Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-cphqk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-08T08:03:15.806Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Identification of Hafting Adhesive on a Slotted Antler Point from a Southwest Yukon Ice Patch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kate Helwig ,
Valery Monahan  and
Jennifer Poulin
Kate Helwig
Affiliation:
Canadian Conservation Institute, 1030 Innes Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0M5 ([email protected], [email protected])
Valery Monahan
Affiliation:
Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Yukon, Box 2703, Whitehorse, Yukon, CanadaY1A 2C6 ([email protected])
Jennifer Poulin
Affiliation:
Canadian Conservation Institute, 1030 Innes Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0M5 ([email protected], [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article describes the identification of a hafting adhesive on an antler point, slotted for microblade insertion. The adhesive, found in the slots of the point, would have held the microblades in place. Radiocarbon dated to 7310 ± 40 B.P. (uncalibrated), the point is one of the oldest and best-preserved artifacts recovered from the melting alpine ice patches in southwestern Yukon, Canada. Because the artifact was frozen, the organic components have not degraded and a detailed chemical analysis was possible. Analyses of residue in the slots of the point by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that a conifer resin adhesive was used. The high concentration of diterpene resin acids with an abietane or pimerane skeleton confirmed a Pinaceae source for the resin. There were no chemical markers to indicate that the resin had been strongly heated to produce tar or pitch. Based on a comparison with five Pinaceae resins from trees common to southern Yukon, the resin from the slotted point most closely resembles the chemical profile of spruce (Picea sp.). The identification of this hafting adhesive on a slotted point adds significantly to our understanding of early hunting technology in Yukon.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article décrit l’identification d’un adhésif d’emmanchement sur une pointe en bois de cervidé rainurée pour y insérer des microlames. L’adhésif, trouvé dans les rainures de la pointe, aurait maintenu les microlames en place. Datant de 7310 ± 40 avant le présent (carbone-14, non étalonné), la pointe est l’un des artéfacts les plus anciens et les mieux préservés qui ont été retrouvés dans les plaques de glace alpine du sud-ouest du Yukon, au Canada. Étant donné que l’artéfact était congelé, les constituants organiques ne se sont pas dégradés et une analyse chimique approfondie a été possible. L’analyse des résidus logés dans les rainures de la pointe par spectroscopie infrarouge à transformée de Fourier et spectrométrie de masse couplée à la chromatographie en phase gazeuse a démontré qu’un adhésif à base de résine de conifère a été utilisé. La concentration élevée d’acides diterpéniques ayant un squelette de type abiétane ou pimarane a confirmé que la résine provenait de Pinaceae. Il n’y avait pas de marqueurs chimiques indiquant que la résine aurait été soumise à des températures très élevées pour produire du brai. Après avoir comparé cinq résines provenant de Pinaceae communs dans le sud du Yukon, il a été établi que le profil chimique de la résine de la pointe à rainure correspond très étroitement à celui d’une espèce d"épicéa (Picea). L’identification de cet adhésif d’emmanchement dans une pointe à rainure contribue à une meilleure compréhension des anciennes techniques de chasse au Yukon.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 73 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 279 - 288
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Aveling, E. M., and Heron, C. 1998 The Chemistry of birch bark tars at Mesolithic Star Carr. Ancient Biomolecules 2(1):69–80.Google Scholar
Beck, Curt W. 1996 Comments on a Supposed Clovis “Mastic”. Journal of Archaeological Science 23:459–460.Google Scholar
Boëda, Eric, Connan, Jacques, Dessort, Daniel, Muhesan, Sultan, Mercier, Norbert, Valladas, Hélène, and Tisnerat, Nadine 1996 Bitumen as a hafting material on Middle Palaeolithic artefacts. Nature 380:336–338.Google Scholar
Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, Carcross/Tagish First Nation, Kluane First Nation, and Kwänlin Dun First Nation 2002 Ice Patch Newsletter, Yukon, Canada.Google Scholar
Christensen, Tina, and Stafford, Jim 1999 1998 Cohoe Creek Excavation Project. BC Association of Professional Consulting Archaeologists. 3(1):8.Google Scholar
Clark, Donald W. 1991 Western Subarctic Prehistory, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec.Google Scholar
Clark, Donald W., and Gotthardt, Ruth M. 1999 Microblade Complexes and Traditions in the Interior Northwest as Seen from the Kelly Creek Site, West-Central Yukon, Occasional Papers in Archaeology No. 6. Yukon Heritage Branch, Yukon, Canada.Google Scholar
Collins, Michael B. 1981 The Use of Petroleum by Late Archaic and Early Woodland Peoples in Jefferson County, Kentucky. Journal of Field Archaeology 8(1):55–64.Google Scholar
Derrick, Michele 1989 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectral Analysis of Natural Resins Used in Furniture Finishes. Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 28(1):43–56.Google Scholar
Dove, Carla J., Hare, Gregory P., and Heacker, Marcy 2005 Identification of Ancient Feather Fragments Found in Melting Alpine Ice Patches in Southern Yukon. Arctic 58 (1):38–43.Google Scholar
Farnell, Richard, Hare, Gregory P., Blake, Erik, Bowyer, Vandy, Schweger, Charles, Greer, Sheila, and Gotthardt, Ruth 2004 Multidisciplinary Investigations of Alpine Ice Patches in Southwest Yukon, Canada: Paleoenvironmental and Paleobiological Investigations. Arctic 57(3):247–259.Google Scholar
Fox, Andrew, Heron, Carl, and Sutton, Mark Q. 1995 Characterization of Natural Products on Native American Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials from the Great Basin Region, U.S.A:A Preliminary Study. Archaeometry 37(2):363–375.Google Scholar
Grimaldi, David, Beck, Curt W., and Boon, Jaap J. 1989 Occurrence, Chemical Characteristics, and Palaeontology of the Fossil Resins from New Jersey. American Museum Novitates, #2948:1–27.Google Scholar
Hare, P. Gregory, Greer, Sheila, Gotthardt, Ruth, Farnell, Richard, Bowyer, Vandy, Schweger, Charles, and Strand, Diane 2004 Ethnographic and Archaeological Investigations of Alpine Ice Patches in Southwest Yukon, Canada. Arctic 57(3):260–272.Google Scholar
Hummel, Dieter O. 1988 Atlas of Polymer and Plastics Analysis. 2nd ed., Vol. 2, part b/1. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich.Google Scholar
Mazza, Peter Paul Anthony, Martini, Fabio, Sala, Benedetto, Magi, Maurizio, Colombini, Marie Perla, Giachi, Gianna, Landucci, Francesco, Lemorini, Cristina, Mondugno, Francesca, and Ribechini, Erika 2006 A new Palaeolithic Discovery: Tar-Hafted Stone Tools in a European Mid-Pleistocene Bone-Bearing Bed. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(9): 1310–1318.Google Scholar
Miller, David, and Helwig, Kate 1994 Analysis of the Finish on an English Corner Cupboard from the Royal Ontario Museum. Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Canada. Submitted to Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, Report number ARS 3313.2. Copies available from Canadian Conservation Institute.Google Scholar
Mills, John S. 1973 Diterpenes of Larix Oleoresins. Phytochemistry 12:2407–2412.Google Scholar
Mills, John S., and White, Raymond 1977 Natural Resins of Art andArchaeology: Their Sources, Chemistry, and Identification. Studies in Conservation 22:12–31.Google Scholar
Mills, John S., and White, Raymond 1994 The Organic Chemistry of Museum Objects. 2nd ed. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, England.Google Scholar
Penders, Thomas 2002 Bone, Antler, Dentary, and Lithic Artifacts. In Windover: Multidisciplinary Investigations of an Early Archaic Florida Cemetery, edited by Glen H. Doran, pp. 97–120. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Pollard, A. Mark, and Heron, Carl 1996 Archaeological Chemistry. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England.Google Scholar
Martine, Regert, Gamier, Nicolas, Binder, Didier, and Pétrequin, Pierre 2000 Les adhésifs néolithiques:quels matériaux utilisés, quelles techniques de prodution dans quel contexte social? L’exemple des adhéifs des site de Giribaldi et de Chalain. Arts du Feu et Productions Artisanales, XXe Rencontres Internationales d’Archéologie et d’Histoire d’Antibes, edited by P. Pétrequin, P. Fluzin, J. Thiriot and P. Benoit, Éditions APDCA, Antibes:585–604.Google Scholar
Sheldrick, Charles, John Lowe, J., and Reynier, Michael J. 1997 Palaeolithic Barbed Point from Gransmoor, East Yorkshire, England. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 63:359–370.Google Scholar
Stacey, Rebecca J., Heron, Carl, and Sutton, Mark Q. 1998 The Chemistry, Archaeology and Ethnography of a Native American Insect Resin. Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology 20(1):53–71.Google Scholar
Takeda, Hiroshi, Schuller, Walter H., Lawrence, Ray V., and Rosebrook, Donald 1969 Novel Ring Openings of Levopimaric Acid Salts. The Journal of Organic Chemistry 34:1459–1460.Google Scholar
Tankersley, Kenneth B. 1994 Clovis Mastic and its Hafting Implications. Journal of Archaeological Science 21:117–124.Google Scholar
van den Berg, Klaas Jan, Boon, Jaap J., Pastorova, Ivana, and Spetter, Leo F. M. 2000 Mass Spectrometric Methodology for the Analysis of Highly Oxidized Diterpenoid Acids in Old Master Paintings. Journal of Mass Spectrometry 35:512–533.Google Scholar
van der Werf, Inez D., van den Berg, Klaas Jan, Schmitt, Sibylle, and Boon, Jaap J. 2000 Molecular Characterization of Copaiba Balsam as Used in Painting Techniques and Restoration Procedures. Studies in Conservation 45:1–18.Google Scholar
West, Fredrick Hadleigh (editor) 1996 American Beginnings:The Prehistory and Palaeoecology of Beringia, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Yesner, David R., and Pearson, Georges 2002 Microblades and Migrations:Ethnic and Economic Models in the Peopling of the Americas. In Thinking Small:Global Perspectives on Microlithization. Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, Number 12, edited by Robert G. Elston and Steven L. Kuhn, pp. 133–161. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Young, Gregory 2000 Wood Identifications of Artifacts Recovered from Yukon Glacial Ice Fields (1999). Canadian Conservation Institute, Ottawa, Canada. Submitted to Yukon Tourism-Heritage Branch, Report number 73807. Copies available from Canadian Conservation Institute.Google Scholar
Zinkel, Duane F., Zank, Lester C., and Wesolowski, Martin F. 1971 Diterpene Resin Acids. A Compilation of Infrared, Mass, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Ultraviolet Spectra and Gas Chromatographic Retention Data (of the Methyl Esters). US Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar