[i] ABSTRACT

The Sunset Creek Site (45-KT-28) is located along the Columbia River on the western edge of the semiarid heartland of the Columbia Plateau — an area which was probably heavily utilized by aboriginal peoples throughout the prehistoric record. Salvage work was conducted at the site by the Washington Archaeological Society between fall 1957 and spring 1963, when the site was inundated by the filling of the Wanapum Dam Reservoir Area. A total of 4,657 artifacts recovered from the site represent seven cultural components which are grouped into five reconstructed phases for the Vantage locale. A general statement is made concerning the application of spatial and temporal terminology to Plateau archaeology. Also, a summary of Plateau ecology, physiography, and ethnography is provided. Major works and models in Plateau prehistory are reviewed and discussed in relation to the cultural assemblages from the site. Of prime importance is a synthesis of Plateau prehistory which contains an hypothesis based on inferences concerning diffusion, acculturation, and migration, which accounts for the spread of Salishan peoples throughout the northern Plateau and establishment of the winter village pattern of life, which identifies the emergence of ethnographic Plateau culture. [i]

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LAST REVISED: 25 FEB 2015