Precontact Pathways from Walhalla Plateau to Unkar Delta

Michelle Neathammer
neathammer@arizona.edu

Presentation Time: Mon, 05/01/2023 - 11:00

Keywords: Unkar Delta, Walhalla Plateau, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Least Cost Path (LCP)

Abstract

The Grand Canyon is a magnificent environment of contrasting terrain. At first glance, the canyon may appear inaccessible, challenging, and feel like a complete barrier. Despite the environmental outlook of both Unkar Delta and Walhalla Plateau, it has long been home to precontact occupations. These individuals lived and thrived in this environment for many years, and successfully managed to navigate the canyon’s terrain season after season.
The goal of this study is to better understand and quantify how precontact populations seasonally traveled from Walhalla Plateau near the north rim of the Grand Canyon to Unkar Delta along the banks of the Colorado River. Many factors contribute to the movement in and out of the Grand Canyon, and from this a couple research questions arise. First, was there an optimal path of travel for precontact populations? Second, which aspects of landscape will affect travel cost?
This report describes an array of information that is pertinent to the understanding of precontact human foot travel. Using techniques derived from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), a visualization is constructed to further conceptualize this topic. The key themes discussed in the study are the geologic strata that poses the most hindrance to human movement, the culture and history of Unkar Delta as well as Walhalla Plateau, and finally the maps that are generated.