A Ground Stone Implement Quarry on the Lower Colorado River, Northwestern Arizona

Author(s): Bruce B. Huckell

Year: 1986

Summary

Results of an archaeological and ethnological study of a very large ground stone tool quarry on the lower Colorado River near Bullhead City, Arizona, are presented. The general size and content of the quarry area as understood from survey is described, and the nature of the andesite being selected for tool manufacture is presented. The results of archaeological investigation of 10 discrete production loci is reported, and the kinds of artifacts from them are described. These include broken or aborted preforms, hammerstones, debitage, bracing rocks, and punches. Using results of detailed analysis of these artifacts and data from replicative experiments, a general or idealized reduction strategy for the manufacture of metates is presented. Ethnological and archaeological information are used to suggest that the quarry was utilized by the Mohave Indians, and perhaps their immediate Patayan ancestors. The sociocultural implications of such a technologically sophisticated mode of ground stone tool production are considered. It is suggested that a complex system of ground stone tool production, exchange, and utilization formerly existed among the Mohave, and through the use of comparative ethnological data it is shown that such a system is nearly unique in the Southwest and nearby portions of California and the Great Basin. Using data from a tudy of metate production in Oaxaca, the form that this system may have taken is presented. The implications of this system for the length of time the quarry was used are explored, and it is shown that the entire production of the quarry could be accounted for in a few hundred years. The presence of a second quarry for ground stone tools near Needles is also documented, and its implications for the use of the andesite quarry are considered. Finally, recommendations are made for future studies at both quarries.

Cite this Record

A Ground Stone Implement Quarry on the Lower Colorado River, Northwestern Arizona. Bruce B. Huckell. 1986 ( tDAR id: 126650) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8126650

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Mohave Indians • Patayan

Material
Chipped Stone • Ground Stone • Mineral

Site Name
CA-SBR-2704

Site Type
Quarry • Resource Extraction / Production / Transportation Structure or Features

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Data Recovery / Excavation • Site Evaluation / Testing

General
86-0.5 • Andesite • Andesite Quarry • Antiquities • Archaeological Reconnaissance Report • Archeological Reconnaissance Report • CA-SBR-2704 • Ethnography • Experimental Study • Flaked Lithics • Hammerstones • Metate industry • Mohave Indians • Prehistory • Quarries and quarrying • Site Description

Geographic Keywords
04015 (Fips Code) • 06071 (Fips Code) • Arizona • Arizona (State / Territory) • Big Bend Quarry Site (Ariz.) • California (State / Territory) • Colorado River • Mohave (County) • Mojave Desert • Needles 7.5' quad • Needles SW 7.5' quad • North America (Continent) • San Bernardino (County) • United States of America (Country)

Temporal Keywords
Historic • Prehistoric

Spatial Coverage

min long: -115.312; min lat: 33.431 ; max long: -113.423; max lat: 37.001 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Sponsor(s): Arizona State Office, Bureau of Land Management

Prepared By(s): Cultural Resource Management Division, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona

Record Identifiers

lccn(s): 86603463

ddc(s): 979.1 / 59

NADB document id number(s): 1061543

SRP Library Barcode No.(s): 00030732

lcc(s): E99.M77 H83 1986

NADB citation id number(s): 000000019141

Notes

General Note: Bibliography: p. 57-61.

File Information

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1986_Huckell_AGroundStone_OCR_PDFA.pdf 29.79mb Mar 24, 2017 12:29:41 PM Confidential
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Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager