Tikchik village: a nineteenth century riverine community in ... - Cluster

CollectionsIn this chapter the artifacts from the Tikchik Village site will bedescribed under the major headings of locally manufactured goodsand imported manufactured goods. Further subdivisions under eachof these headings will be according to the material used in the manufactureof the artifacts. The approach will be largely descriptivewith some comparative material and an analysis of the trade goodsbeing reserved for the following chapter on continuity and innovation.Locally Manufactured GoodsUnder this heading are included all artifacts manufactured locallyby Eskimos irrespective of whether or not they are traditional Eskimoforms. Thus this section will include descriptions of artifacts madefrom materials unknown to precontact Eskimos as well as forms thatwere the direct product of the contact situation.Chipped StoneThe only artifacts considered here are those which show chippingas the final technique in their manufacture. Thus many implementblanks as well as finished implements which have chipped surfacesbut which either would have been ground or polished or have hadground and polished working edges are not described. This rathernarrow definition of a chipped stone implement is applied here inorder to emphasize the importance of flint working to the nineteenthcentury Eskimos at Tikchik.Plano-convex scrapers of chert include one relatively large specimen9 cm. in length with a steep, carefully prepared, working edge;this scraper probably was used unhafted. Three roughly rectangularflakes have two parallel working edges and were probably also usedunhafted; two of these show careful chipping over their entire surfaces(PI. 1,1). Another type of double-edged scraper, representedby two specimens, is slightly curved, flat across one end and carefullyworked on all surfaces (PI. 1,2). The remaining eight chert examplesare crude flakes retouched on one or more edges, and there arealso two scrapers of this type made from flakes of fine-grained schist.A single end scraper of fine-grained schist is large and roughly flaked265