Assessing Variability in Toolkit Functionality: Differential Wear Patterns on Projectile Technologies from Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Interior Alaska

Summary

Much of the early theoretical framework for our understanding of the colonization and occupation of interior Alaska has been established on technological variability in lithic assemblages of the region. This initial research has been limited in scope, focusing on the presence or absence of microblades. Recent research has sought to push beyond the significance of debatably diagnostic tool forms, microblades, in defining cultural complexes and has attempted to more fully address models of behavioral variability including mobility, lithic landscape learning, seasonality, site-specific or prey-specific variability, and raw material constraints. Comprehensive inter- and intra-site use-wear studies represent a promising avenue for better understanding the functionality of important elements of lithic tool kits. This paper presents a morphological, macroscopic, and "low-power" microscopic usewear analysis of bifacial projectile points and microblades from 15 late Pleistocene/early Holocene sites located in interior Alaska designed to more accurately define the functional roles and differential use of these technologies at an intersite and intrasite level. After establishing the functional roles of specific lithic projectile elements and point types, archaeologists can improve interpretations of late Pleistocene/early Holocene assemblage variability, especially as it relates to foraging behavior, landscape use, and site function.

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): 22461