Utah Statewide Archaeological Society Newsletter, Volume 20, Number 3, September 1974

th:AJt A'1{C11AEOLCX?l A .N£WSL1;ffE't

VOL UfI'IE 20 1.

Bottom Row. 3. RuJean Brunson 4. Rod Chapman Bill Thompson

SEPTEIYIBER 1974

No. :5

Top Row. 1. Dean Caldwell 2. IYIary Sewell

2.

3.

4.

UTAH

STATEWIDE:.

A RCHAGO

SOCICTV

PROPOSED DESIGNS FOR DECAL AND SHOULDER PATCH

Utah Arcbaeolog is distributed quarterly to members of the Utah Statewide Archaeological All correspondence should be directed to the Rod Cha}D&n, P. O. Box 47, West Jordan, Utah

all Societ7.

Bditor:

84084

NE\tl5LETTER UTAH STATEWIDE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

1974-75 President • • . • .

Vice President. • • Recording Secretary • Treasurer . • • . • 'Pub licat ions Committee.

J. F. (Jeff) "9:errick • . • .William Tho mpson Mary Sewall . • • Ruby Bowers Chairman: Rod Chapman RuJean Brunson Ella Mae Loll ;.';ary Sewall Contents

The Excavation of Innocents Ridge

by Alan Schroedl A Great Basin Small Tool Tradition •• 'by Alan Bryan and Ruth Gruhn, University of Alberta The Lakeman Point . . • • • . . • • • . .

by Dee.n Caldwell Lahonton Chapter

EDITOR IS NOTE Spring has ~lrnost sprung, and Ilmgettinr; the surface itch.

The camper and I are ready for the first otJportunity to trail out of the populated area to a whispering sanq dune located somewhere in t ,h e western desert. ' I know that there are a few perfect points just ,lying on the sand for me to walk over and rr:iss completely.

This Newsletter has been an everyone has been c'oo~rative, and estin~ material.

I certai,nly want articles. To me, this shows their them special people.

exciting one to put together. Most I feel we have. compiled some interto. thank those who have contributed willingness to share, which makes

Are you aware that three of the six sites added to the State Register of Historic Sites are: the Nephi Mounds, White Rocks Village and Pharo Village?

In closin~, another plea for material to use in our next two Newsletters. Send me anything printable and newsworthy • . You can be assured that anJ~hing will be ap~reciated.

Your Editor, Rod Chapman

TEE EXCAVATION OF INNOCENTS RIDGE

by Alan Schroedl Between June

15 and July 7, 1974, the UniYersity of Utah Field

School, under the direction of Professor J. D. Jennings, excavated Innocents Ridge (42Em6), a San I,afael Fremont site located on a small knoll on the alluvial floon :?lain of Ferron Creek, about A km. east of Ferron, Utah. The site is a typical San Rafael Fremont site similar tu those in the Salina Canyon area. The span of abori~inal occupation at Innocents Rid f e was short, probably between lllJO-1200 it.D •• dei-ermined by ceramic cross-datin~.

Five structures were excavated includin~ a circular (7 m. dia.) pit house with a centrally located slab-floored fire basin. Another dwellin,e: was a 4 m. by 5 m. rectanruJ.ar sandstone slab masonry structure of wet laid construction. It had two centl'ally loca-Led firepits suggesting two periods of occupation. It probably had an entrance throur.h the roof since no evidence of doors or windows were encouutered.

A small masonry structure on the southern end of the knnll was almost . completely eroded away. A narrow footing trench filled with adobe was all that remained of a third masonry structure. Adjacent to the large ~asonry structure was a 3-room rectanr,ular stora~e unit with a slablined cist in the corner of one of the rooms.

The quantity of artifacts from Innocents Ridge was limited, Stone artifacts included several point frar,ments, 4 manos, and 3 dinosaur rastroliths. '.:rorked bone recovered consisted only of one small awl, several broken beads and a few worked fralCments , Only 950 pottery sherds were found; there were no whole or restorable vessels.

Dominant Fottery types were Emery and Sevier Gray ',d th a few sherds of intrusive Anasazi tradewares.

An analysis of Fremont sites in the surrounding area surre:ests that the San Rafael Fremont variant be redefined to include sites only along the eastern edge of the Wasatch Plateau, and that sites on the Tavaputs Plateau, such as Turner-Look or' Nine Mile Canyon, are bEtter classified within the Uinta Fremont variant.

The submittals for the shoulder patch/decal designs, a few of which are on the frontispiece, should be submitted to Rod as Soon as possible. I heartily endorse and encourage any and all other such--ideas. The next issue can contain any additional submittals for your perusal in order that ;'{OU can '",ake up your mind on which to vote at the State !~eting, April 12, 1975. Save that date -- be there and vote. Further information follows by letter c~ncernin~ other items on the State agenda.

Jeff Herrick

USAS NEWSL ETTER

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A GREAT BAS IN SMALL ,TOOL TRADITION

by Alan Bryan aLd Ruth Gruhn University of Alberta In the summer of 1971 Alan Bryan and Ruth Gruhn of the University of Alberta and Don Tuohy of the Nevada State Huseum conducted excavations at ' four caves or rockshe lters in Smith Creek CanYon, whi,ch is located in eastern Nevada near the utah border about 20 airline miles north.of the town of Baker and Lehmann Caves National Honument. Council Hall Cave, at abou,t 6700 feet, yielded a layer of bristlecone pine needles, the lower part of which has Qeen radiocarbon-dated at 27,000 years ap.p. Excavations at Smith Creek Cave, at an elevation of about 6500 feet, exposed a Lake Mohave . occupation zone which yielded four radiocarbon date s on charcoal (994 0+l60;10,330i190: ll,140±200: and 11,680+160 years B.P.), and prompted anvther season 0'£ diggin :r in that part of the cave in 1974. At Amy's Shelter, across the 'c anyon at a;n elevation of about 5700 feet, a long sequence extending from at least 3000 B.C. to historic times was exposed in dee.p alluvial fan deposits. Kachina Cave, named for the many Parowan Fremont pictographs yielded a late cultural sequence dated from about 2000 B.C. to the historic period • . The Lake Uohave occuuation zone in Sm:tth Creek Cave yielded ap'proximately 130 tools mad~. on small fl~kes • .. Other aryifacts include reworked Lake Mo have 'Point fra/!,ments, scrapers, one piece wi tl). burin blows, wood shavings, cut cane, cut and inci'sed bone, bone awl .f rarrments ', ~inew and ,birch bark hafts, cut yucca, and yucca quids. Although no bones 'o f, extinct animals ,have been ide:ntified. hair (presumably from the processing of skins) of "deer. famil:/' ,.bison, and" guanaco" has been identified. At Amy's Shelter a total Of 95 small tools were found with a variety of artifacts in the lower o.ccupation zones. The small flaked stone tools first appear in association with a Lake MO have point base and Humboldt Concave Base points, and. ·continue with a sequence of Gypsum-like contracting stem points. and st'emmed indented base points. Only a few such small tools were found in association with the Elko corner-notched series and small corner-notched po~nts which folloy.ed in subsequent occupation levels.

At Amy~s Shelter, virtually all of , the small tools were made on 81il,all. obs idisIl flakes of irregular shape, the average size of the flake u s e d being about 20 millimeters in diameter. At Smith Creek Cave, a high proportion of the flakes are of locally available quartzite; obsidian, chalcedony, and eVen basalt were also used.· Th~' average size of the quartzite flakes is about 25 miilimeters in diameter: ' the flakes of other mater~ ials averal1;e ab~~t' 15 millimeters. These small flakes were apparently made into bur ins ', gravers. spokeshaves, pr denticulates ;or an edge of the flake was simpl:,>r retouched. The five burins from the lower levels pf Amy's Shelter included three angle burins, one dihedral angle burin, and one beaked burin •. Burin spa lIs were also recovered. The gravers found at both sites Based on a paper presented at the Great Ba'sin Anthropological Conference, Salt Lake City, 3 September 1972.

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USAS

r~EwsLETTER

September 1974

were small flakes which featured one or more small sharp projections on the lateral edges or corners , Spo ~(eshaves were flakes with one or more retouched concavities which had an average diameter of about 10 millimeters and an averar:e depth of one to two millimeters. l~any flal~es had e. deep notch on' one or more lateral edges. nent-i c1l1ated flakes had short series sf serrations along a lateral edge.

M;ost small tools probably functioned as engraving;, cuttint;, and scraping toois for working bone or wood. Bone tools, mostly awls, occur in the same levels.

Characteristic of the small tools is extrewely delicate retouch producing a series of flake scars each less than a millimeter in diameter.

The precise technique used to produce such fine flaking is uncertain. A flaking tool of bone or antler small enough is hard to imar,ine: it may be suggested that the flakes were retouched by crushing the ed~e with a stone flake fabricator. Another common technique manifest in the collections of small flake tools is deliberate snapping of the flake to produce thick edges and corners. Often a snapped ed~e is initiated at a notch, apparently placed to facilitate the process of snapping.

The stratigraphic excavations in Smith Creek Canyon have indic~ted that this Small Tool Tradition bei\an relatively early and extended over a long period of time in this part of the Great Basin, from about 9700 B.C. to approximately 1000 B. C. ,'ur own experience--mosj> :Jf the artifacts were found in the level bags after the material reached the field laboratory-su{';gests that such artifacts may have been overlooked, for the s ''1all delicate retouch is hard to see in the field. The total artifact inve~1tory from early levels in Great Basin sites might be considerably increased if all flakes are examined very carefully.

Eadiocarbon dates obtained from the Smith Creek Canyon excavations of 1971 deserve COi~rrnent at this time. The original purpose of the Smith Creek Canyon expedition was to search for early man. Althoul'h the initial excavations in Council Hall cave were a great disappointment with only two doubtful artifacts recovered; their association with a bristle cone pine needle layer is si.";nificant because bristlecones are now present only at timberline at about 11,000 feet elevation. Their presence four thousand feet lower 27,000 years ago should help confirm the late v'! 'isconsin drop in snowline. There is also an undated bristlecone needle layer imrnediately beneath the Lake 110have occupation zone in Smith Creek Cave, which is now situated low in the pinyon~juniper zone. Smith Creek Cave provided a splendid view of the southwest arm of pluvial Lake Bonneville, and our belief that the Lake 'Mohave people were living in the cave while the lake existed was confirmed '\ty the radiocarbon date of 11 ,600 years ago from the occcupation zone. The more I'eneralized Lake -"ohave adaptation to the varied resources of the Great Basin was apparently already well established by the time of the Clovis adaptation to specialized bi~ gaMe hunting farther east, as Clovis sites consistently date around 11,200 years ago. From this, the most significant implication is that both Clovis and Lake Mohave must have developed from yet older c',ll t'.Iral bases in North America.

Page 4

USf\S NEWSLETTER

September 1974

THE LAKEMAN POINT

by Dean Caldwell The following is a report on two types of Arohaic projectile points found in and around the Great Basin known by many local people as the Lake Man Point. They are described and catalogued by Jennings (1957) in the Danger Cave report 'as W-5. w06. w-42 and W-8. Aikens (1970) refers to them as Humbolt and Black Rock points. This paper will attempt to show the similari ties in manufacture of these ,two types and is intended to s.erve as a base f?r ~urther investigation in other areas.

The name Lake ~fun was connected with these points because of their association with sites along the periphery of Holocene lakes in Utah and Nevada. These po ints are lanceo late' in form, ran!!:in~ in length from it up to 6". The Humbolt is ~enerally shouldered near the base while the Blackrock is not. The similarity in manufacturinf! of ' leaf shaped points is the very delicate oblique chipping. or ripple-flaking. These flakes run diagionally across the point from the top left side to the lower right, and from the lower right to the upper left. Flake scars terminate at the ,approximate midline. In the collection I observed, were flaked from top left to lower right and only three were flaked in the opposite direction (Figure 1; Q,R,S). Almost all of these points were obliquely flaked. I have tested different methods of hand pressure flaking., and, find that for the chip to run in that; direction the piece of stone must be held in the hand in such a manner as to eliminate uneven pressure. The chip is taken off with a -diagonal stroke from the bottom, and then a platform is made for each chip before its subsequent removal • . Resharpening methods of secondary chipping; on the ed.g es is a similarity also found in the points. Ca. 95% of the points have small secondary chipping on only one side of the edge and on the opposite side of the other edge. The chipping seems to vary from side to side with the different points, but the method has been observed to be almost always the same.

Also, ca. 95% of the points have been basally ground or percussion flaked to eliminate the sharp edge at the base.

The points found at Sharrocks '(1966) Pine Springs site in Sweetwater County; Wyoming~ have the same characteristics. In addition, a site near the reservoir at Enterprise, Utah recorded in Russel's publication (1962) contained points with oblique flaking running from top left to lower right. A large blade from Blackfoot, Idaho some 611 long has a different type of ripple-flaking with flake scars running from left to right. This same technique was used on associated drills.

The observations in this report are given with the hope that they The following plate shows drawings of these points showing the characteristics mentioned above and the sites where each was found.

vdll help in better identifying the Bonneville Lake Man.

September' 1974

USAS NEWSLETTER

Page 5

POINT REFERENCE FIGURE 1

SITE

MATERIAL

A.

Hogup (Dean Caldwell)

welded tuff obsidian

B.

Hogup (Dean Caldwell)

welded tuff obsidian

C.

Danger (Jesse D. Jenning:s)

D.

Dan~er

E.

Wendover Shelter (Dean Caldwell)

welded tuff. obsidian

F:

'Wendover Shelter (Dean Caldwe 11)

welded tuff obsidian

G.

Stansberry II (Paul Raddon)

H.

Millard County (Jay Gustaveson)

obsidian

I.

Hillard County (Jay Gustaveson)

dark chert

J.

Enterprise (Dean Caldwell)

welded tuff

K~

Enterprise . (Dean Caldwell)

welded tuff

L.

Remnant Cave (Gardiner Dalley)

welded tuff

M.

Deadman Cave (Garfield , Smith)

welded tuff

N.

Idaho Blackfoot (Dean Caldwell)

welded tuff

o.

Pine Springs (F loyd. W. Sha.rrock)

brown B.rate

P.

Pine Springs (:Dean Caldwell)

brown agate

Q.

Wendover Cave (Paul Raddon)

welded tuff

R~

Hogup (C. Me 1 vin Ai,kens)

welded tuff

S.

Grouse Cre'ek (G'ardiner Dalley)

welded tuff

T.

Garf"i:eld Cave (Paul Raddon)

welded tuff

September

197L~

(Jesse D. Jennin/!s)

USAS NEI}JSLETTER

purple al!ate . dark yellow agate

white apate

Page 6

Fig. 1.

A

B

LANCEOLATE POINTS RIPPLE FLAKE C

D

E

F

G

REFERENCES Aiker:s, C. Melvin, University of Utah Anthropolo!"i0!:l.1

PArAr~;

No.

93.

Jameson, Sydney J. S., University of Utah Anthropological P8.pers, No.

34.

Jennings, Jesse D., University of Utah Anthropological Papers, No. 27.

Sharrock, Floyd W., University of Utah Anthropological papers, No. 77.

Smith, Elmer ¡ R., University of Utah Anthropolor,ical Papers, No. 10.

From private collections of the following: Jay Gustaveson Paul Raddon Dean Caldwell Keith Johnson Fred Todd Jay ROf!;ers .

Glen Furrow Reed Bowthorpe Mike Hurdsman Ke i th Groves

.' ,

.~.

OHAPTER NEWS

The Lahonton Chapter A field trip to Wendover, Utah, on the 26th of January was well attended by members of the Lahonton Chapter. Those present were: Keith and Rose . Groves: Dale and Beverly Andreason: Newell and Mary Ann Hatch, and their four kids: Ron VancE:;: Jay Rogers and his boy Mark; Dean Caldwell and his boys Rand Jr and Jeff.

A dozen Caves, shelters, and open sites were visited, and everyone found E!- few artifacts. The weather was a beautiful 50 dep;rees a little ~indy, but a beautiful day. A good time was had by all.

A return trip was planned for early spring, at which time these sites will be recorded for the Utah State Archeologist.

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September 1974

USAS NEWSLETTER

Page 8

DR.

JENNING3 HO-NORED

Reprint from "The University of Utah Review", January, 1975.

Dr. Jesse D. Jennings, one of the nation's foremost authorities on the prehistory of North America, has been named Distingui~hed Professor of Anthropology.

He joins a select list of colleagues in receiving the prestigious appointment which is restricted to individuals IIwhose achievements exemplify the highest goals of scholarship.. • • ,:, A member of the U faculty since 1948, Dr. Jennings was the first director of the campus -based Utah !'1useum of Natural History, a p)S ition he held from 1963 until 1974.

Dr-. Jennin~s directed a lO-year archeological and environmental study of the Colorado River Basin for the Federal ~overlune nt that precceded the building of dams at Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon.

He has done extensive research at Danger Cave near Wendover, Utah, where his work established evidence of the earliest known site of human occupancy in the state. His mon~graph on Danger Cave is regarded as a major contribution to archeology.

Over a period of 25 years, he also has directed a series of continuing efforts to discover and link tor,ether new sites - such as Hogup Cave - - to establish a pattern of culture and occupancy within 'PL[A5£ IPuFf'l the Great Basin.

5END JEfF yo~ ~EPOR.7

II PAf(T~Otr.

He is a past recipient of the prestigious Viking Medal in archeology, and has served as president of the Society for American Archeology, and ~ice president of thee American Association for the Advancement of Science.

THE HlP"1 DIG/

Dr. Jenning's recent work has taken him to Western Samoa to study the 3,OOO-year-old culture of the Lapitans.

~rcheological

September 1974

USAS NEWSLETTER

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NEWSLETT'ER UTAff STI\TEVJIDE t'lRCHf\EOLOGI CI\L SOCIETY

Editor:

Rod Chapman P.O. Bo)( 47

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