Abstract

The Hän traditional territory is located in the Middle Yukon River on both sides of the Yukon-Alaska boundary. Our understanding of Hän pre-contact culture is limited. The diggings at Tr'ochëk and Forty Mile sites, directed by T.J Hammer between 1998 and 2001, contribute at our knowledge of traditional Hän culture. These sites are located in the Klondike region and findings reflect the traditional life ways at the fish camps of the Hän people during the Late Prehistoric/Athapaskan Tradition (1260BP - 1800s) and the contact periods. The first objective of my research is to identify the reduction technologies present on both site Tr'ochëk and Forty Mile. The second is to determine if the collections support the proposition of Le Blanc, that at the Late Prehistoric/Atapaskan Tradition the shift of stone reduction type result of the diminution of the importance of lithic technology. These objectives are attained by the observation of the complete stone flake collections found during the excavations of Tr'ochëk and Forty Mile. By observing the stone chip physical characteristic I expect to determine the presence and the importance of the bipolar and/or free hand reduction strategies in the collections. Further, our collections will be compared with the collections from the Rat Indian Creek and, if possible the Klo-Kut sites. These comparisons will provide a reference point to integrate our data into the framework of northwest archaeology. Finally, these comparisons will permit discussion of the importance of lithic technology during the Late Prehistoric/Athapaskan Period.