Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Across The Snake River Plain: Terminal Pleistocene, Early Holocene, And Early Middle Holocene Land-Use In Southeast Idaho, Jennifer Finn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The range of mobility demonstrated to overcome challenges with resource distribution is a hallmark of hunter-gatherer societies. Previous studies in southeast Idaho have investigated the possibility that precontact human movement was impacted by climatic differences. According to preliminary studies on regional obsidian toolstone conveyance, land use patterns were already changing throughout the early Holocene due to increased aridity. However, the geographical distribution of Northern Side-notched projectile points suggests a significant expansion in mobility at the early Holocene/middle Holocene transition. This thesis tests the hypothesis that precontact early middle Holocene human mobility in the study area was conditioned by environmental factors …

Letter Report, Re: Analysis Of Obsidian Artifacts From The High Plains Project, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Geochemical Sourcing Of Obsidian Artifacts From Archaeological Surveys In The Taos Area, New Mexico, Report #2: The Helen Blumenschein Collection, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Letter Report, Re: Analysis Of Three Obsidian Projectile Points From Pete Creek (41cb1), Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Letter Report, Re: Analysis Of One Obsidian Flake From Pete Creek (41cb1), Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Compositional Analysis By Pxrf Of Obsidian Artifacts From Pete Creek (41cb1) In Crosby County, Texas, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Letter Report, Re: Analysis Of Three Obsidian Artifacts From The High Plains Project, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry Of Archaeological Artifacts From Peñasco Alto (La 926), Report #1: Summary Of In-Field Analyses Conducted In June And July 2021, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Xrf Of Obsidian: Analysis Of The Vester Collection, Christopher Brito

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The main goal of this study is to provide context and provenance to the Vester

Collection of Mesoamerican artifacts by sourcing the obsidian objects in the collection

through the use of an X-ray fluorescence device. The artifacts were looted by Mr.

Gerhard Vester while he was in Mexico from 1946 – 1953 and are reported to be from

Teotihuac n and the surrounding area. Despite the decontextualized nature of this

collection, it can still provide valuable information. The obsidian artifacts, in particular,

can be used to provide more information on the network of trade systems in Classic

(300 – 950 …

A Collection Of Early Holocene Flaked-Stone Crescents From The Northern Great Basin, Matthew T. Boulanger, G. Logan Miller, Philip Fisher

Anthropology Research

Several flaked-stone crescents from the northern Great Basin were recently identified within the James M. Collins artifact collection held in the Archaeological Research Collections, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University. These artifacts are morphologically and technologically consistent with other pre- Columbian crescents reported from the region. The two obsidian crescents in the collection exhibit compositions that are consistent with obsidian from the Whitehorse/Double H source, located immediately south of where the artifacts were reportedly obtained. Analysis of the crescents for use wear suggests that they were used in a manner consistent with transversely hafted projectiles. Data reported here add to …

An Analysis Of Obsidian Artifacts From The Black Mountain Redoubt (48fr6463): A Late Archaic To Late Prehistoric Shoshone Campsite In Northwestern Wyoming, Mary Margaret Hagen Erlick

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The Black Mountain Redoubt is a small Late Archaic through Late Prehistoric campsite in northwestern Wyoming associated with a series of communal bighorn sheep hunting traps. A diverse tools assemblage along with several house features indicates a wide range of activities specifically associated with bighorn sheep hunting. We use a 100 percent analysis of the obsidian formal tool and debitage assemblage as a test of obsidian conveyance in western Wyoming. Obsidian artifacts come from the five major regional sources but are dominated by Obsidian Cliff materials in keeping with the Yellowstone Plateau conveyance zone. In contrast, obsidian from Malad, Idaho …

Geochemical Sourcing Of Obsidian Artifacts From Archaeological Surveys In The Taos Area, New Mexico, Report #1: The Helen Blumenschein Collection; The Little Rio Grande Survey; Vickery’S Excavations At Ta-26; And, The Herold And Luebben Survey, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Hxrf Analysis Of Yugüe Obsidian, Jessica L. Clark

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Analysis was performed on a 31-artifact sample of Late Terminal Formative obsidian excavated in 2003 from the archaeological site of Yugüe in the Lower Verde Valley of Oaxaca. This analysis was performed to determine the geochemical sources of the individual obsidian artifacts and replicate a prior study of Yugüe obsidian performed by David T. Williams for his thesis at the University of Colorado. This earlier analysis determined that five obsidian sources were present. Sourcing was accomplished using a handheld X-Ray fluorescence instrument and bivariate plotting of relevant trace elements. Five sources of obsidian were found during analysis: Pachuca, Otumba, Paredon, …

An Analysis Of Tachylyte And Other Volcanic Glasses In Washington Archaeology, Mallory M. Triplett

All Master's Theses

Within archaeological literature, a discussion of volcanic toolstones from Washington State is uncommon. Washington’s volcanic glass landscape is relatively sparse, with low-quality sources scattered within and on the east side of the Cascades, including tachylyte, obsidian, and vitrophyric obsidian. Tachylyte is a volcanic glass that forms within low-silica, basalt flows while obsidian comes from high-silica, usually rhyolitic, eruptions. Vitrophyric is a textural term used to describe an igneous rock that has a glassy groundmass with conspicuously large crystals. The low-quality and dispersed nature of these toolstones are reflected in Washington’s archaeological record by the more common occurrence of out-of-state volcanic …

Mexican Obsidian On Maui: Hawaiian Connection, Harmonic Convergence, Or Hokum?, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

In 2014, the television show America Unearthed (A & E Networks) featured an episode discussing evidence for pre-Columbian contact between Polynesia and continental North and South America. Included in this “evidence” was a large spearpoint, allegedly found on the island of Maui. The show’s host argues that the spearpoint is made on obsidian from central Mexico, and therefore represents evidence for direct contact between Polynesian and Maya peoples prior to the sixteenth century CE. A detailed analysis of the spearpoint, including geochemical sourcing, reveals that it is indeed made of so-called Pachuca obsidian from central Mexico; however, the size, shape, …

Letter Report, Re: Analysis Of 32 Additional Obsidian Artifacts From Picuris Pueblo, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Letter Report, Re: Analysis Of An Obsidian Flake Associated With Burial #2 At Picuris Pueblo, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Compositional Analysis By Pxrf Of Obsidian Artifacts From Picuris Pueblo (Ta-111) In Taos County, New Mexico, Matthew Boulanger

Anthropology Research

No abstract provided.

Early Formative Period Exchange, Crafting, And Subsistence: An Analysis Of La Consentida’S Chipped Stone Assemblage, Julian Eduardo Acuña

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The primary concern of this thesis is to quantify and analyze the lithic (chipped stone) assemblage previously excavated by Hepp (2015) and the La Consentida Archaeological Project (LCAP) at the archaeological site of La Consentida in the lower Río Verde Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico. The lithic assemblage is comprised of over 500 artifacts mainly of obsidian and chert. This research represents a study of all primary context lithic artifacts from La Consentida and focuses on obsidian, the material most used at the site. In the first part of this thesis I provide an analysis of all lithic artifacts of this primary …

Inventory And Analysis Of Some Obsidian Artifacts In The James M. Collins Collection, Matthew Boulanger, Alexis Graves

Anthropology Research

An inventory and analysis of four lots of Native American artifacts within the James M. Collins Collection curated at Southern Methodist University reveals the research value of archaeological materials with less than perfect provenience information. All that is known about the origins of these artifacts is that they appear to have come from Oregon. Elemental analysis by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence identifies the most likely geochemical source for all of the obsidian artifacts in these lots. Source profiles identified from the 75 artifacts represent major sources located in southwestern Idaho. Similarly, the morphology of the artifacts is consistent with material …

Exchange Networks From Close-Up: The Case Of Lipari Obsidian, Andrea Vianello, Robert Tykot

Anthropology Faculty Publications

A systematic study on obsidian tools in Calabria and Sicily carried out by the authors have revealed the uniqueness in the patterns of production, exchange and consumption of Lipari obsidian. The study has concentrated on the Middle Neolithic primarily, with other Neolithic and Bronze Age contexts recognised at a later stage in the research since many contexts, especially in Sicily, have been excavated by pioneering archaeologists, some over a century ago, or were mislabelled. The chronology is Early Neolithic to Early Bronze Age, with very few materials dating Middle Bronze Age. A review of chronological contexts is in progress, which …

Obsidian Procurement And Cosmopolitanism At The Middle Horizon Settlement Of Conchopata, Peru, Richard L. Burger, Catherine M. Bencic, Michael D. Glascock

Andean Past

No abstract provided.

Chetumal's Dragonglass: Postclassic Obsidian Production And Exchange At Santa Rita Corozal, Belize, Max Seidita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obsidian is one of the most common materials preserved in the archaeological record of Mesoamerica. Because of this and obsidian's unique chemical properties, it has become one of the most common means by which to explain ancient exchange and production. Northern Belize has largely been absent from discussions of Postclassic Mesoamerican economies. The limited amount of obsidian research that has been done is unable to draw comparisons to the region's primary site during this period, Santa Rita Corozal. This thesis remedies this by exploring the importation, production, and distribution of obsidian at the Postclassic Maya primary center of Santa Rita …

Obsidian Provenance Studies Of Sites In Northern Utah, Jeffrey Ferguson, James R. Allison

Faculty Publications

Previous studies of obsidian from archaeological sites in Utah Valley and the Salt Lake Valley have used relatively small samples to document temporal shifts in obsidian procurement, with southern sources (especially Black Rock) dominating Fremont assemblages, while most post-Fremont obsidian comes from the Malad source to the north. Our greatly expanded XRF analysis of almost 4,000 obsidian artifacts from sites in Utah and Salt Lake Valleys confirms the temporal change noted by earlier researchers, but also shows site- and source-specific patterns of obsidian use, as well as variation in the frequency of different obsidian sources in tools, debitage, and micro-debitage.

Using X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry To Assess Variance In Obsidian Source Distribution In Southern Idaho, Marielle Loryn Pedro Black

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the use of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to assist in associating artifacts with geological sources of obsidian from Southern Idaho. XRF spectrometry measures trace element abundance within obsidian artifacts, which is then compared, using a variety of statistical techniques, with known obsidian source geochemical profiles. Results from previous obsidian provenance studies have been used in archaeology as a proxy in measuring prehistoric hunter-gatherer mobility. Artifacts from 11 site assemblages were measured using pXRF to augment data for previously analyzed sites and to collect artifact geochemical data from previously unanalyzed sites. Using pXRF …

Archaeological Approaches To Obsidian Quarries: Investigations At The Quispisisa Source, Nicholas Tripcevich, Daniel A. Contreras

Daniel A. Contreras

We consider how and why archaeologists have studied the vestiges of mining and quarrying, and to consider a specific Andean context: the extraction of Quispisisa-type obsidian from the Jichja Parco obsidian quarries over a period of 10,000 years of Central Andean prehistory. Preliminary research at the source ( Contreras et al. in press; Tripcevich and Contreras 2011 ) has documented large-scale extraction of obsidian, while regional consumption patterns (Burger and Glascock 2002 ) demonstrate that the material was used and widely distributed not long after humans arrived in the Central Andes. We use the example of ongoing research at the …

Begehrtes Gesteinsglas, Jirka Niklas Menke

Daniel A. Contreras

Natürliche Ressourcen sind seit jeher Anlass für Kriege und Land­schafts­zerstörung. Humboldt-Stipendiat Dr. Daniel Contreras erforscht, wie die Menschen in den Anden einst mit solchen Quellen umgingen.

Patterning In Procurement Of Obsidian In Chaco Canyon And In Chaco-Era Communities In New Mexico As Revealed By X-Ray Fluorescence, John Kantner, Andrew I. Duff, Jeremy M. Moss, Thomas C. Windes, M Steven Shackley

John Kantner

Investigaciones En La Fuente De La Obsidiana Tipo Quispisisa, Huancasancos-Ayacucho, Daniel A. Contreras, Nicholas Tripcevich, Yuri I. Cavero Palomino

Daniel A. Contreras

No abstract provided.

Long-Term Human Occupation Of The Upper Río Caracha, Ayacucho, Peru, Daniel A. Contreras, Nicholas Tripcevich

Daniel A. Contreras

Regional consumption patterns of obsidian in Peru testify to the significance of the Quispisisa source; by 500 BCE this obsidian was reaching sites 1000 km distant. The source area thus provides both an opportunity to investigate quarrying and an case study in the long‐term occupation of a regionally important highland valley. Using satellite imagery and results of preliminary field prospection, we examine the upper Caracha drainage, where Quispisisa‐type obsidian is found. The valley is extensively terraced, and contains several large sites downstream of the source area. Our data on the settlement system and anthropogenic landscape of this regionally‐significant highland valley …