K N Mcdonough
Biographic Data
| ID | 37969 |
|---|---|
| NAME | K N Mcdonough |
| GIVEN NAMES | K N |
| FAMILY NAME | Mcdonough |
| SIGNATURE | MCDONOUGH K N |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Oregon |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2882-897X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 38 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Tobacco Use and Its Early Consumption with Smoking Pipes
The presence of tobacco ( Nicotiana spp.) seeds in a terminal Pleistocene cultural feature confirms human use of tobacco in the Americas for more than 12,000 years. Throughout the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco came to be a central element in prayer and purification rituals and medical treatments, as well as part of a solemnizing ritual in diplomatic settings. However, the nature of its earliest use—whether smoked, chewed, steeped, or …
An early Holocene crescent and associated technologies at Connley Cave 6, Oregon
Crescents are flaked stone tools found throughout western North America that are often associated with waterbodies and projectile points diagnostic of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, such as the Western Stemmed Tradition. Archaeologists continue to debate the function of crescents and they remain poorly dated outside of the Channel Islands. Here we report a crescent from recent excavations at Connley Cave 6 in central Oregon and provide …
The Western Stemmed Tradition Components of Last Supper Cave, Nevada
Last Supper Cave (LSC) is located in northwestern Nevada. It was excavated by Thomas Layton in the early 1970s. Layton recovered Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) points and other stone tools from the cave’s lower strata suggesting that people visited the site during the early Holocene – a possibility subsequently confirmed by radiocarbon dating. Despite the fact that LSC contained a stratified record of human use spanning the Holocene, the collect…
Bayesian Analysis of Haskett Projectile Point Radiocarbon Dates in the Intermountain West Demonstrates Contemporaneity with Clovis and Folsom Points
We evaluate existing radiocarbon dates at sites containing Haskett stemmed projectile points, present 12 new dates from 5 components at 4 sites, and model the age of Haskett points in a multiphase Bayesian framework with trapezium boundaries. We present multiple models with variable prior information to explore the impacts of different interpretations of the archaeological record, and ultimately favor a model where Haskett points appeared between…
Frost Action during the Younger Dryas Inferred from Soil Micromorphology at Connley Cave 5, Oregon
The Younger Dryas chronozone is an abrupt climate event terminating the last glacial period ∼12,900–11,700 calendar years ago marked by rapid changes in regional human, floral, and faunal population dynamics across the globe. Working at Connley Cave 5 in the Fort Rock Basin, Oregon, we demonstrate that this cold event generated microscopic cryogenic features (frost action) which can be used to identify the presence of the Younger Dryas in the nor…
Does the evidence at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (Uruguay) support the claim of human occupation 30,000 years ago
Researchers at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (AdV), Uruguay, have argued that human occupation dates prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (33,000–31,000 cal BP) based on the presence of purported stone tools and cutmarks on bones. We provide a summary of their research and critically evaluate these claims. We conclude that the claims of a pre-LGM occupation at AdV are unsupported due to: (1) equivocal evidence that the purported stone tools are culturally mod…
Dating and Analysis of Western Stemmed Toolkits from the Legacy Collection of Connley Cave 4, Oregon
Stephen Bedwell excavated the Connley Caves in 1967 and 1968, uncovering dense Western Stemmed Tradition assemblages in the lowest deposits. Reporting a series of radiocarbon dates between 11,200 ± 200 14C yr BP and 9150 ± 150 14C yr BP, he suggested the earliest human occupation of Cave 4 dated to ∼11,000 14C yr BP. Subsequent researchers have questioned the veracity of his claim and the reliability of his data. We revisit Bedwell’s investigatio…
Expanding Paleoindian Diet Breadth
Paleoethnobotanical perspectives are essential for understanding past lifeways yet continue to be underrepresented in Paleoindian research. We present new archaeobotanical and radiocarbon data from combustion features within stratified cultural components at Connley Caves, Oregon, that reaffirm the inclusion of plants in the diet of Paleoindian groups. Botanical remains from three features in Connley Cave 5 show that people foraged for diverse dr…
Evidence for non-random distribution of pollen in human coprolites
Middle Holocene menus
New Research at Paisley Caves
Paisley Caves in Oregon has become well known due to early dates, and human presence in the form of coprolites, found to contain ancient human DNA. Questions remain over whether the coprolites themselves are human, or whether the DNA is mobile in the sediments. This brief introduces new research applying an integrated analytical approach combining sediment micromorphology and lipid biomarker analysis, which aims to resolve these problems
Current Research at the Connley Caves (35LK50)
The Connley Caves in the Fort Rock Basin of Oregon contain stratified deposits dating to the late Pleistocene/early Holocene transition and a stone tool assemblage characteristic of the Western Stemmed Tradition. This research brief details preliminary results including stratigraphic, geochronological, and cultural information yielded from Cave 4. Ongoing research at the site stands to shed light on WST technological activities, intra- and inter-…
Younger Dryas Archaeology and Human Experience at the Paisley Caves in the Northern Great Basin
Expanding Paleoindian Diet Breadth
Paleoethnobotanical perspectives are essential for understanding past lifeways yet continue to be underrepresented in Paleoindian research. We present new archaeobotanical and radiocarbon data from combustion features within stratified cultural components at Connley Caves, Oregon, that reaffirm the inclusion of plants in the diet of Paleoindian groups. Botanical remains from three features in Connley Cave 5 show that people foraged for diverse dr…
Middle Holocene menus
New Research at Paisley Caves
Paisley Caves in Oregon has become well known due to early dates, and human presence in the form of coprolites, found to contain ancient human DNA. Questions remain over whether the coprolites themselves are human, or whether the DNA is mobile in the sediments. This brief introduces new research applying an integrated analytical approach combining sediment micromorphology and lipid biomarker analysis, which aims to resolve these problems
Evidence for non-random distribution of pollen in human coprolites
Does the evidence at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (Uruguay) support the claim of human occupation 30,000 years ago
Researchers at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (AdV), Uruguay, have argued that human occupation dates prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (33,000–31,000 cal BP) based on the presence of purported stone tools and cutmarks on bones. We provide a summary of their research and critically evaluate these claims. We conclude that the claims of a pre-LGM occupation at AdV are unsupported due to: (1) equivocal evidence that the purported stone tools are culturally mod…
Dating and Analysis of Western Stemmed Toolkits from the Legacy Collection of Connley Cave 4, Oregon
Stephen Bedwell excavated the Connley Caves in 1967 and 1968, uncovering dense Western Stemmed Tradition assemblages in the lowest deposits. Reporting a series of radiocarbon dates between 11,200 ± 200 14C yr BP and 9150 ± 150 14C yr BP, he suggested the earliest human occupation of Cave 4 dated to ∼11,000 14C yr BP. Subsequent researchers have questioned the veracity of his claim and the reliability of his data. We revisit Bedwell’s investigatio…
Younger Dryas Archaeology and Human Experience at the Paisley Caves in the Northern Great Basin
Current Research at the Connley Caves (35LK50)
The Connley Caves in the Fort Rock Basin of Oregon contain stratified deposits dating to the late Pleistocene/early Holocene transition and a stone tool assemblage characteristic of the Western Stemmed Tradition. This research brief details preliminary results including stratigraphic, geochronological, and cultural information yielded from Cave 4. Ongoing research at the site stands to shed light on WST technological activities, intra- and inter-…
New Research at Paisley Caves
Paisley Caves in Oregon has become well known due to early dates, and human presence in the form of coprolites, found to contain ancient human DNA. Questions remain over whether the coprolites themselves are human, or whether the DNA is mobile in the sediments. This brief introduces new research applying an integrated analytical approach combining sediment micromorphology and lipid biomarker analysis, which aims to resolve these problems
Evidence for non-random distribution of pollen in human coprolites
Middle Holocene menus
Does the evidence at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (Uruguay) support the claim of human occupation 30,000 years ago
Researchers at Arroyo del Vizcaíno (AdV), Uruguay, have argued that human occupation dates prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (33,000–31,000 cal BP) based on the presence of purported stone tools and cutmarks on bones. We provide a summary of their research and critically evaluate these claims. We conclude that the claims of a pre-LGM occupation at AdV are unsupported due to: (1) equivocal evidence that the purported stone tools are culturally mod…
Dating and Analysis of Western Stemmed Toolkits from the Legacy Collection of Connley Cave 4, Oregon
Stephen Bedwell excavated the Connley Caves in 1967 and 1968, uncovering dense Western Stemmed Tradition assemblages in the lowest deposits. Reporting a series of radiocarbon dates between 11,200 ± 200 14C yr BP and 9150 ± 150 14C yr BP, he suggested the earliest human occupation of Cave 4 dated to ∼11,000 14C yr BP. Subsequent researchers have questioned the veracity of his claim and the reliability of his data. We revisit Bedwell’s investigatio…
Expanding Paleoindian Diet Breadth
Paleoethnobotanical perspectives are essential for understanding past lifeways yet continue to be underrepresented in Paleoindian research. We present new archaeobotanical and radiocarbon data from combustion features within stratified cultural components at Connley Caves, Oregon, that reaffirm the inclusion of plants in the diet of Paleoindian groups. Botanical remains from three features in Connley Cave 5 show that people foraged for diverse dr…
Frost Action during the Younger Dryas Inferred from Soil Micromorphology at Connley Cave 5, Oregon
The Younger Dryas chronozone is an abrupt climate event terminating the last glacial period ∼12,900–11,700 calendar years ago marked by rapid changes in regional human, floral, and faunal population dynamics across the globe. Working at Connley Cave 5 in the Fort Rock Basin, Oregon, we demonstrate that this cold event generated microscopic cryogenic features (frost action) which can be used to identify the presence of the Younger Dryas in the nor…
The Western Stemmed Tradition Components of Last Supper Cave, Nevada
Last Supper Cave (LSC) is located in northwestern Nevada. It was excavated by Thomas Layton in the early 1970s. Layton recovered Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) points and other stone tools from the cave’s lower strata suggesting that people visited the site during the early Holocene – a possibility subsequently confirmed by radiocarbon dating. Despite the fact that LSC contained a stratified record of human use spanning the Holocene, the collect…
Bayesian Analysis of Haskett Projectile Point Radiocarbon Dates in the Intermountain West Demonstrates Contemporaneity with Clovis and Folsom Points
We evaluate existing radiocarbon dates at sites containing Haskett stemmed projectile points, present 12 new dates from 5 components at 4 sites, and model the age of Haskett points in a multiphase Bayesian framework with trapezium boundaries. We present multiple models with variable prior information to explore the impacts of different interpretations of the archaeological record, and ultimately favor a model where Haskett points appeared between…
Tobacco Use and Its Early Consumption with Smoking Pipes
The presence of tobacco ( Nicotiana spp.) seeds in a terminal Pleistocene cultural feature confirms human use of tobacco in the Americas for more than 12,000 years. Throughout the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco came to be a central element in prayer and purification rituals and medical treatments, as well as part of a solemnizing ritual in diplomatic settings. However, the nature of its earliest use—whether smoked, chewed, steeped, or …
An early Holocene crescent and associated technologies at Connley Cave 6, Oregon
Crescents are flaked stone tools found throughout western North America that are often associated with waterbodies and projectile points diagnostic of the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, such as the Western Stemmed Tradition. Archaeologists continue to debate the function of crescents and they remain poorly dated outside of the Channel Islands. Here we report a crescent from recent excavations at Connley Cave 6 in central Oregon and provide …
Geography (11 works) · Archaeology (10 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (10 works) · Cave (9 works) · Geology (8 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (8 works) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (6 works) · Holocene (6 works) · Paleontology (5 works) · Pleistocene (5 works)