Wear and Tear: Preliminary Use-Wear Analysis of a Hematite Core from Hell Gap National Historic Landmark.

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Hematite, often referred to as ochre, is a common occurrence at early American sites in the Plains and Rocky Mountain regions of North America. The mineral appears in the archaeological record as multifunctional, possibly used for ritualistic and domestic activities. This research examines a hematite artifact (HG 14W199-11-157) from the Hell Gap National Historic Landmark, located in Guernsey, Wyoming. Hematite is found in abundance in excavation units from Hell Gap’s Locality I. Hematite cores, pigment smears, and pigment-covered artifacts have been discovered in the Folsom level at Locality I. This research utilizes low-level microscopy and a 3D model to examine the use-wear patterns of the hematite artifact (HG 14W199-11-157) to explore the original use of the artifact. Results will contribute to our understanding of early American hematite processing on the Plains.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Digitizing the Past: Studying Ancient Ground Stone Toolkits Using Modern Technology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51579