ARS | Publication request: Lithic Scatters that Blow: Wind as an Agent of Secondary Deposition of Lithic Artifacts

Submitted to: SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 7, 2011
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Artifact presence or absence is frequently the only criteria used to define the horizontal extent of archaeological sites. Artifact transport by natural agents such as water and gravity is known to move artifacts from their primary context, though experimental simulated wind conditions demonstrate that small-size debitage also may be transported by wind. The effect of wind on artifact distribution is explored using data from a large lithic workshop exposed to high wind speeds. This study suggests that wind sorting can be recognized through the horizontal distribution of artifact size across a site to determine the location of the primary deposit.