The Geoarchaeology of Raven Bluff, a Fluted Point Site in NW Alaska
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC 301
Start Date
17-5-2012
End Date
17-5-2012
Abstract
Raven Bluff is located on a remnant limestone knob overlooking a series of cut terraces formed when the Kivalina River dissected glacial outwash. The site is located on a poorly drained, flat area near the top of the knob. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the site was initially utilized at least 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Much of the Raven Bluff landform is mantled by coarse, grain-supported limestone gravel covered by a thin veneer of loess, but sub-surface testing identified a portion of the site containing an artifact-rich, 1.5 m-deep layer of matrix-supported gravel overlain by as much as 65 cm of clayey and silty mud. Despite evidence of freeze-thaw and rodent activity at the site, the archaeological material is relatively undisturbed. Understanding formation processes and stratigraphy is important here because of the site's rare Late Pleistocene-age faunal assemblage and artifacts (microblades, fluted points) that previously have had poor chronological control in Arctic Alaska.
Recommended Citation
Buvit, Ian, "The Geoarchaeology of Raven Bluff, a Fluted Point Site in NW Alaska" (2012). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 145.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2012/oralpresentations/145
Additional Mentoring Department
Anthropology
The Geoarchaeology of Raven Bluff, a Fluted Point Site in NW Alaska
SURC 301
Raven Bluff is located on a remnant limestone knob overlooking a series of cut terraces formed when the Kivalina River dissected glacial outwash. The site is located on a poorly drained, flat area near the top of the knob. Radiocarbon dates indicate that the site was initially utilized at least 10,000 radiocarbon years ago. Much of the Raven Bluff landform is mantled by coarse, grain-supported limestone gravel covered by a thin veneer of loess, but sub-surface testing identified a portion of the site containing an artifact-rich, 1.5 m-deep layer of matrix-supported gravel overlain by as much as 65 cm of clayey and silty mud. Despite evidence of freeze-thaw and rodent activity at the site, the archaeological material is relatively undisturbed. Understanding formation processes and stratigraphy is important here because of the site's rare Late Pleistocene-age faunal assemblage and artifacts (microblades, fluted points) that previously have had poor chronological control in Arctic Alaska.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Ian Buvit