White Rock Oneota chipped stone tools

Abstract

A standardized approach to descriptive analysis of chipped stone artifacts from the White Rock site (14JW1) in north-central Kansas allows comparison with Oneota lithic assemblages. These comparisons reinforce the interpretation of the White Rock phase as the remains of a late prehistoric Oneota population in the Central Plains. White Rock peoples made tool forms (e.g., small triangular points) similar to those recovered from Oneota sites in the Midwest. Informal tools are well represented, reflecting an Oneota lithic technology. Despite continuity in chipped stone tool production, regional adaptation is evident in the selection of lithic raw materials from the Central Plains, production of blades and blade tools, and an abundance of scrapers. The latter, along with beveled knives, reveals extensive processing of bison hides and meat, a reflection of Oneota adaptation to the Plains.