Paleoethnobotanical and Geoarchaeological Analyses at the Flying Goose Site (45PO435)

Thesis (M.A.), Anthropology, Washington State UniversityThe Flying Goose Site (45PO435), located along the Pend Oreille River in northeastern Washington, is a small Late Prehistoric burned structure. This thesis presents the results of paleoethnobotanical and geoarchaeological analyses conducted for five units of Feature 2. Drawing on natural environmental processes and regional ethnography, I formulate and evaluate three hypotheses: 1. Data from the natural profile at 45PO435 should reflect the soil and sediment processes of fluvial floodplains and coniferous montane systems; 2. The remains at Feature 2 were either a winter tipi or a women’s lodge; and 3. Vertical stratigraphic data indicate multiple events occurred at this location. Stratigraphic analysis illustrates that at least 5 discrete events occurred at Feature 2, including the initial structure construction, intentional structure destruction, deposition of an imported sandy sediment, subsequent natural riparian sediment deposition, and deposition of economically important plants at the top of this sequence. I suggest that this site be interpreted as the location of a women’s or menstrual lodge, and discuss my results through the lenses of symbolic anthropology, depositional histories, and social memory.Kalispel Tribe of Indians WSU Geoarchaeology LabCarney, Molly R. (2016). Paleoethnobotanical and Geoarchaeological Analyses at the Flying Goose Site (45PO435). MA thesis, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington