
Identification of a Palaeoindian occupation in compressed stratigraphy: A case study from Ahai Mneh (FiPp-33)
Author(s) -
Matt Rawluk,
Aileen Reilly,
Peter Stewart,
Gabriel Yanicki
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-6096
DOI - 10.29173/comp32
Subject(s) - projectile point , stratigraphy , archaeology , identification (biology) , geology , point (geometry) , geography , assemblage (archaeology) , paleontology , history , physical geography , ecology , geometry , mathematics , biology , tectonics
The 2010 University of Alberta Institute of Prairie Archaeology field school produced thousands of artifacts including diagnostic projectile points that provide evidence of multiple occupations spanning a 10,000 year period. As is typical of archaeological sites with limited surface deposition, a lack of visible stratigraphy makes it difficult to associate the assemblage with these temporal and cultural diagnostics, or assess changing occupation patterns over time. The authors present here a method reliant upon diligent attention to three-point proveniencing and analysis using low-cost, easily accessible software to complement the otherwise weak stratigraphic record; the resulting empirically segretated data show multiple components, the earliest of which correlates with an Agate Basin/Hell Gap complex occupation.