Time, Space, and Cultural Tradition as Factors in Lithic Resource Exploitation in the Middle Missouri Subarea

Abstract

An analysis of the chipped stone tools from 19 Middle Missouri and Coalescent tradition components from the Middle Missouri subarea of the Plains indicates that their time of occupation, location, and taxonomic assignment are associated with variations in lithic raw material exploitation. The results generally support earlier conclusions that the Middle Missouri tradition villagers relied more extensively on non locally available Knife River flint compared with Coalescent tradition peoples. The data also indicate that Initial Middle Missouri components contain relatively more Knife River flint than comparable Extended Middle Missouri villages although there is a “falloff” in the exploitation of this material among Initial Middle Missouri villages with increasing distance from its resource area. Coalescent populations, on the other hand, relied more on local materials and other nonlocal resources such as flattop and plate chalcedonies compared to Middle Missouri tradition groups. Among Coalescent tradition villages in the Grand-Moreau region, there is a decrease in the use of nonlocal materials through time with a corresponding increase in the exploitation of local resources. In the lower Bad-Cheyenne and Big Bend regions to the south, variation in the utilization of· nonlocal materials during the Protohistoric period is related to a village’s proximity to tributaries of the Missouri River which drain the resource areas containing these materials. The changes in all three regions during the Protohistoric period are thought to be a consequence of an increase in trade and warfare.