Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-20T15:57:50.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Flake Dispersal Experiments: Noncultural Transformation of the Archaeological Record

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Peter M. Bowers ,
Robson Bonnichsen  and
David M. Hoch
Peter M. Bowers
Affiliation:
Arctic Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 1150, Fairbanks, AK 99701
Robson Bonnichsen
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Institute for Quaternary Studies, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469
David M. Hoch
Affiliation:
Peratrovich and Nottingham, Inc., 1506 W, 36th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99503
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Time lapse studies of frost action effects on arctic and subarctic surficial archaeological sites have been conducted from 1973 to the present. Test plots of experimentally produced flakes were constructed in 1973 in the Tangle Lakes Region of the Central Alaska Range and subsequently remapped and photographed in 1974, 1976, and 1980. Similar test plots were laid out in the arctic foothills province of the Brooks Range. Observations made during the study period include: (1) flake displacements of as much as 20 cm/yr; (2) average minimum movement is 4 cm/yr; and (3) upslope movements were observed, suggesting that slope is not the primary factor in flake displacements. Frost heave, needle ice and, possibly, wind appear to be the dominant forces responsible for dispersals. It is argued that these and other natural processes can restructure the archaeological record into patterns that easily can be mistaken for those produced by human activity.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , July 1983 , pp. 553 - 572
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Ager, T. A. 1981 Holocene Pollen and Sediment Record from the Tangle Lakes Area, Central Alaska. Palynology 5:85-98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ascher, R. 1968 Time's Arrow and the Archaeology of a Contemporary Community. In Settlement and Archaeology, edited by Chang, K. C., pp. 43–52. National Press, Palo Alto.Google Scholar
Barsdate, R. J., and Alexander, V. 1971 Geochemistry and Primary Productivity of the Tangle Lake System, an Alaskan Alpine Watershed. Arctic and Alpine Research 3:27–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benedict, J. B. 1970 Downslope Soil Movement in a Colorado Alpine Region: Rates, Processes, and Climatic Significance. Arctic and Alpine Research 2:165–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beskow, G. 1947 Soil Freezing and Frost Heaving with Special Application to floods and Railroads. Translated by Osterberg, J. O., Northwestern University Technological Institute, Chicago.Google Scholar
Binford, L. R. 1965 Archaeological Systematics and the Study of Culture Process. American Antiquity 31:203–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binford, L. R. 1978 Nunamiut Ethnoarchaeology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Binford, L. R. 1979 Dimensional Analysis of Behavior and Site Structure: Learning from an Eskimo Hunting Stand. American Antiquity 43:330–361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonnichsen, R. 1979 Pleistocene Bone Technology in the Beringian Refugium. National Museum of Man Mercury Series, No. 80. Ottawa.Google Scholar
Bowers, P. M. 1979 The Cantwell Ash Bed, a Holocene Tephra in the Central Alaska Range. Short Notes on Alaskan Geology-1978:19-24. Geologic Report No. 61, Alaska Division of Geologic and Geophysical Surveys. College, Alaska. Google Scholar
Bowers, P. M. 1982 The Lisburne Site: Analysis and Cultural History of a Multi-Component Lithic Workshop in the Iteriak Valley, Arctic Foothills, Northern Alaska. In Archaeological Investigations by the US Geological Survey and Bureau of Land Management in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, edited by Hall, E. S. Jr., and Gal, R. G. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska 20(l-2):79-112. College.Google Scholar
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 1979 Interim Cultural Resource Management Plan for the Tangle Lakes Archaeological District. BLM, Anchorage District Office.Google Scholar
Burrous, C. M. 1977 Experimental Upfreezing of Objects: Effects of Object Geometry. Ms. on file at the Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle.Google Scholar
Collins, M. B. 1975 Sources of Bias in Processual Data: An Appraisal. In Sampling in Archaeology, edited by Mueller, J. W., pp. 26–33. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Corte, A. E. 1962a Vertical Migration of Particles in Front of a Moving Freezing Plane. Journal of Geophysical Research 67:1085-1090.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corte, A. E. 1962b The Frost Behavior of Soils: Laboratory and Field Data for a New Concept—II, Horizontal Sorting. U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Research Report 85:1-20. Hanover, New Hampshire.Google Scholar
Corte, A. E. 1962c The Frost Behavior of Soils—I, Vertical Sorting. In Soil Behavior With and Without Additives, National Academy of Sciences. National Research Council Highway Research Board, Bulletin No. 317:9-34. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Efremov, J. A. 1940 Taphonomy: New Branch of Paleontology. Pan-American Geologist 74:81–93.Google Scholar
Fahey, B. D. 1973 An Analysis of Diurnal Freeze-thaw and Frost Heave Cycles in the Indian Peaks Region of the Colorado Front Range. Arctic and Alpine Research 5:269–281.Google Scholar
Fahey, B. D. 1974 Seasonal Frost Heave and Frost Penetration Measurements in the Indian Peaks Region of the Colorado Front Range. Arctic and Alpine Research 6:63–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gary, M., Ma Afee, R. J., and Wolfe, C. L. (editors) 1972 Glossary of Geology. American Geological Institute, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Gould, R. A. (editor) 1978 Explorations in Ethnoarchaeology. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Gradwell, M. W. 1954 Soil Frost Studies at a High Country Station: 1. New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology, Section B 36:240–257.Google Scholar
Hay, T. 1936 Stone Stripes. Geographical Journal 87:47–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, D. M., and Giddings, J. L. 1953 Geological Background of the Iyatayet Archaeological Site, Cape Denbigh, Alaska. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 121:1-37. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Inglis, D. R. 1965 Particle Sorting and Stone Migration by Freezing and Thawing. Science 148:1616–1617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, D. L., and K. L., Hansen 1974 The Effects of Frost-heaving on Objects in Soils. Plains Anthropologist 19:81–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, D. L., Muhs, D. R., and Barnhardt, M. L. 1977 The Effects of Frost Heaving on Objects in Soils, II: Laboratory Experiments. Plains Anthropologist 22:133-147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplar, C. W. 1965 Stone Migration by Freezing of Soil. Science 149:1520–1521.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krumme, O. 1935 Frost und Schnee in ihrer Wirkung auf den Boden im Hochtaunas. Rhein-Mainische Forschungen 13:1-73. (Cited in Washburn [1980]).Google Scholar
Mackay, J. R., and Burrous, C. 1979 Uplift of Objects by an Upfreezing Ice Surface. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 16:609–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackay, J. R., and Mathews, W. H. 1974 Movement of Sorted Stripes, the Cinder Cone, Garibaldi Park, B. C. , Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research 6:347–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mobley, C. M. 1981 Lithic Technology at the Landmark Gap Trail Site, Tangle Lakes, Alaska. Paper presented at the8th Annual Alaska Anthropological Association Conference, Anchorage, Alaska, 1981. Google Scholar
Moffitt, F. H., and Bouchard, H. 1975 Surveying. 6th ed. Thomas Y. Crowell, New York.Google Scholar
Olson, E. C. 1980 Taphonomy: Its History and Role in Community Evolution. In Fossils in the Making, edited by Behrensmeyer, Anna K. and Hill, Andrew P., pp. 5–19. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Pewe, T. L. 1965 Central and Southcentral Alaska. Guidebook for Field Conference F, organized by Pewe, T. L.. International Association for Quaternary Research, 7th Congress, pp. 88–92. Lincoln, Nebraska.Google Scholar
Pewe, T. L. 1975 Quaternary Stratigraphic Nomenclature in Central Alaska. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 862. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Price, L. 1972 The Periglacial Environment, Permafrost, and Man. Commission on College Geography, Resource Paper No. 14. Google Scholar
Redman, C. L., Berman, M. J., Curtin, E. V., Langhorne, W. T. Jr. , Versaggi, N. M., and Wanser, J. C. (editors) 1978 Social Archaeology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Rein, R. G., and Burrous, C. M. 1980 Laboratory Measurements of Subsurface Displacements During Thaw of Low-angle Slopes of a Frost-susceptible Soil. Arctic and Alpine Research 12:349–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rick, J. W. 1976 Downslope Movement and Archaeological Intrasite Spatial Analysis. American Antiquity 41:133–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rieger, S., Schoephorster, D. B., and Furbush, C. E. 1979 Exploratory Soil Survey of Alaska. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Schiffer, M. B., and Rathje, W. L. 1973 Efficient Exploitation of the Archaeological Record: Penetrating Problems: In Research and Theoryin Current Archaeology, edited by Redman, C. L., pp. 169–179. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Schiffer, M. B. 1976 Behavioral Archaeology. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Schweger, C. 1981 Chronology of Late Glacial Events from the Tangle Lakes, Alaska Range, Alaska. Arctic Anthropology 18:97-101.Google Scholar
Swanson, E. H. Jr. (editor) 1975 Lithic Technology.’ Making and Using Stone Tools. Mouton, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taber, S. 1929 Frost Heaving. Journal of Geology 37:428–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taber, S. 1930 The Mechanics of Frost Heaving. Journal of Geology 38:303–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorson, R. M., and Hamilton, T. D. 1977 Geology of the Dry Creek Site, a Stratified Early Man Site in Interior Alaska. Quaternary Research 7:149-176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Troll, C. 1958 Structure, Soils, Solfluction, and Frost Climates of the Earth. U. S. Army Snow, Ice, and Permafrost Research Establishment Translation No. 43:1-121. Hanover, New Hampshire.Google Scholar
U. S. Weather Bureau 1960 -68 Climato Jogica J Data: Alaska (annual summaries). U. S. Department of Commerce, Environmental Science Services Administration, Asheville, N. C.Google Scholar
Van Whye, G. L., and Peck, J. W. 1968 A Limnological Survey of Paxson and Summit Lakes in Interior Alaska. Publication No. 134. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Juneau.Google Scholar
Washburn, A. L. 1969 Weathering, Frost Action, and Patterned Ground in the Mesters Vig District, Northeast Greenland. Meddelelser om Grønland 176:1–303.Google Scholar
Washburn, A. L. 1973 Periglacial Processes and Environments. St. Martin's Press, New York.Google Scholar
Washburn, A. L. 1980 Geocryology: A Survey of Periglacial Processes and Environments. Halsted Press, New York.Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1967 The Donnelly Ridge Site and the Definition of an Early Core and Blade Complex in Central Alaska. American Antiquity 32:360–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1971 Tangle Lakes Archaeological District. Nomination form, National Register of Historic Places, pp. 1–5. Copy on file, Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage District Office.Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1972 Archaeological and Paleoecological Research in the Tangle Lakes Area, Central Alaska 1966-1972. Unpublished ms. on file, Alaska Methodist University, Anchorage.Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1973a Late Paleolithic Cultures in Alaska. Paper presented at the IXth Congress of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Chicago. Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1973b Old World Affinities of Archaeological Complexes from Tangle Lakes, Central Alaska. Paperpresented to the All-Union Conference on the Bering Land Bridge, Kabarousk, U. S. S. R. Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1974 The Significance of Typologically-early Site Collections in the Tangle Lakes, Central Alaska: APreliminary Consideration. In International Conference on the Prehistory and Paleoecology of Western North American Arctic and Subarctic, edited by Raymond, S. and Schledermann, P., pp. 217–238. University of Calgary Archaeological Association.Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1975 Dating the Denali Complex. Arctic Anthropology 12:76–81.Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1976 Arkheologicheskii kompleks Tangl-leiks (tsentral'naya Alyaska) i ego svyaz’ so starym svetom (Old World Affinities of Archaeological Complexes from Tangle Lakes, Central Alaska). In Beringiya v JCainozoe, edited by Kontramivichus, V. R., pp. 439–458. Materialy vsesoyuznogo simpoziuma “Beringiiskaya Sucha i ee znachenie dlya Razvitiya Golarkticheskikh flor i faun Kainozoe.” Khabarovsk. Vladivostok.Google Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1980 Late Paleolithic Cultures in Alaska. In Early Native Americans: Prehistoric Demography, Economy, and Technology, edited by Browman, D. L., pp. 161–187. Mouton, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
West, F. Hadleigh 1981 The Archaeology of Beringia. Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Williams, P. J. 1966 Downslope Soil Movement at a Subarctic Location with Regard to Variations with Depth. Canadian Geotechnical Journal 3:191–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, R. W., and Johnson, D. L. 1978 A Survey of Disturbance Process in Archaeological Site Formation. In Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Vol. 1, edited by Schiffer, M. B., pp. 315–381. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zinck, B., and Zinck, T. 1976 Survey of Archaeological Sites, Tangle Lakes Archaeological District near Paxson, Alaska, 1976. Report to the Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage District Office. Western Interstate Commissionfor Higher Education, Boulder. Google Scholar