Sourcing Archaeological Textiles in the Northern Great Basin: Evaluation of Baseline Geochemical Data

Summary

Archaeological textiles are by nature ephemeral artifacts, leaving the development of analytical methodologies within the realm of culture history stylistic analysis until recently. Developments in geochemical sourcing methods have opened the window to new forms of analysis, including geographically sourcing the materials with which a textile is made. In particular, strontium isotope ratios with their long-term stability relating to archaeological time scales are well-suited for this type of analysis. This purpose of this poster is to take a look at the geographical area of interest, specifically the Chewacaun Basin which is home to Paisley Caves in south-central Oregon, and some of the oldest dated textiles in the Great Basin region. Geochemical data were gathered via surface water sampling throughout the basin and stream tributaries, as well as surface soil and plant samples. These data are presented through Geographic Information Systems to delineate geochemically discreet areas of the basin in preparation for sourcing discarded basketry fragments and textile production waste of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21371