The Pre-Mazama Projectile Point Sequence at the Roadcut Site (35WS8), Oregon

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Roadcut site (35WS8) near The Dalles, Oregon was first excavated by Luther Cressman in the late 1950’s. It contained some of the earliest evidence of salmon fishing in the Columbia Plateau and a record of human occupations spanning at least 9,000 years-making it one of the most important sites in the region. The Roadcut site is often cited as containing Windust projectile points and used as evidence in support of riverine food exploitation by early Holocene foragers. Our understanding of the projectile point record at the Roadcut site is limited because Cressman employed his own descriptively-based projectile point classifications. In this study, we examine the diagnostic projectile points and other lithic technological evidence from the site’s oldest stratigraphic levels to better position the site within the regional cultural history. The pre-Mazama assemblage only includes a few Windust points, while Cascade points make up the majority of the diagnostic points. Our study suggests changes in projectile point form through time and shows the potential for future lithic analysis of the collection.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33110