- Portland, Oregon
Most of the complete Western Stemmed Tradition points that archaeologists encounter are heavily reworked, with blades often smaller than their stems. Because flintknapping is a subtractive process, reworking tends to obscure points’... more
Most of the complete Western Stemmed Tradition points that archaeologists encounter are heavily reworked, with blades often smaller than their stems. Because flintknapping is a subtractive process, reworking tends to obscure points’ initial forms, which can provide clues about the tools’ original design characteristics and, in turn, the tasks for which people used them. We describe a series of stemmed points from the Intermountain West that, while unusual because of their large size, fit comfortably within the widely-recognized Parman stemmed point type. They provide important information about how people designed, made, and used large Parman stemmed points at the beginning of their use-lives—information that is generally not available from heavily resharpened and discarded points at the end of their use-lives.
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A single radiocarbon date derived from the Buhl burial in south-central Idaho has frequently been used as a data point for the interpretation of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) chronology and technology because of the stemmed biface... more
A single radiocarbon date derived from the Buhl burial in south-central Idaho has frequently been used as a data point for the interpretation of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) chronology and technology because of the stemmed biface found in situ with the human remains. AMS dating of bone collagen in 1991 produced an age of 10,675 ± 95 14C BP, immediately postdating the most widely accepted age range for Clovis. The Buhl burial has been cited as evidence that stemmed point technology may have overlapped with Clovis technology in the Intermountain West. We discuss concerns about the radiocarbon date, arguing that even at face value, the calibrated date has minimal overlap with Clovis at the 95.4% range. Furthermore, the C:N ratio of 3.69 in the analyzed collagen is outside of the typical range for well-preserved samples, indicating a postdepositional change in carbon composition, which may make the date erroneously older or younger than the age of the skeleton. Finally, the potential dietary incorporation of small amounts of anadromous fish may indicate that the burial is younger than traditionally accepted. For these reasons, we argue that the Buhl burial cannot be used as evidence of overlap between WST and Clovis.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The timing and character of the Pleistocene peopling of the Americas are measured by the discovery of unequivocal artifacts from well-dated contexts. We report the discovery of a well-dated artifact assemblage containing 14 stemmed... more
The timing and character of the Pleistocene peopling of the Americas are measured by the discovery of unequivocal artifacts from well-dated contexts. We report the discovery of a well-dated artifact assemblage containing 14 stemmed projectile points from the Cooper’s Ferry site in western North America, dating to ~16,000 years ago. These stemmed points are several thousand years older than Clovis fluted points (~13,000 cal yr B.P.) and are ~2300 years older than stemmed points found previously at the site. These points date to the end of Marine Isotope Stage 2 when glaciers had closed off an interior land route into the Americas. This assemblage includes an array of stemmed projectile points that resemble pre-Jomon Late Upper Paleolithic tools from the northwestern Pacific Rim dating to ~20,000 to 19,000 years ago, leading us to hypothesize that some of the first technological traditions in the Americas may have originated in the region.
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Excavations at Shishan Marsh, a former desert oasis in Azraq, northeast Jordan, reveal a unique ecosystem and provide direct family-specific protein residue evidence of hominin adaptations in an increasingly arid environment approximately... more
Excavations at Shishan Marsh, a former desert oasis in Azraq, northeast Jordan, reveal a unique ecosystem and provide direct family-specific protein residue evidence of hominin adaptations in an increasingly arid environment approximately 250,000 years ago. Based on lithic, faunal, paleoenvironmental and protein residue data, we conclude that Late Pleistocene hominins were able to subsist in extreme arid environments through a reliance on surprisingly human-like adaptations including a broadened subsistence base, modified tool kit and strategies for predator avoidance and carcass protection.
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Radiocarbon dating of the earliest occupational phases at the Cooper’s Ferry site in western Idaho indicates that people repeatedly occupied the Columbia River basin, starting between 16,560 and 15,280 calibrated years before the present... more
Radiocarbon dating of the earliest occupational phases at the Cooper’s Ferry site in western Idaho indicates that people repeatedly occupied the Columbia River basin, starting between 16,560 and 15,280 calibrated years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Artifacts from these early occupations indicate the use of unfluted stemmed projectile point technologies before the appearance of the Clovis Paleoindian tradition and support early cultural connections with northeastern Asian Upper Paleolithic archaeological traditions. The Cooper’s Ferry site was initially occupied during a time that predates the opening of an ice-free corridor (≤14,800 cal yr B.P.), which supports the hypothesis that initial human migration into the Americas occurred via a Pacific coastal route.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Geoarchaeology, Science, North American archaeology, Multidisciplinary, and 10 morePleistocene, Upper Paleolithic, The peopling of the Americas, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Early peopling of America, Coastal Migration, Peopling of the New World, North America, Bayesian chronological modelling, and First Americans
ABSTRACT We review some of the current problems and prospects in ongoing Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) studies and highlight recent discoveries at important sites in the Intermountain West. While the region has traditionally not been... more
ABSTRACT We review some of the current problems and prospects in ongoing Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) studies and highlight recent discoveries at important sites in the Intermountain West. While the region has traditionally not been the focus of peopling of the Americas studies, it has received considerable attention in recent years due to the discovery of WST points and other artifacts in Clovis-aged deposits. Fieldwork at sites in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah has produced WST assemblages dated to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene and generated new fine-grained datasets capable of addressing longstanding questions about WST technology, chronology, and subsistence. Collectively, these efforts have helped to refocus North American Paleoindian studies on the Intermountain West and the role that it played in the peopling of the Americas.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
A single radiocarbon date derived from the Buhl burial in south-central Idaho has frequently been used as a data point for the interpretation of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) chronology and technology because of the stemmed biface... more
A single radiocarbon date derived from the Buhl burial in south-central Idaho has frequently been used as a data point for the interpretation of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) chronology and technology because of the stemmed biface found in situ with the human remains. AMS dating of bone collagen in 1991 produced an age of 10,675 ± 95 14 C BP, immediately postdating the most widely accepted age range for Clovis. The Buhl burial has been cited as evidence that stemmed point technology may have overlapped with Clovis technology in the Intermountain West. We discuss concerns about the radiocarbon date, arguing that even at face value, the calibrated date has minimal overlap with Clovis at the 95.4% range. Furthermore, the C:N ratio of 3.69 in the analyzed collagen is outside of the typical range for well-preserved samples, indicating a postdepositional change in carbon composition, which may make the date erroneously older or younger than the age of the skeleton. Finally, the potential dietary incorporation of small amounts of anadromous fish may indicate that the burial is younger than traditionally accepted. For these reasons, we argue that the Buhl burial cannot be used as evidence of overlap between WST and Clovis. Una fecha por radiocarbono única derivada del entierro de Buhl en la central sur de Idaho se usa frecuentemente como un punto de dato para la interpretación de la cronología y la tecnología de la Tradición de Tallo Occidental (WST) como resul-tado de la presencia de una herramienta bifacial con tallo encontrada in situ con los restos humanos. El fechado con aceler-ador para espectrometría de masas (AMS) de colágeno de hueso en 1991 indicó una fecha de 10.675 ± 95 14 C BP, inmediatamente después el rango de fechas aceptadas de Clovis. El entierro de Buhl ha sido citado como evidencia que quizás la tecnología de puntos de proyectiles con tallos traslapó con la tecnología de Clovis en la región Oeste Intermontano. Revi-samos preocupaciones sobre la fecha por radiocarbono, discutiendo que, incluso a valor aparente, la fecha calibrada tiene superposición mínima con las de Clovis al rango de 95,4%. Además, el proporción de C:N de 3,69 en el colágeno analizado está fuera del rango típico para muestras bien conservadas, que indica un cambio después de deposición en la composición del carbono, cuyo puede hacer erróneamente la fecha aparecer más viejo o más joven que la fecha verdadera de los restos. Final-mente, la incorporación dietaría potencial de cantidades pequeñas de pescados anádromos puede indicar que los restos son más jóvenes que se piensa previamente. Por estas razones, discutimos que el entierro de Buhl no se puede usar como evidencia por el traslapo de WST y Clovis.
Research Interests:
A single radiocarbon date derived from the Buhl burial in south-central Idaho has frequently been used as a data point for the interpretation of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) chronology and technology because of the stemmed biface... more
A single radiocarbon date derived from the Buhl burial in south-central Idaho has frequently been used as a data point for the interpretation of the Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) chronology and technology because of the stemmed biface found in situ with the human remains. AMS dating of bone collagen in 1991 produced an age of 10,675 ± 95 14 C BP, immediately postdating the most widely accepted age range for Clovis. The Buhl burial has been cited as evidence that stemmed point technology may have overlapped with Clovis technology in the Intermountain West. We discuss concerns about the radiocarbon date, arguing that even at face value, the calibrated date has minimal overlap with Clovis at the 95.4% range. Furthermore, the C:N ratio of 3.69 in the analyzed collagen is outside of the typical range for well-preserved samples, indicating a postdepositional change in carbon composition, which may make the date erroneously older or younger than the age of the skeleton. Finally, the potential dietary incorporation of small amounts of anadromous fish may indicate that the burial is younger than traditionally accepted. For these reasons, we argue that the Buhl burial cannot be used as evidence of overlap between WST and Clovis. Una fecha por radiocarbono única derivada del entierro de Buhl en la central sur de Idaho se usa frecuentemente como un punto de dato para la interpretación de la cronología y la tecnología de la Tradición de Tallo Occidental (WST) como resul-tado de la presencia de una herramienta bifacial con tallo encontrada in situ con los restos humanos. El fechado con aceler-ador para espectrometría de masas (AMS) de colágeno de hueso en 1991 indicó una fecha de 10.675 ± 95 14 C BP, inmediatamente después el rango de fechas aceptadas de Clovis. El entierro de Buhl ha sido citado como evidencia que quizás la tecnología de puntos de proyectiles con tallos traslapó con la tecnología de Clovis en la región Oeste Intermontano. Revi-samos preocupaciones sobre la fecha por radiocarbono, discutiendo que, incluso a valor aparente, la fecha calibrada tiene superposición mínima con las de Clovis al rango de 95,4%. Además, el proporción de C:N de 3,69 en el colágeno analizado está fuera del rango típico para muestras bien conservadas, que indica un cambio después de deposición en la composición del carbono, cuyo puede hacer erróneamente la fecha aparecer más viejo o más joven que la fecha verdadera de los restos. Final-mente, la incorporación dietaría potencial de cantidades pequeñas de pescados anádromos puede indicar que los restos son más jóvenes que se piensa previamente. Por estas razones, discutimos que el entierro de Buhl no se puede usar como evidencia por el traslapo de WST y Clovis.
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Doi: 10.1126/science.aax9830 Publication Date: 2019 Publication Name: Science Radiocarbon dating of the earliest occupational phases at the Cooper’s Ferry site in western Idaho indicates that people repeatedly occupied the Columbia River... more
Doi: 10.1126/science.aax9830
Publication Date: 2019
Publication Name: Science
Radiocarbon dating of the earliest occupational phases at the Cooper’s Ferry site in western Idaho indicates that people repeatedly occupied the Columbia River basin, starting between 16,560 and 15,280 calibrated years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Artifacts from these early occupations indicate the use of unfluted stemmed projectile point technologies before the appearance of the Clovis Paleoindian tradition and support early cultural connections with northeastern Asian Upper Paleolithic archaeological traditions. The Cooper’s Ferry site was initially occupied during a time that predates the opening of an ice-free corridor (≤14,800 cal yr B.P.), which supports the hypothesis that initial human migration into the Americas occurred via a Pacific coastal route.
Publication Date: 2019
Publication Name: Science
Radiocarbon dating of the earliest occupational phases at the Cooper’s Ferry site in western Idaho indicates that people repeatedly occupied the Columbia River basin, starting between 16,560 and 15,280 calibrated years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Artifacts from these early occupations indicate the use of unfluted stemmed projectile point technologies before the appearance of the Clovis Paleoindian tradition and support early cultural connections with northeastern Asian Upper Paleolithic archaeological traditions. The Cooper’s Ferry site was initially occupied during a time that predates the opening of an ice-free corridor (≤14,800 cal yr B.P.), which supports the hypothesis that initial human migration into the Americas occurred via a Pacific coastal route.
Research Interests:
We review some of the current problems and prospects in ongoing Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) studies and highlight recent discoveries at important sites in the Intermountain West. While the region has traditionally not been the focus... more
We review some of the current problems and prospects in ongoing Western Stemmed Tradition (WST) studies and highlight recent discoveries at important sites in the Intermountain West. While the region has traditionally not been the focus of peopling of the Americas studies, it has received considerable attention in recent years due to the discovery of WST points and other artifacts in Clovis-aged deposits. Fieldwork at sites in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah has produced WST assemblages dated to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene and generated new fine-grained datasets capable of addressing longstanding questions about WST technology, chronology, and subsistence. Collectively, these efforts have helped to refocus North American Paleoindian studies on the Intermountain West and the role that it played in the peopling of the Americas.
Stone adzes were common in the tool kits and burial caches of ancient Polynesians. Though they appear in many forms this paper deals with the late stage of manufacture of Type 1 rectangular cross section adzes of the Moa-hunter period... more
Stone adzes were common in the tool kits and burial caches of ancient Polynesians. Though they appear in many forms this paper deals with the late stage of manufacture of Type 1 rectangular cross section adzes of the Moa-hunter period (1,000-1,400 CE) of the Maori culture in New Zealand.
The technique used in the manufacture of the final stages of these ancient adzes has not been described in the literature to date. The hypothesis of this paper is that the lateral edges of these adzes, that meet to form 90 or square edges, were formed by the indirect percussion technique using punches of stone and possibly wood or other materials. Indirect percussion is a stone tool knapping technique that employs an intermediate tool, a punch, between the hammerstone or billet percussion instrument and the object being worked. It is used in a similar manner to a sculptor's chisel. Evidence for this hypothesis is based on the examination of artifacts contained in museum collections in New Zealand, and the results of experimental work done to replicate the artifacts.
The technique used in the manufacture of the final stages of these ancient adzes has not been described in the literature to date. The hypothesis of this paper is that the lateral edges of these adzes, that meet to form 90 or square edges, were formed by the indirect percussion technique using punches of stone and possibly wood or other materials. Indirect percussion is a stone tool knapping technique that employs an intermediate tool, a punch, between the hammerstone or billet percussion instrument and the object being worked. It is used in a similar manner to a sculptor's chisel. Evidence for this hypothesis is based on the examination of artifacts contained in museum collections in New Zealand, and the results of experimental work done to replicate the artifacts.
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For at least fourteen millennia Glass Buttes, one of the largest obsidian sources in Oregon, has been a source of high quality toolstone for Native American flintknappers. In the last century non- native historic and modern flintknappers... more
For at least fourteen millennia Glass Buttes, one of the largest obsidian sources in Oregon, has been a source of high quality toolstone for Native American flintknappers. In the last century non- native historic and modern flintknappers as well as rock hounds have also used this resource for its abundant, colorful and high quality obsidian. This paper will discuss the quantity and quality of Glass Buttes obsidian, archaeological work that has been done there, the prehistoric and modern use of the resource, new archaeological findings, and the Bureau of Land Management protection plan for this valuable resource.