At the Continent’s Edge: A View of Flaked-Stone Crescents from Sonoma County, California

Summary

One of the most unique, enigmatic, and intriguing artifacts of the Western United states is the flaked-stone crescent. Crescents are tools that have been bifacially reduced into a crescent shape, although in some, referred to as "eccentrics," this form is extensively modified with multiple notches or extensions to their inner and outer margins. These lithics capture the imagination of both professionals and the public, reflected in the 1991 designation of a "bear-shaped" eccentric crescent as the California State Artifact. While these artifacts are most common in southern California and the Great Basin, they are also present in the northwest portion of the state, including 14 specimens found in Sonoma County. This paper analyzes these specimens and shows that the patterns demonstrated for crescents in the Great Basin and Southern California appear to be evident in Sonoma County as well. Additionally, evidence gathered using obsidian hydration to assess the age of these artifacts and protein analysis to gain insights into their use, although not completely conclusive, contributes to a wider understanding of Early Holocene occupation of the Southern North Coast Ranges in California.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage