The chemical characterization of Onondaga chert from the Peace Bridge site (AfGr-9): Implications for the spatial movement of Late Archaic lithics in southern Ontario

The Peace Bridge site (AfGr-9), situated within the town of Fort Erie, Ontario, is an example of an intensive locale for lithic exploitation. Despite the relatively small proportion excavated, the site has shown evidence of finished stone tools, complex feature staining that is indicative of Genesee period living floors or structures, a number of subsequent Transitional Woodland house structures and a three thousand year old mortuary tradition.; It seems possible that in past times the site functioned as a central manufacturing and distribution center of finished tools, which, along with preforms and unmodified raw material, were circulated inland to other communities. Genesee Period points or preforms made from Onondaga chert have been found beyond the immediate vicinity of Onondaga source area, where the Peace Bridge site is situated. This raises a number of questions as to the regional organization of lithic procurement and/or exchange during the Late Archaic. Yet the manner by which these items have traveled farther has yet to be studied in detail. Provenance studies, using Induced Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA), were performed on lithic samples derived from a precontact Onondaga chert quarry within the site. Geochemical patterning illuminated in previous studies are described for the Peace Bridge site quarry and are further used on Late Archaic Genesee Period material in on-site and off-site contexts in an attempt to ascribe provenance to the constituent quarry. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...