Prehistoric Tool Stone Acquisition and Use in the Central Mojave Desert

Summary

Diverse rocks of the Precambrian to the Late Cenozoic are exposed across the greater Mojave Desert Region. In the central Mojave, locations with concentrations of knapable materials are prevalent. Most of these sources are deflated alluvial fan deposits; less than five percent are outcrops. Over the last 13,000 years people have been using the area, percussion biface reduction dominated at both the material extraction sites and habitation and special activity sites. Igneous materials were preferred by people using the area during the early Holocene and chert was preferred during the middle and late Holocene. The size of bifacial cores remains consistent throughout most of the Holocene; however, about 1500 years ago, there is a significant reduction in the size of these cores. Finally, there is evidence that much of the stone, after being tested, was found to be undesirable and left at the extraction sites. Explanations for these patterns are presented.

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): 20306