and suggest the origin of the techno…
Arroyo formation impacts on an early dryland agricultural community in Northeastern Utah, USA
Indigenous Fremont farmers in Cub Creek, a part of northeastern Utah's Dinosaur National Monument, occupied the northern ecological margin of maize cultivation in western North America from A.D. 300 to 1300. Agriculture in Cub Creek was a response to multidecadal precipitation variability, but when precipitation stabilized between A.D. 750 and 1050, agricultural conditions improved and populations expanded to form villages along the floodplains o…
Fencing is perishable
His research focuses on Paleoindian lifeways, peopling of the Americas, site structure, hunter-gatherers, cultural ecology, chipped stone technology, and human use of rockshelters. Correspondence to: Marcel Kornfeld; University of Wyoming, Department 3431, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82071, USA. Email: [email protected]. AdovasioJ. M. Adovasio is currently the Director of Archaeology at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pitt…
Geography (13 works) · Archaeology (12 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (12 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (12 works) · Geology (10 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (9 works) · Geology (7 works) · Radiocarbon dating (7 works) · Paleontology (6 works) · Ecology (5 works)