MICROWEAR ANALYSIS OF BIPOLAR TOOLS FROM THE CRESCENT BAY HUNT CLUB SITE (47JE904)

Abstract

Previous microwear analysis of a sample of artifacts from the Crescent Bay Hunt Club site has demonstrated that, in general, morphofunctional typology has limited value for the assessment of tool function at that site. The site is a small Oneota village (ad 1200–1400) near Lake Koshkonong in southeastern Wisconsin. Multiple data sets indicate a year round occupation, a subsistence regimen of maize agriculture and exploitation of a wide variety of plants, large and small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and shellfish. Mortuary data indicate significant levels of interpersonal violence. This analysis is an attempt to determine if lithic manufacturing techniques are correlated with tool use at the site. The analysis incorporates low power and high power microscopy of morphofunctionally defined bipolar cores and/or pièces esquillées, as well as triangular arrow points. These tools were made using both bipolar and free hand knapping techniques; the analysis was designed to determine if a bipolar manufacturing origin is related to specific functions. Results indicate that both the bipolar cores and triangular points were used on a variety of materials, including hide, plant matter, and wood. From this we infer that a bipolar manufacturing origin is not predictive of subsequent tool use at the site.

Keywords:

• Oneota
• Bipolar technology
• Lithics
• Microwear analysis

View correction statement:

Erratum

Acknowledgments

We thank Jean Hudson and the UWM Experimental Archaeology Working Group for providing a nurturing environment for experimental use wear studies. We thank John Fagan and Cam Walker (Archaeological Investigations Northwest, Inc.), for their work on the blood residue analysis. Many thanks to Justin Pargeter and Hilary Duke for organizing the Society for American Archaeology session and this volume. Finally we very much appreciate Gilbert Tostevin and Michael Shott for their comments, as well as the comments from two anonymous reviewers for Lithic Technology.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Robert J. Jeske

Robert J. Jeske is a Professor of Anthropology, and directs the Archaeological Research Laboratory, at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. He is also an Adjunct Curator of Anthropology at the Milwaukee Public Museum. His research is largely concentrated on lithic analysis, mortuary analysis, site formation processes and the prehistory of the western Great Lakes region of North America.

Katherine M. Sterner-Miller

Katherine Sterner-Miller is a doctoral candidate in the Anthropology Department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has done fieldwork in England, Mexico, and the Midwestern United States. Her current research interests are microwear and blood residue analysis, Oneota studies, Great Lakes archaeology, and experimental archaeology.