Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Anthropology, 2005. / LEE-LIB copy has 96 pages instead of 96 leaves. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-96).

Thesis (PH. D.)--University of Nebraska, 1935. / Mimeographed. Bibliography: p. 122-124.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 K53 / Master of Science

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Anthropology, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

The ability of northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) to persist in intensively managed and selectively harvested forest habitats is largely unknown. To address the concern that populations of northern goshawks in eastern Oregon may be declining in response to habitat alteration, I studied occupancy rates and habitat relationships of nesting goshawks on the Fremont National Forest and adjacent private lands during 1992-1994. My objectives were to determine if historic territories (i.e., those occupied ��� 1 season during 1973-1991) were still occupied, document current site conditions and quantify changes in forest cover on those territories between 1973-1994, and compare present conditions of forest vegetation between nest sites that were currently occupied and those where I did not detect the presence of territorial goshawks (no-response sites). In 1994, I surveyed a forest-wide random sample of 51 historic nest sites, stratified by forest cover type. Occupancy of historic sites by goshawks was 29% (15 of 51), compared to 79% (30 of 38) mean annual occupancy rate of current territories (found initially during 1992-1994). Across all strata, 86% of current nest sites (n=38) were in Mid-aged or Late structural stage forest (trees >23 cm DBH) with >50% canopy closure. Among the historic territories used for analysis (n=46), those found occupied (n=15) in 1994 had significantly more Mid-aged Closed forest (average stand DBH 23-53 cm, <15 trees per ha >53 cm DBH; >50% canopy closure) and Late Closed forest (15 trees per ha >53 cm DBH; >50% canopy closure) than no-response sites (n=31). This relationship was significant (P<0.05) for circular scales of 12, 24, 52, 120, and 170 ha surrounding goshawk territory centers. Within the 52 ha scale around historic nest sites surveyed in 1994, occupied sites had 49% (SE=6.6) total Late Closed and Mid-aged Closed forest, while sites with no response had 19% (SE=3.0) total Late and Mid-aged Closed forest. Historic sites had 51% (SE=3.8) total Late and Mid-aged Closed forest when last known occupied before 1992. Among historic territories, mean percent area of habitat in Late Closed forest at the 12 ha nest stand scale was 4 times greater in occupied (27%) than in no-response sites (6%) (P<0.05). A logistic regression model for occupied sites confirmed the importance of Late Closed and Mid-aged Closed forests as indicators of quality habitat within the 52 ha scale on historic sites where goshawks were still present in 1994. Goshawk pairs were more likely to persist in historic territories having a high percentage of mature and older forest (about 50%) in closed-canopied conditions within the 52 ha scale, suggesting that little or no habitat alteration within aggregate nest stands is important to ensure the persistence of nesting pairs. I recommend preserving multiple nest stands within the 52 ha scale and discourage further cutting of large, late and old structure trees (>53 cm DBH) within the PFA to preserve stand integrity, maintain closed canopies, maintain connectivity to alternate nest stands, and optimize conditions for breeding goshawk pairs to persist. / Graduation date: 1998

Long-lived trees and excellent preservation of remnant wood allow examination of late-Holocene climate variability and its relation to woodland tree demography and populations of prehistoric agriculturalists in northeastern Utah using dendrochronological methods. Tree-ring chronologies are developed from Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga menziesii) and Colorado pinyon (Pinus edulis) on the Tavaputs Plateau covering the last 2,300 years. The climate reconstructions fill an important temporal and spatial gap in our understanding of moisture related climate variability in the region. We investigate the relationships between climate and woodland demography by constructing a 1,500-year record of pinyon establishment and death. Twentieth-century expansion and infill of pinyon/juniper woodlands and more recent widespread die-offs in the early 21st century heighten the importance of understanding these relationships. The climate reconstruction is analyzed in light of the archaeological record of Fremont agriculturalists between approximately AD 550 and 1300, and provides the first glimpse of climate variability throughout the Fremont era in this region.Results of the hydroclimate reconstructions show that multidecadal droughts unlike any observed in the instrumental record occur regularly over the last 2,000 years. Droughts in the mid 12th century and late 13th century are synchronous those found in numerous other records across the southwestern United States. A drought in the early 6th century is especially severe. Analysis of pinyon demography indicates rates of tree establishment, release, and death are highly variable over the last 1,500 years. Broad peaks in tree establishment occur in the 7th and 8th centuries, the 12th and 13th centuries, and again in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Higher tree death rates are related to dry periods, but tree establishment is only weakly associated with wetter periods. Instead, cohorts of suppressed young trees established over decades tend to synchronously experience rapid growth rate increases during wet periods following droughts. Stands appear more susceptible to population turnover as semi-dominant cohorts of trees age and decline. Two critical periods in Fremont archaeology in the region, coincide with significant changes in moisture conditions. These changes follow longer periods of stability suggesting that changes in the predictability of climate conditions may have impacted Fremont agriculturalists in the region.

Wolf Village is a Fremont farming village located at the southern end of Utah Valley where Brigham Young University has conducted six field schools there and recovered 135 awl and awl fragments. The Wolf Village awls, like the awls from many Fremont sites, represent a large range of morphological variability. Because of the ubiquity and diversity of Fremont bone awls, many different approaches have been taken to organize and understand them; focusing more on morphological characteristics than interpretation. In order to better understand the life use of bone awls, experiments were conducted to replicate the manufacture and use of these tools and to create a comparative collection for diagnostic characteristics. Based on the results of analysis and comparison, the craftspeople at Wolf Village used a variety of methods to make tools for use in basket-making, leatherwork, and other activities.

This thesis compares hypotheses about Fremont agricultural investment to evaluate the relationship between dry or rainfall farming and irrigation farming. Recent identification of a Fremont irrigation feature at Pleasant Creek provides an opportunity to study farming commitment through labor investment. A comparison of relative efficiencies of irrigated and dry-farmed maize using experimental digging exercises and cross-cultural comparisons generate data about the range of investment, carrying capacity, and the contexts of selection operating under circumstances like those at Pleasant Creek. The analysis shows that irrigated maize efficiency remains equivalent to or lower than dry-farmed maize. Irrigation labor costs influence maize return rates more with fewer years of canal operation and suggest that technological investment in irrigation at the project site would be “worth it” only with anticipated long-term commitment. For instance, labor costs of irrigation amortized over time show that initial construction costs no longer affect energetic return rates of maize after four to six years of canal use. Beyond this span of time, field labor and processing time condition overall return rates more than distinctive labor costs of irrigation. The application of carrying capacity scenarios indicates the canal likely supported between 30 and 100 individuals. Analysis of infrastructural complexity and labor group size suggests that Pleasant Creek was home to a group operating within complexity beyond egalitarian forager organization. The level of investment and productivity suggests a community, likely bound by kinship ties with a corporate management style, engaged in subsistence-level agriculture that served to expand the farmable area and reduce the risk of food shortage in an agriculturally marginal area.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Arizona, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-179).

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Anthropology and Archaeology. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-153).