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...
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.