Mapping a Novaculite Quarry in Hot Springs National Park

Abstract

Novaculite quarries in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma were created through largescale extraction of lithic raw materials, used for stone tools by Caddos and other Native Americans over the past 11,000 years and in recent centuries by Euro-Americans for whetstones. Quarry sites are characterized by surface features like large pits. trenches, battered boulders, and debris piles. This article summarizes the results of an Arkansas Archeological Survey research project that described and mapped surface features at one site (3GA22J to provide a better understanding of the problems and potential of documenting novaculite quarries.