analysis and interpretion of intrasite spatial patterning of chipped stone artifacts at two sites in

76 Pages·2010·1.69 MB·English

by  Alan Randall Potter

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF INTRASITE SPATIAL PATTERNING
OF CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS AT TWO SITES IN NORTHWEST KANSAS

A Thesis by

Alan Randall Potter

B.A., University of Kansas, 2001

Submitted to the Department of Anthropology
and the faculty of the Graduate School of
Wichita State University
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts

May 2010
© 2010 by Alan Randall Potter

All Rights Reserved
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETION OF INTRASITE SPATIAL PATTERNING
OF CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS AT TWO SITES IN NORTHWEST KANSAS

The following faculty members have examined this thesis for the form and content and
recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master
of Arts, with a major in Anthropology.

_________________________________
Donald J. Blakeslee, Committee Chair

_________________________________
David T. Hughes, Committee Member

_________________________________
Peer H. Moore-Jansen, Committee Member

_________________________________
Jay M. Price, Committee Member
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DEDICATION

To my daughter Lydia Mae
iv
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
Many thanks are due to the numerous individuals and institutions that made this thesis
possible. The excavations at 14TO306 were conducted by R. Christopher Goodwin and
Associates, Inc. (RCGA), contracted with Natural Resources Group, LLC (NRG), in partial
fulfillment of Section 106 compliance prior to the construction of the Overland Pass Pipeline
(OPP). I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Christopher Goodwin, RCGA
President, for his blessing to pursue this unique opportunity. I am also grateful to Mr. Kevin
Wienke and Mr. Jon Berkin, both of NRG, for their assistance in securing permission to use
these data. Special thanks are extended to Ms. Janice McLean and Ms. Shannon R. Ryan,
RCGA Project Managers, for their invaluable assistance and tireless dedication to this project.
Ms. Dawn Munger skillfully drafted the artifact illustrations used here. This research was made
possible through the hard work and expertise of the RCGA Kansas staff. Without their
perseverance in the face of adverse field conditions, meticulous attention to detail, and tedious
hours spent cataloging, analyzing, and refitting the collections, none of this would have been
possible.
My committee members are also deserving of much appreciation. Dr. Peer Moore-Jansen
helped provide me with the analytical tools to examine these data in a meaningful way. Dr.
David Hughes and Dr. Jay Price made sure I did not lose track of the larger picture. Finally, I
would also like to extend a very special thanks to my committee chair, Dr. Donald Blakeslee,
whose patience and guidance are only matched by his understanding and curiosity.
I would be woefully remiss without thanking my family for all of their unconditional love
and support. To my parents, Jim and Liana, my daughter, Lydia Mae, and Lisa, my soul mate – I
love you all very much and thank you for staying by my side.
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ABSTRACT
The k-means clustering procedure is a statistical method used to derive patterns of spatial
clustering. This method is applied here to discern distributional patterns in lithic artifacts
recovered from two sites in northwest Kansas in an attempt to assess site integrity and delineate
areas of prehistoric activity. The results of the k-means cluster analysis are compared against
spatial data observed and collected for refitting and conjoining lithic artifacts. The spatial
distribution of refitted artifacts will serve to test the validity of statistically derived spatial
patterns.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I. GENERAL BACKBROUND 1

Introduction 1
History of Statistical Methods in Archaeology 2
History of Spatial Analysis in Archaeology 5

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS 8

Archaeological Materials 8
Lithic Analysis Methods 17
Refitting Analysis Methods 21
Statistical Methods 22

III. ANALYSIS OF DATA 27

Refitting Analysis 27
K-means Cluster Analysis 34

IV. INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS 44

14SD103 45
14TO306 48
Discussion 57

REFERENCES 61
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. Location of 14SD103 and 14TO306 9

2. Location of known SHSC lithic procurement sites 10

3. Middle Archaic dart point base 11

4. Plan of data recovery excavations at 14SD103 12

5. Plan of data recovery excavations at 14TO306 13

6. Location of 14TO304, 14TO305, 14TO306, and Walsh Archeological District 15

7. Refit/conjoin sets at 14SD103 29

8. Refit/conjoin sets at Excavation Block 1, 14TO306 31

9. Refit/conjoin sets at Excavation Block 2, 14TO306 32

10. Refit/conjoin sets at Excavation Block 3, 14TO306 32

11. Refit/conjoin sets at Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 33

12. Log(%SSE) plot of 14SD103 k-means cluster solutions 34

13. K-means four-cluster solution for 14SD103 35

14. K-means six-cluster solution for 14SD103 35

15. Log(%SSE) plot of Excavation Block 1, 14TO306 k-means cluster solutions 37

16. K-means three-cluster solution for Excavation Block 1, 14TO306 37

17. K-means six-cluster solution for Excavation Block 1, 14TO306 38

18. Log(%SSE) plot of Excavation Block 2, 14TO306 k-means cluster solutions 39

19. K-means six-cluster solution for Excavation Block 2, 14TO306 39

20. Log(%SSE) plot of Excavation Block 3, 14TO306 k-means cluster solutions 40

21. K-means six-cluster solution for Excavation Block 3, 14TO306 41
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LIST OF FIGURES (continued)
Figure Page
22. Log (%SSE) plot of Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 k-means cluster solutions 42

23. K-means three-cluster solution for Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 42

24. K-means six-cluster solution for Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 43

25. K-means nine-cluster solution for Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 43

26. Four-cluster solution and refit pairs at 14SD103 47

27. Six-cluster solution and refit pairs at 14SD103 47

28. Three-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 1, 14TO306 49

29. Six-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 1, 14TO306 50

30. Six-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 2, 14TO306 51

31. Six-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 3, 14TO306 52

32. Three-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 55

33. Six-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 55

34. Nine-cluster solution and refit pairs at Excavation Block 4, 14TO306 56
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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
1. Summary of artifacts recovered from 14SD103 16

2. Summary of artifacts recovered from 14TO306 17

3. Unmodified flake and flake fragment size grade ranges 18

4. Biface stages 20

5. Summary of 14SD103 refit relationships 28

6. Summary of 14TO306 refit relationships 30

7. 14SD103 refit/conjoin pairs in the four-cluster solution 46

8. 14SD103 refit/conjoin pairs in the six-cluster solution 46

9. 14TO306 Excavation Block 1 refit/conjoin pairs in the three-cluster solution 48

10. 14TO306 Excavation Block 1 refit/conjoin pairs in the six-cluster solution 49

11. 14TO306 Excavation Block 2 refit/conjoin pairs in the six-cluster solution 51

12. 14TO306 Excavation Block 3 refit/conjoin pairs in the six-cluster solution 52

13. 14TO306 Excavation Block 4 refit/conjoin pairs in the three-cluster solution 53

14. 14TO306 Excavation Block 4 refit/conjoin pairs in the six-cluster solution 54

15. 14TO306 Excavation Block 4 refit/conjoin pairs in the nine-cluster solution 54

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