Thermoluminescent Determination of Paleoindian Heat Treatment in Ontario, Canada

Abstract

The possibility that prehistoric peoples employed heat treatment of chert and flint as an integral part of their lithic tool production technology is a matter that has long been debated. While previous thermoluminescence (TL) investigations of the heating phenomenon concentrate on finished artifacts, this study investigates the TL stored in biface retouch flakes which are an abundant by-product of the Paleoindian fluted point manufacture. One hundred and seventy-five retouch flakes from three excavated squares at the Parkhill Paleoindian site are examined and compared with their relatively distant geological source. Accidental heating does not satisfactorily explain the fact that the overwhelming majority of the flakes appear to have been heated. We conclude that chert heating at this archaeological site was purposeful.