| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation focuses on the lithic record of the Nenana valley, interior Alaska, to inform on prehistoric toolstone provisioning in eastern Beringia. I approach the record from a behavioral and geological perspective by presenting new data integrating lithic analytical variables and geochemical sourcing of non-obsidian toolstones from late Pleistocene and early Holocene assemblages to explore provisioning strategies and how these change as humans learned the local landscape and adapted to significant environmental change.
Here, research is separated into three related chapters. The first of these focuses on comparing three cultural components from Owl Ridge, an important multicomponent site along the Teklanika River, Alaska. Results of lithic technological analysis show that humans at Owl Ridge engaged in different site activities and procurement behaviors through time, warranting cultural separation of the earliest site component from latter components proposed by previous researchers. Further, comparison of toolstone procurement behaviors show that visitors to Owl Ridge accumulated landscape knowledge as time passed.
The second article in this dissertation explores diachronic patterns in rhyolite procurement and use within the late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological record of the Nenana river valley through the integration of lithic technological analysis, geological survey, and geochemical characterization. The results of this research expands our knowledge of the lithic landscape by identifying new artifact groups and one new rhyolite source. In addition, diachronic patterns of rhyolite procurement and use are variable between time periods, indicative of behavioral adaptation to significant climate change and the accumulation of landscape knowledge through time.
This dissertation concludes with a chapter investigating diachronic patterns of basalt use through time in the Nenana valley. Following the same methodologies as the previous chapter, pXRF geochemical results show that basalt was procured locally through time, most likely from alluvial sources in the region. While some artifact groups could be identified, the geologic setting of the valley necessitates additional geochemical methods to successfully source basalts in this region.
Ultimately, this dissertation demonstrates the importance of integrating lithic technological analysis with geological surveys and geochemical techniques to characterize the lithic landscape of the Nenana valley, provide better insight into diachronic toolstone procurement and use behaviors in the region, and investigate scenarios of environmental adaptation and landscape learning. | |
