H. T. Irwin

“ There is a higher red sand layer and a younger bed of dusty brown fill which is found just below the surface; both of these are relatively quite thin and extend only over part of the area of the site. As the dark-colored homogeneous sands and silts made up most of the deposits of the site, and contained most of the cultural remains, they will be our particular concern.
The results of sieve analyses made on the samples from the front and back of the site have been summarized in Tables VIa and VIb; the breakdown into the various particle size fractions is by weight. ”

“ However, an accumulation of facts loses much of its significance if no attempt at organization and interpretation is made. “The archaeologist must make some effort to integrate as well as observe his material, or he becomes a technician rather than a scientist.” (Heizer, 1958) . It is realized that cultural units must be defined primarily on the basis of typology, because of the general lack of corresponding geological units. In this connection, the present state of flux in Great Basin taxonomy renders the results less absolute than might be desired. ”

“ Some change in climatic conditions, perhaps just sufficient to modify to some extent the nature of the vegetation cover (Nikiforoff, 1937) seems to offer one logical explanation for the distribution of calcium carbonate, and of the fine silt and clay fraction—the products of soil development in semi-arid environments (Bryan and Albritton, 1943) . It is hoped that x-ray and mineralogical analysis of the samples will definitely establish whether or not we are dealing with a buried soil. ”

“ The human occupation of the site is uninterrupted, and there is no suggestion that this fall reflects any change in the mode of deposition or any change in climate. Increased aridity may have brought about an important increase in aeolian deposition in the area during some period of occupation, but the location of the site in a sheltered valley makes it unlikely that this would be indicated by the deposits. ”

“ In the present instance there seems to be a definite independence in the movement and location of concentration of the soluble iron and of the fine silt and clay, which seem to be associated with concentrations of carbonate. The calcium carbonate occurs in the form of a coating on the fine particles and, more important, as a cement binding the particles together. This was particularly noticed on the artifactual and bone materials from the deposits from 70 to 94 inches below baseline. ”

“ Forty-one implements are classified as choppers or hammerstones. Seventy percent of these are of rock quartz, 20 percent of a metamorphic rock, usually schist, and 10 percent of a grainy quartzite. Due to the nature of the material it is extremely difficult to determine whether such artifacts were used primarily as hammerstones or choppers. There are no small round heavily battered specimens which could be considered as hammerstones only. The pieces usually exhibit one sharp edge and one or more blunt battered edges. ”

“ Since it was fairly loose and dry, most of the earth was removed with shovels. Trowels, brushes and a flexible baby bottle for blowing were employed when features or artifacts in situ were encountered. The location of the screening dump was determined by test augering of the area between the site and the creek. This dump was separated from the excavation by a catwalk and low earthworks. The latter served the dual purpose of guarding against sliding from the dumps, and keeping out water which often poured over the edge of the overhang in the extremely rainy season of 1957. ”

“ A considerable amount of skill in stone working must have been necessary to produce the small delicate projectile points, presumably used with arrows. Some much larger points suggest a continued dependence on the spear or spear-thrower. Drills may have been used to manufacture ornaments or perform more utilitarian functions. Pottery was durable and primarily utilitarian. Variation in pattern was practically non-existent, but the fineness of cord-marking shows some noticeable difference. Bone awls were mostly of the splinter type and rather poorly made. ”

“ The grainy structure of quartzite makes it break less cleanly on the edges but renders it less likely to snap on sudden impact.
Another tradition lies in the use of small points. Many of the projectile point forms may be identical in general characteristics with points from other areas which are apparently culturally connected, but they are consistently a little smaller. Perhaps such a phenomenon was a by-product of the scarcity of material. ”

“ The economic life of the people of culture Complex B probably revolved around hunting, limited agriculture, and gathering of specific foods, mainly plums and acorns. Foods were ground on milling slabs with handstones and perhaps, as with the Pawnee, were cooked in pots, or made into cakes fried on a hot slab. Agriculture is indicated by remains of corn at LoDaisKa and at nearby sites of the same culture. In the more classic manifestations of Plains Woodland Culture evidence is slim. ”

“ Some sherds may contain a small amount of quartz sand. The size of the temper is variable, usually fine with a few large granules mixed in. Vessel walls are usually fairly strong. The pottery is friable, not flaky. Both surfaces are unslipped, and smoothed on all specimens. The exterior is a brownish black, the interior is black. One sherd, however, is dull grey. Thickness is from 1⁄4-5/16 inch, one sherd 3/16 inch. The only partially complete form observed is a bowl. However, another large sherd (about 8 inches square) suggests part of the wall of a pot, perhaps with an incurving shoulder. ”

“ A groove about 1/16 of an inch deep was cut encircling the bone, and it was shaped into two pieces. Apparently some preliminary smoothing had already been done, as suggested by additional scoring marks. The authors tested various tools to determine which might be most efficient in cutting such a groove. Flat sharp flakes or knives could be used, but usually not enough pressure could be brought to bear without breaking the tool. However, certain implements, called “gravers” in this paper, were rather well adapted for such work. The tool could be used as a plane for cutting. ”

“ Awls could have been used in their manufacture or for sewing.
Concerning the socio-political organization, some inferences can be made. A possible sketch of the “way of life” can be found by examining Pawnee culture as outlined above. Cultivation may have been in small patches worked by women. Hoeing and weeding were probably spasmodic. In view of the absence of bell-shaped storage pits or other such facilities, we can probably infer that crop supplies were consumed in a few seasonal feasts in the characteristic Basin style rather than stored in the Plains manner to conserve for future needs. ”

“ If we do interpret the results of the chemical analyses as indicating a period of increased aridity over conditions as they now exist in [Pg 100] the area, one could establish a terminus post quem for the archaeological complexes below approximately 64 inches below baseline. Accordingly, the artifactual materials with Great Basin influences and the earlier Duncan types may date from some time late in the Altithermal. This interpretation would not be completely out of keeping with a dating of the archaeological materials on typological grounds. ”

“ In cultures without pottery, as Willey and Phillips have pointed out (1958) , projectile points become the most important artifacts in classification and integration because, 1) the usual economic mode of subsistence of people at this level renders a plentiful supply of such artifacts, and 2) as artistic representations they are sensitive to styles yet remain stable for adequate periods of time.
Projectile points from the LoDaisKa Site are therefore treated differently from certain other artifacts. We have illustrated all of the projectile points from pre-ceramic levels. ”

“ It is interesting to note that stone scrapers were apparently little used by Fremont people. Perhaps hides were prepared in other ways. Baskets were undoubtedly made and were probably important. The awls found can attest either to sewing or basket-making; the long slender awls would have been especially suited for the latter. Tubular beads were made by a process widespread in the West: incising and splitting. Pottery was roughly made and fairly thick, but not more so than some of Wormington’s (average thickness 5 mm.) . Pottery of this rougher type is widespread in northern Fremont locales. ”

“ Except for the ecologic variation cited above, Ute culture was fairly uniform over a wide area. Because of this and the general limitation of data, it will be treated as a whole.
Hunting and Gathering
Seeds and berries of almost every description were gathered, mainly by the women of the camps. According to Lowie, among the neighboring Paviotso, men often participated in gathering piñon nuts, a fundamental element in the diet. Stewart’s data suggests that this was probably true of the Ute. Sunflower seeds were boiled; acorns were gathered and treated to render them edible. ”

“ Because of this a certain amount of overlap is to be expected: a small geologic unit represents a long and apparently uninterrupted occupational continuum. The resultant telescoping would increase the effects of trampling and other disturbance. However, it became increasingly apparent during excavation that, on the basis of typology and overall stratigraphic relationships, at least four complexes should be recognized; a broken point and a few flakes found in the lowest geologic stratum suggest a fifth. Two of these cultures appear to be affiliated with the Great Basin, three with the Plains. ”

“ These are present from complex A through D. Another tradition concerns the use of local stone. In general finer flinty types were used for knives, gravers and some types of scrapers, while grainy quartzite was most often used for projectile points. Distance from sources probably influenced the use of flinty types. The nearest quarry area appears to be about fifteen miles away; beds of quartzite are found somewhat closer. It is probable that access to both supplies led the people to use flinty type where a good cutting edge was important, but grainy varieties for tipping weapons. ”

“ The possible overlap in cultural groups suggests either intermittent occupations alternating between groups of different cultural complexes, or the close proximity and strong influence of such groups. In the field of social organization, many modern hunting-gathering groups exhibit bilateral kin organization. ”

“ In this connection one should note that in all the cultures common native rock quartz was almost [Pg 147] invariably employed for large chopping tools. Another point of interest is the almost total absence of cores. Raw material when found was usually in the form of large flat flakes. The initial roughing out must have taken place at the source.
Another tradition is the use of mica for “ornaments” extending from Complex B through D. A tradition for the area was the cultivation from early times of a certain amount of corn, as revealed by pollen analysis and a few specimens of seeds or cobs. ”

“ At both localities the variegated alluvium is overlain by dark-colored, sandy and silty alluvium.
The variegated alluvium has a distinct, lime-enriched zone, probably representing the alluviated layer of an old soil from which the upper layers have been eroded. The lime-zone is comparable in thickness to that found in soils in Wisconsin age in the Denver area. Moreover, at the outcrop in Strain Gulch, the lower part of the alluvium is stained with iron oxide about the way deposits of Wisconsin age are stained in the Denver area. ”

“ Shape is variable, but the cutting edge is generally curved. Largest, 2 × 13⁄4 inches, smallest 11⁄2 × 1 inch.
One large stemmed artifact with straight sides and a blunt point is felt to have been a hafted knife. The base is broken. Estimated length, 2 inches, width 11⁄3 inches. The material is quartzite.
For all the categories of cutting implements, approximately 70 percent were made of flinty or crypto-crystalline quartz; a rather large number were of fossilized wood, not commonly used for other artifacts.
Figure 30— Large obsidian knife, type two. Actual size. ”

“ In stone work, projectile points were functional, and made rather roughly with little pressure retouch. A proliferation of scraping tools and utilized flakes was probably a by-product of the emphasis on hunting, and suggests that many skins were prepared. A certain amount of technological “know-how” was required to manufacture the relatively fine prismatic flakes. In bone work the commonest tools were awls made on a splinter of bone worked only on the functional end. One bone appears to have been used for flint flaking. ”

“ One large sherd about 4 × 3 inches suggests vessels of considerable size.
Figure 62— Surface roughened pottery, A, Class I. B and C, Class I variant.
Pottery of Class III in most aspects resembles that of Class II: paddle and anvil technique in manufacture, temper of sand or crushed rock, fine, not abundant, micaceous clay. The texture is very flaky tending to fracture along irregular lines. Color grey to brown, usually the latter, generally continuous through the sherd; some, however, have blacker cores. ”

“ Twenty-one specimens are considered to have been used as awls or perforators. Though individual form varies greatly, most are made on plano-convex or concavo-convex flakes. Flaking is concentrated on the short point, though it sometimes extends further on one or both faces. Occasionally, one or more of the edges have seen secondary use as a scraper. Of the total, nine specimens are of flinty material, one of obsidian. The remainder are quartzite (8) or quartz (3) . They range in length from 3⁄4 to 21⁄2 inches, and from 1⁄2 to 11⁄2 inches in width. ”

“ LODAISKA SITE
Figure 11— Profile of Face of Q 6/7—9/10.
These divisions are arbitrary and based on typology. There is some degree of overlap. Since the fill is shallow compared to the time range represented, there was undoubtedly a considerable amount of mixing, plus the ever present chance of re-use. Characteristically, as Jennings (1957) found at Danger Cave, the beginning of any cultural type is more apt to be a synchronic affair than its end. ”

“ The Desert Cultures represent, according to Jennings, a “life way”, a specific economic approach to living in a certain environment. Though [Pg 141] the Morrison biome differs in some respects from that of the classic “Desert Cultures”, the nature of the problems faced and the kinds of cultural response invoked are remarkably similar. Typological similarities to Danger Cave materials include a high degree of correspondence between class D projectile points and Jennings’ category W31. ”