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Context, Provenance and Technology of a Western Stemmed Tradition Artifact Cache from the Cooper’s Ferry Site, Idaho

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Loren G. Davis ,
Alex J. Nyers  and
Samuel C. Willis
Loren G. Davis
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 238 Waldo Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 (loren.davis@oregonstate.edu)
Alex J. Nyers
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 238 Waldo Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 (loren.davis@oregonstate.edu)
Samuel C. Willis
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 238 Waldo Hall, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331 and Logan Simpson Design Inc., 8 E Broadway Suite 300, Salt Lake City, UT 84111
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Abstract

The discovery of an artifact cache containing Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) projectile points in a clearly defined pit feature at the Cooper’s Ferry site offers a unique perspective on early lithic technology and logistical organization in western North America. A description and analysis of the cache feature reveals several new insights, including: a rocky cairn capped the surface of the pit feature; some of the artifacts were made from cryptocrystalline silicates found 16 km away; debitage analysis, including aggregate and attribute based measures, identified two distinct lithic reduction stages present in the cache; new radiocarbon assays suggest that the cache is probably not early Holocene in age and may date to associated age estimates of 11,410–11,370 radiocarbon years before present (B.P.). Unlike Clovis caches, the Pit Feature A2 cache at Cooper’s Ferry appears to be a generalized toolkit that was probably placed at the site for future use. If the 11,410–11,370 radiocarbon years B.P. assays date the creation of the Pit Feature A2 cache, then its creators were probably not pioneers in the lower Salmon River canyon but possessed local knowledge about the landscape and raw material sources; these patterns suggest greater time depth for WST foragers.

Resumen

Resumen

El descubrimiento de un depósito de artefactos conteniendo puntas de proyectil en la Tradición de Tallo Occidental (Western Stemmed Tradition) en una fosa claramente definida, en el sitio de Cooper’s Ferry, ofrece una perspectiva única sobre la tecnología lίtica temprana y organización logística en el Occidente de América del Norte. La descripción y el análisis de este depósito revela nuevas manifestaciones, incluyendo: el uso de un cumulo rocoso que cubrió la superficie de la fosa; algunos de los artefactos fueron hechos de silicatos criptocristalinos que se encuentran a 16 km de distancia; análisis de los desechos de talla, incluyendo las medidas basadas en agregados y sus atributos, identificaron dos distintas etapas de reducción lίtica presentes en el acopio. Nuevas fechas por radiocarbono indican que este depósito probablemente no corresponde al Holoceno temprano en antigüedad y bien puede datar a fechas por radiocarbono de entrell, 11,410–11,370 años de radiocarbono antes del presente. A diferencia de depósitos Clovis, el de la fosa A2 en Cooper’s Ferry, parece ser un conjunto de herramientas de uso general que probablemente fue colocado en el sitio para su uso a futuro. Si las fechas 11,410–11,370 años de radiocarbono antes del presente datan la creación del depósito en la fosa A2, entonces los autores probablemente no fueron pioneros en las bajas inmediaciones del cañón del río Salmón (Salmon River canyon), pero poseían un conocimiento particular acerca del paisaje y fuentes de materia primas locales; estos patrones sugieren una mayor antigüedad para los grupos recolectores de la Tradición de Tallo Occidental.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 79 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 596 - 615
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2014

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