POLLEN, ORGANIC RESIDUE (FTIR), ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION (Pxrf), AND MACROFLORAL ANALYSIS OF FEATURE FILL SAMPLES FROM SITES STM-034, STM-036, STM-040, STM-045, STM-049 AND STM-060, SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

The Stateline Solar Farm (SSF) Project Area, located in the Mojave’s Desert’s Ivanpah Valley, San Bernardino County, California, occupies a predominately flat area between several mountain ranges. Lakebed and alluvial fans dating through the Pleistocene as well as a Precambrian outcrop comprise the 6,487 acres encompassed by the project area (Hannah Hicok, personal communication May 6, 2015). During construction monitoring archaeologists located four possible hearths (STM-034, STM-036, STM-040, STM-045) exposed during heavy equipment soil removal. Four samples, one from each feature, were submitted for pollen, organic residue (FTIR), and elemental composition (pXRF) analysis to determine the features’ uses (Hannah Hicok, personal communication May 6, 2015). Sediment samples from additional features exposed at Sites STM-049 and STM-060 were subsequently submitted for pollen and macrofloral analysis.