Vihtr'iitshik
A Stone Quarry Reported by Alexander Mackenzie on the Lower Mackenzie River in 1789

Artifact Analysis

A total of 361 artifacts was surface collected during the brief two hour visit at MiTi-1. This relative abundance compares well with preliminary figures of more than 600 lithic specimens found in 1973 (Millar and Fedirchuk, 1975:239).

Lithic debitage accounts for the overwhelming majority of the artifact total (297 specimens). Most of the debitage consists of quite large flakes, many of which are primary flakes removed during the reduction of blocky, angular cores. Flakes produced during the manufacture and thinning of large bifaces were also recovered.

Twenty-seven pieces of debitage have been identified as linear flakes. One particularly long, narrow and parallel-sided example was steeply retouched along its distal margin (item "j") and six others bear some kind of retouch or use wear. The majority of the remaining linear specimens consists of long flakes detached from the corners of blocky or angular cores.

Two artifact categories stand out from the remaining 64 specimens; cores and bifaces. The latter consist of large tabular bifaces and biface fragments (N=14) exhibiting only marginal flaking, and smaller, more refined bifaces (N=6) whose entire surfaces have been flaked. Both types likely represent different stages of a technological continuum. In all instances but one, the quality of the flaking suggests only preliminary shaping or thinning, in view of producing blanks destined for further reduction and refinement.

Tost of the cores and core fragments (N=30) can be grouped into two types. The first group of cores (N=12) consist of wide, relatively thin tabular pieces whose flat surfaces were the main flaking faces. The flaking planes are thus parallel to the natural layering within the raw material. The second group of cores (N=16) is comprised of thick, but narrow and long tabular pieces whose principal flaking face is perpendicular to the bedding planes of the rock. Essentially these cores could only produce long, parallel-sided flakes.

Mwo cores stand out from the rest in that they are large pieces of raw material which have had flakes removed from a number of faces. Flakes removed from the principal flaking faces tended to be directed down the length of the cores and suggest the intentional production of linear flakes if not blades/microblades.