Gravels and Travels: A Comment on Andrefsky's “Cascade Phase Lithic Technology”

Abstract

The presence of chert in mid-Holocene lithic assemblages along the Snake River has been attributed to long distance mobility, with the material introduced in bifacial form to the canyons from upland quarries. Geological field studies, however, show that chert, argillite, and quartzite are common in terrace and alluvial gravels along the lower Snake River. These lithologies probably provided a major source of high quality raw material for populations wintering near the river throughout the Holocene.

Distribution and sources of obsidian in the Rio Grande gravels of New Mexico

“…Other studies take into consideration only the primary lithic source of specific materials and do not address the distribution of these materials in secondary deposits. This oversight has obvious implications, as has been pointed out by previous investigations (e.g., Shackley, 1992;Watrall, 1976;Wyckoff, 1993; and most recently, Reid, 1997). The information contained in this article is intended to provide a preliminary baseline against which the archaeological record can be compared.…”

Oldowan behavior and raw material transport: perspectives from the Kanjera Formation

“…Therefore, we can never say with absolute certainty the exact locations of raw material sources because of the multitude of problems associated with assigning an artifact to a specific primary source (i.e. intra-source variability (Shackley, 1998); secondary source transport (Church, 2000;Reid, 1997)). Furthermore identification to an exact primary source location is not a useful behavioral variable at Kanjera South because most artifacts are produced on river cobbles (Braun et al, in press).…”