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FLAKED LITHIC TOOLS from RECENT INVESTIGATIONS on the SALTON SEA TEST BASE Tanya Wahoff KEA Environmental, Inc. 1420

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FLAKED LITHIC TOOLS from RECENT INVESTIGATIONS on the SALTON SEA TEST BASE Tanya Wahoff KEA Environmental, Inc. 1420 area, FLAKED LITHI C TOOLS FROM RECENT INVESTIGATIONS sugg ON THE SALTON SEA TEST BASE was hunti Tanya Wahoff SSTI KEA Environmental, Inc. Late 1420 Kettner Boulevard fishir Suite 620 artifa San Diego, California 92101 subs .Li1I:lli; ABSTRACT E quar1 During a recent survey of approximately 10 square miles on the Salton Sea Test Base. a variety of comr flaked lithic tools were recovered. including projectile points and unusual crescentics. While the majority expe of the tools represent an expedient lithic reduction technology. several projectile points characteristic of exarr the Paleoindian and Archaic Periods were identified. Raw materials and distribution of these items are petrif considered in terms of their implications relating to prehistoric mobility and procurement ranges. and I the ir area. manL INTRODUCTION components. Five of these tools are well-shaped are u small projectile points, and the remaining 25 are for irr During recent archaeological investigations on informal flake- and core-based tools. in the the Salton Sea Test Base (SSTB) a variety of area, flaked lithic tools were identified (Apple et al. Projectile Points from 1997). A total of 68 tools were collected. Many of Since there is currently no typology Much these are informal or "expedient" flake-based or developed specifically for the Colorado Desert, of cl­ core-based tools with minimal retouch. The lithic the projectile point analysis for this paper was identi assemblage also contains a number of formally­ conducted using typologies by Thomas (1981) distinl shaped, extensively worked tools, including and Vaughan and Warren (1987). Only about Rock bifaces, projectile points, crescentics, and a drill tip 13% of the projectile pOints or bifaces recovered The fragment. Overall artifact density within sites is from the SSTB project are from the Late locate low, and based on field observations and Prehistoric or Protohistoric Periods, and these are laboratory results, flaked stone tools are generally represented by three Cottonwood Triangular .Qls.Q..U rare within the project area. In addition to the points and two Desert Side-notched points. c overall sparsity of tools, the lithic assemblage Some examples of these projectile points are area , analyzed was somewhat skewed by the surface illustrated in Figure 1a. The points are finely made proj ee collection methods. These methods included from locally available quartz or fine-grained Pignic collection of all observed projectile points, while metavolcanic material, or non-local cherts . 6427) other tools were judgmentally sampled. Most of flakec the flaked stone tools were surface finds, with only Flake and Core-based Stone Tools sites two recovered subsurface. Most of the 25 informal stone tools collected projee during the SSTB project are flake-based ; only two shape core-based tools were recovered, a core-scraper rare 0 LATE PREHISTORIC AND and a biface preform. Utilized or retouched flakes appec PROTOHISTORIC PERIODS comprise about 60% of the flake- and core-based materi tools. Minimally flaked scrapers were the next resou Thirty items, or over 44% of the total flaked most common tool type, comprising approximately flake tool assemblage recovered from the SSTB 33% of the assemblage. A single chopper and a project, can be attributed to the Late Prehistoric or biface preform complete the inventory. Although Protohistoric Periods. This assignment is based the recovery of small points indicate some Late on diagnostic traits or association with dated Prehistoric or Protohistoric hunting activities in the 20 area, the preponderance of flake-based tools PALEOINDIAN AND ARCHAIC suggest that subsistence in these late periods PERIODS was more strongly linked to activities other than Although most of the dated components on hunting. Archaeological testing at sites in the the SSTB are Late Prehistoric or Protohistoric, the SSTB project area suggest that subsistence in the majority of the projectile pOints and bifaces date to Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric was linked to the Archaic, or possibly eariier to the Paleoindian. fishing (Apple et a!. 1997), and the flaked lithic Eight of the 37 points, bifaces, scrapers, and artifact assemblages are consistent with crescentics attributed to these ear1y periods are subsistence activities directed primarily at fishing. isolated finds. Most of the other Archaic and Paleoindian Period tools are found within sites Lithic Materials with late materials, although the ear1y period Expedient tools from SSTB are predominately artifacts tend to be located near the edges of quartzite (66%). with volcanic the next most sites, away from concentrations of late period common tool material (15%). The remaining materials. expedient tool inventory was comprised of single examples of obsidian, quartz, basalt, chert, and Early archaeological investigations identified petrified wood (4% each). The volcanic, quartzite. numerous Paleoindian sites throughout the and quartz lithic materials used in manufacturing Colorado Desert (Rogers 1966; Treganza 1942); the informal tools can be found within the project however, materials identified as Archaic are rare. In area This is a typical pattern for expedient his surveys of the Colorado Desert, Rogers found manufacture, whereby locally available materials no sites away from the Colorado River dating )ed are used to manufacture minimally-shaped tools between San Dieguito I and Yuman II, a gap of are for immediate use. Cherts are not typically present about 6,500 years (Moratto 1984:404; Weide in the sedimentary materials within the project 1976:85). A few sites have since been found that area, and would most likely have been imported appear to date within this period. During the from the Chocolate Mountains and Cargo recent investigations on the SSTB, several flaked )QY Muchacho Mountains to the east. Small amounts lithic tools including projectile points and two .rt. of chert and a piece of local obsidian were crescentics characteristic of the Paleoindian and II8S identified during the study. This includes a Archaic Periods were recovered, along with lithic 81) distinctive white chert that is found at the Rainbow materials in contexts dating to the Late Prehistoric put Rock Wonderstone source near the Salton Sea. and Protohistoric. red The obsidian was sourced to Obsidian Butte, ate located about 16 km southeast of the project area. Projectile Points ;Jre A single obsidian Lake Mojave pOint (7609-4 iJlar Discussion in Figure 1b) was typed to the Paleoindian Period. Itts. Comparisons of sites within the SSTB project This point has been heavily reworked, and is of are area with late sites from previous archaeological material from the San Felipe obsidian source, ilde projects in the vicinity (Phillips 1982; Rosen 1985; located in Baja California approximately 240 km to Bed Pigniolo 1994), including the Elmore site (CA-IMP­ the south-southwest of the project area. 6427) (Laylander 1994), show similarities in the flaked stone assemblages. Among these late The Archaic points recovered include three sites formal tools are generally restricted to small Pinto series points, two Elko series pOints, and ~ed prOjectile pOints, while large points and other well­ nine untyped dart points. These untyped two shaped, intensively worked flaked stone tools are specimens are large stemmed and notched per rare or absent. The artifact assemblages generally points, concave-based triangular, and straight­ kes appear to be composed of locally available cobble based triangular points. Examples of the points sed material, and represent expedient use of are illustrated in Figure 1b. While one of the lext resources focusing on the production of informal stemmed points (7629-1) appears similar to some le!y flake tools. examples of Pinto points, it is too thin to fit the Ida Vaughn and Warren (1987) typology used for this I1Qh analysis. Stemmed pOint P-13-007833-1 is of .ate obsidian sourced to Obsidian Butte. The the 21 Obsidian Butte source (-185 to -200 ft) was While crescentics are not common. they are 8Sl submerged during part of the time the SSTB sites found throughout the Great Basin, Columbia CUI were in use, and was' only accessible during low Plateau. and California (Tadlock 1966; Koerper SS lake stands. Neither of the obsidian points and Farmer 1987; Fenenga 1984). The majority of PrE recovered produced a reliable hydration band. crescentics are lunate or crescent-shaped. although eccentric variants formed by the addition One of the points is a very deeply serrated tip of notching have been found in a few areas of qUj and mid-section fragment of rhyolite (7506-1 in southern and northern California (Koerper and SEK! Figure 1b). This unusual artifact bears some Farmer 1987) (Figure 2b). The function of these Pel resemblance to serrated points from the objects is unknown. and speculation ranges from rid~ southwest (Gumerman and Haury 1979:82). ceremonial use as hunting amulets for the old Serrated points have been found at Ventana Cave zoomorphic versions to more mundane use as knc in southwestern Arizona, some with exaggerated spokeshaves, blunt bird pOints. slicing tools, and hy~ serrations. This is a feature which Haury attributed surgical instruments. Crescentics are considered to Amargosa II, and which shows up again in some to be characteristic of the Ear1y Holocene. from Hohokam points. The serrations are so about 7,000 B.P. to about 11,000 B.P. Pall exaggerated that the pOints may have had a ear. ceremonial rather than practical use (Haury Lithic Materials stall 1950:299-300). Overall, the older bifaces and projectile points cult! show a greater diversity of lithic materials than the aJsc Bifaces more recent tools. Almost 46% of the ear1y tool artift The majority of the 18 bifaces recovered assemblage is comprised of imported materials: man during this project were either leaf-shaped (44%) chert (35.9%); obsidian (5%) sourced to the t~ or indeterminable fragments (44%), and two are Salton Sea area and Baja California: and bif& triangular with straight bases (11 %). Most of the wonderstone (5%).
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