In 1987, workers installing irrigation pipes in an apple orchard in East Wenatchee, Washington, discovered a cache of Clovis materials. The uncovered bifaces—larger than most previously discovered Clovis artifacts with unmatched quality and quantity—had a lasting impact on archaeology. Flaked Stone Artifacts from the East Wenatchee Clovis Cache delineates not only the history of the site, but also describes the flaked stone artifacts, analyzes the manufacturing strategies indicated by their flaking patterns, and draws conclusions about potential patterns of Clovis biface production.
Seasoned archaeologists and editors Bruce B. Huckell, Bruce A. Bradley, and Peter J. Mehringer note that the value of studying such caches lies in what they may reveal about transportation patterns among Paleolithic inhabitants of North America. Since lithic tools often provide evidence of initial quarrying at one location followed by finishing work and storage at another location, the caches where these technologies are unearthed permit inferences about the makers' routes between quarries and camps, as well as the characteristics of cache sites versus hunting camps and kill sites.
In this heavily illustrated volume, readers can see for themselves the bifaces' size variance and technological sequences that allude to potential production strategies of the Clovis flint knappers. Unique to the site are the large fluted points that suggest ceremonial use because they're bigger than what scholars identify as "utilitarian." Flaked Stone Artifacts from the East Wenatchee Clovis Cache provides a detailed technological analysis of the specimens recovered, enlightening researchers on the lifeways and ideologies of some of the earliest North Americans.
