The Snyder Paleoindian Complex in New Jersey : Interpreting Intra/Inter-site Spatial Patterning

Summary

The Snyder Site Complex consists of stratified, multicomponent prehistoric localities at Carpentersville, New Jersey, situated on a series of terraces adjacent to the Delaware River. The Paleoindian components of the complex stand out because of the extensive landscapes involved, the number of fluted bifaces and diagnostic tool types that can be associated with occupations, and the fact that it is revisited throughout the Paleoindian period. Research that has been completed at the complex has placed it in the context of Paleoindian studies in the Delaware Valley. Factors that may have influenced the repeated use of complex landscapes are considered including: the ecology and resource potential of the environmental setting; proximity to sources of chert and jasper toolstone; its role as a potential gathering place, a location convenient to the territories of a number of Paleoindian bands, where exchanges of information, trade, and socializing could take place; and its positioning along what may be a travel route linking the Delaware Valley and Middle Atlantic Region with Paleoindian territories of the greater Northeast. Site complexes like Snyder, spread over large areas, emphasize the importance of a landscape perspective and intra/inter-site spatial patterning when identifying and interpreting archaeological deposits.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Intrasite Spatial Patterning and the Paleoindian Record of Eastern North America

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16900