Thesis
Human landscape use at site 10-BT-8, Butte County Idaho
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2011
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/100131
Abstract
This study addresses two main questions about site 10-BT-8 in Butte County, Idaho. First, how does the lithic assemblage of 10-BT-8 reflect prehistoric human land use practices from the Middle Archaic to the historic period? Second, how might these practices relate to the procurement of raw material and manufacture of tools? These questions are addressed through the use of X-ray Fluorescence obsidian source characterization and the analysis of lithic debitage and tool attributes. Southern Idaho is an ideal setting for the study of prehistoric human landscape use. Obsidian sources are numerous on and near the Snake River Plain of Idaho, and it is common for the lithic assemblages of southern Idaho archaeological sites to be comprised of up to 90% obsidian, a fact that holds true at site 10-BT-8. Obsidian source characterization suggests a large circulation range for the prehistoric people using site 10-BT-8, with strong emphasis placed on the American Falls obsidian source. Three other sources, Bear Gulch, Big Southern Butte and Browns Bench were also utilized. While American Falls is the most frequently used source throughout time, there is variability in the utilization of the other obsidian sources. The analysis of data from core tools, bifaces and proximate flake debitage indicates the use of bifacial technology in transporting obsidian, as expected by the distance of obsidian sources from the site, with few exceptions. The combination of obsidian source characterization and technological organization data from core tools, bifaces and proximate flake debitage support the model that the people that used 10-BT-8 over the last 3,000 years were utilizing both distant and local obsidian sources while moving over a wide area of southeastern Idaho.
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Details
- Title
- Human landscape use at site 10-BT-8, Butte County Idaho
- Creators
- Kathryn Ann Harris
- Contributors
- William Andrefsky (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525187501842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis