An Integrated Approach: Lithic Analyses and Site Function, Eagle Drink Bluff Shelter, Upper Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee
Document Type
Book Contribution
Publication Date
1-1-2012
Description
After four excavation seasons at Eagle Drink Bluff Shelter, a small sandstone rockshelter in the highlands of the Upper Cumberland Plateau (UCP) of Tennessee, components ranging from the Middle Archaic through the Late Woodland have been identified. Here we present the results of technological and use-wear analyses of the Late Archaic lithic assemblage, which contained more than 180 finished and reworked stone tools. In general, rockshelters have been viewed as special-purpose sites, though this interpretation has largely been applied to rockshelters in lowland regions where they are comparatively rare (e.g., Hall and Klippel 1988). The technological and functional analyses of the flaking debris and tools at Eagle Drink support the interpretation of a base camp or residential location. While each of the methods employed in this study alone contributes to the site interpretation, confidence in the interpretation lies in their integration. We further believe that if lithic analysts working in the Southeast wish to fully address site function and identify specific activities in the archaeological record, then they should routinely employ use-wear studies.
Citation Information
Franklin, Jay D.; Hays, Maureen A.; Sherwood, Sarah C.; and Langston, Lucinda M.. 2012. An Integrated Approach: Lithic Analyses and Site Function, Eagle Drink Bluff Shelter, Upper Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee. Contemporary Lithic Analysis in the Southeast : Problems, Solutions, and Interpretations. 128-145. ISBN: 9780817386078,9780817356996