Quartzite cobble spall tools-northern plains(Eldon Unifaces)

[petsnazspetsnaz]

These are tools known as Eldon Unifaces I've been finding at a few sites in southwestern Manitoba. They are exclusively associated with the Mummy Cave Complex(early archaic) 7500-4500 BP. About 10 yrs ago a grad student at the university of Saskatchewan wrote a masters thesis about these tools. It was mentioned in the paper that these tools are only found in alberta and western saskatchewan. Archaeologists in Manitoba and U.S weren't familiar with them so it was assumed they weren't found in those areas.This is apparently not the case because I've been finding them quite a bit East- in Manitoba.

I am curious to see of any collectors in the U.S plains have come across these tools and what kinds of points have been found in association with them. I would also suggest that they keep an eye out for them if they haven't picked any up. I think Eldon Unifaces get passed over because not many collectors would recognize them as being artifacts. They are often crudely made but the ventral side/unworked side is the cortex of the stone and the other side has flakes taken off around the edge. They're made simply by taking a big flake/spall off a quartzite cobble and working the edge. some have polish in the end from being used.

 

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[quito]

LOL, I find a lot of those. We have a lot of pink quartzite outcroppings in my area, and just as you suspect, most people over look them. I showed one to an authenticator friend if mine and he said it was a leverite. But when I pulled out another dozen of them from the box, he changed his mind.

I have found them on the main 4 sites I hunt, and suspect they are everywhere, around here anyway. I don't even pick them up anymore unless there is a fair amount of very nice edge work.

 

[petsnazspetsnaz]

Cool! Are you finding any points at these sites? Up here we're thinking they may be diagnostic artifacts because they're only excavated in association
with Early archaic points.

 

[rock]

Some of those could be considered a Adze type of tool. Ive never found a well worked point in the area where I find mine. Other areas near by people have found all periods of artifacts. Nice collection

 

[RockinIdaho]

would these be considered the same as what you are talking about?

 

[petsnazspetsnaz]

Rockinidaho, those looks more like flakes/debitage made of quartzite. Could be the result of making the spall tools or other quartzite tools tho

 

[Charl]

Here's the abstract of the MA thesis you mentioned....

OATD: Stewart, Matthew Sigfried - A particular type of cobble spall tool from the Canadian Plains : multi-variant analysis of early-middle period Eldon Unifaces