POLLEN, PHYTOLITH, AND PROTEIN RESIDUE ANALYSIS AT SITES 48YE697 AND 48YE701, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING

A stratigraphic column from Site 48YE697 on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake was sampled for pollen and phytoliths. This column sequence is believed to represent the entire Holocene, with bottom samples possibly representing the Holocene-Pleistocene transition. A soil sample from beneath a butchered bison skull with a radiocarbon date of 800 + 60 BP also was sampled for pollen and phytoliths. Pollen and phytolith analyses of these column and soil samples are used to address questions concerning the paleoenvironment. A groundstone from Site 48YE701 on the eastern shore of Lake Yellowstone was washed to recover pollen, phytoliths and protein residues. Pollen and phytolith washes may determine plants processed with this piece of groundstone, while protein residue analysis addresses faunal subsistence.