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  • New site revisited

    I’ve been back to the new site twice since I last posted.

    I didn’t find any more painted stone tablets but I did find a bunch obsidian artifacts.

    There is something a little unusual about this site.

    The ratio of worked pieces to debitage is high.

    The artifacts seem to be more coherent in terms of style, type and quality.

    My first impression is of a village site rather than a workshop or seasonal camp.

    The way the scatter is layed out, lack of debitage and the range of finds might support that idea…

    A bunch of this stuff shows signs of grinding which is interesting.


    There’s a lot to get through and it’s not all top shelf but I don’t discriminate and, if it’s more or less complete, I’ll post it.

    In this case I’ve included a couple of brokes because they look interesting.


    Close ups to follow...

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    California

  • #2
    This is a crazy thing. Like a graver scraper on steroids. Reminds me of a cock’s comb.

    Not sure if it’s for violence against the living or dead (butchery). It’s quite scary.

    A little broken, missing a tine, I think.

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    California

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    • #3
      A cool scraper with cortex left on top.

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      A scraper with cutting edge.


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      California

      Comment


      • #4
        Another cool scraper. Very typical.

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        This one is fantastic. A great example of a spurred scraper in this lighter coloured material.

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        California

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        • #5
          These two are very similar. They seem to be scrapers but could be points. How do we know?

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          California

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          • Ron Kelley
            Ron Kelley commented
            Editing a comment
            I believe that many of the pieces are too broken to identify but that sure looks like a portion of a flute.

        • #6
          This one is also a little ambiguous. Whatever, I’m sure it’s maker knew it’s use.
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          Here’s a little spur scraper. Small and specific.


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          California

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          • Tam
            Tam commented
            Editing a comment
            That’s seems to be the bulk of my finds last year

        • #7
          Two broken fragments.


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          California

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          • #8
            This plump little biface is made of pearl grey obsidian. It’s very rotund and hard to understand but it’s edge is still sharp. It has a spur style tip that’s offset.

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            This biface follows the same basic pattern; biface with a offset tip.


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            California

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            • #9
              This one is very cool. It’s slightly broken at the tip (or is that the base?) but otherwise almost perfect. Different style.

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              Nice big blade with broken base.


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              California

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              • #10
                Slim little point or blade.

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                Rough little biface.

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                California

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                • #11
                  Knife with broken base.

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                  Super little knife or point. We all love translucency, right?


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                  California

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                  • #12
                    Ladies and gentlemen, your catch of the day. I think you’ll agree it’s a fantastic point.

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                    Little fragment of abalone which I’m certain is part of the assemblage ( unless it came in in a fertiliser bag ).

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                    Last edited by tomf; 01-17-2020, 01:42 AM.
                    California

                    Comment


                    • Kentucky point
                      Kentucky point commented
                      Editing a comment
                      That is awesome! Cascade, or something close?

                    • tomf
                      tomf commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Maybe Cascade, or maybe Excelsior.

                  • #13
                    Two odd pieces. I’m not sure they are accidentally broken. Perhaps they are burin cut.
                    Both are cool, but the second one is very interesting.
                    Is it what’s left of a base. Can it be identified from it’s distinct design - concave base and serrations and ground? It’s made from an odd material, maybe a chert or super-fine basalt.

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                    California

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                    • #14
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                      Phew...

                      That's the lot.
                      California

                      Comment


                      • Lindenmeier-Man
                        Lindenmeier-Man commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Also, and I know it’s not going to happen ? U C Berkeley has a obsidian hydration dating system. They can tell how old, and exactly where the obsidian came from. Yes, they can date the artifacts...

                      • Pointblank
                        Pointblank commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Yes, most Obsidian pieces can be sourced as long as it came from a known quarry site. I've had a couple of mine come back as source not known. As far as the hydration dating, you can get a approximate date but it is not anywhere perfect and has a lot to do with where that piece of Obsidian has been (above ground, in a creek, buried, etc). Sourcing can be done with out damaging the stone whereas hydration needs a piece of your point.

                      • tomf
                        tomf commented
                        Editing a comment
                        Not sure, but I think, for hydration dating to be accurate you need a key artifact that can be associated to carbon dated material to calibrate the dating sequence.

                        In other words, you need to dig an artifact from a site or layer which contains carbon then date that piece which provides a profile of local conditions and a baseline for testing other material.

                        Obsidian hydrates at different rates due to local conditions and the specific properties of the sample. I think a piece on a creek will hydrate quicker than one that's buried or laying on the surface.

                        These things complicate the process and I'm not sure it can be effective in my situation. I think artifact 'type' is the only way to go.

                        As I said, I'm sort of guessing here and would love to talk about it more.

                    • #15
                      Great stuff. Would love to sink a shovel on that site

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