Recognizing Artifact Transport from Debitage Assemblages: Examples from middle Holocene Sites in Alaska

Summary

When studying the technology of mobile foraging groups, tools and cores that pass through a site can be even more informative than those that end up deposited there. This is especially true in regions like interior Alaska, where cultural historical frameworks rely on the presence or absence of specific technologies or tool forms. A flake-attribute based debitage analysis combined with a minimum analytical nodule analysis can be integral for recognizing artifact transport. Examples from Archaic sites in Alaska demonstrate how identification of artifacts transported off site can influence cultural historical reconstructions, address co-occurrences of unrelated technologies, and contribute to theories concerning patterns of logistical organization.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14574