Fluted projectile points in a stratified context at the Raven Bluff site document a late arrival of Paleoindian technology in northwest Alaska (original) (raw)

Our understanding of the northern fluted point tradition, a critical early New World lithic assemblage, is constrained by limited data from stratified, datable contexts. Here, we report on the Raven Bluff site in northwest Alaska, where fluted projectile points, microblades, and a well-preserved faunal assemblage have been recovered from datable sediments. Results show that prehistoric inhabitants occupied a stone-sorted polygon where retooling, game processing, and raw material procurement occurred mostly between 12,720 and at least 11,340 cal. yr B.P. We argue that once polygon formation ended, the stratigraphic context remained relatively intact. Further studies focused on the site's lithic and bone assemblages will help shape our understanding of the relationship between fluted point technology, microblades, and caribou hunting in northern Alaska. 1 | INTRODUCTION Key to understanding late-glacial human adaptations to arctic and subarctic environments is discovery of unequivocal archaeological sites in buried, stratified, and ideally, datable contexts. With regard to northern stemmed and lanceolate projectile points, these are rare with fewer than five sites excavated and reported (Bever, 2006; Goebel et al., 2013; Kunz, Bever, & Adkins, 2003). Furthermore, processes, especially those related to permafrost, have altered original spatial associations between the site matrix and archaeological material hampering interpretations about human behavior. To add, common depositional settings on ridgetops, often with very little or slow sedimentation, obscure vertical separation of cultural layers. Research at these sites nonetheless generates important data concerning several key questions in early northern prehistory: How old are fluted projectile points in Alaska? What is their relationship to microblades? Furthermore, having produced such rich fauna, what can we learn about subsistence, seasonality, and other as yet inexplicable topics in northern prehistoric archeology? Although there is still a great deal to be learned from more detailed lithic and zooarchaeological studies, we begin here with the geoarchaeology. Preliminary reporting on Raven Bluff focused on initial dating (Hedman, 2010) and the presence of key artifacts such as the fluted projectile points (Smith, Rasic, & Goebel, 2013, p. 107). In this paper we focus on three issues: (a) the numerical age of the oldest cultural material, (b) depositional environments, and (c) natural formation processes. We also provide basic descriptions of the lithic and faunal assemblages. Ecofacts and artifacts can inform the geoarchaeology for a number of reasons when it comes to understanding post-depositional modification of original spatial associations. Lithic refits, for example, can show vertical and horizontal movement through the profile. Taphonomy, likewise, has important implications regarding matrix integrity and provides insight into post-depositional geological history of the site. Both are factors at Raven Bluff.