This article is the second in the Alberta Lithic Reference Project series, the goal of which is to assist the identification of raw materials used for pre-contact stone tools in the province. Each...
Description
This article is the second in the Alberta Lithic Reference Project series, the goal of which is to assist the identification of raw materials used for pre-contact stone tools in the province. Each article focuses on one raw material; the current article discusses a microcrystalline, actinolite-tremolite (amphibole)-rich rock called nephrite (jade) that originates in British Columbia, Washington, Yukon, and Alaska. Nephrite appears in archaeological sites in northern and central Alberta. This articles presents results from a variety of non-destructive techniques to determine the geochemistry and mineralogy of nephrite ground stone celts found in Alberta. The accurate identification of nephrite can reveal significant cultural relationships that involved long distance exchange of raw materials between occupants of Alberta and British Columbia.