The Northern Rocky Mountain Front (hereafter Northern Front) is a prominent geographic feature in archaeological models of human dispersal in the terminal Pleistocene and Early Holocene of North America. Testing those models has been arduous because of local geomorphological factors that tend to obliterate or otherwise limit access to archaeological finds of relevant age. In this paper, we present well-stratified archaeological and environmental records dating back to 14,000–13,000 cal yr BP from the site of Billy Big Spring (Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Montana), located on a glacial kettle, a type of landform that has been largely ignored by regional archaeological research to date. Findings from Billy Big Spring show the continuous use of the Northern Front foothills throughout the major climatic and environmental disturbances of the Early Holocene, and possibly the terminal Pleistocene as well. As such, Billy Big Spring contributes to refining several archaeological models of early settlement of the Northern Front, particularly those that posit differential use of foothills versus plains settings during the midst of the Holocene Thermal Maximum. The record at Billy Big Spring also suggests that kettles, regardless of physiographic setting, provide a yet unsuspected and unsampled potential for preserving high-quality and easily accessible early archaeological and paleoenvironmental records.

中文翻译：

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冰川水壶作为北落基山脉前部早期人类定居点的档案

北落基山前线（以下简称北前线）是北美更新世末期和全新世早期人类传播考古模型中的一个突出地理特征。由于当地的地貌因素往往会抹杀或以其他方式限制对相关年龄的考古发现的访问，因此对这些模型的测试一直很艰巨。在本文中，我们展示了可追溯到 14,000–13,000 cal yr BP 的分层考古和环境记录，该地点位于比利大泉 (Blackfeet Indian Reservation, 蒙大拿州)，位于冰川水壶上，这是一种已被迄今为止，在很大程度上被区域考古研究所忽视。Billy Big Spring 的调查结果表明，在全新世早期的主要气候和环境干扰以及可能的更新世末期，北部前线山麓的持续使用。因此，Billy Big Spring 有助于完善北部前线早期定居的几个考古模型，特别是那些假定在全新世热最大值期间对山麓与平原环境的不同使用的模型。Billy Big Spring 的记录还表明，无论自然地理环境如何，水壶都为保存高质量且易于获取的早期考古和古环境记录提供了一种尚未被怀疑和未经抽样的潜力。比利·大斯普林 (Billy Big Spring) 有助于完善北部前线早期定居的几个考古模型，特别是那些假定在全新世热最大值期间对山麓与平原环境的不同使用的模型。Billy Big Spring 的记录还表明，无论自然地理环境如何，水壶都为保存高质量且易于获取的早期考古和古环境记录提供了一种尚未被怀疑和未经抽样的潜力。比利·大斯普林 (Billy Big Spring) 有助于完善北部前线早期定居的几个考古模型，特别是那些假定在全新世热最大值期间对山麓与平原环境的不同使用的模型。Billy Big Spring 的记录还表明，无论自然地理环境如何，水壶都为保存高质量且易于获取的早期考古和古环境记录提供了一种尚未被怀疑和未经抽样的潜力。