Technology: Flaked Lithics

Eight categories of formal
tools were present in the
Navajo flaked lithic assem-
blage. As can be seen
from this bar graph, of the
104 formal tools, projectile
points were the most
numerous. The numbers
and frequency of projectile
points indicates that hunting
was an important aspect of
subsistence. Defense may
also have been an issue, as
the Navajo are known to
have been the focus of Ute
raiding parties during the
1600 and 1700’s.

It has been suggested that the weight of a discarded core was inversely proportional to the distance
from the core’s original source. That is, a locally obtained core was typically discarded at a larger size
(because it could more easily be replaced), while a core from a distant source was typically discarded
at a smaller size. The 30 cores from the project area certainly appear to support this hypothesis. As
can be seen from this bar graph, the largest cores are made of materials known to be locally available
in the cobble beds of the study area. The smaller cores are made of materials known or suspected to

be available only
from more distant
sources. The two
exceptions to this
appear to be the silt-
stone core and the
smallest quartzite
core, both of which
were probably local-
ly obtained.