Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Fall 2023
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Cultural and Environmental Resource Management
Committee Chair
Patrick T. McCutcheon
Second Committee Member
Steven Hackenberger
Third Committee Member
Amanda Taylor
Fourth Committee Member
Greg Burtchard
Abstract
Two open-air residential basecamp sites at Mount Rainier, the Buck Lake site and the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit site, are analyzed and compared using a protocol designed to identify variation in stone tool manufacture and use. This research employs a model rooted in evolutionary archaeology theory. The model uses the variables of cost and performance to measure lithic variation, which is often subtle, across space and time. Selective conditions differ over time at the two sites’ locations and appear to drive lithic variation in the archaeological record. The Buck Lake and Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit sites share many similarities, likely due to the constraints upon stone tool manufacture and use related to the harsh upland environment. There is also variation between the sites, which is likely due to differing selective conditions such as microenvironments, situation in the landscape, proximity to tool stone sources, differences in floral and faunal communities and the availability and abundance of associated resources.
Recommended Citation
Stoner, Breann, "Tracking Subtle Differences in Selective Conditions Across Microenvironments as Reflected in the Lithic Assemblages at The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45PI408) and the Buck Lake Site (45PI438), Mount Rainier National Park" (2023). All Master's Theses. 1906.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1906
45PI438 Lithic Analysis
45PI408 Lithic Analysis.xlsb (9145 kB)
45PI408 Lithic Analysis