Abstract

Past human groups of the High Plains have been variously characterized as starving nomads and affluent foragers. In fact, these terms do not capture the multi-faceted nature of the human foraging experience on the High Plains. Relying on human ecology and archaeological interpretations, this paper examines the coping strategies used by Late Prehistoric foragers in the high variance environment of the High Plains, which was relatively less variable during the early part of the Late Prehistoric time period and more variable in the later part.