A Paradigmatic Lithic Analysis of an Upper Kittitas County Spring Site, Washington

Presenter Information

ErinMarie Chenvert

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

SURC Ballroom C/D

Start Date

15-5-2014

End Date

15-5-2014

Keywords

Archaeology, Stone Tools, Kittitas

Abstract

The Upper Kittitas County Spring Site (UKCSS) artifact assemblage comes from a landowner that picked them up from the surface of a plowed field near a spring. This artifact collection contains 758 stone tools: 520 pieces of debitage, 67 ground stone tools, 56 projectile points, and 115 broken biface/miscellaneous stone artifacts. This site has a unique set of artifacts. For instance, large collections of ground stone tools, while common at spring sites, rarely occur in such frequencies or with such a range of chipped stone artifacts. The goal of my research project was to analyze the assemblage so that it could be compared to other archaeological sites in the Yakima and Columbia River Valleys. Ground stone, projectile points, and broken biface artifacts were analyzed using a lithic paradigmatic classification and it was found that all stages of manufacture were represented. The ground stone tools from this site show contrasts to local and regional sites’ ground stone artifacts. For instance, the ground stone tools from UKCSS show a higher variability in shape, wear, and a higher frequency of complete artifacts. Another way this site is different is that when the debitage from UKCSS is compared to the Newton and Bishop Springs sites, there are noticeable differences; in some cases, the UKCSS collection is unique because it is very similar to both spring and village site types.

Poster Number

45

Faculty Mentor(s)

McCutcheon, Patrick

Additional Mentoring Department

Anthropology and Museum Studies

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May 15th, 11:30 AM May 15th, 2:00 PM

A Paradigmatic Lithic Analysis of an Upper Kittitas County Spring Site, Washington

SURC Ballroom C/D

The Upper Kittitas County Spring Site (UKCSS) artifact assemblage comes from a landowner that picked them up from the surface of a plowed field near a spring. This artifact collection contains 758 stone tools: 520 pieces of debitage, 67 ground stone tools, 56 projectile points, and 115 broken biface/miscellaneous stone artifacts. This site has a unique set of artifacts. For instance, large collections of ground stone tools, while common at spring sites, rarely occur in such frequencies or with such a range of chipped stone artifacts. The goal of my research project was to analyze the assemblage so that it could be compared to other archaeological sites in the Yakima and Columbia River Valleys. Ground stone, projectile points, and broken biface artifacts were analyzed using a lithic paradigmatic classification and it was found that all stages of manufacture were represented. The ground stone tools from this site show contrasts to local and regional sites’ ground stone artifacts. For instance, the ground stone tools from UKCSS show a higher variability in shape, wear, and a higher frequency of complete artifacts. Another way this site is different is that when the debitage from UKCSS is compared to the Newton and Bishop Springs sites, there are noticeable differences; in some cases, the UKCSS collection is unique because it is very similar to both spring and village site types.