ARCHAEOLOGY AT GLACIER CREEK PRESERVE AND THE MOVEMENTS OF PEOPLE TRACKED THROUGH THE GEOLOGIC RECORD

Tracking where people have been, and their interactions with each other, has puzzled archaeologists, but the context in which artifacts are found can help infer how people lived. In the prehistoric past, people had to acquire materials for tool production, which required fresh rock that was not always readily available in the area. People would then move beyond their homes or trade with people who had access to these resources. Determining how people moved throughout time can be, and has been, traced by the rock composition of their tools. Our goal is to find possible sources past people used to obtain materials to produce stone tools at Glacier Creek Preserve in eastern Nebraska. Artifacts collected during the 2016 – 2018 field schools will be analyzed at the macroscale, where all objects will be catalogued for rock composition and defining characteristics. By investigating rock sites available locally using soil and geological surveys, we can map areas of possible resource sites. Comparing our artifacts and the surrounding sources via samples, photos, and descriptions will help determine quarry site locations. We will then use Google Earth to deduce possible routes and the minimum travel required to obtain the raw materials. Using these methods, we can determine possible migration routes people took in the past up until their abandonment of the Glacier Creek Preserve site. Given the predominantly loess geologic material near this site, we expect there to be a nonlocal component, suggesting a semi-nomadic way of life typically associated with Nebraska Phase sites.