Culture and Ecology of Chaco Canyon and the San Juan Basin

116 Chaco Project Synthesisin the later stages of chipped stone tool manufacture.There could have been a gradual decrease in flintknapping activities or an increase in the importation ofblanks rather than cores of other materials into thecanyon so that only finishing touches were needed toprepare the tools for use. Cameron's {l997c:652)analysis of cores indicated that importation from longdistances was almost nonexistent from A.D. 500through A.D. 920. This would suggest that importedlithic materials came as end products rather than rawmaterials from which to produce tools or flakes. Forlocally available core materials, however, the patternsare varied. The number of chert and splinterysilicified wood cores does decrease from the A.D.500s through the A.D. 820 to 920 period. The chertysilicified wood cores, on the other hand, increase,while the relative percentages of chalcedonic silicifiedwood cores peak in the A.D. 600s (Cameron 1997b:Table 3C.12).For chipped stone tool use, Cameron (1997b:Table 3.8) indicated that nonlocal materials made up5 percent during the A.D. 500s; 10 percent during theA.D. 600s; 3 percent during the A.D. 700 to 820period; and 2 percent during the A.D. 820 to 920period. These materials varied by type through time(Cameron 1997b:Table 3.9). Obsidian was always themost frequently imported material throughout theperiod. During the A.D. 500s and 600s, Red Hillobsidian (source in west-central New Mexico;Cameron 1993:Figure 3.2; Cameron and Sappington1984) was the most frequent obsidian source (69.3percent in the A.D. 500s, and 43.5 percent in the A.D. 600s [Cameron 1997b:Table 3.11]), followed byimports from Polvadero Peak (in north-central NewMexico ), Jemez, and Modena (Utah) sources. By theA.D. 700 to 820 period, the predominant obsidiansource was in the Jemez Mountains; and by the A.D.820 to 920 period, it had shifted back to the Polvaderosource. In the first three periods, there were alsoobsidian pieces from several other sources in Arizona,Utah, and Colorado.More recent analyses of source areas for site29SJ629 (see Windes 1993:304) indicate that theremay have been fewer Red Hill specimens at this sitethan was suggested during the early studies, when thenumbers of Sources were not as well sampled andanalyzed. Sources identified by Cameron andSappington (1984) as Polvadera were later identifiedas Grants Ridge; Windes (1993:304) assumed that asource near Grants Ridge was more common and thatthe Red Hill may have been rarely used. There wereshifts in percentages obtained between two major areas(to the north and south), but Windes suggested that wemay not be able to accurately estimate the amount ofmaterial coming from these sources during theseperiods.Except for some unusual caches and a few gravegoods, formal tools make up only a small percentageof the chipped stone items (Cameron 1997b; Lekson1997). Formal tools were found more frequently inthe early periods (A.D. 500s and 600s); and miscellaneouspoints and blades were found mostfrequently in the A.D. 500s. The relative proportionsof materials for finished tools are different from thechipped stone material types. Cameron (1997b:564)noted that certain tools (e.g., arrow points) were madefrom imported materials. Obsidian is the most frequentmaterial type recorded for the A.D. 600 throughA.D. 820 period. Drills and scrapers, on the otherhand, were made primarily from local chalcedonicsilicified wood. Cameron identified a possible chippedstone tool workshop area at 29SJ423. Because thecores that would indicate importation from long distancesare almost nonexistent from A.D. 500 throughA.D. 920 (Cameron 1997b:652), it is likely that mostimported lithic materials came as end products ratherthan raw materials from which to produce tools orflakes.Evidence for local manufacture of pottery waspresent at three sites (29SJ299, 29MC448, andShabik'eshchee Village) during the Basketmaker IIIperiod, and at two sites (Half House and Judd'sPithouse) during the Pueblo I period (H. Toll andMcKenna 1997:Table 2.67). Evidence includes thepresence of a number of different tools, raw or workedclays, possible kilns, and some uniformity of ceramicswithin specific sites.Changes in ceramic wares, forms, and designstyles documented by H. Toll and McKenna (1997)parallel those found throughout the Anasazi regionduring the Basketmaker III and Pueblo I periods. Theuse of reddish paint increases from 44 percent in theA.D. 500s to 70 percent during the A.D. 600s, but itdecreases to 6.4 percent between A.D. 700 and 820,and to 2.2 percent between A.D. 820 and 920 (H. Toll