POLLEN, STARCH, MACROFLORAL, AND ORGANIC RESIDUE (FTIR) ANALYSIS OF SEDIMENT SAMPLES FROM SITE 45KI717, MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN RESERVATION, WASHINGTON

A total of 24 samples from site 45KI717 were submitted for archaeobotanical and
paleoenvironmental analyses. This site is located within the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation on
the Enumclaw Plateau, King County, Washington. Cultural materials are present from the
ground surface down to the upper bounding surface of the Osceola Mudflow, dating to about
5700 cal years BP. This site was discovered as a result of highway improvement activities.
Historic activities as well as natural processes have impacted the site and its cultural deposits.
Starch, pollen, macrofloral, and organic residue (FTIR) analyses of samples from possible
thermal features may provide subsistence information concerning plant and animal resources
utilized by the site occupants. Analysis of stratigraphic pollen samples from three excavation
units should provide paleoenvironmental information useful in better understanding how
vegetation at the site may have changed overtime, especially post-Osceola Mudflow event.
Additionally, pollen analysis should provide valuable information for the regional archaeological
database.