Using Analytical Nodules to Assess the Integrity of Paleoindian Surface Lithic Scatters in Eastern Nevada

Summary

Minimum analytical nodule analysis is a useful tool for recognizing the variability present within a lithic assemblage. In turn, this type of analysis permits a more complete understanding of lithic technological organization. Typically, lithic analysts use macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, as well as spatial associations, to partition lithic assemblages into subgroups, or analytical nodules, that we assume reflect a limited set of production episodes or the role of a particular type of raw material within a technological system. In this study, I do not use analytical nodules to achieve a better understanding of technological organization, as is common. Instead, I use chert analytical nodules, defined on the basis of macroscopic, microscopic, and chemical properties, to investigate the integrity of Paleoindian surface lithic scatters in eastern Nevada. I demonstrate how the spatial analysis of analytical nodules may help us address a long-standing problem—namely, establishing the spatiotemporal integrity of the surface lithic scatters that dominate the Great Basin archaeological record.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage