Sourcing a State: A Systematic Survey and Statistical Analysis of Wyoming Archaeological Assemblages of Lithic Raw Materials

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This pilot study will systematize the spatial distribution of lithic raw materials in Wyoming by using statistical methods. It revisits decades of curated assemblages from the University of Wyoming Archaeological Repository and places them on the geological landscape using GIS and cluster analyses. Through a systematic sampling strategy of the lithic raw materials within the collections, localities throughout Wyoming are tested to gain a greater understanding of this complex lithic landscape. Operating under the assumption materials common in lithic assemblages are more likely to occur close to site than rare materials, this study informs our understanding of how hunter-gatherers procured raw materials. Prehistoric peoples effectively acted as field geologists, collecting and curating raw material on the landscape. This preliminary analysis uses qualitative macroscopic attributes of numerous samples from across Wyoming and the substantial sample size allows for meaningful statistical analyses such as cluster analysis. Using the La Prele Mammoth site's lithic assemblage as a case study to test these methods reveals the utility of sourcing lithic artifacts, particularly in the Intermountain West where there is abundant lithic diversity with discontinuous source areas. It is an endeavor well overdue in a state with great geological diversity.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25785