Fishing Bridge Point (48YE381): A Stratified Prehistoric Site at Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming

Abstract

Excavations at the Fishing Bridge Point site (48YE381) at Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming reveal stratified Early Archaic, Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, and Late Prehistoric period occupations. Results of specialized studies such as lithics, X-ray fluorescence, protein residue, pollen, ethnobotanical, and sub-surface imaging contribute to existing information regarding prehistoric human use of high-elevation lake basins within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Among the significant findings are the remains of the only radiocarbon-dated Early Archaic hearth feature excavated within Yellowstone National Park. Lithic raw material use patterns of Native Americans in the Early Archaic occupation greatly contrast those from the nearby Late Paleoindian Osprey Beach site, suggesting changing material use patterns at the beginning of the Holocene at Yellowstone Lake. Late Prehistoric lithic material use patterns also contrast those of the preceding Middle and Late Archaic periods.