The Frog Bay site (47BA60) has been excavated for three field seasons. Excavations in 1979 located the site and continued in 2018 – 2019 by the Geté Anishinaabe Izhichigéwin community archaeological field school. This program commenced from a sovereignty initiative surrounding the creation of the Frog Bay Tribal National Park directed by the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Within the park, the Frog Bay site represents a multicomponent shorebased camp that was occupied numerous times during the Archaic and Woodland stages (ca. 3000 BC – AD 900). Structured through a community-based Indigenous theoretical framework, lithic analysis and community input are used to research long-term practices of mobility, land use, and place-making associated with the Frog Bay site. These methods offer a “braided interpretation” of the activities and occupation trends at Frog Bay and explore the intrinsic value that the site continues to hold for the present-day Red Cliff community.

No description available.

This doctoral thesis presents the results of the pioneering archaeological investigation conducted in the Northern Mexican Highlands with the aim to evaluate the existing indicators of the earliest human occupations at the end of the Pleistocene and discover new evidence of ancient cultural manifestations through a systematic exploration of an endorheic basic in the Zacatecas desert, a region never studied before. An exhaustive survey and analysis of the available literature on Mexican prehistory establishes the weak points of the local paradigms, differentiating between academic myths and objective realities. A complete historiography of the topic of the earliest humans in Mexico has been achieved, for the first time. The study of several collections of flaked stone artefacts, in different cities in Mexico, show new indicators of the presence of bearers of the Late Paleoamerican cultures, in regions where their presence had been weakly confirmed. The most important part of the research consisted in fieldwork realised during two long seasons; the first one dedicated to the surface explorations and the second one to excavations. Thirty-five new archaeological sites were discovered in the first phase, most of them open campsites reminiscent of hunter-gatherer societies, with a richness of stone artefacts on their surface. They indicate a long cultural sequence, going from the Late Pleistocene to the Late Holocene and the historic periods. Four sites were further studied by fourteen test excavation units: Dunas de Milpa Grande, San José de las Grutas, the Chiquihuite Cave and Ojo de Agua. Two new archaeological cultures were identified, one at Dunas (an interesting assemblage of limestone and basalt flaked stone tools) and another one at San José (a limestone concave-based points complex). First indicators of ʻolder than Clovisʼ human presence have also been obtained. The palaeoenvironmental data provide a preliminary reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene landscape of the basin, based on geology, extinct fauna, phytolith and mollusc analyses. Radiocarbon and OSL results support a first cultural and paleoclimatic model for the study area. This investigation also discovered the first case of a “black mat” in Mexico: a black layer of sediment deposited under specific environmental conditions during the Younger Dryas cooling event.

This thesis is a pilot study, designed to test and develop methods suitable for the study of Scandinavian flint spearhead functionality. The functionality of projectile and lithic point armament has not been studied for almost 30 years in Scandinavia. Meanwhile, methods used to analyse lithic projectiles have developed considerably. However, few of these methods are precise enough to be used in conjunction with Scandinavian stone technological analyses that emphasize the societal aspect of lithic points. Consequently, two methods were chosen that could provide data for Scandinavian research issues: 3D-scanning/continuum mechanical simulations and organic residue analysis. The methods were tested on 6 experimental spearheads. The continuum mechanical simulation generated both visual and numerical data that could be used to create precise functional-morphological descriptions. The data could also potentially be used for projectile point classification. The organic residue analysis revealed promising results for the use of an artefact and activity specific analysis, with a sequential extraction protocol. In unison, the results from both analyses could be used to reveal how spearheads were functionally designed and used in Stone Age Scandinavia, even though there are methodological and technological issues that need solving.

The Aurignacian is a contentious time period in paleoanthropology. The myriad social changes which accompany the Upper Paleolithic transition have often become associated with the physical tools which Aurignacian people left behind. One result of this is the current tendency of professionals to use blade technology as an indicator of "modernity," rather than examining how changes accompanying the Upper Paleolithic transition made blades a useful adaptation. Of particular importance is the fact that the adoption of blades coincides with a long distance shift in the system used to procure and transport the lithic raw materials. This suggests that before we can use blades to answer anthropological questions about the Aurignacian, we need to establish the relationship between blade production and the acquisition of exotic raw materials. This dissertation combines an analysis of the lithic collection from the French archaeological site of Abri Cellier with the experimental fracture of lithic raw material samples in order to examine the impact of raw material quality on Aurignacian blade production. The analysis of the assemblage from Abri Cellier demonstrates that Aurignacian blades manufactured on exotic materials were of higher quality than those produced locally. The experimental fracture of raw material samples reveals that the differences in the quality of the exotic and local materials do not sufficiently account for the differences in the quality of the blades produced on them. This implies that the differential transport of high quality final products accounts for the increased quality of exotic blades at Abri Cellier. This research examines a number of new ways to evaluate quality in the archaeological record. More importantly, however, it firmly demonstrates that the acquisition of long distance raw materials was not a prerequisite for blade production in the Perigord. This work will conclude by arguing that blades played a role in increasing the maintainability of a hafted toolkit geared towards meeting the requirements of an increasingly mobile and collaborative Aurignacian population.

Au coeur du stade isotopique 3, le Châtelperronien est vu comme la dernière manifestation culturelle desnéandertaliens en France et dans le nord de l’Espagne. Ce technocomplexe est défini comme « de transition »avec un monde nouveau, celui du Paléolithique supérieur, dont l’artisan est l’Homme anatomiquement moderne.Il n’est cependant connu que par un nombre restreint de sites, souvent fouillés anciennement, et sur lesquelsplanent des soupçons de mélanges. Afin de mieux définir cette industrie, nous proposons ici d'en documenter lavariabilité, par le biais de l'analyse taphonomique et techno-économique de trois séries lithiques aquitaines deplein-air : le Basté (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Bidart (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) et Canaule II (Dordogne).Intégrés à une synthèse bibliographique critique mobilisant les autres collections châtelperroniennes, nosrésultats confirment la forte unité technique du Châtelperronien, probablement symptomatique d’une unitéculturelle forte, tant dans les modalités que dans les objectifs de la production lithique. L’équipement lithique estorienté vers l’obtention de lames plutôt larges et courtes, de profil rectiligne, principalement dévolues à lafabrication de pointes ou couteaux de Châtelperron. La forte unité morphométrique de ces dernières, ajouté à laremise en cause de la réalité d'une composante moustérienne au sein de ces séries, annihilent l’idée d'unevariabilité diachronique ou géographique du Châtelperronien, qui à ce titre ne peut plus être défini comme uneindustrie de "transition" au sens propre du terme, mais bien comme un technocomplexe pleinement paléolithiquesupérieur.A une échelle plus vaste, le processus ayant conduit à sa formation semble reposer sur la place prépondérantedonnée à la recherche de pointes lithiques légères et potentiellement utilisées comme armatures. Ce processus estcomparable à celui en action, à la même période et dans le reste de l'Europe occidentale, au sein des autrestechnocomplexes dits de "transition".Ces résultats rejoignent ainsi l’idée d’une apparition graduelle et géographiquement contrastée des élémentsstructurants du Paléolithique supérieur, dont certains sont déjà en oeuvre bien avant l'émergence de l'Aurignacien(production laminaire, rôle prépondérant des armatures au sein des équipements lithiques, industrie en matièredure animale). Ils contribuent donc à estomper l'image de rupture communément admise pour cette périodecharnière dans l'histoire de l'humanité. / The Chatelperronian, dating to MIS 3, represents the final expression of the Neanderthals in France and northernSpain. This techno-complex has been defined as the transition to the new world of the Upper Palaeolithic whichis associated with anatomically modern humans. However, this industry is known from only a few recentlyanalysed collections. This work documents the variability of this techno-complex by way of a taphonomic andtechno-economic analysis of three open-air sites from the Aquitaine region: Le Basté (Pyrénées-Atlantique),Bidart (Pyrénées-Atlantique), and Canaule II (Dordogne).These results are integrated with a bibliographic synthesis which considers other Chatelperronian assemblagesbased on their analytical value. The substantial technical unity of the Chatelperronian is confirmed and is likelyindicative of an equally substantial cultural unity expressed in the modes and objectives of an almost exclusivelylaminar lithic production system. These generally short and wide blades with rectilinear profiles were detachedusing soft-stone hammer percussion and were mainly designed for the manufacture of Chatelperronian points.Furthermore, the considerable morphometric unity of these pieces, coupled with the doubt cast upon the realityof a Mousterian component of this industry, calls into question the idea of an internal evolution.The Chatelperronian, in the absence of a cultural composite in associated chaînes opératoires, can no longer bedefined as a ‘transitional’ industry in the literal sense of the term.Nevertheless, its formation seems to be have been driven by the desire for lightweight lithic points that werepotentially employed as armatures. This process is comparable with those seen during the same period across therest of Western Europe with other ‘transitional’ techno-complexes.This work therefore aligns itself with the idea of a gradual appearance of the elements structuring the UpperPalaeolithic of which certain features were already in place well before the emergence of the Aurignacian(laminar production, the predominant role of armatures in the lithic tool-kit, and the presence of bone and antlerartefacts). Our conclusions chip away at the commonly accepted image of a rupture during this pivotal period inthe history of humanity.

No description available.

Projectile points/ knives (PPKs) are categorized by morphology, also called typology, and associated with cultural periods. A total of 64 PPKs in collections in the Archaeology Lab at East Tennessee State University were curated as untyped and without provenience. They were allegedly collected from ground surveys in Upper East Tennessee, but without archaeological context research had not been prioritized. The importance of such research lies in the fact that few publications exist on the region of Upper East Tennessee and many reference books on lithic typology portray PPKs through illustrations of the ideal morphology of each type. The challenge herein is that the lithic technologies excavated by archaeologists are typically used, worn, broken, or abandoned. A comparative collection of projectile points found in the field from the region of Upper East Tennessee is a valuable research resource. The 64 PPKs yielded 25 typologies that are, indeed, published from Upper East Tennessee and show variability from resharpening, wear, and other means. The comparative collection is curated at the East Tennessee State University Archaeology Lab at Valley Brook.

Chert tool production and exchange has long been studied for the Maya Preclassic to Terminal Classic Periods of Northern Belize (1000 B.C.-A.D. 950). It is increasingly clear that lithic systems of production and exchange were an integral part of the economic environment for this region, yet lithic research pertaining to the Maya Postclassic Period (A.D. 950-1530) is not well represented in the general literature. A recent examination of 110 chert, chalcedony, and obsidian small side-notched projectile points and point preforms, as well as 2,163 pieces of associated production debitage from two Late Postclassic households at Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, has yielded the identification of two lithic craft production areas. Examination of the complete lithic collection from these residences, as well as an additional 176 projectile points located throughout the site, reveals the need for new models of lithic production and exchange for this region during the Postclassic Period.

The purpose of this project was to record the private archaeological collection of the Keene family, which was previously unknown to the professional community. While at the two sites, Keene Redfield site (8Ja1847) and Keene Dog Pond site (8Ja1848), in Jackson County, northwest Florida, USF archaeologists also conducted field investigations to look for prehistoric cultural materials in undisturbed contexts. This research was conducted at the request of the Keene family. The field crew systematically documented, cataloged and photographed each artifact in the Keene collection while at the sites. Surface survey and testing were also carried out in order to determine site boundaries, occupation and function. Over 1,000 artifacts from every time period from the transitional Paleo-Indian/Early Archaic through the Mississippian were documented from the collection. Field investigations resulted in the location and investigation of undisturbed cultural strata below the plow zone, enabling the researchers to obtain radiocarbon dates from these deposits. Evidence of hunting and gathering activities and of tool processing including repair, sharpening and possible re-use was found at both sites. This work allowed for the publication of two previously unknown, rich archaeological sites and for a better understanding of the prehistoric activities and functions of this region of the southeast. While participating in this public archaeology project, several other similar opportunities presented themselves, providing USF archaeologists with the ability to maintain a presence in the area to continue public archaeology efforts to engage the community and encourage appropriate participation and good stewardship of these types of private sites.