1. The level of stone tool production at the site (either production or utilization).
2. The function of the tools and therefore the subsistence and economic orientation of each site.
3. The potential connections between each site and nearby regions.
4. The time period of each site (i.e., Archaic or Mississippian).
Based on the information provided above and data provided in Table 1, answer the following questions. Remember that archaeological data do not always support definitive conclusions. Still, there tends to be a best answer to the questions. For each set of questions (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12), an archaeological site will fit best in answer to one question. For example, it does not make sense to provide the same archaeological site in answer to Question 1 and Question 3, Question 5 and Question 6, and so on. Your answers should be brief and to the point; most questions require only the name of the site for an answer. If you feel you need to justify your answer, a couple sentences will suffice.
Table 1. Summary counts of various chipped stone products at the four sites included in this study.
Stone tool production
Some of the artifacts at the sites represent specific types of tool manufacture. What stages of tool manufacture and use seem to have been most prevalent at various sites?
1. Identify the site(s) at which people were extracting raw material, shaping nodules into cores, but not using many tools at the site.
2. Identify the site(s) at which people at the site seem to have been both making and using stone tools.
3. Identify the site(s) at which people were mainly using tools with very little evidence of production.
To answer this question, look especially at Note 5 and apply that to your interpretation of the data in Table 1.
General site function
As determined by the tool assemblages, which site best matches each of the descriptions below? Consider both the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present.
4. Based on the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present, which site likely represents a temporary hunting camp?
5. Based on the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present, which site is likely an agricultural settlement with evidence for hunting?
6. Based on the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present, which site was likely a station for preliminary flintknapping stages, probably close to a raw material source?
To answer this question, look especially at Notes 2, 3, and 5 and apply that to your interpretation of the data in Table 1.
Inter-regional comparison
Some of the artifacts at the above sites show links with other regions.
7. Which sites have affiliations with neighboring regions to the southwest?
8. Which sites have affiliations with neighboring groups to the east (i.e., southern Illinois)?
9. Which sites have affiliations with neighboring regions to both the southwest and the east?
To answer this question, look especially at Note 4 and apply that to your interpretation of the data in Table 1.
Time period
Some of these artifacts also indicate a temporal association with either the Archaic or Mississippian period.
10. Which of these sites appears to be occupied mainly during the Mississippian period?
11. Which of these sites appears to be occupied mainly during the Archaic period?
12. Which site is difficult to place within one of these temporal phases, and why?
To answer this question, look especially at Note 1 and apply that to your interpretation of the data in Table 1.
Earning the Points
To earn full points for the assignment:
1. Answer Questions 1-11 (1 point each). These questions just require the name of the archaeological site(s).
2. Answer Question 12 (2 points). This question requires two parts: (a) the name of the site and (b) why it is difficult to place in time.
3. Write a clean paper (2 points). You can type your answers to the questions directly in the assignment. Just add some space. Although you are not writing a formal paper, I still expect your assignment to be relatively free of technical errors (e.g., spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors - errors easily caught by proofreading). I am grading more for substance than writing, but you risk losing points for unclear answers to the questions if your paper is sloppy.
