The Effects of Grinding Stone Reuse on the Archaeological Record in the Eastern Great Basin Author(s): STEVEN R. SIMMS Source: Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, Vol. 5, No. 1/2 (Summer and Winter 1983), pp. 98-102 Published by: Malki Museum, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27825137 Accessed: 30-11-2015 18:41 UTC

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This content downloaded from 129.123.24.42 on Mon, 30 Nov 2015 18:41:26 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Vol. 5, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 98-102 (1983).

The Effects of Grinding Stone on Reuse the Archaeological Record in the Eastern Great Basin

STEVEN R. SIMMS

are aware thatmany hunter-gatherer societies where the transpor ARCHAEOLOGISTSfactors change archaeological sites after tation of material culture is a limiting factor. they have been initially deposited. One kind Reuse can include the use of grinding stones of post-depositional phenomena that could from nearby, older sites or the caching of change the material record is the scavenging previously used grinding stones. Only the and reuse of manos and metates from older former behavior would significantly shift the sites by the later inhabitants of an area. If this distribution of grinding stones toward later has occurred, even on a limited basis, grinding sites unless these artifacts were incorporated tools may be disproportionately represented into caches. On a more local level, less reuse, on older sites. In this paper I will argue even in mobile societies, would be expected (1) that the scavenging and reuse of grinding when suitable raw materials were locally even stones by hunter-gatherers should be expected abundant. However, where raw material on theoretical grounds under many circum is abundant, the costs of making grinding stances and that this behavior has occurred in stones probably plays a role in whether they the Great Basin and elsewhere, and (2) that were made when needed, or collected ready there is a statistically significant bias in the to-use from nearby archaeological sites. Gif occurrence of grinding stones toward Late ford (1940:116) noted that "over a month" Prehistoric sites in the eastern Great Basin. I was required to peck and grind what was will then discuss the consequences of such a probably a large trough metate. Experiments pattern for archaeological interpretation of by students at the University of Utah show site function. that pecking and grinding of a metate can an REUSING GRINDING STONES: take from less than hour to over a hundred on THEORETICAL EXPECTATIONS AND hours, depending the size and material used. Even mano construction can take EMPIRICAL CASES type several hours after the appropriate material is By identifyingthe conditions under which found (see Pastron 1974: 101). On the other stones should be some grinding reused, pre hand, some grinding implements require very dictions about the can archaeological record little preparation. However, for the purposes be made. most On the general level, grinding of this study, it is not necessary to argue for stones should be reused more often inmobile reuse in every case because the issue here concerns a shift in the frequency of grinding Steven R. Simms, Dept. of Anthropologv, Univ. of Utah, Salt stones. On theoretical grounds, the reuse of Lake City, UT 84112. grinding stones should occur when they were [98]

This content downloaded from 129.123.24.42 on Mon, 30 Nov 2015 18:41:26 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EFFECTS OF GRINDING STONE REUSE 99 easier to obtain from nearby archaeological archaeological sites, it shows that the costs of sites than by carrying in finished grinding transporting grinding stones were of concern stones, or by making new tools. to Great Basin hunter-gatherers. Minimizing A survey of the ethnographic literature transportation costs would also be the motive indicates that grinding stones were scavenged behind reusing grinding stones. If this was the and reused. Isabel Kelly (1964) reports for case, then when prehistoric grinding stones the Kaiparowits band of Southern Paiute, were closer to a gathering site than a cache, it "Metate, mano similar to Kaibab; one side of is reasonable to expect that the former would metate used. When possible obtained from be used before or along with the cache of prehistoric site" (Kelly 1964: 152, italics grinding stones. This would bias the occur added). For the Kaibab band she reports, rence of grinding stones toward later sites and "The mano invariably was picked up at an yield a distorted picture of grinding stone use archaeological site" (Kelly 1964: 37, italics at earlier sites where grinding stones may have added). Hough (1901: 294) writing on been used, but are no longer present. in northeastern Arizona "The Apaches states, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA absence of metates from the surface, coupled with the presence of broken manos, was The question addressed here is: Are there remarked at Forestdale, and itwas learned that statistically significant differences in the fre the former were carried off by Indians who quency of grinding stones between Late Pre make use of them around their camps, only historic and earlier archaeological sites in the eastern Great working out a metate if an ancient one can Basin? To address this question on a not be secured" (italics added). In a some quantitatively and regional level, the of what different situation, but one that illus University Utah computerized site-record files were used to the occur trates the reuse of grinding stones, Lowie (ARIS) compare rence of stones (1924) notes, "At Whiterocks, Utah, I saw grinding between single Late Prehistoric sites and three or four metates in my interpreter's component single .... Archaic sites in a block of house They had been dug up in plough component large western Utah This area was ing and were used by the Ute women for (Fig. 1). chosen grinding coffee" (Lowie 1924: 204, italics because several large archaeological survey added). projects, including the MX missile project area Artifact scavenging and reuse is known in (Janetski 1980), resulted in this having other areas as well. I refer to two cases as the largest, most accurate, machine-readable data file for the were examples. Brumbach, Jarvenpa, and Buell region. Not only many (1983: 31-32, 47-48) document thisbehavior new sites added to existing files, but the most of the for many artifact types among the Chipewyan infusion of funds enabled infor on to in Canada. In Australia, when Alyawara mation previously recorded sites be speaking aborigines need to grind seeds, they checked for accuracy and filtered prior to were routinely look for abandoned or cached tools encoding. After this process, there 1,976 in habitation sites rather than manufacture recorded historic and prehistoric sites within new ones (J. F. O'Connell, personal communi the study area. cation 1982). To address the above question, it was It is also known that in some cases, necessary to eliminate multi-component sites metates and manos were cached (Wheat 1967: from the analysis. Also, criteria for deter the of the sites had to be 36). While caching does not demonstrate that mining age established. Late Prehistoric sites were identi grinding stones were being picked up at

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fled by the presence of brownware ceramics or, more frequently, the presence of Desert Side-notched projectile points. Thus, the late group of sites dates to post ca. A.D. 1100 1200. Earlier sites were identified using Ar chaic projectile point types with the excep tion of Elko Corner-notched points which have too long a time span in the eastern Great Basin to be meaningful for this study (Holmer 1978). All Fremont sites were eliminated. For this study, only early vs. late hunter-gatherer periods are compared and the exclusion of the Fremont does not alter this comparison. Table 1 shows that the presence of grind ing stones is significantly biased toward Late Prehistoric sites, as defined here. The differ ence is significant at the 0.05 probability level.

DISCUSSION

This study shows that the reuse of grind ing stones can bias the distribution of these Fig. 1. Map of study area in western Utah. tools toward later sites and shows that such a pattern exists in the archaeological record in times. Even if there were several subsistence/ western Utah. This does not mean that other settlement shifts, grinding stone reuse could factors have not affected the distribution of still have occurred and would affect the grinding stones, but suggests that where the observable material record. This not only reuse of grinding stones has occurred, a affects how we interpret function at the frequency shift in grinding stones would be earlier sites, but affects how we identify and no present matter what other factors were at interpret subsistence/settlement shifts. work. For example, it may be possible that The presence of a frequency shift in was a or a there shift in diet, change in grinding stones toward later sites has serious settlement pattern during Late Prehistoric implications for creating and using site

Table 1

GRINDING STONE DISTRIBUTION FOR SINGLE-COMPONENT ARCHAIC AND LATE PREHISTORIC SITES IN STUDY AREA

TotalGrinding Stones Grinding Stones Percent AbsentSites PresentPresent Archaic109 88 2119

Late Prehistoric 402033 60

- Chi square 4.17 with 1 degree of freedom = Significance 0.042; the above distribution is significant at the 0.05 level.

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function typologies. In short, many Archaic to function. It is necessary to consider the sites could be mislabeled as to their function sites on a regional level from the outset as an use where typologies ( 1 ) site-specific criteria occupational and post-depositional system. to ascribe function and; (2) the absence of This way, some of the post-depositional oc ground stone to make positive statements currences pertinent to an area can begin to be about site function. Site-function typologies recognized making negative (and positive) be to evaluate sets of sites should designed evidence more usable and our understanding occurring in an area. Such a set should be seen of the past more realistic. as a system in terms of both occupational and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS post-depositional processes. In this way, the effects of the reuse of stones grinding (and I thank James O'Connell, Richard Holmer, Al other such as post-depositional phenomena Lichty, Joel McNamara, Rebecca Rauch, Karen Lupo, the reuse of projectile points) would stand a and an anonymous reviewer for various types of assistance with the of this better chance of being seen and accounted preparation paper. for. REFERENCES Another issue revolves around the rela tionship between the use of positive and Brumbach, Hetty Jo, Robert Jarvenpa, and Clifford Buell negative evidence in the context of site 1983 An Ethnoarchaeological Approach to Chip specific versus regional levels of analysis. ewyan Adaptations in the Late Fur Trade While it is true that positive site-specific Period. Arctic Anthropology 19: 1-49. evidence is desirable, it does not follow that Gifford, Edward W. negative evidence is use site-specific equally 1940 Culture Element Distributions XII: Apache ful. In part, this problem stems from using Pueblo. Berkeley: University of California negative evidence on a site-specific level. Anthropological Records 4(1). Consider the hypothetical interpretation, Holmer, Richard N. "There are no grinding stones at this site, so it 1978 A Mathematical Typology for Archaic Pro Points of the Eastern Great Basin. is probably a hunting camp." On a site jectile Ph.D. dissertation, University of Utah. specific level alone, this is a dangerous inter Walter pretation. Further, this interpretation cannot Hough, 1901 Field Work in Northeastern then be on a scale Archaeological placed "regional" by Arizona. of the United States Na all of the Report simply adding up site-specific tional Museum for the Year Ending 1901. interpretations. Such a practice cannot even Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. begin to account for post-depositional proces Janetski, Joel C. ses of which the reuse of grinding stones is 1980 MX Cultural Resources Studies: Regional one only example. Cultural Resources Survey, Area C (Draft On another level, the problem is exacer Report). Manuscript on file at the Archaeo of Salt Lake bated by the site-specific orientation of many logical Center, University Utah, City. cultural resource management programs. The process by which archaeological significance is Kelly, Isabel determined and avoidance/mitigation plans 1964 Southern Paiute Ethnography. University of Utah No. 69. are developed is typically site-specific and Anthropological Papers hinders out of this mold onto a breaking truly Lowie, Robert H. level. To out a it regional carry regional study, 1924 Notes on Shoshonean Ethnography. Ameri is not enough to simply enumerate all of the can Museum of Natural History Anthro sites with each treated separately with respect pological Papers 20: 185-314.

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Pastron, Allen G. California Institute of Archaeology Mono 1974 Preliminary Ethnoarchaeological Investiga graph 4: 93-116. tions Among the Tarahumara. In: Ethno Wheat, Margaret C. B. Donnan and C. W. Clew archaeology, 1967 Survival Arts of the Primitive Paiutes. Reno: low, Jr., eds. Los Angeles: University of University of Nevada Press.

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