Sabin Hall, Room 149, UWM Campus

Home on the Range: Hunter-gatherer Household Archaeology in the northern Great Basin, Harney County, Oregon

The archaeological record of North America’s Great Basin is well-known for the longevity of the Archaic period. Emily Mueller Epstein presents the results of excavations at Late Archaic sites on Tse’tse’ede (Steens Mountain), Harney County, Oregon. Houses at two sites date to distinct climatic regimes. The presence and distribution of artifacts reveal household and community subsistence and social behaviors in addition to inter and intra-regional social connections. The archaeological sites are located on land managed by the Burns BLM district, which is adjacent the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Emily Mueller Epstein presents a summary of the recent illegal occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters as it relates to archaeological sites in the region.