Taking it to the River: Arkansas Novaculite Quarrying and Archaic Period Tool Production

Abstract

Arkansas Novaculite, outcropping on ridge tops in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, was a critical resource for Indians living in both mountains and coastal plains. We review recent archaeological research on novaculite quarries and the movement of toolstone away from outcrops, especially during the Middle and Late Archaic Period (6,100-650 BC). Toolstone procurement was intensive and extensive, as shown through mapping of quarry features at Spanish Diggings, a major quarry at the southeastern end of the Novaculite Uplift. Analysis of tool production debris at the Jones Mill Site on the Ouachita River focuses on identifying heat treatment and biface reduction as people moved novaculite from source to habitation.