Red Chert Quarries in the Munsungun Lake Formation: Moving beyond Norway Bluff

Preliminary results on the applicability of neutron activation analysis (NAA) to identify cherts from the Munsungun Lake Formation, Maine, USA

“…Although outcrops of red chert exist at Norway Bluff, they are not associated with evidence of quarrying activities such as tested blocks, flakes, or other knapping debris. Additionally, no outcrops with red and mottled red and green materials have been observed at this location (Kitchel et al, 2020). Outcroppings of red chert are recorded elsewhere within the MLF, including within several kilometers of Norway Bluff; however, these also lack associated evidence of precontact quarrying, and none show red and green mottling.…”

“…The area was first identified by archaeologists as an important source of chert for Indigenous peoples in the 1970s, when Bonnichsen and colleagues (1980) (Payne, 1987). Subsequent analyses (Burke, 2006;Burke et al, 2014;Kitchel, 2018;Pollock et al, 1999) (Kitchel et al, 2020). Outcroppings of red chert are recorded elsewhere within the MLF, including within several kilometers of Norway Bluff; however, these also lack associated evidence of precontact quarrying, and none show red and green mottling.…”

“…After targeted survey efforts, two outcrops-here labeled A and B-of red and mottled red and green chert associated with clear evidence of quarrying activities were identified ∼20 km to the southwest of Norway Bluff (Figure 1). Collectively, these outcrops are now dubbed the NKP quarry complex (Kitchel et al, 2020).…”

“…Despite the association between red chert and fluted‐point‐period sites, until recently, it has not been possible to convincingly link red chert artifacts from these sites to a specific source area within the MLF. This situation existed because no outcrops of this material associated with direct evidence of past use, such as flakes or other quarrying debris, had been previously identified within the MLF (Kitchel et al, 2020).…”

“…Here, we report the results of the first published geochemical characterization of red and mottled red and green Munsungun chert by neutron activation analysis (NAA). Our sample derives predominantly from two recently recorded outcrops of red and mottled red and green chert directly associated with past toolstone procurement activities (Kitchel et al, 2020). Preliminary results indicate that at the microregional scale, NAA is capable of discerning cherts from different source areas within the MLF, while at the macroregional scale, we find promising indications that cherts from the Munsungan Lake region are geochemically distinct from known chert sources in Quebec, Vermont, and the Hudson Valley.…”