Abstract
Recent archaeological studies have increased our understanding of Early and Middle Holocene prehistoric occupation in the western Mojave Desert. These studies have also helped to resolve nearly a century of debate and disagreement regarding what defines the “Pinto Complex.” For this thesis, previously recovered and accessible Pinto Basin locality artifacts from the collections of Elizabeth and William Campbell in the 1930s, Carl and Jeanne Janish in the 1950s, and Adella Schroth in the 1990s were reanalyzed. Data from laboratory reanalysis were compared with assemblage data from three additional localities in the region known to contain a distinct Pinto complex assemblage (Awl, Goldstone, and Tiefort Basin) to identify variation in Early and Middle Holocene chronology, settlement, subsistence, technology, and trade and exchange in the Mojave Desert. Results of this study suggest the Pinto phenomenon was geographically vast, economically dynamic, and incorporated a diverse range of adaptive responses to local conditions. Another important outcome of this study is the determination that the Pinto Basin has potential for additional research and contains information that can inform our understanding of southwestern Great Basin occupation and human behavioral pattern, during the Early and Middle Holocene.