Master's Thesis Defense: Significance Evaluation of the Forgotten Creek Site (45PI429)
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ABSTRACT Archaeologists have recognized the importance of montane environments in the subsistence and settlement strategies of pre-contact peoples in the past few decades. Yet little is understood about variation in the manner in which pre-contact peoples were using upland environments. In order to ascertain whether there is functional and/or technological variation between montane sites in comparable environmental settings, four lithic assemblages (45PI406, 45PI408, 45PI429, and 45PI438) from sites in the upper maritime forest and subalpine zone of Mount Rainier were compared. An evolutionary archaeology model was applied to define and measure variables relevant to stone tool manufacture and use. Statistically significant non-random associations were contextualized within the known environmental constraints and regional land use models for upland subsistence and settlement strategies in the southern Washington Cascades. Overall results indicate that the assemblages are dominated by debitage, and are consistent with those produced as a result of tool manufacture by semi-sedentary groups at mixed and limited activity sites. However, the assemblages differ synchronically in both technological and functional organization, indicating that local microenvironments and climate regimes significantly influenced stone tool manufacture and use.
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Master's Thesis Defense: Significance Evaluation of the Forgotten Creek Site (45PI429)
- 1. JOY D. FERRY CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 8TH, 2014 1
- 2. OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. PROBLEM, PURPOSE & SIGNIFICANCE 3. STUDY AREA 4. ASSEMBLAGES 5. METHODS & TECHNIQUES 6. RESULTS & DISCUSSION 7. CONCLUSIONS 8. RECOMMENDATIONS 9. NEXT STEPS 2
- 3. RELEVANCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH Understanding of the past Future policy Land use practices Protection of cultural resources Protection of natural resources Cultural narrative People 3
- 4. INTRODUCTION As of 2008, nearly 100 archaeological sites documented within Mount Rainier National Park (Burtchard 2007:3-4) Locations of the sites being compared in this research 45PI406: Tipsoo Lake 45PI408: Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit 45PI429: Forgotten Creek 45PI438: Buck Lake 45PI438 45PI408 Documented pre-contact Sites and environmental zones in Mount Rainier National Park. From Burtchard 2007:6. 4 45PI429 45PI406
- 5. PROBLEM • Low amount of data available in comparison to the large amount of recorded pre-contact archaeological sites in the southern Washington Cascades (Vaughn 2010; Lewarch and Benson 1991) • Little information on how people used upland landscapes: Whether they relied on a single “mountain lithic tool kit,” OR if their material culture was more strongly patterned by micro-environmental variation • Data gap: Need more chronological, functional, and technological data, to form a better understanding of how people made and used stone tools on the slopes of Mount Rainier. 5
- 6. RESEARCH QUESTION What were the selective conditions under which stone tools were made and used on Mount Rainier? To answer the research question, I apply the following hypotheses: • H0= Random association between assemblages for compared dimensions. • No selective conditions identified • H1= Non-random association between assemblages for compared dimensions. • Selective conditions potentially identified 6 Adaptations to the Grain of the Environment Cost & Performance Variables Diversity & Variation in Technological & Functional Traits Extended Phenotype
- 7. 7 Purpose 1. Apply an evolutionary archaeology model 2. Generate data for the Forgotten Creek lithic assemblage 3. Identify sorting in the archaeological record 4. Identify the selective conditions that may have caused the sorting Significance • Comparable methods and techniques – reproducible. • Effectively identify the sorting of technological and functional attributes in the 45PI429, 45PI438, 45PI408, and 45PI406 assemblages • Using a method and technique that can identify subtle differences in stone tool manufacture and use Chert biface fragment with lustrous only and lustrous/non-lustrous flake scars, from the Forgotten Creek assemblage
- 8. Snowfields & Glaciers Alpine Tundra Subalpine Northwestern Maritime Forest River Systems & Associated Floodplains STUDY AREA Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano Climate variability and fire events throughout the Holocene Tatoosh pluton formation Geologic cross-section through Mount Rainier. From the National Park Service 2007
- 9. THE FORGOTTEN CREEK SITE (45PI429) • 4300 ft. elevation • Southwestern slope of Mount Rainier • Upper Northwestern maritime forest 9 Photo from Dr. Greg Burtchard
- 10. THE SUNRISE RIDGE BORROW PIT SITE (45PI408) • 4884 ft. elevation • Eastern slope of Mount Rainier • Upper Northwestern maritime forest 10 Photo from Dr. Patrick McCutcheon
- 11. THE BUCK LAKE SITE (45PI438) • 5400 ft. elevation • Northeastern side of Mount Rainier • Upper Northwestern maritime forest/subalpine 11 Photo from Dr. Greg Burtchard
- 12. THE TIPSOO LAKE SITE (45PI406) • 5440 ft. elevation • Eastern slope of Mount Rainier • Subalpine zone 12 Photo from Dr. Greg Burtchard
- 13. ASSEMBLAGES All four were screened with 1/8” mesh, and three had low post-depositional alteration (except Tipsoo Lake) • Tipsoo Lake: n = 867 • Sunrise Ridge: n = 4,452 • Forgotten Creek: n = 1,104 • Buck Lake: n = 2,354 13 Columbia Corner Notched A, from the Forgotten Creek assemblage (Carter 2010) Chert scraper with unifacial wear, from the Forgotten Creek assemblage
- 14. STRATIGRAPHY 14 Buck Lake (45PI438) Forgotten Creek (45PI429) Cultural Component Radiocarbon Years Before 1950 Site 45PI429 45PI438 45PI408 Post-MSH Y (layers X through P) 290 ± 200 to 2460 ± 250 X X X MSH Y tephra set (lower bed, layer MSH Yn, and upper beds) 2960 ± 250 to 3510 ± 250 X - X Pre-MSH Y (layers B through R) 3900 ± 250 to 8750 ± 280 X X - Radiocarbon dates are from Mullineaux 1974:24.
- 15. METHODS • Evolutionary archaeology model • Cost-performance model (McCutcheon 1997) • Defined functional and technological variables • Technological organization (Sullivan and Rozen 1985) • Stabilizing, directional, and disruptive selection (Endler 1986) • Compared selection with environmental data and land use models. 15 What were the selective conditions under which stone tools were made and used on Mount Rainier? Cost-performance variables, adapted from Vaughn 2010
- 16. METHODS CONTINUED: MODES OF SELECTION 16 Distribution of phenotypes. From Kimball:1994.
- 17. TECHNIQUES Statistical Analysis: All statistical analyses were done at a 95% CI (α = 0.05) • Bootstrapping using the Resampler program, to identify sufficiently representative sample sizes • χ2 analysis, to identify statistically significant non-random associations • Log-likelihood, for samples unsuitable for chi-squared testing • Analysis of residuals Data Generation: • Compared preservation, turbation, & field methods for each site • Obsidian XRF • Paradigmatic classification • Graphed frequency distributions 17 Chert biface fragment from the Forgotten Creek assemblage
- 18. RESULTS & DISCUSSION 1. DIVERSITY OF FILLED CLASSES 2. VARIATION BETWEEN ASSEMBLAGES 3. DIRECTIONAL SELECTION 4. STABILIZING SELECTION 5. DISRUPTIVE SELECTION 6. TECHNOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION 7. RAW MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION 8. VARIATION THROUGH TIME 18
- 19. DIVERSITY OF FILLED FLAKE CLASSES Assemblage Component Reduction Class Technological Codes Functional Codes Tipsoo Lake (45PI406) Whole site Terminal 141113222 1222 Bifacial 1411111222 - 141114222 - 141116222 - Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit (45PI408) MSH Y Terminal 141112222 1212 141113200 1222 141113202 1232 141113212 - 141113220 - 141113222 - 1411111222 - 1411111232 - 1411111200 - 1411111202 - Bifacial 141114222 - 141116220 - 141116222 - 141117222 - Post-MSH Y Terminal 141113222 1212 142113222 1222 1411111222 - Bifacial 141116222 - Forgotten Creek (45PI429) MSH Y Intermediate 141112211 - 141112221 - 141212121 - 141212211 - 141212221 - 141213211 - 141213221 - Bifacial 141212222 - Post-MSH Y Terminal 141212222 - Total number of filled technological & functional classes: • 45PI406 • Technological: 24 • Functional:7 • 45PI438 • Technological: 42 • 45PI429 • Technological: 227 • Functional:11 • 45PI408 • Technological: 432 • Functional:30
- 20. ANALYSIS OF RESIDUALS 20 Assemblage 45PI406 45PI408 45PI429 45PI438 Dimension Residuals > 1.96 Residuals < -1.96 Residuals > 1.96 Residuals < -1.96 Residuals > 1.96 Residuals < -1.96 Residuals > 1.96 Residuals < -1.96 Thermal Alteration Lustrous only Lustrous/ Non-lustrous High temperature alteration Lustrous only High temperature alteration Lustrous/ Non-lustrous Lustrous/ Non-lustrous Lustrous only High temperature alteration _ _ Use Wear Present Absent Present Absent Absent Present _ _ Completeness Flake fragment Whole flake Broken Flake Debris Broken flake Flake fragment Whole flake Debris Whole flake Broken Flake Flake fragment Debris Whole flake Debris Flake fragment Reduction Class Intermediate Bifacial Resharpening Bifacial Thinning/Red uction Terminal Terminal Bifacial Resharpening Bifacial Thinning/Red uction Initial Intermediate Intermediate Initial Terminal Bifacial Resharpening Initial Intermediate Terminal Bifacial Resharpening Complexity of dorsal surface Complex Simple _ _ _ _ Simple Complex Whole-assemblage comparisons
- 21. 21 VARIATION BETWEEN ASSEMBLAGES • Dimensions that had non-random associations: 1. Completeness 2. Platform Type 3. Reduction Class 4. Thermal Alteration 5. Use Wear 6. Raw Material Type • The frequency with which each attribute is expressed is different in all of the assemblages, except for raw material type in the MSH Y and Post-MSH Y components. Assemblage Component 45PI406 45PI408 45PI429 45PI438 Whole Site Flake fragments; faceted platforms; Lustrous only flake scars; Use wear Lustrous only flake scars Broken flakes; Simple platforms; Intermediate reduction; Lustrous/non-lustrous flake scars Whole flakes; Debris Post-MSH Y Flake fragments; Bifacial reduction; Lustrous only flake scars; Use wear Broken flakes; Intermediate reduction; Lustrous/non-lustrous flake scars Debris MSH Y Flake fragments; Pressure flakes; Bifacial reduction; Lustrous only flake scars; Use wear Whole flakes, broken flakes, and debris; Simple platforms; Intermediate reduction; Lustrous/non-lustrous flake scars _ Pre-MSH Y _ Faceted platforms; Obsidian Debris; Igneous Attributes that are present in the highest proportions
- 22. MODES OF SELECTION Assemblages 45PI408 45PI429 45PI438 Mode of Selection For Against For Against For Against Directional Igneous rock Use wear Cortical platforms Lustrous only flake scars Simple platforms Intermediate reduction Thermal alteration Lustrous only flake scars Lustrous/non -lustrous flake scars Obsidian Flake fragments Simple platforms Igneous rock Stabilizing Presence of thermal alteration Terminal reduction _ _ _ _ Disruptive _ _ Initial and bifacial reduction _ _ _ 22
- 23. MODE OF SELECTION: DIRECTIONAL Change around 3900 radiocarbon years cal B.P. increased the importance of heat treatment in tool manufacture at the 45PI429 site Heat Treatment in 45PI429 23 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Pre-MSH Y MSH Y Post-MSH Y None Heat Treated 80% 60% 40% 20% 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Thermal Alteration in 45PI429 Raw Material Type in 45PI408 MSH Y Post-MSH Y Chert Obsidian Igneous 0% Pre-MSH Y MSH Y Post-MSH Y Lustrous/Non Lustrous Only High Temperature
- 24. MODE OF SELECTION: STABILIZING • 45PI408: Stabilizing selection favoring terminal flakes • Stabilizing selection against initial and bifacial • Initial reduction was occurring elsewhere • There is a raw material characteristic that accounts MSH Y Initial 24 • Either 40% 20% 0% reduction flakes in both assemblages for the lack of cortex • A combination of both Post-MSH Y 45PI429 45PI408 40% 20% 0% 45PI429 45PI408 Intermediate Terminal Bifacial Resharpening Bifacial Thinning/Redu ction Reduction class through time.
- 25. MODE OF SELECTION: DISRUPTIVE 25 Thermal alteration across reduction classes. 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 45PI429 MSH Y 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% 45PI429 Post-MSH Y Lustrous/Non Lustrous Only High Temperature The only disruptive selection identified was for thermal alteration across reduction classes in the Forgotten Creek assemblage. This is selection for both extremes of the reduction sequence, initial and bifacial.
- 26. TECHNOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION Assemblage Component Forgotten Creek (45PI429) Buck Lake (45PI438) Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit (45PI408) Tipsoo Lake (45PI406) Whole site II IB2 II II Post-MSH Y II IB2 II _ MSH Y II _ II _ Pre-MSH Y IB1 IB2 _ _ Based on Sullivan and Rozen 1985 26
- 27. RAW MATERIAL Stabilizing selection favoring the use of chert in all assemblages • No difference between assemblages in the post- MSH Y, MSH Y, and pre- MSH Y components at a 95% CI • Indicates that chert has the lowest procurement cost; chert toolstone sources are possibly closest in proximity • Tatoosh pluton chert is known to occur throughout the park 27 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% All Assemblages 45PI408 45PI438 45PI406 45PI429 Chert Obsidian Igneous Geologic cross-section through Mount Rainier.
- 28. Obsidian distribution from Vaughn 2010 28 RAW MATERIAL • Obsidian in the 45PI429 assemblage sourced to Obsidian Cliffs in Oregon. • Directional selection against the use of obsidian in the 45PI429 assemblage • Highest proportion of obsidian present in the 45PI406 assemblage • Variations in the distribution of obsidian between assemblages and through time suggests variation in travel routes and/or a relationship with heat treatment Assemblage Source Tipsoo lake (45PI406) Sunrise Ridge (45PI408) Brown's Bench/ Bickleton Ridge 2 1 Elk Pass 3 _ Indian Creek _ 1 Glass Buttes I _ 1 Newberry Volcano 14 6 Obsidian Cliffs 8 17 Quartz Mountain _ 14 Unknown _ 3 Whitewater Ridge 6 _ Total 33 43 The obsidian flake that was sent for XRF, from the Forgotten Creek assemblage
- 29. SYNCHRONIC CONCLUSIONS To answer the research question: • H1 = Non-random association between assemblages for compared dimensions • Significant variation between assemblages: local microenvironments, created by variations in moisture, elevation, and dominant vegetation, could have had a far greater impact on the pre-contact activities taking place at the sites than anticipated In the context of regional land use models: • Mixed activity sites: Both tool manufacture and use • Largely supports Burtchard’s prehistoric regional land use model- of mixed and limited activity sites, resulting from patterns of semi-sedentary settlement and subsistence 29
- 30. 30 Summarizing variation between assemblages and through time. Assemblages Environmental Zone Subalpine meadow Upper Northwestern maritime forest Upper Northwestern maritime forest Subalpine meadow Vegetation Zone Subalpine Fir Pacific Silver Fir Mountain Hemlock Mountain Hemlock Climate Component Buck Lake (45PI438) Forgotten Creek (45PI429) Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit (45PI408) Tipsoo Lake (45PI406) Neoglacial Cooling Period (150-3600 B.P.) Warming Period (150- 2000 B.P.) 125-3000 radiocarbon years cal B.P. Intensive core reduction; Dominated by flake fragments; Decrease in intermediate reduction; No obsidian Increase in tool use; Increase in tool manufacture; Disruptive selection for heat treatment in early and late reduction stages Substantial tool use; Slight increase in tool manufacture; Directional selection for heat treatment late in late reduction stages Tool manufacture; Most use wear; Lowest diversity in types of wear; Highest proportion of obsidian Glacial Advance (2500-3000 B.P.) Fire Events (3400-3600 B.P.) 3000-3900 radiocarbon years cal B.P. _ Change to tool manufacture only; Dramatic increase in heat treatment Greatest technological and functional diversity Hypsithermal (Xerothermic) Interval 4500-8750< radiocarbon years cal B.P. Intensive core reduction; Highest proportion of igneous; No obsidian Core reduction and tool manufacture; 15% obsidian _ CONCLUSIONS MSH Yn tephra layer (3510 B.P.)
- 31. DIACHRONIC CONCLUSIONS • The variation observed was due to sorting in the archaeological record caused by the grain of the environment • Increased diversity and variation of the functional and technological organization of the 45PI408 and 45PI429 assemblages followed the deposition of the MSH Yn tephra layer around 3510 radiocarbon years cal B.P. • Fire events, and the shift to a mesic climate, were also selective conditions influencing the variation in the functional and technological organization of the assemblages Chert biface fragment Andesite biface fragment Chert debitage
- 32. LIMITATIONS • Insufficient sample sizes from both the Forgotten Creek assemblage and the Buck Lake assemblage to make statistical comparisons between components • Small sample size for the pre-MSH Y component of the Forgotten Creek site (47 pieces) • Lack of data on the portion of the Buck Lake site assemblage that was excavated from the MSH Y tephra set • Need to know more about local toolstone sources 32
- 33. RECOMMENDATIONS Four pronged approach: 1. Protect: List the Forgotten Creek site on NRHP 2. Excavate: Increase sample size of the Forgotten Creek assemblage through further excavation 3. Analyze: Increase sample size of the Buck Lake assemblage by analyzing artifacts from the MSH Y component 4. Survey: Pedestrian survey near residential or task specific sites, to locate toolstone sources. Protect Survey Analyze Excavate 33
- 34. NEXT STEPS • Submit article to Archaeology in Washington • Determination of Eligibility for the Forgotten Creek site • Present research (conferences) • Analysis of Buck Lake artifacts (Dr. Patrick McCutcheon and Dave Davis, Master’s candidate) 34
- 35. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS • Dr. Patrick McCutcheon • Dr. Greg Burtchard • Dr. Steve Hackenberger • Dr. John Bowen • Anne Parfitt • Penny Anderson • Steve Dampf • Kevin Vaughn • Friends & Family 35
- 36. QUESTIONS?
Editor's Notes
- Here’s just a brief overview of what I’ll be covering today, and before I start on the actual research I’d like to give you a brief overview of why we do archaeological research next.
- Just a little overview of the broader study area to provide some context, there is a rich archaeological record on Mount Rainier of historic and pre-contact sites. Today I’ll be a describing a comparison of the lithic assemblages of these four sites, circled in yellow. The site names are listed next to the trinomials on the left, and I’ll to use the names instead of the trinomials as much as possible.
- I became involved in Mount Rainier archaeology through excavating at the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit site in field school, and volunteering with the NPS afterwards. Through my involvement there, I was made aware of this problem. Compared to the rich archaeological record., we have very little actual information. We don’t know if the harsh conditions of the mountain environment caused there to be a single “mountain lithic tool kit,” OR if the material culture was patterned by differences between local micro-environments. Which leads to my research question:
- What were the selective conditions under which stone tools were made and used on Mount Rainier? The selective conditions are the grain of the environment; the context within which the stone tools were made and used. Give an example of a selective condition: For example, if a raw material was sparse, we would expect that artifacts made out of that material would be more highly curated. To illustrate how these hypotheses will be tested, this flow chart shows that the grain of the environment acts on human behavior. Because the artifacts are part of the extended phenotype, the action on human behavior is measured by the cost and performance variables, which are expressed as technological and functional traits, and that the diversity and variation of technological and functional traits are representative of adaptations to the grain of the environment.
- Mount Rainier came up through the Tatoosh pluton Mapping reveals that the Tatoosh pluton completely underlies Mount Rainier and forms a platform upon which the volcano grew (Figure 10) (Fiske et al., 1988) http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/mora/geol_history.cfm Next I’ll give a brief overview of the sites that I compared.
- This investigation studies only the stone artifacts from the assemblages. The Tipsoo Lake site was a mixed component site and contained historical artifacts mixed in with pre-contact stone tools. The assemblage from the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit site consists of artifacts that were excavated prior to 2011.
- I mentioned the low levels of post-depositional alteration on the previous slide. These pictures illustrate just how intact the stratigraphy was at all of the sites, except for the Tipsoo Lake site. You can also see the lighter and darker looking bands in these images. They’re actually tephra layers, deposited by pyroclastic events from Mount Rainier and other volcanoes in the Cascade Range such as Mount Saint Helens and Mazama. These tephra layers have been studied and dated, and used in previous studies to divide assemblages from Mount Rainier into components. So to make my research comparable with previous research, I used the tephra layers to divide the Forgotten Creek and Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit assemblages into components. The Tipsoo Lake assemblage was only used in whole site comparisons against the others.
- Evolutionary Model Because: To address the research question, the data had to be derived from real interactions with the environment. Using an evolutionary archaeology model to study the long-term variation in the frequency distribution of traits is the most effective method of detecting the selective conditions under which stone tools were manufactured and used (Endler 1986; O’Brien and Lyman: 2000). Being able to identify the selective conditions tells us what kind of context people were adapting to in the past when making and using stone tools. So using an evolutionary archaeology model allowed me to assess whether the functional and technological variables are independent of site location or environmental factors (Endler 1986; O’Brien & Lyman 2000). Cost-Performance Model McCutcheon’s (1997) cost-performance research model was applied, in order to define the variables that will be measured within an evolutionary archaeology framework The cost-performance model provides the benefit of being exclusively concerned with the relative cost and performance variables in stone tool manufacture and use. In McCutcheon’s (1997) cost-performance model, the inter-variable relationships between technological and functional variables are used to identify what might be found given archaeological expectations (e.g. if raw material is rare, it is expected that stone tools will be more highly curated. Non-random associations of cost and performance variables can identify the selective conditions under which past peoples adapted to past environments. With all other variables (e.g., performance) being equal, stone tools that have lower costs as relative to their performance will outnumber more more expensive forms (Vaughn 2010:35). I used the cost-performance model to define functional and technological variables, which are patterned by the grain of the environment.
- “Evolution and Adaptation,” by John Kimball. from “Biology,” also by John Kimball. Published in 1994 by Wm. C. Brown. http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/E/Evolution.html I identified what type of selection was taking place through time in each assemblage by comparing the frequency distribution of attributes in the components. Stabilizing selection weeds out both extremes In directional selection, traits on one end of the range of phenotypes are favored over the others And in disruptive selection, individuals at both ends of the range of phenotypes are favored over those in the middle
- I looked at the Preservation of the artifacts, Turbation at the sites, and the Field Methods used to collect the artifacts, to see if they caused sorting in the archaeological record. Because the artifacts are stone they are well preserved, as I previously described there are very low levels of post-depositional alteration in all of the sites except for the Tipsoo Lake site. The field methods were the same: volumetric excavation with 1/8” screen. In the case of the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit, Forgotten Creek, and Buck Lake sites I determined that natural selection caused the sorting in the archaeological record. Obsidian X-ray fluorescence was used to source an obsidian flake from the Forgotten Creek assemblage. I used paradigmatic classification to analyze the Forgotten Creek assemblage. Paradigmatic classification uses attribute states to create classes that describe phenomenon. Each artifact in an assemblage is assigned a mode in every dimension, which is then represented through a numerical code Statistical Analyses Resampling curves were visual representations of the richness and evenness of the samples Log-likelihood following Zar’s recommendation. The effect size shows how rigorous the statistical analysis needs to be in order to see the non-random association Analysis of residuals was to identify which attributes diverged the most from the expected frequencies and drove the non-random association, which may be indicative of what the selection condition was in stone tool manufacture and use.
- As an example, this is just for flakes, these are just technological codes and functional codes that 10 artifacts or more had in each component of the assemblages. Functional classes are use wear This slice shows that the greatest diversity of filled technological and functional classes is in the MSH Y component of the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit assemblage The lowest diversity of filled technological and functional classes is in the Tipsoo Lake assemblage
- This is just an example of the residuals that I used. The residuals show what attributes were driving the variation by having observed frequencies greater or less than the expected frequencies These are the modes that drove the non-random associations between the assemblages in the whole-site comparisons.
- This is another example of the variation between assemblages, in a synchronic comparison. These are the proportions that show the greatest variation between assemblages. Each mode that is present in the greatest proportion is listed in these columns.
- I described the modes of selection earlier. These are the modes of selection that were identified in each of the assemblages, and what was selected for or against. Stabilizing selection was only identified in the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit assemblage, and disruptive selection was only identified in the Forgotten Creek assemblage. Next I’ll go over some of the selection identified in the assemblages. Now to look at some examples of the specific types of selection that occurred.
- The dramatic increase in the proportion of heat treated artifacts in the Forgotten Creek assemblage is relevant at a 95% CI. This is around 3900 B.P. It’s important to note that at the same time, there was strong directional selection for simple platforms and intermediate reduction flakes in the assemblage, and the proportion of obsidian in the assemblage dropped off. These changes could be related to the increase in heat treatment. Not shown here, there is also directional selection against simple platform types and use of igneous rock in the Buck Lake assemblage.
- In addition to stabilizing selection for reduction classes, the Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit assemblage also has stabilizing selection for platform types, and the presence of heat treated artifacts
- The only disruptive selection identified was for thermal alteration across reduction classes in the Forgotten Creek assemblage. This is selection for both extremes of the reduction sequence, initial and bifacial.
- This is based on Sullivan and Rozen 1985, and the technological organization of the assemblages was assigned using the proportions of fragment types, platform types, and completeness of the flakes. II=Tool manufacture. A strong emphasis on stone tool manufacture results in an assemblage dominated by small, thin, non-cortical, broken flakes and flake fragments IB2=Intensive core reduction. In intensive core reduction, an assemblage becomes dominated by debris IB1=Combination of tool manufacture and core reduction. An IB1 assemblage is characterized by intermediate proportions of modes of completeness, and a low proportion of debris
- So all of the assemblages are dominated by chert. Just in case: Raw materials for stone tool manufacture were possibly able to be procured from these exposed areas of the Tatoosh Pluton geological formation. In personal communication with Dr. Patrick McCutcheon on the 21st of November, 2014, and with Greg Burtchard on the 14th of November, 2014, it was noted that sources of chert are known to occur in the northeastern quadrant of the Park. Tatoosh Pluton chert has been identified at the Frozen Lake Site (45PI407), and can be readily seen in the trail that leads to the Mount Fremont Lookout, where there are reports of “jasper” on Mount Fremont (which is near 45PI407), as well as at Berkley Rockshelter (45PI303) on Skyscraper Mountain. The Pyramid Peak Quarry Site was recorded (2007) in the Western side of the park near Pyramid Mountain, and there is exposed knapable stone near the 45PI429 site on Tum Tum Mountain (Burtchard 2003:48; Burtchard et al. 2007a:1-6).
- The evidence from the sites being studied in this research largely supports Burtchard’s prehistoric regional land use model, of mixed and limited activity sites resulting from patterns of semi-sedentary settlement and subsistence.
- The material culture was strongly patterned by variation through time, as well as between assemblages The most significant variations are highlighted and underlined. Selective conditions: Variation between assemblages and components increases following the deposition of the MSH Yn tephra layer around 3510 radiocarbon years cal B.P., and during the neoglacial cooling period.
- Why not style? independent of the environment, does not have detectable selective values, should only be used explicitly for chronology and spatial interactions within an archaeological context