Gatecliff was excavated by archaeologist David Hurst Thomas in the 1970s, and the faunal record detailed by Donald Grayson. A total of 16 human occupations were identified at Gatecliffe, spanning between about 5500-5300 BP to 1250 BP; in particular, Gatecliff includes important Archaic period occupations.
Interleaved between these layers are deposits that have no human occupations, but still contain excellent faunal preservation leading to further understanding of the ecology of the Monitor Valley beginning about 6600 years ago.
Sources
This article is a part of the About.com Guide to the American Archaic, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology.
Grayson, Donald K. 1991 The small mammals of Gatecliff Shelter: Did people make a difference? Pp. 99-109 in Beamers, Bobwhites, and Blue-Points: Tributes to the Career of Paul W. Parmalee. Illinois State Museum Scientific Papers Vol. 23.
Thomas, David Hurst. 1983. the Archaeology of Monitor Valley: 2. Gatecliff Shelter. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 59(1):1-552.
