Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology

The dating of the Pinto Period has long been a major issue in Mojave Desert prehistory. Competitive chronologies place it within two significantly different time intervals, and lead to quite different interpretations of the ancient desert lifeway. Projectile points from radiocarbon-dated strata at the Rogers Ridge site support the case for an early occupation dating between 6,000 and 6,400 B.P. This paper presents and discusses the implications of the evidence from Rogers Ridge.