Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Applied Archaeology

Department

Anthropology

First Reader/Committee Chair

Des Lauriers, Matthew

Abstract

Arrow shaft straighteners are ground stone tools used in the production of arrows. Over the years, before Spanish colonialism, California Natives formed arrow shaft straighteners using various types of stone, such as granite or basalt. My thesis will focus on the arrow shaft straighteners made out of steatite. Steatite, or soapstone, is a metamorphic rock that is smooth to the touch. The smoothness makes steatite very easy to carve and modify. In California, there are many main sources of steatite. For my thesis, I will focus only on four of these sources: Inyo County, Santa Catalina Island, Sierra Pelona, and Stonewall Peak. The main purpose of my thesis is to contribute to the archaeological record by analyzing the diversity of steatite straighteners and measuring the distance from their found locations to the four main sources. To do this, I will utilize the artifacts from the San Bernardino County Museum repository. Displaying the diversity and measurements involves the approaches from the direct historical approach and lithic procurement theory to apply quantitative methods. The research data will consist of measuring tools and ArcGIS to look at steatite arrow shaft straighteners from Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. My research aims to contribute to archaeological literature by lengthening the discussion of steatite trading between Southern California tribal groups.

Download

  Contact Author

Share

COinS