Draft Report: Archaeological Evaluation of an Upland Cache of Broken and Burnt Bifaces in the Manzanita Mountains, Site LA 153888, Kirtland Air Force Base, Kirtland AFB, Bernalillo County New Mexico
Part of the Kirtland Air Force Base Project Metadata project
Author(s): James D. Gallison; Michael H. Jennings; Christine Hajek
Year: 2012
Summary
This report presents the results of field investigations of site LA 153888 (AR 05-855) at Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) in the Manzanita Mountains on lands withdrawn from the Cibola National Forest and managed by the Department of Defense (DoD). The site was investigated to learn the extent of the damage from the skid trails and to determine the best method for protecting the site from further erosion.
Surface collection and testing yielded 255 stone artifacts that included 239 biface fragments, 15 pieces of lithic debitage, and a flaked pebble fragment all made from non-local lithic raw materials. These toolstones were obtained from distant sources from the northern Rio Grande Valley, western New Mexico, and perhaps west Texas.
No diagnostic tools were recovered and most of the bifaces (preforms) are well-thinned and exhibit excellent workmanship indicating a Basketmaker II affiliation. Examination of the tools indicate they were broken by burning with the larger fragments further reduced by deliberately breaking them into smaller pieces. Our own experiments involving the burning of replicated bifaces of similar materials showed similar results.
Excavations failed to reveal evidence for buried features and no evidence was found to suggest a fire was built at the site. Distributional analysis indicates that few of the bifaces refit and that the materials are spread over a larger area and up to a depth of 40 cm over weathered limestone bedrock.
LA 153888 represents a unique site and more work is required to appreciate the full nature of the assemblage. Our current interpretation is that the area represents a scared ritual site utilized on more than one occasion.
Cite this Record
Draft Report: Archaeological Evaluation of an Upland Cache of Broken and Burnt Bifaces in the Manzanita Mountains, Site LA 153888, Kirtland Air Force Base, Kirtland AFB, Bernalillo County New Mexico. James D. Gallison, Michael H. Jennings, Christine Hajek. 2012 ( tDAR id: 469235) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8469235
Keywords
Culture
Basketmaker II
Material
Biface
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Chipped Stone
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Obsidian
Site Name
AR-03-03-05-855
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AR-05-855
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LA 153888
Site Type
Artifact Scatter
Investigation Types
Site Evaluation / Testing
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Site Stabilization
Geographic Keywords
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Bernalillo (County)
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Cibola National Forest
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Kirtland Air Force Base
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Manzanita Mountains
Temporal Keywords
Prehistoric
Spatial Coverage
min long: -107.15; min lat: 34.211 ; max long: -105.26; max lat: 35.15 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Kirtland Air Force Base CRM Manager
Record Identifiers
Contract No.(s): W912PP-09-C-0029
File Information
| Name | Size | Creation Date | Date Uploaded | Access | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA-153888_FINAL-DRAFT-SUBMITTED_02_26_12.pdf | 3.24mb | Jul 1, 2022 12:43:46 PM | Confidential |
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Contact(s): Kirtland Air Force Base CRM Manager