Sourcing Archeological Lithic Assemblages

New Perspectives and Integrated Approaches

Edited by Charles Speer, Ryan M Parish, Gustavo Barrientos

For most of our existence, humans have manipulated stone into tools that are essential for survival. Generally resistant to degradation, stone tools comprise a large portion of the material culture found at archaeological sites worldwide. Recovery of stone tools during archaeological excavation indicates the location where they were discarded, often tied to where they were used. “Sourcing” refers to attempts to determine the origin of the raw materials used to produce these tools. Knowing the beginning and end points of a tool’s use-life, as well as the likely paths it took between those two locations, can offer insight into trade and procurement patterns. The scholars gathered in this volume employ a variety of unique approaches to real-life contexts in multiple geographic regions. These studies illustrate the numerous, robust options available to archaeologists and researchers today, as well as the problems that must be faced and resolved.

Part 1 of the book explores technological approaches to sourcing in conjunction with innovative survey strategies. The chapters describe a particular method while often offering suggestions for improving the chemical analysis. Part 2 focuses on region-specific and methodological sourcing applications. In a concluding review, Michael D. Glascock critiques each of the chapters and presents his views, developed across 40 years of work in the field, on sourcing raw materials. Broadly, these contributions demonstrate how knowledge of lithic sources, geologic processes, the nature of variation, and regional availability can provide a more thorough understanding of past peoples.

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Charles A. Speer is associate professor of anthropology at Idaho State University and the curator of anthropology at Idaho Museum of Natural History.

Ryan M. Parish is associate professor of archaeology at the University of Memphis.

Gustavo Barrientos is a professor of archaeology at the National University of La Plata and principal researcher of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Argentina.

Contributions by Agustín Agnolin, Pedro Andrade, Hassan Aouraghe, Said Bengamra, Alfonso Benito-Calvo, César Borie, Adam Burke, Adrian Burke, Gisela Cassiodoro, Luciana Catella, M. Gema Chacón, Gabriela Coelho dos Santos, Josefina Flores Coni, Kane Ditchfield, Trudy Doelman, Stéphan Dubernet, Analia Castro Esnal, Silvana Espinosa, Carola Flores, Bretton Giles, Michael Glascock, Rafael Goñi, Bernard Gratuze, Hamid Haddoumi, Jillian Huntley, Rebekah Kurpiel, Juan Ignacio Morales, Khori Newlander, Laura Olguín, Fernando Oliva, César Parcero-Oubiña, Cecilia. Pérez de Micou, Ximena Power, Robert Sala-Ramos, Diego Salazar, Marta Sánchez de la Torre, Morgan Smith, María Soto, Mohamed Souhir, Charles Stern, Andoni Tarriño, Norberto Uriz, Ingrid Ward, John Webb, and François Xavier Le Bourdonnec.

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Table of Contents:
List of Figures
List of Tables
 
1. Introduction: Sourcing Archaeological Lithic Assemblages byCharles A. Speer, Ryan M. Parish, and Gustavo Barrientos
 
Part 1: Variations on a Theme: Sourcing Toolstone through Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
2. The Use of Provenience Data to Formulate or Test Provenance Hypotheses: GIS-Based Models for the Identification of Probable Chert Silíceo Source Areas in East-Central Argentina  by Luciana Catella, Gustavo Barrientos, Norberto Uriz, Gabriela Coelho dos Santos, and Fernando Oliva
3. Nodules in a Haystack: Tracing Lithic Raw Material Sources in the Atacama Desert by César I. Borie, César Parcero-Oubiña, Ryan Parish, Diego R. Salazar, Carola F. Flores, Laura A. Olguín, Pedro M. Andrade, and Ximena M. Power
4. Targeting Coastal Plains Chert in the Wacissa Quarry Cluster, Northwest Florida, USA: A Lidar-Based Geomorphic Model for Locating Terrestrial Chert Quarries by Adam M. Burke and Morgan F. Smith
5. Sourcing Stone and Ochre Artifacts: A Review of Why It Matters in Australia (and Beyond) by Kane Ditchfield, Jillian Huntley, Ingrid Ward, John Webb , Trudy Doelman, and Rebekah Kurpiel
6. The Promise and Challenge of Sourcing Chert Artifacts in the North American Great Basin  by Khori Newlander
7. Sourcing Chert Mortuary Bifaces as Indicators for Hopewell Community Participation at the Crib Mound Site, Indiana, USA by Ryan M. Parish and Bretton T. Giles
8. Applying ED-XRF, LA-ICP- MS, and PIXE Analyses to Characterize Pyrenean Cherts: Potentials and Limitations by Marta Sánchez de la Torre, François-Xavier Le Bourdonnec, Stéphan Dubernet, and Bernard Gratuze
9. A Pilot Study in Nodular Elemental Variation by Charles A. Speer
 
Part 2: Regional Perspectives and Sourcing under Variable Conditions
10. Raw Material Procurement and Territorial Mobility in the Aïn Beni Mathar–Guefaït Region (Eastern Morocco) by María Soto, M. Gema Chacón, Hassan Aouraghe, Juan Ignacio Morales, Hamid Haddoumi, Mohamed Souhir, Alfonso Benito-Calvo, Andoni Tarriño, Said Bengamra, and Robert Sala-Ramos
11. Black Obsidian from Pampa del Asador (Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina): A Regional Source by Gisela Cassiodoro, Rafael Goñi, Silvana Espinosa, Agustín Agnolin, and Josefina Flores Coni
12. Provenance and Transport of Obsidian in Chubut (Central Patagonia, Argentina):
From the Early Holocene to Historical Contexts by Analía Castro Esnal, Cecilia Pérez de Micou, and Charles R. Stern
13. Geology and Geochemistry of the Ledge Ridge Chert Source, Western Maine by Adrian L. Burke
14. Sourcing Archaeological Lithic Assemblages: New Perspectives and Integrated Approaches by Michael D. Glascock
 
References
Index