Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ABSTRACT \nIDENTIFYING TRACKWAYS USING STEP LENGTH: BEHAVIORAL \nINFERENCES FROM JAGUAR CAVE, TENNESSEE \nby \nKyle Aidan McCormick \nMaster of Arts in Anthropology \nCalifornia State University, Chico \nSpring 2010 \nPrehistoric behavior can be inferred through ephemeral forms of archaeological \nevidence including foot impressions. Traditionally, foot impressions have been \nanalyzed metrically and morphologically to provide information about the individuals \nwho created them, such as sex and age, and physical abnormalities of the foot. Foot impressions \ncan also be analyzed as a group by examining the relationship of foot impressions \nto one other and the surrounding environment. In some instances, it is possible to \ntrack routes taken by prehistoric people. Foot impressions in a route form a trackway. \nThe distance between two consecutive foot impressions of a trackway is step length. By \nanalyzing step lengths, it is possible to infer the locomotory pattern and behavior that \ncreated the trackway. This study identifies trackways of prehistoric foot impressions \nfound in a cave passage in Jaguar Cave, Tennessee, and assesses the behavior that created \nthese trackways. \nx \nJaguar Cave is a complex cave system in north-central Tennessee. An hour and \na half travel into the cave, in a dead-end passage named Aborigine Avenue, 274 foot \nimpressions were discovered by modern cavers in 1976. Radiocarbon dates from associated \ncharcoal suggested these impressions were created by prehistoric cavers around \n4500 B.P. Previous research on the number and distribution of inbound and outbound \nfoot impressions indicated these prehistoric cavers explored the cave passage as they \nentered and then made a more direct and expedient exit. This study examines that assertion. \nSixteen trackways are identified from the Jaguar Cave foot impressions. On \naverage, inbound step lengths are longer and more variable than outbound step lengths. \nAlso, inbound foot impression lengths are longer than outbound. \nThe majority of trackways are located in the middle of Aborigine Avenue \nwhere surface level and consistency are uniform. This uniformity implies that surface \nproperties do not affect locomotory patterns that created the inbound versus the outbound \nstep lengths. Furthermore, longer inbound foot impressions and observations of \nAborigine Avenue suggest that different individuals created the inbound and outbound \ntrackways. More variable inbound step lengths and more inbound foot impressions than \noutbound (150 inbound and 123 outbound), however, demonstrate the individuals that \ncreated the inbound trackways took more steps and stopped more often than those who \ncreated the outbound trackways. These observations are consistent with exploring. This \nstudy supports the assertion that prehistoric cavers explored as they entered Aborigine \nxi \nAvenue and then made a more direct and expedient exit. This study suggests that the \nearliest cave trips by humans in the southeastern United States were exploratory.
Author: Kyle Aidan McCormick
Language: English
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2115529256