Obsidian Tools in Oregon Could Date to Ice Age
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Keywords: obsidian, raw material sourcing, hydration dating, lithics
Summary: Four fluted obsidian points have recently been unearthed in southern Oregon, possibly dating back as far as 12,000 years ago. There is only one other site in Oregon were more than such point has been discovered. Fluting is regarded as the first technological and cultural innovation of the Americas. These stone tools might be Clovis points, representing the work of prehistoric North Americans at the end of the last ice age.
Above image: An obsidian Clovis point from Lake County, Oregon. Credit: Peter Bostrom.
Excerpt from the Oregonian:
Projectile Points Look Old, Old, Old
By Richard L. Hill
Archaeologists suspect fluted obsidian tools date almost to the last ice age.
Archaeologists working in south-central Oregon's sagebrush steppes have found signs of some of the region's earliest inhabitants.
Researchers from the University of Oregon and U.S. Bureau of Land Management have uncovered four fluted projectile points and related artifacts at a remote site near Riley. The obsidian points could be 12,000 years old, but the archaeologists are being cautious about giving an exact age until they're able to obtain radiocarbon dates from the site.
"But these fluted points are very early, around the 11,000-year range," said Patrick O'Grady, an archaeologist with the UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History. "This is only the second site in Oregon where more than one of these kinds of points have been found, so it's special."
Fluted points have a long flake removed from the stone's base toward the tip, which made it easier to attach points to the shaft of a spear or other tool. Fluting was the first technological and cultural innovation developed in the Americas. . .
To read the rest of the article, please visit the Oregon Live website:
Blog Author: Ellery Frahm