mid-latitude core and blade traditions

Mid-Latitude Core and Blade TraditionsAuthor(s): David SangerSource: Arctic Anthropology, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1970), pp. 106-114Published by: University of Wisconsin PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40315744 .

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MIDiATITUDE CORE AND BLADE TRADITIONS*

DAVID SÄNGER

INTRODUCTION

In the North American continent there are two major regions where blade and core industries have played a significant role in the prehistory - Meso- american and the northern area. Core and blade technologies are frequently found peripheral to the main centers; it is the purpose of this paper to discuss some of the blade and core industries which lie to the south of the Arctic and Subarctic. From west to east, the southerly outliers considered here are: West coast, Plateau, Prairies, and Hope- well. For each of these areas the paper will briefly describe the characteristics and the hypothesized culture-historical significance. Neither the enig- matic Plains Paleo-Indian blades nor the Poverty Point materials are discussed for lack of familiarity with actual specimens.

There are many problems associated with the peripheral blade-core industries, not the least of which is identification. The traditional length/ width definition of the Old World is unsuitable for New World purposes and should not be used. As- sessment should be based on a combination of morphological and technological factors which distin- guish blades from parallel- sided flakes.

Perhaps the most useful technological attributes are those which indicate deliberate core preparation and the removal of successive blades. Included in core preparation are such traits as platform flaking and grinding, ridge flake preparation, core edge preparation, platform rejuvenation, and combinations of these techniques. The removal of successive blades is a useful criterion which assists in making

In any review paper of this sort one is greatly dependent upon regional specialists for their in- sights. I am especially grateful to my colleagues at the National Museum of Man for extended discus- sion and patience with my many questions. They are not, of course, to be blamed for my conclusions. The re-examination of the Hopewell blades was made possible by a loan arranged by Dr. J. B. Griffin of the University of Michigan Museum of Anthro- pology .

decisions as to whether or not a particular industry can be admitted. The dorsal ridges and the inter- vening flake scars in specimens are indicative of previously removed blades in the same direction. Most of the northern blade industries have a high proportion of non-triangular to triangular section blades (Wyatt, this volume) . The Anangula site may be atypical here as it is in so many traits (Aigner, this volume). The non-triangular category implies, of course, two or more dorsal ridges, which in turn indicates successive removal of blades. Some of the lowest ratios of non-triangular to triangular section blades are in the Plateau Microblade tradition (San- ger 1968a) where almost equal numbers are recorded in some sites. Alaskan industries feature up to five times the numbers of non-triangular to triangular (Wyatt, this volume) section blades, clearly indi- cating the removal of several courses or layers of blades from the same core.

For the purposes of this paper I intend to use the term "blade" when the morphological criteria with regards to length, width, and parallelism are met, in addition to those technological characteristics which appear as core preparation and successive blade removal. When faced with parallel- sided flakes of overall blade outline, but lacking evidence of regular core preparation techniques, I intend to use the term "linear flake" (see also Wright 1967:31). Some assemblages have parallel- sided flakes with evidence of core preparation. These I will also call linear flakes unless the criterion for successive removal can be satisfied. An arbitrary, but fairly objective criterion, is based on the percentage of non- triangular blades. When the non-triangular flake count falls below 25 percent of the total number of flakes being considered, these flakes will be described as "linear flakes." These must show evidence of parallel sides and of core preparation, and be present in sufficient numbers to make the "25 percent rule11 applicable.

The criteria outlined above will not, and indeed, are not intended, to solve the problem of blade identification in every instance. Through the use of some such arbitrary attributes and complete description we might be able to avoid the heretofore somewhat casual assignment of parallel- sided flakes to the blade category and perhaps reduce erroneous

106

Arctic Anthropology VII-2, 1970



Sänger: Mid-Latitude Core and Blade Traditions 107

comparisons with well established blade traditions. It is essential when describing blades from the peripheral areas that we use descriptive categories, terms, and techniques in general usage in areas where blades are more common. Cultural relationships, if any, can be seen only after comparable analysis.

Following the identification of blades and a complete description it remains to assess their significance within the cultural context. As some of the interpretations offered below are of a culture- historical nature it seems pertinent to state my particular theoretical position. Blades are products of a sophisticated lithic technology with readily distinguishable, discreet attributes. As such they are well suited to culture-historical research, a point amply demonstrated by numerous scholarly papers over the past several decades. The technology involved in core preparation and blade detachment constitutes an entity which can be likened to Kroeber's systemic pattern:

"A second kind of pattern consists of a system or complex of cultural material that has proved its utility as a system and therefore tends to cohere and persist as a unit; it is modifiable superficially, but modifiable only with diffi- culty as to its underlying plan. Any one such systemic pattern is limited primarily to one aspect of culture, such as subsistence, re-

ligion, or economics; but it is not limited areally, or to one particular culture; it can be diffused cross- culturally, from one people to another" (Kroeber 1948:312).

Viewing blades and cores in this light it is ob- vious that one cannot, simply by demonstrating the

widespread distribution of a similar blade tradition, automatically assume all aspects of the culture will be the same. In one area a particular blade tradition may be firmly entrenched as a basic and inte-

gral part of the entire lithic technology; in another the identical blade tradition may be a transitory appendage. The culture-historical interpretation will be different in each instance. These points will be amplified below.

BLADE TRADITIONS

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest constitutes an area of intensive blade use over a considerable span of time. For the purposes of this paper the Pacific Northwest includes the coast of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon, as well as the Intermontane Plateau situated between the coast and the Rocky Mountains. As the various blade traditions have

already been considered at some length elsewhere I shall review the pertinent data in brief (Borden 19 50, 1952; Carlson 1960; Mitchell 1968; Sanger 1968a; Browman and Munsell 1969).

On the coast microblades are reported from the Queen Charlotte Islands to Washington, although the distribution is by no means continuous. The Queen Charlotte Islands microblades were recovered in 1969 by K. R. Fladmark (1969) from several sites. From illustrations and correspondence with the dis- coverer, the cores are wedge-shaped and share many traits with the Plateau Microblade tradition (see below), including little, if any, platform preparation, a well developed keel, and blades removed from one end of the core. It is to be hoped that further exca- vation will yield more data on associations and age. It may well be significant that no microblades have been recovered despite intensive excavations in the Prince Rupert Harbor area adjacent to the Queen Charlotte Islands on the mainland. In the Prince Rupert area G. F. MacDonald has 5000 years of continuous occupation represented without a trace of the microblade technique. Antiquity in excess of 5000 years for the introduction of Queen Charlotte blades could be indicated, as Fladmark suggests (1969:27), although cultural events in that part of the coast are still little known.

Moving southward along the British Columbia coast, microblades were excavated in 1969 from the base of a site near Namu, where a sequence is being developed by J. Hester (Borden, personal communication). Microblades are relatively abundant in the Fraser Delta, on southern Vancouver Island and off- shore islands, and in the San Juan Island group (Bor- den 1950; Carlson 1960; Mitchell 1968; Sanger 1968a). Microblades from this portion of the coast are usually manufactured from obsidian and quartz crystal, although basalt and chalcedony specimens are known. Those examples of quartz and obsidian tend to be parallel to expanding towards the distal extremity rather than contracting as is frequently the case in the Plateau. Percentages of microblades in these sites range from a low of a fraction of one percent to nearly 2 5 percent in some surface collections. Of the systematically excavated assemblages, Borden1 s (19 52) Whalen II site with approximately 10 percent microblades rates as one of the most important. Microblade use in these sites is not certain; the Whalen II microblades have approximately 30% of the sample retouched with single edge, dorsal retouch predominating (Sanger 1968a; Table 12). Although the majority of the southern coastal microblades date from the first millennium B.C., the Whalen II specimens are dated to around A.D. 400.

Too little is currently known concerning the Queen Charlotte Islands and the Namu microblade collections to offer many interpretive statements. It would not be surprising, however, to find microblades located in a number of coastal sites with ready access



108 Arctic Anthropology VII-2

to the interior of British Columbia. Further to the south, the microblades may indicate a diffusion of the pattern from the Columbia Plateau into the Puget Sound lowlands and thence north to the Fraser Delta-lower Fraser River and Vancouver Island regions. In no instance can microblades be thought of as characteristic of any particular southern coastal culture type unless it be the unique Whalen II assemblage.

Microblades have a longer history in the Pla- teau where they are recorded from 5500 B.C. at the Drynoch Slide site up to the Christian era in several sites (Sanger 1968a). Although the main distribution appears to be in the Interior Plateau of British Columbia, microblades and cores have been reported from the Ryegrass Coulee site on the Columbia River (Browman and Munsell 1969) and in limited quantities from other Columbia Plateau sites. The majority of blades and cores can be placed within a single technological tradition, known as the Plateau Microblade tradition, which has the following characteristics (Sanger 1968a: 114):

1 . Microblade cores utilizing a weathered surface for a striking platform which is usually modified only at the core edge. Multiple blow striking platform preparation is scarce, and core rejuvenation tablets are not known.

2. Microblades are usually removed from only one end of the core.

3. Core rotation, resulting in more than one striking platform, is very unusual.

4. Fluted surfaces commonly contrast to a wedge-shaped keel.

5. The technique of preparing the fluted surfaces is currently unknown, but the ap- parent absence of ridge flakes may be very important in this respect.

Raw materials for Plateau Microblade tradition blades reflect local availability; obsidian in central British Columbia, vitreous basalt in south central British Columbia, and various silicas such as chalcedony and jasper in the Columbia Plateau. Micro- blades from these three areas appear to be quite similar with respect to metrical measurements; however, some from the Chilcotin plateau region made of obsidian (Wilmeth, personal communication) are noticeably thinner than the basalt specimens from the Lochnore-Nesikep locality.

The source for the Plateau Microblade tradition is probably northern, yet no satisfactory antecedents have been reported from northern British Columbia or the Yukon. Although the majority of the Plateau cores can be subsumed under the general "wedge- shaped" core classification, there exist altogether too many differences between the Yukon-Alaska specimens and those from the Plateau Microblade

tradition to support any specific "origin hypothesis." It is becoming increasingly evident that there existed in the northern latitudes not one or two, but numerous distinctive microblade and core traditions, each with a very long history. I suspect that the antecedents of the Plateau Microblade tradition will be found in northern British Columbia and in the Yukon and that the divergence occurred by at least 9000 years ago. Whether or not the proto- Plateau Micro- blade tradition looked like any of the currently recognized early traditions of the north I am not prepared to speculate. With the exception of Akmak (Anderson, this volume) none of the other early (9000-10,000 year old) microblade traditions are sufficiently well known or adequately dated to allow comparison.

The importance of the microblade and core pattern to the culture history of a region is not a ques- tion solely of numbers; this statistic is certainly indicative and should be provided in all instances. At the 7500 year old Drynoch Slide site circumstances, namely 70 feet of over-burden, permitted the recov- ery of only a handful of artifacts, among them one microblade and one projectile point (Sänger and Ful- ton n.d.). The microblade, whose removal was wit- nessed by no less than three archaeologists and several Pleistocene geologists, conforms to all criteria of that class and has been unanimously ac- cepted as a microblade by all archaeologists who have examined the specimen. To cast aspersions (Browman and Munsell 1969:258) as to validity of the identification on the grounds that only one microblade was recovered is being overly cautious in this particular instance. Caution is certainly advisable when a collection of several thousands of stone pieces contains only a handful of dubious blades, of which only an occasional specimen satisfies the microblade criteria ìisted earlier. The cultural significance of the Drynoch Slide specimen at this time is that the pattern had spread into south central British Columbia before the Mazama ash fall of approximately 6600 years ago. Mazama ash (Sänger and Fulton n.d.) was stratified over the microblade bearing stratum while a sample of associated char- coal returned a determination of 7530 ± 230 (GSC 530).

In sites calculated to be around 7000 years old, microblades constitute a minor percentage of tool classes, but in the Lehman site, with a single date of 6600 B.P., microblades account for nearly 50% of the 1000 artifacts recovered in controlled excavations. These early sites represent the beginning of the Nesikep tradition, a way of life which evolves through 7000 years of prehistory and terminates with the Interior Salish speakers of the British Columbia Interior Plateau (Sänger 1969). Throughout close to 5000 years microblades of the same general size and outline are present, although in increasingly small numbers. They clearly represent a systemic pattern which is basic to the Nesikep tradition, a



Sanger: Mid-Latitude Core and Blade Traditions 109

pattern which shows a remarkable metrical con- sistency through time (Sanger In Press; Wyatt In Press).

Microblades and cores of the Plateau Micro- blade tradition have also been found in sites along the Columbia River, notably in the Ryegrass Coulee site (Browman and Munsell 1969). Here they occur in abundance together with projectile points and other lithics which are typically Columbia Plateau in origin and quite distinct from the lithics of the Nesikep tradition. As suggested by their inclusion in the Plateau Microblade tradition (Sanger 1968a), the Ryegrass Coulee cores and blades are virtually indistinguishable from the British Columbia counter- parts except for the use of chalcedony as the dom- inant raw material as opposed to basalt. Micro- blades evidently persist in greatly reduced numbers in the Columbia Plateau, never again achieving the numbers found in the Ryegrass Coulee site.

The Ryegrass Coulee microblades and cores offer an excellent example of the cross-cultural borrowing of a systemic pattern. Even when the whole history of handling lithic is quite different, the introduced microblade pattern is made in the characteristic Plateau Microblade tradition with locally available raw materials. It does not appear, as one worker has recently suggested (Borden 1969), that the entire cultural pattern moved en masse as a population migration into the Columbia Plateau. It appears rather as a clear-cut example of cross-cultural borrowing of a well defined systemic pattern.

Another tradition in the Pacific Northwest has previously been referred to as a macroblade tradition (Sanger 1968a). Following the criteria established in this paper, however, it might be more ac- curate to refer to these artifacts as linear flakes, as there are probably fewer than 2 5% non- triangular specimens. When they occur the association is usually with leaf-shaped points and in early con- texts (Butler 1961; Dumond 1962) generally known as the Old Cordilleran tradition. These linear flakes are apparently not related to the microblades in any discernible fashion. It seems likely that they represent a very old prepared core technique capable of removing long, parallel-sided flakes; a technique which has its cultural roots in Pleistocene-aged cultures of the western United States.

Alberta

Due east of the British Columbia Plateau on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, microblades have been recorded from several blownout and duned areas (Wormington and Forbis 1965; Sanger 1968b; Taylor, personal communication). The greatest number (more than 60) came from a restricted area of a blownout site near High River, Alberta, located approximately 30 miles south of Calgary. Obsidian

hydration dates proved inconclusive; nevertheless, there is a possibility that the blades are associated with a local Piano tradition variant and thus of considerable antiquity in the area.

Some of the outstanding characteristics of the High River microblades are the overall microblade length (up to 75 mm); the presence of a projecting ridge flake core preparation technique; the snapping of specimens into short, straight segments (75% of sample); and steep, ventral surface, lateral edge retouch, which serves to dull one edge (Sanger 1968b). These traits are sufficient to place the High River microblades into an entirely different microblade tradition from the Plateau Microblade tradition. So different are the techniques that it is almost incon- ceivable that one could have evolved from the other.

A northern source for the High River microblades must be sought unless independent invention is in- voked. If the source is in fact northern, it should probably be as early as the oldest assemblages discussed elsewhere in this volume. Of these, the Akmak microblades (Wyatt, this volume) with the high percentage of non-triangular section blades, and the emphasis on straight medial segments with steep ventral retouch, may be closest. Possibly, we have at High River a reflection of one of the earliest postglacial movements of ideas down the eastern flanks of the Rockies.

Hopewell

The various assemblages subsumed under the name "Hopewell" have long been recognized as a major center for blades in North America. Despite the numerical importance of blades among the lithics in Hopewell sites, they have been accorded only scant attention in the literature. Two notable excep- tions are studies by Anta Montet-White (1963, 1968) and by Oriol Pi-Suyner (1965). In order to assess the possible relationships with the more northerly blade complexes, a request was made of the Univer- sity of Michigan Museum of Anthropology for a study loan of the McGraw site specimens previously examined by Pi-Suyner. Dr. James B. Griffin, Director of the Museum, generously consented and included a bonus - a selected sample from the Snyders site collection which was originally studied by White. As the Snyders site is a representative of Illinois Hopewell, and as the McGraw site falls under the general rubric of Ohio Hopewell, we have samples from the two major branches of Hopewell. Unfortu- nately, no usable cores were included in the samples.

In her study of Illinois prehistoric lithic technology, White discusses the Illinois Hopewell blade complex and applies the term "Fulton technique" (White 1968:28). The technique consists of detach- ing blades from a conical core which has a flat platform, generally created by a single, large, flake scar.



HO Arctic Anthropology VII-2

Table 1. Hopewell Blade Measurements

McGraw Site Snyders Site (Ohio Hopewell) (Illinois Hopewell)

Original Sample Original Sample Measurement (Pi-Suyner 1965) New Sample (White 1963) New Sample

Length (mm)

Number 60 44 108 ̂

Range 20.5 - 65.0 25.4 - 59.7 30.1 - 80.0 28.7 - 69.3

Mean 39.65 42.18 48.7 48.25

s.d. 9.36 7.12 8.47

Width (mm)

Number 60 1382 194 1081

Range 5.5 - 25.0 4.8 - 18.0 5.1 - 35.0 6.3 - 20.2

Mean 10.70 8.80 18.3 13.66

s.d. 3.66 2.77 3.07

Thickness (mm)

Number - 1893 1081

Range 0.5 - 6.0 0.9 - 5.1 1.2 - 5.2 Mean - 2.22 3.00

s.d. - 0.77 0.76

T/W Index

Number 1382 1081

Range 12.6 - 42.8 12.4 - 34.6 Mean 24.8 22.3

s.d. 5.53 4.49

Platform Angle

Number 80 52

Range 49.0 - 93.0 49.0 - 85.0 Mean 71.57 71.83 s.d. 11.48 8.76

Notes Includes only complete specimens. Includes complete and proximal fragments. All except distal fragments.




There is little or no secondary platform chipping or grinding except at the core edge. This description agrees with the observations made on the blade platforms under magnification. The projecting ridge flake technique is not in evidence in either the Snyders or the McGraw collections, although White (1963:22; Fig. 17c) illustrates a "crest blade" that could be a ridge flake. Platform rejuvenation tablets are noted by White for the Snyders site (White 1963: 22; Fig. 17, A) but are not included in the present sample. The lengthy descriptions by White and by Pi-Suyner should be consulted for further details.

Some of the metrical attributes for the Snyders and McGraw samples (Table 1) are somewhat at variance with those presented by White and by Pi- Suyner. For Snyders, White (1963:19) indicates a mean width of 18.3 mm with a range from about 5 mm to 35 mm.1 The sample examined for this paper gives a mean of 13.66 mm and a range of 6.3 mm - 20.2 mm. It would appear that the wider blades were removed from the original sample. Data for length dimensions are more comparable. White lists a mean of 48.7 mm and a range from about 30 mm to 80 mm for her original Snyders sample; the current sample ranges in length from 28.7 mm to 69.3 mm for complete blades with a mean of 48.25 mm. The McGraw site measurements also show some dispar- ities. For complete blades Pi-Suyner (1965:64) lists length ranges as about 20 mm to 65 mm with a mean

^oth White and Pi-Suyner group their measurements, thus making it impossible to obtain precise ranges.

of 39.65 mm. The current McGraw sample has a range of 2.5 mm - 59.7 mm and a mean of 42.18 mm. Again the width attribute varies the most. Pi- Suyner1 s figures range from about 5.5 mm - 25.0 mm and a mean of 10.70 mm. My figures for width range from 4.8 mm - 18.0 mm and average 8.80 mm.

As the figures above indicate, it is the width measurements which show the greatest deviation. Assuming no calculation or measurement errors, two explanations are most likely to account for the dis- parities: (1) the wider blades were removed from the original collections (possibly because they were "un-bladelike"); or (2) the blades were measured at the widest portion rather than just below the platform as suggested in Appendix I. Although both factors may have been operative, I suspect that the reduced sample size studied for this paper may have had some of the widest specimens removed and placed into other artifact categories.

The Hopewell blades bear adequate evidence of previous blade detachment in the same direction. In Table 2 the dorsal edge or arris count is tabulated. Summarizing these data briefly, we have 80% non- triangular section blades at McGraw, and 70% non- triangular section blades at Snyders. The figures are calculated, incidentally, from complete or proximal fragments. Both samples, of course, fall well within the 25% non- triangular limit for blades suggested earlier.

Retouching is a significant attribute on Hopewell blades. In the McGraw sample approximately 31% (59 of 190 specimens) are retouched. A higher percentage (55% of 165 specimens) is recorded for the Snyders sample. Pi-Suyner (1965:79, 80) divides

Table 2. Arris Counts on Snyders and McGraw Microblades




the retouch into "use-damage" (26 examples) and "retouched" (19 specimens) for a combined total of 45 retouched blades, which is lower than my observations of 59 retouched examples. Pi-Suyner does not indicate how he detected "use-damage" or his "retouch" category. My own technique is to make selection for retouch based on the "naked eye," after which magnification is used to study the details. Deliberate retouch intended to alter the outline of the blade is clearly visible without magnification; the minute abrasions and removed flakes typical of use-wear can only be examined under magnification, sometimes as high as 30 power. Obviously, the analyst must bear in mind the history of the sample, both before and after its recov- ery, in order for high magnification studies to have any significance whatsoever.

Both the McGraw and the Snyders samples emphasize dorsal surface retouch at the distal ex- tremities of the blades. Bilateral retouch is not uncommon. In sharply reduced quantities are "end of blade" retouch and lateral notching. Generally speaking, retouch on the Snyders site blades is more extensive in addition to being more prevalent.

The source of the Hopewell blade industry is not known. In her first statement on Hopewell blades, White (1963:31) favors an indigenous development and the "similar response to similar en- vironments hypothesis." Later, she is willing to concede the possibility that the technology was introduced, although she is apparently convinced that no "direct relationship can be demonstrated between the Fulton [Hopewell] blades and the Poverty Point microblades" (White 1968:28).

Blades often constitute a significant percentage of lithics in Hopewell sites, but this is not the case with pre-Hopewell assemblages, either in Illinois or in Ohio. Linear flakes appear in Early Woodland Illinois sites as they do in many areas, but the distinctive core and blade technology of Hopewell shows no indications of a long in situ development.

Rather than an instant indigenous "response" type of development, I favor the introduction of the Hopewell blade technology as a full blown entity which flourished only as long as the well known Hopewell efflorescence in burial ceremonialism and extensive trade networks, and then died. The Hope- well blade technique is quite distinct from any known to me in the arctic or subarctic regions and I am left with the position that if the Hopewell blade technology was introduced as a full blown tradition, then the source was probably southern. At this time, the most likely source is Mesoamerica or an area strongly influenced by Mesoamerican cultures. Although this last statement is made in full knowledge of its potential implications and significance regarding the origins of other Hopewell traits, blade traditions have, in other areas, shown them- selves to be capable of diffusing cross-culturally.

In other words, the presence of an introduced blade technology in Illinois and Ohio Hopewell sites does not necessarily imply a human migration; as a systemic pattern blades are not rigidly bound to any one culture.

Moving into the east of the Hopewell centers, occasional blade-like flakes occur in assemblages in New York (Ritchie 1965) and into the Maritime Provinces. Linear flakes better describe these specimens in light of their low incidence and slight percentage of non- triangular section examples.

Between the Hopewell and the Arctic blade traditions is found a homogeneous lithic assemblage and adaptive pattern known as the Shield Archaic (Wright 1968, n.d., personal communication; Martijn 1969; Sanger, n.d.). Stretching from the Northwest Territories and southeastward through Ontario, Que- bec, and into the Atlantic Provinces, the Shield Archaic tradition is characterized by a high percentage of lanceolate and notched points, unifaces, a variety of large cutting and scraping implements, and a near absence of ground stone tools. As such it stands in sharp contrast with contiguous traditions such as Arctic Small Tool, Dorset, and Laurentian.

A feature of the Shield Archaic is the presence of some parallel- sided flakes, many with elaborately prepared striking platforms. Although some of these have been referred to in the literature as prismatic blades, Martijn (1969:226) correctly points out:

"The presence of prismatic blades on a site does not necessarily denote a prepared core and blade industry. The possibility that some prismatic blades will result from the actual process involved in manufacturing artifacts cannot be ruled out."

I am in complete agreement with Martijn1 s as- sessment and suggest that his strictures be applied to other assemblages of Shield Archaic derivation. In a Tobique Complex (Sanger n.d.) assemblage recently excavated in New Brunswick, for example, 34 flakes were selected out of over 3000 for their linear aspect. Of these only 3 were non- triangular.

CONCLUSIONS

In this short paper some of the mid-latitude core and blade industries of North America have been briefly reviewed. Quite distinctive technologies are represented on the Pacific Coast, in the Plateau, in the Prairies, and in Hopewell sites: Although the historical antecendents are more or less obscure, all but the Hopewell blades can probably be derived from the North. At present, a southern source is suggested for the Hopewell blades.

Blade technologies are viewed as systemic pat- terns with the potential for cross-cultural diffusion.




This theoretical model allows for quite different interpretations as to the culture-historical significance of blades in any one assemblage, phase, or other culture unit, as it does not imply population migration or the borrowing of whole cultural traditions.

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National Museum of Man Ottawa



mid-latitude core and blade traditions

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