Assignment: Lithic Analysis: Through this assignment, you will explore and evaluate the how archaeologists analyze lithic artifacts and use lithic analysis to better understand the past, using a series of hypothetical archaeological sites. Your grade for this assignment will be based on your answers to the questions listed, as discussed below. Students can re-submit the assignment for a maximum of three submissions; the highest score will be kept if the assignment is re-submitted.

1. Three archaeological sites have recently been excavated near the Mississippi River in Illinois. This area is very fertile and has been occupied for many millennia. Prior archaeological research in the area and neighboring regions has established a number of facts, listed below, that will help you complete the project.
   1. During the earlier Archaic period, people made large spear points, while during the later Mississippian period people produced smaller points due to the introduction of the bow and arrow.
   2. Experimentation and microwear analysis of edge damage of many tools has helped archaeologists determine production stages and assign general functions to a number of categories of tools.
   3. Study of the hoes has identified a distinct sheen due to being repeatedly forced into the ground. Hoe flakes were removed from the hoe but still retain the distinctive sheen. Hoes were used during the Mississippian period.
   4. One type of stone found at some of these sites come from different parts of the United States. The obsidian (a volcanic glass good for flaking), comes from the southwestern United States in what is now Arizona and New Mexico.
   5. Artifact categories such as chunks, cores, and cortical flakes are the result of the initial stages of stone tool production, where raw materials are converted to more usable pieces. Chunks are broken but unworked pieces of raw material. Cortical flakes are pieces with some of the outer cortex or rind of the nodule present on the distal surface. Unused flakes and blades can be waste material or potential tools.
2. As a lithic analyst, you have compiled a table of data (shown below) based on summary counts of different chipped stone products at each site. You have been asked to investigate the following questions using the table below:
   1. The level of stone tool production at the site (either production or utilization).
   2. The function of the tools and therefore the subsistence and economic orientation of each site.
   3. The potential connections between each site and nearby regions.
   4. The time period of each site (i.e., Archaic or Mississippian).

	Site A	Site B	Site C
Lithic Artifacts Identified
Chunks	75	0	0
Cores	45	1	1
Cortical flakes	89	2	1
Used flakes	5	20	51
Unused flakes	97	4	12
Used blades	1	4	15
Unused blades	0	1	0
Small points	1	0	20
Large points	2	12	0
Hoe flakes	0	0	7
Total	315	44	107
Materials Used to Make Lithic Artifacts Identified
Local chert	315	23	89
Local quartzite	0	14	3
Obsidian	0	7	15
Total	315	44	107

Based on the above data and background information as well as the data table, please take notes on and answer the following questions.Then, answer the assignment questions in the format of a multiple choice quiz (but this is still an assignment, not a module quiz). Students can resubmit the assignment for a maximum of three times.

1. Stone tool production. Some of the artifacts at the above sites represent specific types of tool manufacture. What stages of tool manufacture and use seem to have been most prevalent at various sites?
   • Identify the site(s) at which people were mostly extracting raw material and shaping nodules into cores, but not using many tools at the site. (5 points)
   • Identify the site(s) at which people were mainly using tools with very little evidence of producing the stone tools. (5 points)
2. General site function. As determined by the tool assemblages, which site best matches each of the descriptions below? Consider both the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present.
   • Based on the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present, which site most likely represents a temporary hunting camp? (5 points)
   • Based on the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present, which site is likely an agricultural settlement with evidence for hunting? (5 points)
   • Based on the numbers of artifacts and the kinds of tools present, which site was likely a station for preliminary flintknapping stages, probably close to a raw material source? (5 points)
3. Inter-regional comparison. Some of the artifacts at the above sites show links with other regions.
   • Which site has an affiliation or trading relationship with the southwestern United States? (5 points)
   • Which two sites have largely local affiliations or trading relationships? (5 points)
4. Time period. Some of these artifacts also indicate a temporal association with either the earlier Archaic or later Mississippian period.
   • Which of the sites appears to be occupied mainly during the Mississippian period? (5 points)
   • Which of the sites appears to be occupied mainly during the Archaic period? (5 points)
   • Which site appears to be occupied during the Archaic period and the Mississippian period? (5 points)