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The PaleoIndigenous component of the Ahai Mneh Site (FiPp-33), Lake Wabamun, Alberta

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This paper presents several years of field school research at Ahai Mneh in central Alberta, including spatial analytical methods to disentangle artifact distributions. We were able to identify a... More ≫

Description

This paper presents several years of field school research at Ahai Mneh in central Alberta, including spatial analytical methods to disentangle artifact distributions. We were able to identify a deeper PaleoIndigenous Period component at the site, also present in surface collections from an adjacent cultivated field. Enigmatic and initially unprepossessing artifacts from Ahai Mneh actually have fascinating stories to tell if we are willing to delve into the microcosm of human decisions for which they still preserve traces. Examples include a failed effort at making a fluted point, an unusual Hell Gap-like point, a Scottsbluff point, and a fractured Alberta point base. While the results of such analyses involve inferences, they are much better than casual assumptions about associations, and point to the need for serious regulatory reform in requiring 3-D piece-plotting of artifacts.

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Identifying Knife River Flint in Alberta : a silicified lignite toolstone from North Dakota

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This article is the fourth in a series intended to assist the identification of raw materials used for precontact stone tools in Alberta. Each article focuses on one raw material; the current... More ≫

Description

This article is the fourth in a series intended to assist the identification of raw materials used for precontact stone tools in Alberta. Each article focuses on one raw material; the current article discusses a silicified lignite called Knife River Flint (KRF) that originates in North Dakota and appears in archaeological sites across Alberta. Local materials, including chalcedony, silicified peat/petrified wood, and translucent chert, can be mistaken for KRF: macroscopic and microscope qualities of these materials are described with an accompanying photograph library to assist identification. Several methods were tested to assess their feasibility for distinguishing KRF from local materials. KRF so closely resembles other materials in terms of macroscopics, microscopics, and geochemistry that conclusively demonstrating provenance remains problematic.

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