Elemental and microscopic characterization of quartzite stone discs and knives from the Slocan Narrows Pithouse Village, Upper Columbia River Region.

Summary

Chipped stone tools made from fine-grained quartzite with thin mica-rich (phyllitic) lamellae are commonly recovered from archaeological contexts along the Upper Columbia River in the interior Pacific Northwest. In this study we present the results of a comprehensive analysis of a collection of quartzite discs and knives recovered from the Slocan Narrows Pithouse Village. Our analysis includes examination of microscopic use-wear traces to attempt tool function interpretation, as well as elemental characterization through energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to identify the number of potential geological sources of the raw material. Because these quartzite tools commonly occur across a wide geographic range, this study provides a foundation for additional studies of quartzite tools that may eventually lead to a better understanding of human land use practices in the Upper Columbia River region.

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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