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Prehistoric Clinker Use on the Cape Bathurst Peninsula, Northwest Territories, Canada: The Dynamics of Formation and Procurement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Raymond J. Le Blanc
Raymond J. Le Blanc*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 13-15 Tory Bldg., University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaT6G 2H4
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Abstract

Fieldwork conducted on the Cape Bathurst Peninsula, Northwest Territories, Canada, has resulted in the discovery of 75 sites representing occupations spanning more than 3,000 years. Nearly all of the sites are characterized by the predominant use of a distinctive rock called a “clinker.” Resembling a basalt-to-obsidian-like material, it is formed by the spontaneous combustion of local organic-rich shales. The fusing occurs in burning areas called bocannes that are common along the Horton River and the cliffs along the eastern shore of the peninsula. Despite the evidence for intensive use on Cape Bathurst and the more general Mackenzie Delta region, none of the four potential quarry sources yielded evidence of actual prehistoric use. This is attributed to the dynamic nature of the formation and erosion of the bocannes over the last several thousand years.

Résumé

Résumé

En la Península del Cabo Bathurst, Territorios del Noroeste, Canadá, se han descubierto 75 sitios que representan ocupaciones distribuídas en un intervalo de más de 3.000 años. Casi todos estos sitios se caracterizan por el uso predominate de una piedra distintiva llamada “clinker.” Esta piedra, parecida a un tipo de basalto u obsidiana, es un producto de la combustión espontánea de esquistos locales que tienen abundante materia orgánica. Esta fusión occure en zonas que se llaman bocannes, los que se encuentran con frecuencia a lo largo del Rió Horton y en los acantilados en el este de la Península. A pesar de los indicios que muestran el uso intensivo de este material en el Cabo Bathurst y en la región general del Delta Mackenzie, no se han encontrado indicios del uso prehistórico de esta piedra en ninguna de las cuatro fuentes potenciales. Esto se debe a la naturaleza dinámica de la formación y a la erosion de los bocannes a lo largo de los últimos milenios.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , April 1991 , pp. 268 - 277
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1991

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