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GOSHEN POINTS &
THE MILL IRON SITE
CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA
PAGE 2 OF 2 PAGES
COPYRIGHT JULY 31, 2009 PETER A. BOSTROM
Abstract image of biface from Mill Iron site & bison skull.
ABSTRACT IMAGE OF BIFACE FROM MILL IRON SITE &
BISON SKULL (B. occi-dentalis)

    The Goshen complex gained a considerable amount of support by the discovery of the Mill iron site. However there still remains a controversy about the comparison of Goshen points to Plainview points. The issue surrounds the fact that both point types are very similar in style and they may one day prove to be the same point type. Frison suggests that they should be called Goshen/Plainview points until they are better understood. The Plainview site was discovered in northern Texas in 1944. Later radio carbon dates from bone and snail shell produced much more recent dates than Mill Iron at 7,100 + 160 years and 9,170 + 500 years.

7 tools, scrapers & graver, Mill Iron site (casts).
EPOXY CASTS OF UNIFACIAL TOOLS FROM THE MILL IRON SITE
CLICK ON PICTURE FOR LARGER IMAGE
SIDE-SCRAPERS, END-SCRAPERS & GRAVER
MILL IRON SITE
CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA

    These seven unifacial tools were discovered during the excavation of the camp site area on the Mill Iron site. They represent some of the better examples of at least 62 different tools found on the site. Most of these tools were used for cutting or scraping purposes. Lithic microwear analysis done by Kaoru Akoshima of Sendai University, Japan suggests that "---almost all tool usage suggested by microwear studies of the Mill Iron assemblage indicates a relation to the faunal (the bison) exploitation."
   The tool at top left is made of silicified wood. This flake was unifacially flaked along both sides to form the cutting edges. Each edge was flaked from an opposite side to the other. Microwear analysis couldn't make a determination of how it was used.
   The three unifacial tools at top right were sharpened on single edges (single edge retouch) by pressure flaking. The two flakes on the right are thought to be biface reduction flakes and it's believed that the third example came from a core. The unifacial tool at second from left is described as a side-scraper. The material was not identified except as chert and it measures 2 3/4 inches (7 cm) long.
   The two unifacial tools at bottom left are end-scrapers. The example on the left is described as a classic example of an exhausted end-scraper. It's made on a thick flake and the sides and working edge on the end are steeply flaked by pressure flaking. This scraper is made of Hartville chert and it measures 1 9/16 inches (4 cm) long. The scraper to the right is made on a much thinner flake. It's made of an unidentified chert and measures 1 3/16 inches (3 cm) long
   The unifacial tool at lower right is a graver. Gravers are described in this assemblage as small pointed projections flaked into the edge of a flake or other tool. This graver was made by pressure flaking concavities on the edge to isolate a graver point in between. Microwear analysis determined that the graver point on this example is still sharp and that it was never used. This graver is made from an unidentified chert and it measures 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) long.

     Thirty-one projectile points were found on the Mill Iron site. Eleven were found in the camp area, twelve in the bone bed meat processing area and seven points were found on the surface. These points exhibit a fairly wide range of style and flaking technique. Some of the bases are almost straight while others vary from slightly to fairly deeply concave. Also, some of the basal edges are concave but they are straight at the base of the concavity, similar to some Folsom points. The sides are straight to slightly convex and one example appears to be slightly fish-tailed.

3 utilized flakes, Mill Iron site (casts).
EPOXY CASTS OF UTILIZED FLAKES FROM THE MILL IRON SITE
UTILIZED FLAKES
MILL IRON SITE
CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA

   These three thin flakes are described by Frison and Bradley as an unmodified flake, an undamaged flake and a raclette. The unmodified flake on the left was made by careful platform preparation as evidenced by the excellent example of a platform remnant (at top). The platform is described as, "relatively wide, lipped, convex, facetted, reduced and ground."
   The thin undamaged percussion flake in the center was discovered in the bone bed. Microwear analysis indicate that the observed edge polishing was most likely from cutting hide and meat. This flake is made of red Porcellanite and it measures 1 5/8 inches (4.2 cm) long and 1 7/8 inches (4.8 cm) wide.
   The thin flake on the right is identified as a raclette. These types of tools are described as a flake that has unifacial flaking on a thin edge. The flaking is extremely short and is seen only by careful inspection. This flake represents a classic example of a late stage bifacial thinning flake. Both edges have very fine edge flaking. This raclette is made of an unidentified chert and it measures 1 9/16 inches (4 cm) long.

    Flaking patterns of Goshen points range from random to parallel transverse.  One example found in the bone bed exhibits the highest knapping skill that Paleo-Indians ever produced. This point is also interesting for its rounded point. Unlike most Goshen points that have sharp points, the tip of this one was deliberately shaped with micro flaking into a rounded point. It's been suggested that it may have been an offering that was ceremonially placed with the bones, rather than a spear to hunt with.

Biface from the Mill Iron site (cast).
EPOXY CAST OF BIFACE FROM THE MILL IRON SITE
LARGE BIFACE
MILL IRON SITE
CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA

    This biface was found during the excavation of the Mill Iron site in the bison bone bed. It was found in two pieces and it represents one of five complete and broken fragments of bifaces found on the site. This relatively thin biface was made with well controlled bifacial thinning, through the use of diving flakes. Microwear analysis indicates that it was used mainly in a longitudinal motion and the type of edge polish suggests that it was used on dry hide or leather. This biface is made of Arikara chert and it measures 5 1/16 inches (12.6 cm) long.
   Other bifaces in the assemblage are represented by a mid-section of one and a basal fragment of another. A fourth unbroken biface, measuring 3 1/2 inches (8.8 cm) long, is unfinished and represents an early stage of manufacture.  Another small bifacially flaked artifact may have been made from a broken piece of a larger biface. It was used as a piece esquilles (wedge).

    Two broken fragments of bone artifacts were found on the Mill Iron site. The most interesting object is made of mammoth rib bone measuring 4 3/4 inches (12 cm) long. Both of the ends are broken away but one end is drilled with a conical hole. It's believed that this artifact may have been used as a socket to hold a foreshaft on the end of a spear. The other bone artifact is made of bison bone and measures 1 3/8 inches (35 mm) wide. This broken fragment was probably egg shaped and it's been suggested that it may have been a pendant.

Abstract image of Mill Iron site tools and bison skull.
ABSTRACT IMAGE OF UNIFACIAL TOOLS & BISON SKULL
MILL IRON SITE
CARTER COUNTY, MONTANA

   Paleo-Indian bone-bed sites are impressive for their dramatic feature of extinct animal bones. These sites have provided archaeologists with a wealth of information. They show how people were hunting and what types of animals were being hunted. They also produce diagnostic artifacts that connect these early people together on sites that are often widely separated. The Mill Iron site was an extraordinary discovery. One wonders how many more similar sites are waiting to be discovered.

"REFERENCES"

1991, Frison, George C., "The Goshen Paleoindian Complex: New Data For Paleoindian Research," Clovis Origins And Adaptations, p. 133.
1996
, Frison, George C., "The Mill Iron Site," p. 205.
1999, Stanford, Dennis, "Paleoindian Archaeology And Late Pleistocene Environments In The Plains And Southwestern United States," Ice Age Peoples Of North America, Environments, Origins, And Adaptations, pp. 305-310.
2002, Haynes, Gary, "The Early Settlement Of North America, The Clovis Era," p. 257.
2006, Huckell, Bruce B. And Judge, W. James, "Paleo-Indian: Plains And Southwest," Handbook Of North American Indians, Vol. 3, Environment, Origins, And Population, p. 158.

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