Fingerprints in the Great Basin: The Nellis Air Force Base Regional Obsidian Sourcing Study
Abstract
A number of obsidian sources that prehistoric Great Basin peoples used to manufacture stone tools occur on the NTTR and NTS. These sources were located and described, and geological samples were analyzed through energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) to reconstruct the obsidian resource base of the region. Assuming that obsidian procurement was embedded in the socioeconomic systems of ethnohistoric-period Western Shoshone of the NTTR, sources of obsidian debitage samples, collected from winter camps, were predicted based on Julian Steward's documentation of regional Western Shoshone socioeconomics. Results of EDXRF analysis of the ethnohistoric debitage show that accurately predicted sources comprise more than 99 percent of the total sample. A sample of more than 1,600 Great Basin projectile points were metrically evaluated and geochemically analyzed to determine the local and regional significance of NTTR obsidian sources. Results indicate that the Obsidian Butte Volcanic Center source was a highly significant obsidian point source to Great Basin peoples from the Nevada-Utah border, through southern Nevada, and into eastern central California for the past 12,000 years of prehistory.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA430710
Entities
People
- David L. Wagner
- Lynn Haarklau
- Lynn Johnson