Dolores Archaeological Program Technical Reports, DAP-016: Reductive Technologies Analysis

The University of Colorado's proposal for the Dolores Cultural Resources Mitigation Program contained provisions for the establishment of a lithic tool analysis program. To implement this program, Dr. R. Knudson, University of Idaho, acted as a design consultant and formulated standard procedures during the summer of 1978. The laboratory, later enlarged to accommodate the analysis of all artifacts produced by reductive technologies, became operational during the fall of 1978. Work thus far has been directed to the preliminary analysis of lithic tools recovered from archaeological sites excavated in 1978. Other tasks accomplished during 1978 and the spring of 1979 included the drafting of a lithics laboratory procedures manual and lithics glossary, initiation of a materials source study, and compilation of a reference list of pertinent literary sources.

Research is continuing into the possible applicability of protein analysis and obsidian hydration studies to program data. The exact form and goals of the final detailed analysis to be performed on a sample of the artifact collections are currently in a preliminary stage of formulation.