An experimental approach to PaleoAmerican petrified wood procurement and heat-treatment at the Rainbow Forest archaeological locality

Prorok, Rio Laddie (2022) An experimental approach to PaleoAmerican petrified wood procurement and heat-treatment at the Rainbow Forest archaeological locality. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Archaeological investigations by Northern Arizona University in the Rainbow Forest Locality identified two possibly heat-treated petrified wood artifacts, including a Clovis point fragment, which offers important insights into PaleoAmerican resource use and settlement. This thesis provides additional evidence for Clovis-age petrified wood heat-treatment activities in the Rainbow Forest Locality at the Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona. This evidence is supported by an experimental pilot project examining the effects of heat-treating Rainbow Forest petrified wood to 1) create a comparative collection that can be used to identify heat-treated petrified wood in the archaeological record; and 2) assess the flintknapping characteristics of untreated and heat-treated petrified wood. Experimental archaeology examining the possibly heat-treated petrified wood artifacts from the Rainbow Forest Locality yields evidence that Clovis peoples were engaging in lithic heat-treatment activities in the Southwest. Examining Clovis heat-treatment lithic manufacturing techniques in the Rainbow Forest Locality offers archaeology information on Clovis resource use, local adaptation, regional mobility, and lithic technology that can be applied to the greater Southwest region of the United States.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Heat-treatment; Petrified Forest; Petrified wood; Rainbow Forest; Arizona; Clovis culture;
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Anthropology
Date Deposited:	26 May 2023 17:20
Last Modified:	26 May 2023 17:20
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/5919

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