Understanding early hunter-gatherer occupation in terms of seasonal mobility patterns, rather than as simple year-round habitation of fixed sites, is one of the important insights that has developed in the archaeological study of the Great Basin and surrounding regions.

The Great Basin environment is highly seasonal, with different resources available in different locations at different times of year.

Effective exploitation of this environment requires knowledge of which resources are available where and when, and the ability to move through the landscape to be in the right place at the right time.

The south-facing location of the Paisley Caves — which maximizes solar warming in winter — suggests that the caves may have been particularly attractive in the colder months of the year, when their thermal advantage would have been most significant.

The caves’ position above the lake would have given occupants access to aquatic resources — waterfowl, fish — that would have been available in winter and early spring.