Preliminary Notes on Some Southwestern New Mexico Lithic Industries

Abstract

During the months of January, February and March of 1967 Dr. Arthur J. Jelinek, then of the University of Michigan, directed an archaeological survey of the Mimbres River Valley and adjacent areas of Southwestern New Mexico. Archaeological materials were obtained from well over 200 sites and part of the analysis of these materials was carried out while we were in New Mexico. While Jelinek concentrated on field analysis of ceramics, I was able to work with the lithic materials from at least the first part of the survey. This paper is based on a preliminary analysis of 213 lots of chippage from 167 different sites. All told, we recorded, typed, counted and weighed over 27,500 fragments of chipped stone weighing well over 700 pounds. We were able to accomplish much of this work in New Mexico by spending approximately half of our time in the field and half in the laboratory. While final tool typing and description is far from complete we have so far recorded information on the numbers and weights of cobble tools; finished bifaces; rough bifaces; standardized scrapers including side scrapers, end scrapers and spokeshaves; cores including block, plano-convex and bi-convex cores; and flake groups including blocky flakes, flat flakes and flakes of bi-facial retouch. These flake and tool categories have all been discussed elsewhere (Fitting 1967; Fitting, DeVisscher and Wahla 1966; Fitting and Price 1968) and so we will not redefine them here. The final result of this study will be the articulation of tool and flake categories with the ceramic seriation and site typology for the entire survey area. It should then be possible to relate style change within individual tool categories to a time sequence. Within single time horizons site size and location could be correlated with specific tool types to suggest site function. By observing changes in site function and location over time, we will be able to deal with changing patterns of cultural adaptation as well as movements of people over time. Much of this projected correlation is dependent on the final analysis of the ceramics and site morphology and must be left for the future. It is possible to use what information is available to make some lower level inferences on areal and temporal differences with less reference to actual cultural adaptations.