Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: The Role of Chert in Paleoarchaic Landuse Strategies in the Central Great Basin

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Under the guidance of Dr. John Speth, Khori Newlander will explore mobility and intergroup interaction by studying the geologic source and technological organization of Paleoindian stone tool assemblages in eastern Nevada. These foragers used obsidian to make stemmed points (hunting gear) and flint for other tools (resource-processing gear). By determining where they obtained both obsidian and flint, and their use of these materials, Mr. Newlander expects to distinguish different scales of mobility and modes of resource acquisition.Great Basin archaeologists rely on obsidian artifacts to reconstruct Paleoindian mobility patterns because their sources can easily be identified geochemically. Previous research shows that a single site often includes obsidian from sources 200-250 km away, defining obsidian conveyance zones (OCZ). Yet archaeologists disagree over what these zones represent. Some Great Basinists propose that Paleoindian foragers employed a division of labor in which male hunting parties procured distant resources, including obsidian, which they brought back to fixed base camps. In this model OCZ represent the spatial extent of male hunting forays. Other Great Basinists propose that Paleoindian foragers moved their base camps frequently. In this model OCZ delineate annual foraging territories of entire bands. However, both models are inconsistent with ethnographic data. The spatial extent of assumed male hunting forays and annual foraging territories greatly exceed historically documented values. Mr. Newlander's research proposes instead that OCZ reflect patterns of exchange among multiple forager groups. In order to test these models, knowledge of obsidian source use must be contextualized within an understanding of the geologic landscape that also includes flint. Yet, flint sources are poorly documented, making current obsidian-based models tenuous. Mr. Newlander plans, therefore, to test hypotheses about flint acquisition through analysis of geologic source use and technological organization of flint artifacts from Paleoindian assemblages in eastern Nevada. Three hypotheses are offered regarding mode of flint procurement: (1) local (10 km from a base camp), reflecting daily foraging needs; (2) long-distance task-group forays, reflecting greater levels of mobility than generally assumed; (3) intergroup exchange, an explanation seldom considered in Paleoindian studies. The archaeological data will be derived from collections already available from Butte, Jakes, and Long valleys, augmented by survey within Coal Valley, which previous research has shown to contain Paleoindian sites. The project will incorporate students from the University of Michigan and Hamilton College, providing experience in field methods, Great Basin archaeology, and stone tool analysis. The proposed research includes the first systematic analysis of flint sources for Great Basin Paleoindian assemblages. By testing hypotheses about the acquisition and distribution of flint, this research contributes to larger debates about Paleoindian mobility, economy, and intergroup interaction. It will also generate a comparative dataset useful in future regional studies, and which can be brought to bear on other long-standing debates in the Great Basin-the Numic expansion and whether Great Basin foragers were territorial, a question relevant to ongoing land-ownership disputes.