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Wednesday, August 17, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Archaeologists find native cache
Obsidian pieces found by a
Willamette Valley landowner
have been identified as a col-
lection of Native American
artifacts currently estimated to
be 1,000-4,000 years old. The
landowner has asked that his
name not be shared.
The cache of 15 bifaces
is important for several rea-
sons, said assistant State
Archaeologist John Pouley
with the Oregon State Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO).
“For starters, we wouldn’t
know the site existed if the
landowner hadn’t reached
out to our office to report the
find,” Pouley said. “Aside
from the importance of his
stewardship, the biface cache
is additionally a rare type of
archaeological site.
“Of approximately 35,000
recorded archaeological sites
in Oregon, few, likely less
than 25, consist of biface
caches, he added. “Of the
known biface cache sites,
it is believed to be the first
recorded in the Willamette
Valley.”
The cache is primarily
comprised of what appear to
be blank trade bifaces: hand-
sized, unfinished stone tools,
largely unmodified from
when first created by early
Native Americans flintknap-
ping at the distant quarry. The
Willamette Valley obsidian
bifaces have been sourced to
obsidian cliffs in the Central
Oregon Cascades and were
roughly shaped at the cliffs,
likely for easier transport.
Once traded, they would be
worked into a finished tool, or
provide an expedient source
for making sharp flakes. Most
of the previously documented
cache sites in Oregon contain
finished tools such as knives,
spears, or arrowheads, accord-
ing to Pouley.
“The archaeological site
provides information on
not only what prehistoric
biface blanks brought into
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like, but also on the knappable
properties of the stone, which
may assist with developing
hypotheses on their intended
use,” he said. “Unmodified
trade items of any kind typi-
cally do not survive in the
archaeological record.”
Information gathered
from the cache will add to
the knowledge of prehistoric
trade networks. To obtain a
better understanding of the
context of the cache, Pouley
led an archaeological excava-
tion at the site in June 2016.
“We were pleased to find
one biface in possibly its
original position, referred to
as ‘in situ’,” he said. “Many
times things are moved
beneath the ground, whether
by later human impacts, bur-
rowing animals or repetitive
freeze/thaw cycles. A biface
in situ assists with establish-
ing context, which allows for
comparison with other items
recovered during the process
of a controlled excavation.
The information can help us
address a number of research
questions, such as possibly
refining the estimated age of
the site.”
Because of the importance
of the site, Pouley received
support from the archaeo-
logical community includ-
ing local universities, private
archaeology firms, and Native
American tribes. The site is
in the traditional territory
of the Santiam Band of the
Kalapuya. The Confederated
Tribes of the Grand Ronde,
the Confederated Tribes of the
Siletz and the Confederated
Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation were consulted.
The contributions include
completed analyses; donated
time and expertise to identify
the source of the obsidian,
3-D scanning, replication
studies to better understand
how the bifaces were made,
ethnographic references that
includes a tribal place-name in
the immediate vicinity, a mag-
netometer survey to provide
data to assist with the excava-
tion, illustrations and donated
gear for the excavation.
“This site makes you won-
der how many archaeological
sites with the potential to shed
light on the history of human
occupation within Oregon
have been found before, and
never reported,” Pouley said.
“We encourage anyone that
finds artifacts on their prop-
erty to contact us.”
When we study the
history of ancient native
peoples of this area, we
can now speak more
fully to a complexity of
culture ... and then point
to artifacts like those
found here and show our
students the evidence.
— John Pouley
Archaeological sites found
on private land are owned
by the landowner and the
land remains in the owner’s
possession. At the conclu-
sion of any state permitted
archaeological excavation,
all recovered artifacts remain
the property of the land-
owner unless they consist
of Native American human
remains, burials and associ-
ated funerary objects, and
photo provided
Assistant State Archaeologist John Pouley shows the Native American
bifaces found in the cache.
objects of cultural patrimony.
Often, landowners choose to
donate recovered artifacts to
a museum or tribe. No one is
allowed on private land with-
out owner consent, regardless
of the presence of an archaeo-
logical site.
After the excavation and
analyses are completed,
Pouley will produce a profes-
sional archaeological report
on his findings with the intent
to have it later converted
into a peer-reviewed publi-
cation. Pouley and many of
the archaeologists that con-
tributed to the study plan to
present their findings at a
symposium during the 2017
Northwest Anthropological
Conference in Spokane,
Wash.
He and others involved in
the excavation also will share
their findings with Abiqua
Academy, a pre-kindergarten
through 12th-grade indepen-
dent school. Middle school
students watched a portion of
the excavation at the request
of the landowner, who is
associated with the school.
The curriculum challenges
students to think critically
and creatively and teaches
students the concepts of
honor, empathy, accountabil-
ity, respect and teamwork
(HEART).
The cache gave them a tan-
gible piece of history, said a
teacher who accompanied the
students to the site. Adding,
“When we study the history
of ancient native peoples of
this area, we can now speak
more fully to a complex-
ity of culture—trade routes,
the manufacturing of goods,
migratory patterns—and then
point to artifacts like those
found here and show our stu-
dents the evidence.”