CHARACTERIZING QUARTZ ARTEFACTS: A CASE STUDY FROM MANITOBA’S NORTHERN BOREAL FOREST

CHARACTERIZING QUARTZ ARTEFACTS: A CASE STUDYFROM MANITOBA’S NORTHERN BOREAL FOREST*

R. TEN BRUGGENCATE,1† M. FAYEK,2 B. MILNE1 and K. BROWNLEE3

1Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, 432 Fletcher Argue Building, 15 Chancellors Circle, Winnipeg,Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada

2Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, 240 Wallace Building, 125 Dysart Road, Winnipeg,Manitoba R3T 2N2, Canada

3The Manitoba Museum, 190 Rupert Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0N2, Canada

Visual and geochemical analyses of 30 pre-contact quartz tools from the Churchill River basinof northern Manitoba were used to provisionally assess source provenance based on com-parison to local quartz quarry data. The results indicate that tools made from quartz acquiredfrom these quarries were transported and eventually deposited into archaeological sites upto 200 km away. Transport of this quartz, which is of relatively moderate quality, oversuch distances suggests that stone tool–using hunter–gatherer populations that lived in theChurchill River basin of northern Manitoba were highly mobile. It also indicates that higher-quality raw materials were unavailable in the immediate area.

KEYWORDS: QUARTZ, PROVENANCE, GEOCHEMISTRY, SIMS, MOBILITY, BOREALFOREST, PRE-CONTACT, SUBARCTIC

INTRODUCTION

The establishment of reliable source characterization techniques for lithic raw materials hasallowed archaeologists to focus on the behavioural implications of lithic provenance data. Inhunter–gatherer contexts, lithic provenance data are primarily incorporated into projects aimed atreconstructing lithic procurement ranges and group mobility (Shackley 1986; Roth 2000; Evanset al. 2010; Milne et al. 2011, 2012; Freund 2012).

This study constitutes the first major application of a geochemical technique developed by tenBruggencate et al. (2013) for characterizing quartz from northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba,Canada. It focuses on a pre-contact (∼7700–250 bp) lithic assemblage from the Churchill Riverbasin of northern Manitoba (Fig. 1). Quartz is the most readily available raw material in theChurchill River basin and is the dominant raw material at most sites east of central Saskatchewan(Dickson 1980, 1983; Wilson and Light 1980; Pentney 2002), making quartz procurement, trans-port, tool manufacture and discard crucial components of pre-contact lithic economies in the area.

Mass and attribute analyses of a large debitage assemblage excavated from the GrandfatherQuarry quartz source, located in the Granville Lake quarry district of north eastern Manitoba(Fig. 1) have provided the first definitive evidence regarding how stone tool–using populations inthis region organized quartz technology (Beardsell 2013). Flake weight and individual attributedata indicate that toolmakers at this location were intensively extracting and reducing low- tomoderate-quality quartz toolstone into a variety of formal types, including scrapers, bifaces,burins, and microcores and microblades. These portable tool types are ideal for carrying the

*Received 9 September 2012; accepted 10 January 2014†Corresponding author: email [email protected]

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Archaeometry ••, •• (2014) ••–•• doi: 10.1111/arcm.12092

© 2014 University of Oxford

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maximum useable toolstone in the smallest, most easily transportable package size, and are mosttypically associated with populations practising a high degree of seasonal residential mobility(Kelly 1992; Andrefsky 1994; Beardsell 2013). The fact that quartz toolstone was used to makethese curated types attests to a lack of other higher-quality lithic raw materials in the area, suchas chert, which are more desirable, and easier to work and maintain due to their predictablefracture (Goodyear 1989; Andrefsky 1994; Beardsell 2013, 208–9).

Beyond the results of these analyses, however, little is known about the organization of quartztechnology in the Churchill River basin. This is a result of two factors. First, systematic analysisof material collected during professional archaeological surveys in the other parts of the basin hasbeen limited mainly to refinement of cultural chronologies and, where possible, basic interpre-tation of subsistence and seasonality (e.g., Kelly 1982; Dickson 1983; Riddle 2000; Speidel andSyms 2000).

Second, sites in the Churchill River basin are frequently multi-component, and lack strati-graphic resolution and/or preserved organics for dating. This makes reconstructing patterns ofsite use, human mobility and technological organization in the Churchill River basin throughconventional archaeological approaches, such as typological or settlement analyses, extremelychallenging. Sourcing quartz to reconstruct lithic procurement ranges in eastern areas of theChurchill River basin is a better tool for examining human mobility and lithic procurementpatterns in this area, given these circumstances. To this end, quartz artefacts were obtained from

Opachuanau Lake

Lac La Ronge

Pickerel Bay

Granville Lake Quarry District

Granville Lake

Southern Indian Lake

100 km

N

Figure 1 The study area, with major landmarks discussed in the text labelled.

2 R. ten Bruggencate et al.

© 2014 University of Oxford, Archaeometry ••, •• (2014) ••–••

sites around Southern Indian Lake and Opachuanau Lake in northern Manitoba for comparisonto previously characterized sources in the Granville Lake quarry district (Fig. 2) (ten Bruggencate2013; ten Bruggencate et al. 2013). Provenance data from these artefacts will allow basicreconstruction of characterized sources’ contribution to lithic industries and the scale of humanterritorial ranges in the study area.

RAW MATERIALS IN THE STUDY AREA

Quartz deposits are a common component of the rocky boreal shield landscape of the easternChurchill River basin (Wood 1983, 26). In terms of geology and material quality, quartz in thestudy area can be roughly divided into two categories: hydrothermal quartz veins, which tend to

Figure 2 A map of the sites providing artefacts for provenance analysis in relation to the Granville Lake quarry district.The stars represent sites where one or more artefact is chemically consistent with Granville Lake source material.

Quartz artefacts: Manitoba’s Northern Boreal Forest 3


consist of coarse-grained material with poor knapping properties, and pegmatite deposits, whichnormally consist in part of macro- to megacrystalline quartz of better quality for tool manufacture(Reher and Frison 1991; Ballin 2008, 48–9). This study focuses on pegmatite quartz sourcesand artefacts, because small quarries related to hydrothermal veins of quartz can be difficult toidentify or distinguish from workings associated with historic gold prospecting in the region. Therelatively larger quarries related to pegmatite quartz deposits can be more firmly connected topre-contact lithic procurement because: (1) many contain debitage and tool fragments (e.g.,Hanna 2002; Beardsell 2013); (2) community oral histories regarding resource extraction at someof these sites predate modern resource extraction (e.g., Brightman 2007, 130); and (3) modern-day prospectors would not have focused on pegmatites that are genetically barren of gold.Furthermore, the comparatively larger size of pegmatite-based quartz quarries suggests that theseprocurement sites probably played a significant role in local quartz economies, despite theirscarcity relative to hydrothermal vein deposits.

In addition to quartz, tools manufactured from chert, and igneous and sedimentary rocks, havebeen recovered at sites in the Churchill River basin (Hanna 1975; Dickson 1980, 183–247; Kelly1982; Malasiuk 2001, 167). However, these materials are not locally available (Kelly 1982, 26;Malasiuk 2001, 67), and must have been imported from either the Nelson River basin to the southeast or the Hudson Bay lowlands to the north-east.

CHARACTERIZING PEGMATITE QUARTZ

Previous research has demonstrated that pegmatite quartz sources can be characterized througha protocol including macroscopic visual categorization followed by quantification of Ti and Geconcentrations and Th/U ratios, 208Pb/204Pb and 207Pb/206Pb values (ten Bruggencate 2013; tenBruggencate et al. 2013). Visual analysis, with the aid of Munsell colour chips, is used to separatequarry material into rose, smoky and white/clear colour categories. Macroscopic analysis ofcolour alone cannot be used to characterize quartz from the Churchill River basin. Despite this,colour categorization is useful as an initial step to identify visually similar source samples andartefacts so that geochemical data collected from them can be meaningfully compared. Concen-trations of trace elements Ti, Ge, Th and U, coupled with relative Pb isotopic abundances, areused to further characterize quartz sources within each colour category. These chemical param-eters are individually affected by the environmental conditions in effect during the formation andevolution of pegmatite quartz deposits, including the temperature, fluid chemistry and pressure,the host-rock chemistry and the age of the pegmatite deposits (Larsen et al. 2004; Wark andWatson 2006; Götze 2009; Behr et al. 2011; Müller et al. 2012).

Visual categorization and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) quantification of traceelement concentrations and Pb isotopic ratios were successfully applied to differentiatebetween seven quarries in the Granville Lake and Lac La Ronge areas of the Churchill Riverbasin, and to provisionally assign provenance to one artefact, and exclude known quarries asthe source for three others (ten Bruggencate et al. 2013). Characteristic chemical parametersvary between quartz colour categories. Optimum source characterization for white quartz isobtained by inter-source comparison of Ti concentrations and 208Pb/204Pb values, and for smokyquartz by comparing the Ti concentration and the 208Pb/204Pb and 207Pb/206Pb values. Compari-son of the Th/U and 208Pb/204Pb values achieves optimum differentiation between rose quartzsources in the Granville Lake quarry area, although Ti values plotted against 208Pb/204Pb valuesappear better for differentiating between sources on a coarser regional scale (ten Bruggencateet al. 2013).



The seven quarries analysed by ten Bruggencate et al. (2013) form the source database againstwhich artefacts selected for this provenance study are compared. As with any provenance study,the results of this research must be interpreted in the light of the quality and size of thecomparative database. While archaeologists conducting surveys in other areas of the ChurchillRiver basin and adjacent regions have not reported the presence of pegmatite quartz extractionsites, it is likely that exploited sources of this material exist outside of the Granville Lake and LacLa Ronge areas. Given this, artefacts with data points falling within quarry signatures will bediscussed as chemically consistent with sources, rather than positively sourced. Negative prov-enance results will be discussed with more certainty, as we have confidence in the representa-tiveness of quarry samples.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirty formal quartz tools were selected from lithic assemblages collected at sites aroundSouthern Indian Lake, which forms the eastern half of the study area in northern Manitoba(Fig. 2). Artefacts were analysed using the same visual–geochemical technique developed tocharacterize quarry material. Artefact characterization data were compared to characterizedquartz sources to provisionally establish or rule out affinity to a known quarry.

The artefact sample

Quartz artefacts were selected for analysis from collections housed at The Manitoba Museum,based on the following criteria:(1) the distance between visible flaws (fissures and/or macroscopic mineral inclusions) in thematerial must be ≥2 cm;(2) the colour (rose, smoky or white); and that(3) the artefacts must fit into a formal tool category (e.g., biface or scraper).

This sampling strategy delivers two advantages. First, it helps filter out artefacts that werepossibly procured from hydrothermal vein deposits, because quartz from hydrothermal veins inthe area has not been observed to meet criteria (1) and (2). This ensures that the techniquedeveloped using the comparative pegmatite quartz sample is suitable for characterizing theartefact set, and also increases the likelihood of positive matches between the artefact and sourcesamples. Second, this sampling strategy limits the artefact sample to formal tools manufacturedfrom relatively scarce and higher-quality quartz. Compared to expedient tools or tools manufac-tured from materials of very low quality, these artefacts have a greater likelihood of beingintensely curated (Odell 2000; Wenzel and Shelley 2001; MacDonald 2008; Andrefsky 2009),making them a better indicator of the total procurement range.

Ideally, culturally diagnostic artefacts, or artefacts recovered from securely dated contexts,would be selected for analysis to facilitate the reconstruction of diachronic shifts in observedprocurement and/or material transport trends. However, it was not possible to meet these criteriawhen selecting the artefact sample for this study. To further complicate a diachronic interpreta-tion of quartz provenance data, most of the artefacts analysed for this study were surfacerecoveries, found lying on the eroded clay beaches that make up much of the shoreline ofSouthern Indian and Opachuanau Lakes. None of the artefacts can be directly associated withsecurely dated features or diagnostic artefacts. Thus, the results of this analysis must be inter-preted broadly.



The quarry sample

Artefact geochemical data were compared to data from six pegmatite quartz quarries in theGranville Lake region and one quarry on Lac La Ronge. Artefacts were compared only toquarry materials falling within the same Munsell-determined colour category. Quarry samplingwas designed to balance efficiency and thoroughness. To ensure a visually and chemicallyrepresentative sample, large and/or visually heterogeneous quarries, such as Grandfather andMimikweapisk quarries, were sampled intensively. Sample sizes for smaller and/or visuallyhomogeneous quarries, such as Floating Island Bay and Smoky Quartz quarries, were reduced.Wherever multiple colours of quartz were present at a quarry, samples of each colour categorywere obtained. For a full description of these quarries and quarry sampling protocols, see tenBruggencate (2013) and ten Bruggencate et al. (2013).

SIMS analysis

Prior to mounting for analysis, artefacts were assigned to one of three colour categories based onthe Munsell colour guidelines used to characterize quarry material (ten Bruggencate et al. 2013,2705). In total, the artefact sample consists of 21 white/clear quartz artefacts, six rose quartzartefacts and three smoky quartz artefacts. A small chip (∼0.5 g) was removed from each artefactusing a diamond wafering blade mounted on a Buehler Isomet slow-speed rock saw. Each chipwas embedded in epoxy resin in a one of four or five holes drilled in a 2.5 cm aluminium slug.After mounting, the samples were brought to a 1 μm polish and cleaned using successive 20-minultrasonic baths of distilled water, deionized water, 95% ethanol and 200-proof anhydrousethanol. Samples were dried for 20 min in an oven at 40°C to remove any remaining cleaningsolution. A ∼200 Å Au coat was sputter-deposited on to the samples using an Ernest F. FullhamNo. 18930 Effacoater. Samples were placed in stainless steel sample holders, where the surfaceconductivity was approximately 5–10 Ω cm−1. Prior to analysis, each sample was placed in theSIMS sample airlock and brought to high vacuum.

Artefact Ti, Th and U concentrations and Pb isotope ratios (204Pb/208Pb and 206Pb/207Pb) weremeasured using a Cameca 7f ion microprobe housed in the Department of Geological Sciencesat the University of Manitoba. SIMS analysis of the artefact samples followed instrumentalprotocols outlined in section 2.2 of ten Bruggencate et al. (2013). At least three analyses werecarried out on each sample to account for intra-sample chemical variability. From these multipleanalyses, mean trace element and Pb isotope values were generated for each artefact, alongwith a weighted 2σ error. Errors are weighted towards intra-sample variability (80%), with lesssignificance given to instrumental error (20%), as it largely reflects instrumental settings, ratherthan material chemistry.

Artefact results are plotted against quarry chemical ranges within each colour category. Quarrychemical signatures were plotted using data obtained and processed in a manner similar to thatused for artefact data. Quarry ranges were plotted by drawing a polygon with edges representedby the extreme high and low values for chemical parameters represented on the y- and x-axes.

RESULTS

Of the 21 analysed white quartz artefacts, 10 exhibit Ti concentrations and 204Pb/208Pb values thatplace them within the expected chemical range of white quartz from one or more of the GranvilleLake quarries (Fig. 3). Seven of these artefacts plot within the expected chemical distribution for



white quartz from Grandfather quarry alone (HdLw-1/254 [208Pb/204Pb = 32.44, Ti = 14.04 ppm],HdLw-7/43 [208Pb/204Pb = 32.96, Ti = 13.15 ppm], HdLx-23/14 [208Pb/204Pb = 32.24, Ti =10.66 ppm], HeLw-1/229 [208Pb/204Pb = 34.04, Ti = 13.72 ppm], HeLw-2/18 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.92,Ti = 7.93 ppm], HeLw-2/240 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.79, Ti = 8.6 ppm], HjLp-15/61 [208Pb/204Pb =33.53, Ti = 12.76 ppm]). The remaining three fall within the expected distribution for twosources. Two of these samples are chemically similar to white quartz from both Grandfather andWheatcroft (HiLp-1/12132 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.39, Ti = 13.3 ppm], HdLx-7/5 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.18,Ti = 12.96 ppm]). One artefact is chemically similar to quartz from both Grandfather and LittleGrandfather quarries (HdLw-6/28 [208Pb/204Pb = 31.65, Ti = 8.8 ppm]).

The 11 artefacts plotting outside the expected chemical range for white/clear quartz fromanalysed quarries are distinct due to their Ti contents, rather than their 208Pb/204Pb values, allof which fall within the range exhibited by Granville Lake quarry district sources (Fig. 3).Five of these artefacts (HcLx-1/622 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.93, Ti = 1.52 ppm], HiLp-1/6498 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.86, Ti = 0.86 ppm], HiLp-1/7456 [208Pb/204Pb = 32.37, Ti = 13.37 ppm], HiLp-1/12322 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.28, Ti = 5.31 ppm], HeLw-1/20 [208Pb/204Pb = 34.06, Ti = 3.43 ppm])have lower Ti concentrations than Granville Lake quarry material, while six (HcLx-1/381 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.69, Ti = 14.66 ppm], HeLw-2/19 [208Pb/204Pb = 35.05, Ti = 15.78 ppm], HdLw-2/80[208Pb/204Pb = 34.18, Ti = 17.68 ppm], HgLt-7/27 [208Pb/204Pb = 34.01, Ti = 24.96 ppm], HhLp-16/24 [208Pb/204Pb = 31.78, Ti = 27.35 ppm], HjLp-15/58 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.54, Ti = 20.75 ppm])

Figure 3 Churchill River basin white quartz artefact Ti concentrations against 208Pb/204Pb values. Coloured rectanglesrepresent quarry signatures.



have higher Ti concentrations than Granville Lake quarry material. None of the samples showchemistry consistent with samples from the Pickerel Bay sources.

Sites represented by multiple white quartz samples with associated 208Pb/204Pb ratio and Ticoncentration data show different degrees of artefact variability (Fig. 3). Neither of the twoartefacts from HcLx-1 (HcLx1/381, 622) fall within the chemical range of material from theChurchill River basin quarries. Both artefacts have similar Pb chemistry, but are unlike in termsof Ti concentration. HcLx-1/622 produced one of the lowest Ti concentrations of the entireartefact sample (1.52 ppm), while HcLx-1/381 (14.66 ppm) falls just above the Ti range ofGranville Lake quarry district materials.

One of the artefacts from HjLp-15 (HjLp-15/61 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.53, Ti = 12.76 ppm]) fallswithin the chemical range of white quartz from Grandfather quarry (Fig. 3), while the other(HjLp-15/58) has higher Ti levels than white quartz from any of the Churchill River Basin quarries(20.75 ppm) and a higher 208Pb/204Pb ratio (33.54) than samples from the Pickerel Bay quarries.

Three artefacts from HeLw-2 were analysed for this study (Fig. 3). Of these, two fall within thechemical range of white quartz from Grandfather quarry (HeLw-2/18 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.92,Ti = 7.93 ppm], HeLw-2/240 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.79, Ti = 8.6 ppm]). The third artefact (HeLw-2/19) has significantly higher Ti levels than the Granville Lake quarry material (15.78 ppm) and ahigher 208Pb/204Pb ratio (35.1) than material from the Pickerel Bay sources.

Two white quartz artefacts from HeLw-1 were analysed (Fig. 3). One (HeLw-1/229 [208Pb/204Pb = 34.04, Ti = 13.72 ppm]) falls within the chemical range of white/clear quartz from Grand-father quarry. The other (HeLw-1/20) has a Ti concentration that is significantly lower thanwhite/clear quartz from any of the Granville Lake quarry sources (Ti = 3.43 ppm), and a 208Pb/204Pb ratio that is too high for the Pickerel Bay sources (208Pb/204Pb = 34.06).

Out of four artefacts from HiLp-1, only one (HiLp-1/12132 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.39,Ti = 13.3 ppm]) falls within the chemical range of white quartz from the Granville Lake quarries(Fig. 3). Within error, this artefact is chemically similar to white quartz samples from bothGrandfather and Wheatcroft sources. The other three artefacts from HiLp-1 have significantlylower Ti concentrations than white quartz from the Granville Lake quarries (HiLp-1/6498 = 0.86 ppm; HiLp-1/7412 = 6.53 ppm; HiLp-1/12322 = 5.31 ppm) and higher 208Pb/204Pbratios (HiLp-1/6498 = 33.86; HiLp-1/7412 = 34.41; HiLp-1/12322 = 33.28) than samples fromthe Pickerel Bay sources.

All three of the smoky quartz artefacts analysed for this study fall outside the chemical rangeexpected for smoky quartz from characterized sources within that colour category (Fig. 4).HjLp-1/21 (208Pb/204Pb = 34.45, 207Pb/206Pb = 0.87, Ti = 24.86 ppm) is the most easily distin-guished from source material, exhibiting a relatively high Ti concentration. Intermediate 207Pb/206Pb ratios place HiLp-1/7929 (208Pb/204Pb = 33.23, 207Pb/206Pb = 0.88, Ti = 14.33 ppm) andHiLp-1/8243 (208Pb/204Pb = 33.22, 207Pb/206Pb = 0.88, Ti = 11.09 ppm) outside the distribution foranalysed smoky quartz sources.

One of the rose quartz artefacts analysed (HdLx-20/9 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.33, Ti = 18.29 ppm,Th/U = 1.85]), fits the Pb–Th–U profile of rose quartz from Mimikweapisk quarry, while the otherfive artefacts (HhLp-11/45 [208Pb/204Pb = 34.0, Ti = 5.16 ppm, Th/U = 0.31], HgLt-7/28 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.5, Ti = 23.6 ppm, Th/U = 1.85], HgLt-7/50 [208Pb/204Pb = 23.40, Ti = 21.87 ppm,Th/U = 76], HhLr-4/5 [208Pb/204Pb = 33.21, Ti = 35.62 ppm, Th/U = 5.34], HeLw-2/229 [208Pb/204Pb = 32.14, Ti = 6.59 ppm, Th/U = 3.24]) fall outside the chemical range of rose quartz fromthe Granville Lake quarries (Fig. 5). However, only one of the artefacts analysed for this studyfalls within the Ti concentration/Pb isotope range of Granville Lake rose quartz (Fig. 6). HgLt-7/50 is distinguished from Granville Lake material by its combined low 208Pb/204Pb ratio (23.40)



and relatively high Ti concentration (21.87 ppm). Two artefacts have relatively high Th/U valuesthat fall outside the range of rose quartz from Granville Lake sources (HhLr-4/5 [Th/U = 5.34],HeLw-2/229 [Th/U = 3.24]). One of these artefacts also has significantly higher Ti concentra-tions relative to Granville Lake rose quartz samples (HhLr-4/5, Ti = 35.62 ppm), while one hasTi in a concentration consistent within the range of the Granville Lake sources (HeLw-2/229,Ti = 6.59 ppm). HhLp-11/45 contains Ti in concentrations significantly lower than GranvilleLake rose quartz (5.16 ppm), while HgLt-7/28 is characterized by significantly higher Ti levels(23.60 ppm).

DISCUSSION

Quartz artefacts recovered from sites throughout the study area exhibit trace element/Pb isotopesignatures consistent with Granville Lake quarry material (see Fig. 2). These results bear severalpotential implications for hunter–gatherer technological organization in the Churchill Riverbasin.

Figure 4 Granville Lake smoky quartz quarry and artefact Ti concentrations against 207Pb/206Pb and 208Pb/204Pb values.



First, these results indicate that the Granville Lake quarries contributed to formal toolkitsutilized around Southern Indian Lake and Opachuanau Lake, up to 200 km away. At its mostbasic level, this would mean that quartz procurement ranges in the basin were substantial,extending between the Granville Lake quarries and the northern tip of Southern Indian Lake.Long-distance exchange of quartz in this context is unlikely. Imported chert is present in lithicassemblages from the most distant sites with artefacts linked to Granville Lake sources—HiLp-1and HjLp-15 (Dickson 1980, 1983)—indicating that this material, while not locally available,could be accessed either through long-distance direct procurement or trade by toolmakers at thesesites. Import of relatively lower quality quartz from sources 200 km away is improbable, giventhe apparent access to higher-quality raw materials at these sites. Direct procurement andtransport of quartz from the Granville Lake sources, resulting from seasonal mobility, is a moreparsimonious explanation for the presence of this material at distant sites.

Incorporation of quartz from Granville Lake sources into formal toolkits discarded at sitesaround Opachuanau and Southern Indian Lakes suggests lithic raw material stress in this region(see Andrefsky 1994). If lithic raw materials of equal or better quality were available in theintermediate area, they would probably have been acquired to replace those made of quartz,since fine-grained cryptocrystallines yield more predictable fractures, and are easy to work andmaintain as formal types (Goodyear 1989; Andrefsky 1994). The rarity of more suitabletoolstone is corroborated by the results of archaeological surveys of the Churchill River basin,

Figure 5 Granville Lake rose quartz artefact Th/U and 208Pb/204Pb values. Coloured rectangles represent quarrychemical ranges. The outlying sample from Wheatcroft quarry is depicted as a data point.



which have failed to uncover primary procurement sites for raw materials other than quartz(Kelly 1982, 26).

The intra-site artefact chemical variability at all sites is greater than the trace element/Pbvariability of any characterized source. This suggests exploitation of multiple sources by groupsusing these sites. A lack of chronological or cultural control over artefact assemblages preventsus from stating with certainty whether exploitation of multiple sources is related to mobility ofa single group using the site or organizational discontinuity between multiple groups using thesite at different times. Both changes in mobility (e.g., Roth 2000; Freund 2012) and culturaldiscontinuity (e.g., Hood 1994; Odess 1998) have been cited in other regions to explain exploi-tation of different raw material sources by groups at the same site, as indicated by multiple sourcesignatures.

The results of this research strongly indicate that raw material from Pickerel Bay, on Lac LaRonge in Saskatchewan, did not make a significant contribution to quartz toolkits in the ChurchillRiver basin of Manitoba. However, this quarry may have been significant for local quartzindustries, a hypothesis supported by evidence for reuse of the quarry site over a long period(Hanna 2002).

Finally, analysed quartz artefacts that are chemically inconsistent with characterized quarriesconstitute strong evidence for the existence of other, non-recorded pegmatite quartz extractionsites in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Further surveys of the Churchill River basin and

Figure 6 Granville Lake rose quartz artefact Ti and 208Pb/204Pb values. Coloured rectangles represent quarry chemicalranges. The outlying sample from Wheatcroft quarry is depicted as a data point.



surrounding areas should be undertaken to identify and characterize these sources to form a morethorough picture of raw material availability and mobility between quartz sources and otherarchaeological sites in the region.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that a combined visual–geochemical approach to characterizing peg-matite quartz can form the basis of a major provenance study of pegmatite quartz artefacts. Theresults of this provenance study are consistent with findings from other research (Beardsell 2013),indicating that technological strategies relating to quartz toolstone procurement and use in theChurchill River basin of Manitoba were selected by residentially mobile hunter–gatherers oper-ating in a climate of raw material stress. By demonstrating chemical affinity between artefactsfrom sites around Southern Indian and Opachuanau Lakes and sources in the Granville Lakequarry district, the results of this study also provide tentative geographical context for mobilityin the study area.

The application of this technique to a wider set of quartz sources and artefacts is the obviousnext step for this research. Surveys should be carried out to identify and sample archaeologicallyexploited pegmatite quartz sources outside of the Granville Lake and Pickerel Bay districts. Amore comprehensive source database for the area would improve the integrity of artefact sourceassignments and potentially lead to positive source assignment for artefacts currently of unknownprovenance. Analysis of artefact samples from other areas of the Churchill River basin shouldalso be undertaken to expand the interpretative utility of this study’s results. Additionally,visual–geochemical approaches geared towards establishing artefact provenance should bepursued in the many other parts of the world where quartz was incorporated into archaeologicallithic industries.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been supported by the following granting agencies and programmes: anAboriginal Research Program Grant through the Social Science and Humanities ResearchCouncil of Canada (Brownlee, Principal Investigator; Fayek and Milne, Co-Investigators; Hanna,Collaborator); the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (Fayek); the Natural Sciences and Engi-neering Council of Canada Discovery Grant (Fayek); the Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship Program; the Association of Canadian Uni-versities for Northern Studies; an Enbridge Pipelines Archaeology Scholarship; the C. T. ShayGraduate Scholarship in Archaeology; the University of Manitoba Faculty of Graduate Studies;and the University of Manitoba Faculty of Arts. The authors would like to thank research partnersfrom the community of Granville Lake, Okawamithikani First Nation, Lac La Ronge FirstNation, The Manitoba Museum, The Manitoba Museum Foundation, the University of Manitoba,the Royal Saskatchewan Museum and Lakehead University. The maps used in this publicationwere prepared by Ms Rosemary Dohan and Ms Carolyn English.

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SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article at thepublisher’s web-site:

Table S1. Quarries forming the comparative database along with the colour categories of quartzproduced by each and the number of samples analyzed to produce quarry chemical ranges.Table S2. Artifacts analyzed in this study along with their artifact types and colour categories.Table S3. White quartz artifact 208Pb/204Pb values and Ti concentrations.Table S4. Smoky quartz artifact mean 208Pb/204Pb and 207Pb/206Pb values, and Ticoncentrations.Table S5. Rose quartz artifact mean 208Pb/204Pb and Th/U values, and Ti concentrations.



CHARACTERIZING QUARTZ ARTEFACTS: A CASE STUDY FROM MANITOBA’S NORTHERN BOREAL FOREST

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