Introduction

In recent years studies by Binford (1979), Shott (1986, 1989), Torrence (1983, 1987), Bleed (1986), and others have significantly contributed to the understanding of the relationships between land–use patterns, technological organization, and assemblage composition. These studies focus primarily on the conditioning effects of subsistence organization. The effects of abandonment processes upon assemblage composition have received relatively less attention. In general, assemblage structure and content are seen as conditioned by artifact use life (Schiffer 1975; Shott 1989), various discard behaviors (Deal 1985; Schiffer 1987), and curation at the time of site abandonment (Binford 1973; Schiffer 1987). Abandonment studies have alerted us to another series of processes that condition the composition of archaeological assemblages (Joyce and Johannessen 1987; Lange and Rydberg 1972; Schiffer 1987; Stevenson 1982). Stevenson, working at nineteenth–century gold rush mining camps, was the first to consider systematically the effects of abandonment conditions on the proportion of curated and discarded artifacts. Based on the composition of abandoned assemblages and the presence of abandonment caches, Stevenson also suggested, among other things, that the anticipation of return may significantly affect abandonment behavior.

The gold rush camps distributed along Bullion Creek were abandoned relatively suddenly and in an unplanned manner because of flooding, poor working conditions, and the discovery of a rich strike some distance from Bullion Creek. The camps located on Mush Creek were abandoned under more normal conditions, and without anticipation of return (Stevenson 1982:238–40).