First Foragers on the Upper Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee: Transitional Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Lithic Technology at Rock Creek Mortar Shelter (40Pt209)

Summary

We analyze lithic flaking debris from transitional terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene layers at Rock Creek Mortar Shelter, a multicomponent site on the Upper Cumberland Plateau (UCP), Pickett County, Tennessee. Blades, blade-like flakes, and two blade core fragments are among the lithics recovered from these contexts. Because these transitional-looking assemblages were recovered from early Holocene contexts, we believe they potentially represent groups of early Archaic peoples who were separated from other groups that also practiced blade technology, possibly before they reached the UCP. The transitional nature of the assemblages suggests that blade technology gradually went away as people became increasingly familiar with the local environment, and therefore raw material sources. We further believe that these were family foraging groups that were seasonally occupying these shelters. Thus far, lithic technological analyses reveal that older or more experienced members of the groups were teaching less experienced people stone tool production. Additionally, we seek to determine if the flake debris analysis reveals significant differences from later Holocene contexts on the UCP.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

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

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20728