Toward an understanding of site abandonment behavior: Evidence from historic mining camps in the southwest Yukon

Our present understanding of discard and abandonment behaviors as well as other cultural activities structuring the archaeological record is inadequate. Although some research is progressing toward such an understanding, much of what is known about these processes still tends to be grounded on weak assumptions and untested propositions. However, a number of historically documented gold rush sites in the Kluane region, Yukon Territory, appear to provide a unique opportunity for formulating and testing hypotheses relevant to a better understanding of site abandonment behavior. Abandonment processes for these and other sites are reviewed and their effects are discussed in an effort to determine how two major variables of abandonment behavior, the manner under which sites are abandoned and whether or not return is planned, contribute to the formation of the archaeological record.