Settlement Patterns Sample Clauses

Settlement Patterns. An ongoing issue has concerned the importance and permanence of settlement at Lake Cahuilla. Was the shoreline a magnet that drew large groups of migrants into the Salton Basin from surrounding regions for seasonal or year-round settlement when the lake was present? Or were lacustrine resources used primarily or exclusively on a more incidental and temporary basis, by groups that were more permanently based elsewhere, for instance in the Peninsular Range or on the Colorado River? ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1959), ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇’▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1971), and ▇▇▇▇▇ (1978) suggested that major population relocations to and from Lake Cahuilla occurred in response to its cycles. This “▇▇▇▇▇ model” was based at least in part on archaeological evidence for substantial perennial settlement near the lake’s northern end, in the Coachella Valley. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2011) recently suggested that archaeological evidence of “temporary camps” (a classification that has been applied to IMP-3999) along the southern sections of the Lake Cahuilla shoreline may be misleading, because the Yuman groups on the Colorado River and its delta were accustomed to live in dispersed rancherias rather than within strongly nucleated villages. According to ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ hypothesis, groups from the Colorado River’s delta relocated to the lake shore when the river shifted away from the delta to fill the lake, and returned to the delta when the lake desiccated. A contrary view was proposed by ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ (1976) and generally supported by ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1994a). According to the “▇▇▇▇▇ model,” the lake’s instability or impermanence discouraged too great a reliance on its resources, and their use was sporadic and incidental within the larger regional settlement system, particularly in the case of the eastern shoreline. Investigations at IMP-3999 may be able to shed light on the question of whether this site was used as a temporary camp, or whether it was occupied for a more extended period as a residential base by a small (family-sized) group. The functional range of artifacts present at the site may provide one clue: a residential base would be expected to contain evidence of more diverse activities than a temporary camp. Another line of evidence may be the amount and character of non-local items that are present in the assemblage. While some artifacts of exotic origin might well be carried along during a group’s move to a temporary camp, the camp’s occupants would not be expected to have made extended treks to bring in...