Chipped stone artifact data from several Cascade phase sites located on the lower Snake River are analyzed to evaluate lithic technological characteristics of the early Cascade phase. Interpretations based upon the stone tool assemblages suggest traditional generalizations about the early Cascade phase require some rethinking. Specifically, tool type and debitage type analysis indicate that early Cascade phase settlement organization was not necessarily oriented to a local riverine setting, rather, early Cascade phase populations were highly mobile and visited major river drainages during only part of an annual cycle. Analysis of lithic raw material shows that early Cascade phase populations prefer nonlocally available cryptocrystalline cherts and fine grained basalt for production of refined tools such as projectile points and that locally available coarse grained basalts were primarily used to make nonportable situational gear.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AhlerStanley1971Projectile Point Form and Function at Rodgers Shelter, Missouri, College of Arts and Science, University of Missouri-Columbia and the Missouri Archaeological Society, Columbia, Missouri.
2.
AmesKennethM.1988Early Holocene Forager Mobility Strategies on the Southern Columbia Plateau, in Early Human Occupation in Far Western North America: The Clovis-Archaic Interface, WilligJ. A.AikensC. M., and FaganJ. L. (eds.), Nevada State Museum, Anthropological Papers No. 21, Carson City, pp. 325–360.
3.
AmmermanA. J. and AndrefskyWilliamJr.1982Reduction Sequences and the Exchange of Obsidian in Neolithic Calabria, in Contexts for Prehistoric Exchange, EricsonJ. and EarleT. (eds.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 149–172.
4.
AndrefskyWilliamJr.1991Inferring Trends in Prehistoric Settlement Behavior from Lithic Production Technology in the Southern Plains, North American Archaeologist, 12, pp. 129–144.
5.
AndrefskyWilliamJr.1992Cascade Phase Lithic Technology on the Lower Snake River, paper presented at the 45th Annual Northwest Anthropological Conference, Burnaby, British Columbia.
6.
AndrefskyWilliamJr.1994aRaw Material Availability and the Organization of Technology, American Antiquity, 59, pp. 21–34.
7.
AndrefskyWilliamJr.1994bThe Geological Occurrence of Lithic Material and Stone Tool Production Strategies, Geoarchaeology, 9, pp. 375–392.
8.
AndrefskyWilliamJr.EmersonAlice M., and WagnerJill M.1992Archaeological Collections Inventory of Twenty Four Sites Along the Snake River in Washington, Center for Northwest Anthropology, Contributions in Cultural Resource Management, No. 42. Washington State University, Pullman.
9.
BamforthDouglas B.1986Technological Efficiency and Tool Curation, American Antiquity, 51, pp. 38–50.
10.
BamforthDouglas B.1991Technological Organization and Hunter-Gatherer Land Use: A California Example, American Antiquity, 56, pp. 216–234.
11.
BenseJudith A.1972The Cascade Phase: A Study in the Effect of the Altithermal on a Cultural System, Ph.D. dissertation, Washington State University, Pullman, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
12.
BienenfeldP. and AndrefskyWilliamJr.1984Projected Point Life Cycles and Use-Resharpening Analysis, paper presented at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Portland.
13.
BinfordLewis R.1979Organization and Formation Processes: Looking at Curated Technologies, Journal of Anthropological Research, 35, pp. 255–273.
14.
BinfordLewis R. and StoneNancy M.1985“Righteous Rocks” and Richard Gould: Some Observations on Misguided “Debate,”American Antiquity, 50, pp. 151–153.
15.
BraunerDavid R.1972Archaeological Salvage of the Connell Quarry Site, 45FR267, Laboratory of Anthropology Report, Washington State University, Pullman.
16.
ButlerB. Robert1961The Old Cordilleran Culture in the Pacific Northwest, Occasional Papers of the Idaho State College Museum, No. 5. Pocatello.
17.
ButlerB. Robert1962Contributions to the Prehistory of the Columbia Plateau, A Report on Excavations in the Palouse and Craig Mountain Sections, Occasional Papers of the Idaho State College Museum, No. 9, Pocatello.
18.
CallahanErrett1979The Basics of Biface Knapping in the Eastern Fluted Point Tradition: A Manual for Flintknappers and Lithic Analysts, Archaeology of Eastern North America, 7, pp. 1–180.
19.
CENTER FOR NORTHWEST ANTHROPOLOGY1992The Results of the 1992 Drawdown Monitoring Project in Lower Granite, Little Goose and John Day Reservoirs, Center for Northwest Anthropology, Contributions in Cultural Resource Management No. 40, Washington State University, Pullman.
20.
ChattersJames C.1984Test Excavations at RM 590 Rufus Woods Lake, North Central Washington: Human Adaptation Along the Columbia River, 4700–1600 B.P., Central Washington University, Occasional Paper No. 1, Ellensburg, Washington.
21.
ClevelandGregory C.CochranBruceGinigerJudith, and HammattHallett H.1976Archaeological Reconnaissance of the Mid-Columbia and Lower Snake River Reservoirs for the Walla Walla District Army Corps of Engineers, WARC Project Report No. 27, Pullman.
22.
DaughertyRichard D.1962The Inermontaine Western Tradition, American Antiquity, 28, pp. 144–150.
23.
DraperJohn A.1992The 1992 Options Analysis Study: Cultural Resources, Center for Northwest Anthropology, Contributions in Cultural Resource Management, No. 38, Washington State University, Pullman.
24.
FlennikenJ. Jeffrey and WilkePhilip J.1989Typology, Technology, and Chronology of Great Basin Dart Points, American Anthropologist, 91, pp. 149–158.
25.
GalmJerry R.HartmanGlenn D.MastenRuth A., and StephensonGarry O.1981A Cultural Resources Overview of Bonneville Power Administration's Mid-Columbia Project, Central Washington, Eastern Washington University Reports in Archaeology and History 100-16, Eastern Washington University, Cheney.
26.
GoodyearAlbert C.1979A Hypothesis for the Use of Cryptocrystalline Raw Material Among Paleo-Indian Groups of North America, Research Manuscript Series 156, Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
27.
GouldRichard A.1980Living Archaeology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
28.
GouldRichard A.KosterDorothy A., and SontzAnn H. L.1971The Lithic Assemblage of the Western Desert Aborigines of Australia, American Antiquity, 36, pp. 149–169.
29.
GouldRichard A. and SaggersS.1985Lithic Procurement in Central Australia: A Closer Look at Binford's Idea of Embeddedness in Archaeology, American Antiquity, 50, pp. 117–136.
30.
GreiserSally T.1977Micro-Analysis of Wear Patterns on Projectile Points and Knives from the Jurgens Site, Kersey, Colorado, Plains Anthropologist, 22, pp. 107–116.
31.
HammattHallet H.1977Late Quaternary Stratigraphy and Archaeological Chronology in the Lower Snake Granite Reservoir Area, Lower Snake River, Washington, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
32.
HaydenBrian M.1979Paleolithic Reflections: Lithic Technology and Ethnographic Excavation Among Australian Aborigines, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, Humanities Press, New Jersey.
33.
HenryDonald O.1989Correlations between Reduction Strategies and Settlement Patterns, in Alternative Approaches to Lithic Analysis, HenryD. O. and OdellG. H. (eds.), Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 139–212.
34.
KellyJohn E.1984Late Bluff Chert Utilization on the Merrell Tract, Cahokia, in Prehistoric Chert Exploitation: Studies from the Midcontinent, ButlerBrian M. and MayErnest E. (eds.), Center for Archaeological Investigations, Occasional Paper No. 2, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, pp. 23–44.
35.
KellyRobert L.1988The Three Sides of a Biface, American Antiquity, 53, pp. 717–734.
36.
LeonhardyFrank C.1970Artifact Assemblages and Archaeological Units at Granite Point Locality 1 (45WT41), Southeastern Washington, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
37.
LeonhardyFrank C. and RiceDavid G.1970A Proposed Culture Typology for the Snake River Region of Southeastern Washington, Northwest Anthropological Research Notes, 4, pp. 1–29.
38.
LewensteinS. M.1987Stone Tool Use at Cerros: The Ethnoarchaeological and Use—Wear Evidence, University of Texas Press, Austin.
39.
LothropJonathan C.1989The Organization of Paleoindian Lithic Technology at the Potts Site, in Eastern Paleoindian Lithic Resource Use, EllisC. J. and LothropJ. C. (eds.), Westview Press, Boulder, pp. 99–138.
40.
McPhersonPenny J.HallDavid M.McGloneVincent J., and NachtweyNancy1981Site Specific Analysis and Intersite Comparisons, in Archaeological Excavation in the Blue Mountains: Mitigation of Sites 35UN52, 35UN74, and 35UN95 in the Vicinity of Ladd Canyon, Union County, Oregon, Volume 2, Western Cultural Resource Management, Inc., Boulder.
41.
MehringerPeter J.Jr.BlinmanEric, and PetersenKenneth L.1977Pollen Influx and Volcanic Ash, Science, 198, pp. 257–261.
42.
MorganVera1993Cultural Resource Investigations at 45AD104, An Upland Bison Site, Adams County, Washington, Eastern Washington University Reports in Archaeology and History, 100-81, Eastern Washington University, Cheney.
43.
MutoGuy R.1976The Cascade Technique: An Examination of a Levallois-like Reduction System in Early Snake River Prehistory, Ph.D. dissertation, Washington State University, Pullman, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
44.
NanceCharles R.196645WT2: An Archaeological Site on the Lower Snake River, M.A. thesis, Washington State University, Pullman.
45.
NelsonCharles M.1965Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Lower Monumental and Little Goose Dam Reservoir Area, 1964, Washington State University, Laboratory of Anthropology, Report of Investigations No. 34, Pullman.
46.
NelsonCharles M.1969The Sunset Creek Site (45KT28) and Its Place in Plateau Prehistory, Washington State University, Laboratory of Anthropology, Report of Investigations, No. 47, Pullman, Washington.
47.
O'ConnellJames F.1977Aspects of Variation in Central Australian Lithic Assemblages, in Stone Tools as Cultural Markers: Change, Evolution and Complexity, WrightR. V. S. (ed.), Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, pp. 269–281.
48.
ParryWilliam J. and KellyRobert L.1987Expedient Core Technology and Sedentism, in The Organization of Core Technology, JohnsonJ. K. and MorrowC. A. (eds.), Westview Press, Boulder, pp. 285–304.
49.
PavesicMax G.1985Cache Blades and Turkey Tails: Piecing Together the Western Idaho Archaic Burial Complex, in Stone Tool Analysis: Essays in Honor of Don E. Crabtree, PlewM. G.WoodsJ. C., and PavesicM. G. (eds.), University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, pp. 55–90.
50.
ReidKenneth C.1991The Lower Snake Basin: Hells Canyon to the Columbia, in An Overview of Cultural Resources in the Snake River Basin: Prehistory and Paleoenvironments, ReidKenneth C. (ed.), Center for Northwest Anthropology, Project Report Number 13, Washington State University, Pullman, pp. 17–159.
51.
RiceDavid G.1969Preliminary Report, Marmes Rockshelter Archaeological Site, Southern Columbia Plateau, Report to National Park Service, San Francisco, Laboratory of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.
52.
RootMatthew J.1992The Knife River Flint Quarries: The Organization of Stone Tool Production, Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
53.
SandersPaul H.1992Archaeological Investigations Along the Pend Oreille River: Site 45PO149, Project Report No. 18, Center for Northwest Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.
54.
Lee SappingtonRobert and CarleyCaroline1984Archaeological Test Excavation and Evaluation of Three Prehistoric Sites at Swift Bar, on the Lower Snake River, Southeastern Washington, University of Idaho Anthropological Research Manuscript Series, Number 81, Moscow.
55.
ShottMichael J.1986Settlement Mobility and Technological Organization: An Ethnographic Examination, Journal of Anthropological Research, 42, pp. 15–51.
56.
SollbergerJ. B.1971A Technological Study of Beveled Knives, Plains Anthropologist, 16, pp. 209–218.
57.
SpragueRoderick and CombesJohn D.1966Excavations in the Little Goose and Lower Granite Dam Reservoir, 1965, Washington State University, Laboratory of Anthropology, Report of Investigations, Number 37, Pullman.
58.
StevensRebecca A. and GalmJerry R.1991Archaeological Investigations Near Rock Island Rapids: Excavations at 45CH309, Eastern Washington University Reports in Archaeology and History 100-63, Eastern Washington University, Cheney.
59.
StinerMary C. and KuhnSteven L.1992Subsistence, Technology, and Adaptive Variation in Middle Paleolithic Italy, American Anthropologist, 94, pp. 306–339.
60.
SwansonEarl H.Jr.1962Early Cultures in Northwestern North America, American Antiquity, 28, pp. 151–158.
61.
TorrenceRobin1989Time, Energy and Stone Tools, Cambridge University Press, New York.
62.
WhittakerJohn C.1994Flintknapping: Making and Understanding Stone Tools, University of Texas Press, Austin.
63.
WomackBruce1977An Archaeological Investigation and Technological Analysis of the Stockhoff Basalt Quarry, Northeastern Region, unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.
