The American Falls obsidian source: near, far, or unknown?

Summary

Harris’ 2011 Master’s thesis sourced obsidian artifacts from the Kyle Canyon Spring site (10-BT-8). Obsidian source characterization suggested a large circulation range for the prehistoric people using site 10-BT-8, with strong emphasis placed on the American Falls obsidian source. This result was unexpected, given that it is 120km from 10-BT-8 and a nearer, arguably higher quality obsidian source is only 50km away. In my thesis, I concluded that the people occupying 10-BT-8 over the last 3,000 years were utilizing both distant and local obsidian sources while moving over a wide area of southeastern Idaho. However, newer evidence points to multiple outcrops of the American Falls obsidian source with unique geochemical signatures near the site. Using a Correspondence Analysis of trace element data recorded during obsidian sourcing, I show that there is strong statistical support for other outcroppings of the "American Falls" obsidian source. Ultimately, this could drastically change interpretations made in my thesis as well as influencing future interpretations of obsidian sourcing results from other Idaho archaeological sites.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Solving Archaeological Research Problems in Rocky Mountain and Plains Prehistory

Keywords

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