Changing river

Written in response to the USGS's call for a research design that could be used as a framework for prioritizing cultural resources in the Colorado River ecosystem below Glen Canyon Dam, a comprehensive study includes summaries of current environmental conditions and previous research and brings together diverse archaeological opinions about Grand Canyon's human story. It then presents a theoretical basis for using a landscape approach to organize future research efforts in the canyon, exploring the geophysical, paleoclimatic, and biological parameters that have shaped the canyon landscape and influenced choices made by humans as they attempted to adapt to this ecosystem. The book also examines the distribution of cultural materials and patterns, using several archaeological approaches, and investigates natural and cultural realms as mutually reinforcing and interacting components of an integrated ecosystem to which humans have applied meaning and value over time.