Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

stages of stone tool manufacture are preserved. Other items in the material culture also show
technological development, but most of those are perishable (e.g., basketry and clothing). Different
groups developed different solutions to similar problems in the manufacture of various items. INL sites
have the potential for addressing several of these.
Research Topic: Stone Tool Manufacture. Most of the tools recovered from archaeological sites
are made of stone. This is because stone is an excellent material for tool manufacture and because it is
durable, outlasting the more perishable materials of wood and bone. Numerous sources of stone suitable
for tools exist in and around the upper Snake River Basin; the most notable near INL is Big Southern
Butte, which is a major source of obsidian that was heavily exploited by the prehistoric inhabitants of the
region. Studies conducted near there can tell us much about the processes of material acquisition and
stone tool manufacture.
Research Question—How are lithic resources acquired, reduced, and transported to the ultimate
areas of use?
Sites representing primary reduction of obsidian near Big Southern Butte should tell us much about
material acquisition and initial processing. Removal of the reduced material to camp or residential sites
would be expected and should be evident in the archaeological record. Detailed analyses of reduction
stages, along with source analyses and hydration dating, should provide a detailed history of lithic
resource utilization that would be unparalleled in the archaeological literature.
Data Requirements: Any site with obsidian flakes that can be classified to their stage of reduction.
This includes sites where lithic materials were being acquired, and those in which obsidian was being
used to process other resources.
Research Topic: Basketry Technology. The classification of basketry has been the source of much
confusion in reconstructing the prehistory of the upper Snake River Basin. It has been argued (Adovasio
et al. 1982) that after 10,000 years of continuity of basketry technology during the Archaic in the eastern
Great Basin and the upper Snake River Basin, it disappears from the face of the earth sometime between
1300 and 1800 A.D. Technology has always changed in response to the needs of the people, and it is
feasible that basketry technology did the same. However, the apparent loss of a basketry technology in the
upper Snake River Basin has not been adequately demonstrated, and some INL sites have tremendous
potential for addressing this question.
Research Question—Is there a change in basketry technology anytime after the Pleistocene?
Apparently, the historic groups of the area employed a different basketry technology than did those
inhabiting the few prehistoric cave sites that have preserved basketry remains. Any continuity, or lack
thereof, is important to understanding the prehistory of the occupation of the area.
Data Requirements: Any site with preserved basketry remains. This would be expected only in dry
cave situations, such as some of the lava tubes at INL.
Problem Domain: Data Recovery Techniques
It is estimated that approximately 75% of the stone materials used for tool manufacture in the upper
Snake River Basin during prehistoric times was obsidian. Obsidian sources are numerous and each has a
unique “fingerprint” of constituent elements. Stone tools and waste flakes can be chemically analyzed and
their source determined. In addition, obsidian is an unstable compound that is chemically altered when
exposed to air and water through hydration. Therefore, once an obsidian cobble is fractured during tool
manufacture, the new surface begins to hydrate, and if the hydration rate is known for that source, an age
of tool manufacture can be determined. This type of analysis has a tremendous potential for unraveling
the cultural history of the INL sites.
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