Continuous Spatial Modles of Artifact Relative Frequency Data as an Aid for Sourcing Chert Materials: Two Examples from Patagonia and the Pampas of Argentina

Summary

The aim of this presentation is to introduce and discuss an approach to sourcing chert materials based on the use of spatial continuous models of relative frequency data (i.e. percentage representation of toolstone classes in georeferenced artifact assemblages), which is particularly useful in areas where there is scarce information about both the variability of one or many toolstone classes represented in lithic assemblages across the regional space and the localization of their likely or actual sources. Such models are constructed using geostatistical interpolation (kriging) under the assumption that continuous surfaces make more intelligible the spatial information recovered from relatively few, scattered, and unevenly distributed sampling locations. As long as it is expected that, in most situations, the relative frequency of a toolstone will decrease as a function of the distance from the source, the examination and analysis of the modeled continuous surfaces may provide relevant clues about source location, thus helping in planning problem-oriented surveys and implementing more analytical sourcing activities. We will exemplify the approach with two case studies from regions previously inhabited by hunter-gatherers that present remarkable differences in geology, geomorphology, and sampling coverage: southern Patagonia and the eastern Pampas of Argentina.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Case Studies in Chert Sourcing and Identification   •
• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage