[101] SUMMATION

THE SITE AND ITS ASSEMBLAGES

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In evaluating this report and the site with which it deals, the reader should remember the following facts, for they underlie many of the conclusions and speculations the author has attempted to develop in coping with the cultural record at 45KT28.

1. 45KT28 is located on the western edge of the semiarid heartland of the Columbia Plateau. To the east of the site this semiarid heartland contains few permanent streams or lakes, and economic resources are limited primarily to edible roots, rodents, and small deer. To the west the foothills of the Cascade Mountains provide wooded watersheds and larger numbers of streams. Thus the economic resources are more variable and include not only edible roots, rodents, and deer, but also salmon, a variety of birds, elk, bear, and wild berries. The area to the west was therefore probably more heavily utilized throughout the prehistoric record.

2. The site is situated along the Columbia River and will, therefore, reflect slightly different adaptations than sites located on tributary streams to the west or in the more arid country to the east. Cultural Components I through VI represent the seasonal camps of whole or fragmentary bands which were always small in size. Deer hunting was evidently the major economic activity in the area. Cultural Component VII, on the other hand, represents the winter village pattern which Ray (1932) has described for the Sanpoil and Nespelem.

3. The data from 45KT28, which are substantiated by other sequences throughout the Plateau, suggest that the only marked change in social and economic structure occurred at the beginning of the Cayuse Phase. At this time band societies were replaced by simple tribal forms of social structure as these types of organization are defined by Service (1962).

Since broad conclusions and specific comparisons are alike dependent upon the field data, it is not proper to close this section of the report without some reference to assemblage reliability. Basically two kinds of assemblages are represented in the sequence at 45KT28; the first characteristic of Cultural Components I through VI, the second characteristic of Cultural Component VII.

As noted above, Cultural Components I through VI represent seasonal encampments of relatively small size. The assemblages in this portion of the sequence also tend to be small, averaging 110 artifacts per component. In a few instances small assemblages are due to the restricted nature of the components themselves, but in most cases are a function of sampling. This problem is represented in the extreme by Cultural Component III, tests of which yielded 199 artifacts. Estimates of relative productivity and probable component size indicate that total excavation would have produced between 25,000 and 50,000 artifacts. Thus it may be argued that our sample is statistically insignificant. This is certainly true with regard to many kinds of statements which we might ideally want to make about the assemblage in question. Most significant will be errors of omission, wherein certain types of artifacts actually present may not appear in the sample, and errors in relative percentage wherein certain types or classes of artifacts will be overly or insufficiently represented. Thus the assemblages from Cultural Components I through VI have not been dealt with as closed and complete systems, and the relative percentages of their constituents only slightly relied upon in making comparisons or evaluations, or in the generation of hypotheses.

The assemblages from the early components of the site have, however, another kind of reliability. Although each sample is small, it occurs in a sequence of similar samples. Therefore each assemblage may be thought of as a critical commentary on its neighbors in the established temporal [101/102] continuum. This acts as a check against major omissions which, when they occur, will produce anomalies within the sequence. The comparison of the sequence with similar classes of data extends our information laterally in space and so, too, operates to increase the confidence level of our various assemblages. Since the sequence from 45KT28 does not contain anomalies and agrees with our knowledge of the Upper Columbia and the Plateau at large, it may be regarded as a reliable tool for assessing local developmental trends and generating hypotheses.

Because nearly 3,950 artifacts were recovered from Cultural Component VII, over-all assemblage reliability is probably quite good. As a result the Cayuse Phase has been dealt with In greater detail.

Other general properties of the sequence may be summed up in the following statements.

1. During the Vantage Phase projectile points were very large and based on a leaf-shaped outline, which was sometimes modified by shouldering. During the Cold Springs and Frenchman Springs phases leaf-shaped points declined in importance. During this period there was a great reduction in size, flaking became finer, and a greater number of body outlines are in use. Throughout the Quilomene Bar and Cayuse phases leaf-shaped points are rare, representing items of trade or aberrant forms.

2. Both notched and unnotched triangular projectile points were first introduced during the Cold Springs Phase at which time a dramatic shift occurs from leaf-shaped to triangular point forms. This shift is completed by the beginning of the Quilomene Bar Phase. Thereafter, virtually all projectile points are based on a triangular outline, notched points being manufactured from triangular blanks.

3. The relative abundance of particular projectile point types is shown in Figure 35. Although based primarily upon data from 45KT28, information from other sites in the Vantage locale was taken into account in the preparation of this figure.

4. A more detailed presentation of the stemmed projectile point types is presented in Figure 36. The relative percentages suggested in this figure are based entirely on the data from 45KT28.

More specific data regarding the frequency of projectile point types may be found by consulting the specific types and type variants in Appendix A. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the data numerically and will be of help in evaluating Figures 34, 35, and 36. [102]

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LAST REVISED: 23 AUG 2015