
The Great Basin
A Natural Prehistory
Donald Grayson(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 18. April 2011
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-0-520-26747-3 (ISBN)
Description
Covering a large swath of the American West, the Great Basin, centered in Nevada and including parts of California, Utah, and Oregon, is named for the unusual fact that none of its rivers or streams flow into the sea. This fascinating illustrated journey through deep time is the definitive environmental and human history of this beautiful and little traveled region, home to Death Valley, the Great Salt Lake, Lake Tahoe, and the Bonneville Salt Flats. Donald K. Grayson synthesizes what we now know about the past 25,000 years in the Great Basin - its climate, lakes, glaciers, plants, animals, and people - based on information gleaned from the region's exquisite natural archives in such repositories as lake cores, packrat middens, tree rings, and archaeological sites. A perfect guide for students, scholars, travelers, and general readers alike, the book weaves together history, archaeology, botany, geology, biogeography, and other disciplines into one compelling panorama across a truly unique American landscape.
Reviews / Votes
"Well supported by photographs, maps, and tables, along with detailed chapter notes and extensive references." Choice "It is ... an excellent resource for scholars and professionals working in the Great Basin and ... is essential for beginning archaeologists." -- Mark A. Giambastiani Journal Of Anthropological Research "This fascinating illustrated journey through deep time is the definitive environmental and human history of this beautiful and little traveled region, home to Death Valley, the Great Salt Lake, Lake Tahoe, and the Bonneville Salt Flats." Scienceblogs.com/The GuardianMore details
Edition
First Edition, Revised and Expanded Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
36 b-w photographs, 35 line illustrations, 46 maps, 38 tables
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
1361 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-26747-3 (9780520267473)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
04/2011
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€83.99
Available for download
Person
Donald K. Grayson is Professor of Anthropology and Adjunct Professor at the Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington. He is the author of The Desert's Past, the previous edition of his Great Basin prehistory, and The Establishment of Human Antiquity, an American Library Association "Best Book of the Year."
Content
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART ONE The Great Basins
1. Discovering a Great Basin
Chapter Notes
2. Modern Definitions of the Great Basin
The Hydrographic Great Basin
The Physiographic Great Basin
The Floristic Great Basin
The Ethnographic Great Basin
Choosing a Great Basin
Chapter Notes
PART TWO Some Ice Age Background
3. Glaciers, Sea Levels, and the Peopling of the Americas
The Bering Land Bridge and the Human Arrival
Identifying the Earliest American Archaeology
The Earliest American Archaeology
Chapter Notes
4. The End of the North American Pleistocene: Extinct Mammals and Early Peoples
The Mammals / 67
A Note on Eurasian Extinctions
Back to North America
What Caused the Extinctions?
Chapter Notes
PART THREE The Late Ice Age Great Basin
5. The Late Pleistocene Physical Environment: Lakes and Glaciers
Modern Great Basin Lakes
Pleistocene Lakes in the Great Basin
Great Basin Glaciers
The Relationship between Pleistocene Glaciers and Lakes in the Great Basin
Pluvial Lakes, Glaciers, and Late Pleistocene Climates
Chapter Notes
6. Late Pleistocene Vegetation of the Great Basin
Learning about Ancient Vegetation
Five Regional Pictures
A General Look at Late Pleistocene Great Basin Vegetation
Great Basin Conifers in Deeper Historical Perspective
Chapter Notes
7. Late Pleistocene Vertebrates of the Great Basin
The Extinct Late Pleistocene Mammals of the Great Basin
Extinct Late Pleistocene Birds
Altered Late Pleistocene Distributions of Existing Great Basin Mammals
Why Are There Fishes in Devils Hole, but None in the Great Salt Lake?
Other Vertebrates
Chapter Notes
PART FOUR The Last 10,000 Years
8. The Great Basin during the Holocene / 217
The Early Holocene (10,000 to 7,500 Years Ago)
The Middle Holocene (7,500 to 4,500 Years Ago)
The Late Holocene (The Last 4,500 Years)
Chapter Notes
PART FIVE Great Basin Archaeology
9. The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Great Basin
Pre-Clovis Sites in the Great Basin
The Latest Pleistocene and Early Holocene
The Middle Holocene
The Late Holocene
Chapter Notes
PART SIX Conclusions
10. The Great Basin Today and Tomorrow
Deer, Cougars, Porcupines, and Cattle
More Lessons from the Past
The Great Basin Today
Chapter Notes
APPENDIX 1: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RADIOCARBON AND CALENDAR YEARS FOR THE PAST 25,000 RADIOCARBON YEARS
APPENDIX 2: CONCORDANCE OF COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC PLANT NAMES
REFERENCES
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART ONE The Great Basins
1. Discovering a Great Basin
Chapter Notes
2. Modern Definitions of the Great Basin
The Hydrographic Great Basin
The Physiographic Great Basin
The Floristic Great Basin
The Ethnographic Great Basin
Choosing a Great Basin
Chapter Notes
PART TWO Some Ice Age Background
3. Glaciers, Sea Levels, and the Peopling of the Americas
The Bering Land Bridge and the Human Arrival
Identifying the Earliest American Archaeology
The Earliest American Archaeology
Chapter Notes
4. The End of the North American Pleistocene: Extinct Mammals and Early Peoples
The Mammals / 67
A Note on Eurasian Extinctions
Back to North America
What Caused the Extinctions?
Chapter Notes
PART THREE The Late Ice Age Great Basin
5. The Late Pleistocene Physical Environment: Lakes and Glaciers
Modern Great Basin Lakes
Pleistocene Lakes in the Great Basin
Great Basin Glaciers
The Relationship between Pleistocene Glaciers and Lakes in the Great Basin
Pluvial Lakes, Glaciers, and Late Pleistocene Climates
Chapter Notes
6. Late Pleistocene Vegetation of the Great Basin
Learning about Ancient Vegetation
Five Regional Pictures
A General Look at Late Pleistocene Great Basin Vegetation
Great Basin Conifers in Deeper Historical Perspective
Chapter Notes
7. Late Pleistocene Vertebrates of the Great Basin
The Extinct Late Pleistocene Mammals of the Great Basin
Extinct Late Pleistocene Birds
Altered Late Pleistocene Distributions of Existing Great Basin Mammals
Why Are There Fishes in Devils Hole, but None in the Great Salt Lake?
Other Vertebrates
Chapter Notes
PART FOUR The Last 10,000 Years
8. The Great Basin during the Holocene / 217
The Early Holocene (10,000 to 7,500 Years Ago)
The Middle Holocene (7,500 to 4,500 Years Ago)
The Late Holocene (The Last 4,500 Years)
Chapter Notes
PART FIVE Great Basin Archaeology
9. The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Great Basin
Pre-Clovis Sites in the Great Basin
The Latest Pleistocene and Early Holocene
The Middle Holocene
The Late Holocene
Chapter Notes
PART SIX Conclusions
10. The Great Basin Today and Tomorrow
Deer, Cougars, Porcupines, and Cattle
More Lessons from the Past
The Great Basin Today
Chapter Notes
APPENDIX 1: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RADIOCARBON AND CALENDAR YEARS FOR THE PAST 25,000 RADIOCARBON YEARS
APPENDIX 2: CONCORDANCE OF COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC PLANT NAMES
REFERENCES
INDEX