Appendix H - Historical Archaeological and ... - CBP.gov

Relatively few early Paleo-Indian sites have yielded radiocarbon dates; the ages of most have
been inferred from the presence of fluted points (Funk, 1983:309; Ritchie and Funk, 1973:334).
Finds are frequently limited to single projectile points with no accompanying items. Although
there is some variation across the study area, typical Paleo-Indian tool kits included unifaciallyflaked
end- and side-scrapers (some of which are ‘limace’ (slug-shaped), bifacial preforms,
distinct debitage created during point fluting (i.e., ‘channel’ flakes), burins, wedges, gravers,
biface knives, large chopping and cutting biface, drills, and denticulates (Funk, 1983:309; Snow,
1980). Tools are generally made with high-quality stone, sometimes procured from exotic (longdistance)
sources.
Late Paleo-Indian (ca. 10,900 B.P.-10,000 B.P.) sites are associated with diagnostic, parallelflaked,
lanceolate Plano tradition projectile points. Plano points are most frequently found in the
Plains, where some are associated with bison kills/processing sites (Justice, 1995:30-35). They
are extremely scarce in Pennsylvania, New York, and New England, but occur more frequently
further to the north, where peri-glacial environments endured until after 10,000 B.P. (Funk,
1983:315-316; see also Lepper and Funk, 2006:193).
Paleo-Indian sites can be grouped into any number of several functional classes, among which
are: workshops/quarries; small camps; major, recurrently occupied camps; kill sites; rockshelter/
cave camps; and possible cremation sites (Buckmaster and Paquette, 1989; Frison, 1996; Mason
and Irwin, 1960; Meinholz and Kuehn, 1996; Ritchie and Funk, 1973:333-334). Workshops/
quarries are defined by the presence of numerous pieces of debitage and stone tool fragments, a
low quantity or absence of evidence for longer-term visits such as hearths, and proximity to a
lithic source. Examples include: Munsungun in Maine; West Athens Hill and Divers Lake in
New York; and several Knife River quarry sites in North Dakota (Funk, 1983:314; Lepper and
Funk, 2006:181). Attributes of small camps include a limited areal extent and relatively few
artifacts, which might include items associated with hunting, butchering, woodworking, or
knapping. Example sites include: Beacon Hill, Lamontagne, and Keogh in Maine; and Potts,
Davis, and Kings Road in New York. Major recurrently occupied camps typically cover larger
areas than small camps, have more artifacts representing a greater range of activities, and include
several ‘hotspots,’ probably indicative of multiple occupations or areas used during a single
occupation my multiple social groups. Examples include: the Michaud and Taxiway sites in
Maine; Reagan in Vermont; Arc in New York; Shoop in Pennsylvania; Paleo Crossing in Ohio;
and Samels Field in Michigan (Cleland and Ruggles, 1996; Holliday and Mandel, 2006:36;
Ritchie and Funk, 1973:333-334; Shott and Wright, 1999; Witthoft, 1952). Kill sites are
represented by disarticulated faunal (skeletal) remains in association with Paleo-Indian artifacts.
Example sites include the Vail site in Maine (Lepper and Funk, 2006:182). Rockshelter and
cave sites are largely defined by the presence of Paleo-Indian artifacts in proximity to those
geographic features; visits to these sites would have been brief and probably by relatively few
people (Ritchie and Funk, 1973:334). Examples include the Aurora Run Rockshelter, the Squaw
Rockshelter, and Sheriden Cave in Ohio, and Dutchess Quarry Cave in New York (Holliday and
Mandel, 2006:36; Lepper and Funk, 2006:175; Ritchie and Funk 1973:334). There is also some
evidence for large-scale bison kills in Montana and possible cremation burials have been found
on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Buckmaster and Paquette, 1989; Frison, 1996; Justice,
1995:33; Mason and Irwin, 1960; Meinholz and Kuehn, 1996).
Northern Border Activities H-3 July 2012