Archaeological Evidence of Storage on the Snake River Plain

Mark G. Plew, Boise State University

Abstract

This article reviews the archaeological evidence for storage on the Snake River Plain. A review of the literature indicates the presence of four types of facilities that include small shallow oval-basin shaped pits with rounded bottoms, larger but shallow oval-shaped pits, sagebrush platforms in ice caves, and stone and grass platform beds. The evidence of storage features is, however, quite limited in the Middle and Late Archaic periods. Though preservation and sampling may well account for distribution, a number of other explanations are provided.