Idaho National Laboratory Cultural Resource Management Plan

fauna, including now-extinct forms of mammoth,
camel, and horse, whose fossils have been found
on INL, and also several modern species, such as
bison and mountain sheep (Ringe et al. 1987). The
regional archaeological record indicates that the
economy of early prehistoric people was based
mainly on this large game, although it is certain
that a wide variety of smaller animals and local
plant resources was also exploited. The sagebrush
grasslands and internal playas of the area would
have provided excellent browse for Pleistocene
animals and productive hunting and gathering
opportunities for people.
Large lanceolate spear points of several
varieties are the diagnostic artifacts of the early
prehistoric period, suggesting that a spear-hunting
technology was in place. The earliest known point
styles, Clovis and Folsom, are leaf shaped in
outline and exhibit characteristic channel-flake
scars (i.e., flutes) that extend from the base to near
the tip of the implements. The best information on
the dates associated with these early implements
comes from the Wasden site and Owl Cave, a
collapsed lava blister near INL (Butler 1978, 1986;
Miller 1982, 1990). The earliest cultural levels at
Wasden revealed fragments of fluted points in
association with the remains of mammoth, bison,
and camel. Uncalibrated radiocarbon dates place
this association between 10,000 and 12,000 B.P.
Several Folsom points and two even older Clovis
points have also been recovered from undated
surface contexts on INL (Butler 1970; Marler
2004; Reed et al. 1987a, 1987b; Ross et al. 1986).
Around 11,000 B.P., fluted points became rare
in the archaeological record, and unfluted
lanceolate and stemmed forms began to occur in
significant numbers until approximately 8000 B.P.
This change may be related to the extinction
of some forms of Pleistocene megafauna and a
concurrent change in the style of weapons used to
bring down the creatures that remained. From
approximately 12,000 B.P., the environment
gradually warmed, although cold pulses were still
common (Currey and James 1982). These
changing conditions may have contributed to the
demise of some megafauna species. Mammoths
were gone from the Plain by approximately 11,000
B.P., and others, such as the camel and Pleistocene
horse, were gone by 9000 B.P. (Ringe et al. 1987).
Projectile point styles from this time are
lanceolate in outline, and many are stemmed or
shouldered. Most point styles are called by names
originally coined in the northwestern plains where
a number of well-stratified and dated sites have
been investigated. This includes lanceolate
varieties, such as Agate Basin and Milnesand, and
stemmed or shouldered varieties known as
Alberta, Eden, Scottsbluff, and Hell Gap (Frison
1978; Wormington 1957).
Two lanceolate point varieties known as
Haskett and Birch Creek were initially defined and
continue to be found in many cave and surface
sites on the Snake River Plain and INL (see
Figure 10). Haskett points were first recognized in
south-central Idaho where they were associated
with bison bones and radiocarbon dates between
9800 and 10,000 B.P. (uncalibrated) (Butler 1978;
Sargeant 1973). They also have a wide distribution
in surface sites throughout the region, including
Figure 10. Haskett spear point found at INL.
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