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Great Basin Study Finds Cave Burials Were Widespread
A new archaeological study challenges the long-held idea that cave burials in the lower Lahontan drainage basin were a unique or exceptional practice. Research comparing burial patterns across the Great Basin shows that the use of caves and rock shelters for interment was neither rare nor confined to one area.
The lower Lahontan drainage basin in western Nevada and the Bonneville Basin in western Utah occupy adjacent parts of the Intermountain West. Both regions have long occupational histories, extending back more than 13,000 years. Previous interpretations suggested that cave burials in the Lahontan Basin represented a distinctive cultural tradition beginning in the Paleoindian period. The new analysis, however, finds broadly similar practices across both basins.
Burials occurred in a wide range of contexts, including houses, middens near dwellings, open-air locations, caves, and rock shelters used for daily activities. In both regions, caves were sometimes selected specifically for burial, but more commonly they formed part of residential or work spaces. Open-air burials were far more numerous than cave burials overall.
The main difference identified between the two basins lies in scale rather than practice. The Lahontan Basin contains a higher number of cave burials, including some caves used exclusively for funerary purposes. This pattern is interpreted as reflecting higher population levels and the availability of extensive wetlands and dry caves, rather than a distinct belief system.
The findings indicate that cave and rock-shelter burials were part of a broader Great Basin tradition shaped by environmental conditions, mobility strategies, and population density. Rather than representing a unique spiritual phenomenon, burial practices in the Lahontan Basin appear to fit within a regional pattern shared across much of the Intermountain West.
Published on: 07-02-2026
Edited by: Abdulmnam Samakie
Source: Phys.org