The way of winds

Abstract

Wind and its connection to the decision-making of past peoples is an understudied topic in archaeological research. Mountainous environments create complex and sometimes extreme weather patterns. Past peoples held intimate knowledge of their landscape and its interactions with wind and weather patterns. The relative exposure of a location potentially factors into how humans positioned themselves on the landscape and, therefore, where they left behind archaeological materials. Computer applications such as WindNinja (Forthofer et al 2014) can generate high-resolution models that allow researchers to quantify differences in wind speeds across the landscape and, therefore, the relative favourability of some locations over others. This study uses modern surface wind data to assess the relationship between wind and archaeological site patterning in the High Lakes Plateau of the Beartooth Mountains (>2700 masl). Four hypotheses are presented and tested. To test these hypotheses, binomial logistic regression is used to generate general linear models (GLMs). The results from these tests suggest that inhabitants of the Beartooth Mountains primarily embraced locations with moderate wind speeds – perhaps as a means of avoiding biting insects – and secondarily locations with low wind speeds, as compared to other places on the landscape. The latter aligns with previous findings that cold environments (eg high latitude or high altitude) display site patterning that minimises exposure to surface winds. Overall, wind patterns explain site location to some degree, but human decision making is likely influenced by multiple other factors as well.