Patterns in the Transport of Tosawihi Chert to the Little Boulder Basin, Northern Nevada

Summary

The Tosawihi chert quarries of northern Nevada have played a significant role in the development of hypotheses by Great Basin archaeologists about pre-contact procurement and transport of lithic raw materials. Here, such hypotheses are tested using data obtained from ongoing investigations in the nearby Little Boulder Basin. These investigations have resulted in the analysis of chipped stone assemblages from dozens of site loci, which consist primarily of Tosawihi chert and many of which can be dated to phases or periods in the local cultural historical sequence. Little Boulder Basin Tosawihi chert assemblages exhibit a classic "distance decay curve" and are consistent with the hypothesis that quarrying activity—specifically the amount of time spent processing material at the quarries—was constrained by transport distance. Further, temporal differences in processing and transport patterns are evident that are likely related to broader late Holocene changes within the region in foraging and mobility practices.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Toolstone Papers in Honor of the Careers of Charlotte Beck and George T. Jones

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17643