Geochemical Evidence for Long-Distance Exchange

Edited by M. D. Glascock (2002). Bergin and Garvey, Westport, CN.

Exploring the Landscapes of Long-Distance Exchange: Evidence from Obsidian Cliffs and Devil's Tower, Wyoming

B. L. Molyneaux

Abstract

Source analysis of obsidian samples contributes here to research into the environmental knowledge of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. In this particular study, the goal was to identify visually salient landforms - landmarks - that prehistoric groups used as strategic navigational nodes. The approach involved a comparative analysis of lithic raw material diversity. Lithic diversity is commonly associated with the mobility of the tool-makers and the range of their natural resource exploitation. If a landmark inventory has a wider variety of raw materials than nearby sites lacking these salient features, one may hypothesize that groups from a greater diversity of environments, with access to different procurement areas, stopped there. This information may then contribute to a better understanding of how prehistoric peoples perceived, moved through, and used their regional environment. The artifact inventory at Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, included 33 obsidian specimens. They derived from several sources:

• Obsidian Cliff, Wyoming (n = 17)
• Big Table Mountain (Bear Gulch), Idaho (n = 8)
• Malad (Wright Creek), Idaho (n = 4)
• Dunraven Pass, Wyoming (n = 3)
• Mineral Mountains, Utah (n = 1)

This range of sources proved to be greater than the range at other sites of comparable size in the region.

Number of samples in dataset:33

The database file is in Excel format (7K in .zip file). Please fill in the following information to receive the files for this publication.