GEOCHEMICAL AND MINERALOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN STONE TOOLS FROM LA PIEDRA PINTADA, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO

Piedra Pintada archaeological site takes its name from a large granite boulder; bearing panels of prehistoric rock art executed in red paint. The site is located in San Pablo Canyon, one of a series of major canyons that bisect the mountainous interior of the southern Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Excavations at the site in 2004 and 2005 by Raab, et al have helped to define the prehistoric inhabitant's settlement-subsistence patterns, including access to food and other vital resources. Among the resources used by the canyon's prehistoric inhabitants were lithic materials suitable for the production of flakes stone stools. Analysis of samples collected from the dikes transecting the canyon and selected stone tools was done by ICPMS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and by XRD (X-ray Diffraction). These analyses suggest that tools were manufactured from stone obtained from the dikes that transect San Pablo Canyon.