Need help understanding my site

[CTex]

So I've tried to give you folks some time off, but class in back in session. This is a small portion of the land I hunt. The little arrows indicate where about 19 artifacts., mostly broke, where found in a 200 x 100 foot area. Bases, tips, a few broke blades and a couple of complete points. I have also found preforms and lots of lithic debris in the area that isn't marked. The elevation at the top of the hill to the east is at about 70' higher than the search area.

My question is why? if you go 20 foot in any direction you don't find much of anything, it's all concentrated in that 200x100 area.
My theories are:
A: this area was most conducive to erosion (although it doesn't look much different from the surrounding area)
B: this was a work area where they took preforms and made finished materials
C: this was a reoccurring campsite
D: this was a dump and the complete and finished items I found are coincidental
E: None of the above

Now if you go further to the south in an area not shown in the picture you find more randomly placed items that go about 400 yards x 40 yards, but nothing in the concentration of that area.

I'm trying to understand the site as best I can, so any insight at all would be appreciated.

[Worldman304]

All great question and a few that I run into myself as well..i have a place I find flakes about a similar radius and at the highest elevation height of eye n the area.i also only find flakes nothing whole.

[2ndoldman]

Very good questions CT. If this were a work station of sorts there would likely be a rather large concentration of flakes in the area as opposed to 19 of them being quite spread out over a 200 X 100 foot area.
do these "flakes" show any percussion bulbs? http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/sts...orphology.html
Depending upon what stage of point making was happening in that area there could be any number of different types of flakes around.

[JoshinMO]

Is that a Road?

[CTex]

Yes, at this time I don't have permission to hunt the west wide of the road, I'm hoping that happens eventually.

[JoshinMO]

Alright, maybe that row of tree's is a ditch and maybe there is or was a spring in that area? Must have been something, reason to camp there.

[CTex]

There is a small creek to the west (where I can't hunt and its killing me) that runs parallel to the entire property, eventually wrapping around the property to the south. In 2018 topography at least, this area doesn't appear to be more advantageous than the next 1/2 mile or so.

[CTex]

I might not have worded the question properly, the 19 artifacts are all recognizable pieces, what I wold consider stage 3 or 4, not debitage or blanks. The first photo is an example of pieces found in the 200x100 area, the second photo is a pile of debitage found in the same area. I tend to pick up every chip and the larger flakes I see and when my hand gets full I drop it in a pile. There are probably a dozen or more such piles in the 200x100 area. If I marked everywhere I found a chip or a flake you wouldn't be able to see the ground. There are many areas like this on the property, but this is the only one with such a high concentration of highly worked pieces.

[chase]

You are on a quarry site.

[CTex]

Chase, I promise I'm trying not to ask the same questions over and over. With your guidance it was determined that I am definitely on a quarry site. On most of the property you can find cobbles everywhere and that may have been true with the area in question before it was bulldozed to make a pasture some years ago, but nowhere else do I find items at this stage in such high concentration. As a matter of fact, I only find items past level 2 on about 10% of the 200 acres and I can find debitage on at least 90%. I've read everything I can find on quarry sites and I think I have a grasp on it. My question is more of is this a secondary workshop or a camp or both or neither? Is it as simple as 4000 years ago there was a huge shade tree there that made for a good spot to sit and knap? P.S. these are all surface finds, no digging.

[chase]

The pics show that with the cortex refined points would be present as tossed aside for new unrefined blanks for future use

[chase]

First question is other lithics present? This determines weather or not trade took place and they preferred to camp there
second is there presents of micro flakes?
this would demonstrate that resharpening ocured as a campsite
broken bases indicated of discards usually found at campsites where retooling was done.
a quarry and campsites can be one and the same but also be independent of each other.
a creek makes sense that water is attainable and a campsites are present.

[CTex]

Once again, that is very helpful info Chase. I would say probably to question #1, but I don't know that much about lithics yet and I haven't thought to try and determine if there are other types. I'll make it a point. Question #2 would be I don't know, I'm guessing that would require sifting? I'll try and determine next time I'm there. Of the 19 items maybe four or five were bases, I'll try and do some reading on re-tooling.

[CTex]

The pics show that with the cortex refined points would be present as tossed aside for new unrefined blanks for future use

This is an answer to a question I hadn't gotten around to asking yet, but was curious about. If I'm reading what you are saying right, the items in this picture likely were discarded?

[chase]

In your pic the first four starting on the left look like Edwards chert the last two look like alibates which would indecate a campsite but mainly a quarry from the cortex on the first four points

[CTex]

Curious if the cortex indicates that once they got to the quarry that they tossed these blemished items and made new ones, or does it mean that they made these at the site and decided to toss them and start over? In the grand scheme it doesn’t matter as most of my favorite pieces have cortex present, I’m just trying to get smarter.