Native American Uses

The abundance of birds, animals, and plants found in the Harney Basin provided Native Americans with plenty of food and resources for over 11,000 years. Use of the area was greatly influenced by climatic changes, some lasting one or two centuries. In turn, these changes altered the range of plants across the basin, influencing both wildlife and human use.

Early Use of the Harney Basin

Archaeological research shows that people were using the area now managed by Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 9,800 years ago. At that time, the Harney Basin contained a huge lake covering 255,000 acres. Early inhabitants used the plants and animals found along the lake’s edge and in the surrounding uplands. Hunters used spears to hunt large game animals.

Ground stone tools used to process plants, including grass seeds and roots, have been found from this period. However, these tools are not abundant, suggesting that plant foods were not processed as extensively as they were during later periods. The abundance of plant resources also provided materials for making baskets. Around this time, twined bags, mats, burden baskets, and trays began to appear in the archaeological record.

Climate Change and Changing Patterns of Use

The climate then became progressively drier, causing lake levels to fall. For a time, the shallower lake allowed the marsh covering Malheur Lake to increase in size, supporting more plants and wildlife. Eventually, continued drying caused the marsh to shrink and disappear, limiting the resources available to both people and wildlife.

As the climate became drier, evidence of Native American use of the immediate area decreased. The inhabitants increasingly focused their activities around higher-elevation springs. Stone tools show that animals continued to be hunted in the area, while hunting technology gradually changed from spears to the atlatl and dart.

The atlatl is a piece of wood shaped with a handle on one end and a hook on the other. It was used to hurl a light spear, or dart, through the air with greater accuracy than a hand-thrown spear.