Investigation of Ten Archaeological Sites on Polecat Bench, Wyoming

摘要

Investigation of ten archaeological sites on Polecat Bench, Wyoming, indicates highly structured organization of tipi-rings in two sites--48PA104 and 48PA130--and considered variation between clusters of lithic material in other, individual sites. Overall, data suggest that Polecat Bench was a raw material procurement area--suggested by core reduction and lithic removal activities--and that short-term occupations possibly characterized all sites investigated. Intra-site analysis indicates that sites characterized by lithic debris cannot be 'typed' in a single functional sense and that tipi-ring sites cannot be reliably compared without first investigating intra-site spatial patterning of rings and their associated characteristics. Spatial analysis, in conjunction with core reconstructions at 48PA147, strongly indicates overlap of several activity variants.