Hafted Stone Tools: A Look at Hunter-Gatherer Examples from the Central and Northwestern Plains

Cody Newton

Hafted Stone Tools: A Look at Hunter-Gatherer Examples from the Central and Northwestern Plains

Year: 2006

Summary

Chipped stone is a ubiquitous part of the prehistoric hunter-gatherer archaeological record in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. It has long been recognized many chipped stone tools represent one element of a composite tool system which includes other perishable materials, such as wood and animal products. Because these latter materials rarely preserve, understanding the role of stone tools in prehistoric contexts is difficult. Although rare, some complete examples of these composite tools do exist. In this paper, published intact composite tools from hunter-gatherer sites in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska are summarized. The goal of this study is to decipher the technological organization of hafted stone tools in order to better the technological role of stone tools, which are a large part of the hunter-gatherer archaeological record.

Cite this Record

Hafted Stone Tools: A Look at Hunter-Gatherer Examples from the Central and Northwestern Plains. Cody Newton. The Wyoming Archaeologist. 50 (1): 35-48. 2006 ( tDAR id: 476430) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8476430