Date of Award
2003
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Anthropology
Supervisor
Chris Ellis
Abstract
This thesis examines the organization of Iroquoian chert acquisition technology by comparing a number of sites in the southwestern Ontario. The relative amount of cherts from various sources is examined through time and space and across various types of sites looking for patterns both between sites and within sites. During Glen Meyer times a direct embedded acquisition pattern of Kettle Point chert is evident. Groups from the east of the study area could pass freely through intervening groups to acquire chert with distance being the only factor determining the quantity used. A transition to a down-the-line exchange pattern controlled by lineages takes place with the advent of the Middle Ontario Iroquoian (MOI) stage coincident with other significant changes in social organization indicative of increasing complexity. Also, at that time, there is a general constriction in the accessibility of Kettle Point chert. Use of this chert rebounds through time to an almost obsessive use at the late prehistoric Lawson site.
Recommended Citation
Keron, James R., "Iroquoian Chert Acquisition: Changing Patterns in the Late Woodland of Southwestern Ontario" (2003). Digitized Theses. 3218.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/3218