The massive literature on hunter-gatherer intensification usually considers population increase, environmental productivity, or technological innovation as its major drivers, though researchers disagree on which initiates the process. The examination of the Late Holocene Uinta phase of the southern Wyoming Basin documents the intensification process and the relationship of technological innovation, population increase, and environmental change. The introduction and complete adoption of the bow and arrow from 1800 to 1500 cal BP coincides with the sharp increase of radiocarbon dates and population growth, as well as climatic change from Neoglacial cooling to warmer and wetter conditions. Of these factors, the introduction of a significant new technology appears to have been the initial force in the process. The intensification process resulted in the Late Holocene population reducing their foraging efficiency to include low return-rate seeds of weedy species leading to the possible privatization of some resources and the transformation of their adaptive strategy to a delayed-return system that incorporated storage, reduction of residential mobility, and a longer-term occupation of certain locations.

关于猎人与采集者集约化的大量文献通常将人口增长，环境生产力或技术创新视为主要驱动力，尽管研究人员对此并不认同。对怀俄明盆地南部的全新世晚期Uinta相的研究记录了强化过程以及技术创新，人口增长和环境变化之间的关系。从1800到1500 cal BP的弓箭的引入和完全采用，与放射性碳年代和人口增长的急剧增加，以及从新冰期降温到温暖湿润的气候变化相吻合。在这些因素中，引入重要的新技术似乎已成为该过程的最初动力。