ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE PLEISTOCENE-HOLOCENE TRANSITION IN EASTERN NORTH-AMERICA

The most recently investigated significant sites dating to the Late Pl eistocene and Early Holocene in eastern North America are reviewed, wi th special attention devoted to sires in the north, extending From the Great Lakes area east to the New England-Canadian Maritimes region. I n archaeological terms, these sites dare to the time of the Paleoindia n to Archaic transition. Despite the problems of Late Pleistocene-Earl y Holocene C-14 'plateaus', chronological advances have occurred throu gh the recent reporting of several, often stratified, C-14 or geoarcha eologically dated sites. These sites also provide some insight into su bsistence practices and the environmental context of the occupations a nd, particularly, for the earliest dating occupations in the north. Se veral trends in stone tool technology are also becoming well-documente d, such as a shift from more formalized to more expedient core reducti on strategies, an increasing reliance on more coarse-grained rocks, an d the appearance of ground stone tools. Nonetheless, at the present ti me it is extremely difficult to characterize and understand the enviro nmental coping strategies of the human occupants of the time because o f (1) poor control of environmental and cultural variability in time a nd space; (2) limited numbers of known sites; and (3) a paucity of sub sistence remains. (C) 1998 INQUA/Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese rved.