VIII. ADDITIONAL PROJECTILE POINTS AND LITHIC ARTIFACTS FROM LOVELOCK CAVE, NEVADA C. W. Clewlow, Jr. and Lewis K. Napton During the excavations at Lovelock Cave in Spring of 1969, salvage screening was conducted on the talus slope situated below the mouth of the cave. This slope is partially covered by a mantle of refuse consisting of screenings from the bat guano deposits which had been dug from the cave in 1911 by commercial guano miners. The debris had been partially investi- gated for archaeological specimens in 1965, and had produced classifiable projectile points (Clewlow 1968:89-101). These specimens were of unusual interest in that they represented cultural material from the destroyed upper depositional levels in the cave. The removal of these upper levels destroyed most of the evidence for the latest phase of occupation in Love- lock Cave. The specimens found in 1965, particularly those which can be typed as Desert Side-notched and Cottonwood Triangular projectile points, which were in general use quite late in the Great Basin chronological sequence, strongly hinted that the cave had been occupied much later than was commonly supposed (Grosscup 1960:6). While the precise cultural affiliation of these Late Period cave inhabitants has yet to be definitely established, there is none- theless a great deal of evidence to indicate that the discontinuity between archaeological information and ethnographic knowledge concerning the in- habitants of the Humboldt sink may be minimal, if such a discontinuity exists at all. This evidence has been summarized in recent papers by Napton (1969:52-56) and Heizer and Napton (in press). The procedures used in the salvage-screening of the dump debris in 1965 and 1969 were essentially the same. The sliding mass of debris which lies on a slope with a gradient of approximately 350, extends from the edge of the outer rockshelter of the cave to the base of the cave pediment. The deposits were removed in five-foot wide strips, working from the base of the slope toward the top. Halfway up the hillside, which is about 200 feet in length, the deposit was two or three feet deep and consisted of rock, frag- ments of burned bone, pieces of chert, occasional projectile points, shell beads, and other imperishable materials. As Napton (1969:28-87) has pointed out, the perishable component of the dump debris all but disappeared following exposure to the open air for a period of only 58 years. The surviving organic material includes a few hulls of pinyon pine nuts (Pinus monophylla), which are rare in the cave midden and in the Lovelock Cave human coprolites. A few fragmentary coprolites found in the debris had been preserved as a result of having -64- charred. It is likely that some of the material had been burned in situ in the cave, but over the years relic hunters have doubtless set fire to the mass of vegetal material dumped on the hillside. L. L. Loud probably collect- ed firewood from the dump during his stay at the cave in 1912. Loud examined the dump just three months after the material had been dug out of the cave. Loud (1929:29) states that "several thousand specimens were also obtained by working over the dump left by the guano crew." These specimens included examples of almost all types of artifacts found in the cave. as well as the bones of "at least 13 individuals" (Loud 1929:31). The salvage screening of the dump debris in 1969 produced 33 classifi- able points, which may be segregated into 9 distinct types. All but one of these types, Type H, has been recognized in previous collections from Love- lock Cave. Type names are those which have been utilized with success by researchers from the University of California for the past decade (Lanning 1963; Heizer and Baumhoff 1961; Heizer, Baumhoff and Clewlow 1968; Heizer and Clewlow 1968). It appears that these types are applicable to collections from other areas of the Basin (cf. Clewlow 1967; Clewlow, Heizer and Berger 1970), although the type collections are primarily from the western portion of Nevada and eastern California. Table 1 gives the dimensions of the points recovered in 1969. The specimens are shown in Plate 1. Desert Side-notched (P1. 1, a-b) Two of these small points were recovered in 1969; both are of obsidian. They are diagnostic as a late time marker in both the Great Basin and California (Baumhoff and Byrne 1959). Cottonwood Triangular (P1. 1, c) One obsidian specimen of this type was recovered in 1969. Humboldt Concave Base A (P1. 1, v, w). Two obsidian specimens of this type were recovered in 1969. Humboldt Concave Base B (P1. 1, x-ff). Nine of these points were found. Seven are of obsidian; two are of chert. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish this type from the Cotton- wood Triangulars, which are shorter, less well made, and tend to have less concave bases. Several of the Humboldt Concave Base B points are badly worn, and their attribution to this category is tentative. It is possible that some of the wear results from abraison incurred during passage through the guano screening apparatus, or from contact with limestone fragments in the course of the gradual downhill creep of the entire mass of debris. Rose Spring Corner-notched (P1. 1, d- 1). Nine more of this type were recovered in 1969. Five are of chert, four of obsidian. -65- Eastgate Expanding Stem (P1. 1, m-p). Three of this type, all of chert, were recovered in the 1969 excavations. Elko Eared (P1. 1, q-s). Three probable specimens of this type were recovered in 1969. Two are of chert, one of obsidian. The obsidian specimen is a poor example of the Elko Eared corner-notched point-type described by O'Connell (1967), and cannot be taken as representative. Elko Corner-notched (P1. 1, t, u). Two probably examples of this type were recovered, both of which are made of obsidian. Both specimens are very dubious examples of the type, and have been classified tentatively. Type H (P1. 1, gg). This large, well made point has been called a Type H point because its shape strongly resembles the type samples from site NV-Ch-15 on the Hum- boldt Lakebed (Heizer and Clewlow 1968:65). It has pronounced shoulders laterally offset 0.3 mm. at a ninety degree angle from the stem. The stem is slightly contracting; the base is poorly finished and slightly convex. Temporally, it is non-diagnostic. This specimen is made of obsidian. It is large enough to have served as a hafted knife; however, it exhibits no utility scars (see Hester, this volume). Table 2 shows the number of points of each type which have been re- covered from Lovelock Cave or the miners' dump. As may be seen, the 1965 work provided the greatest number of pieces. The specimens from 1969 add few new insights into the cave's prehistory. They do, however, substan- tiate the results of the 1965 investigations, namely, that a late occupation of the cave appears likely in view of the number of late point types that have been found there. In addition to the classifiable points mentioned above, the 1969 screening produced eight fragments of points or blades, as well as a small amount of chert and obsidian debitage. Dimensions of the unclassi- fiable points are given in Table 3. The lithic debris in the dump consists of cores, blades, primary flakes, and retouch flakes of cryptocrystalline materials (63:1401). There were many recognizable artifacts including a well made tubular pipe (63:1404) and several of the so-called "fish knives" (15:297) commonly found on the Humboldt Lakebed site (NV-Ch-15) and at NV-Pe-5 (Elsasser 1958). We mention the occurrence of this type of lithic material, heretofore un- recorded for Lovelock Cave, because of its usefulness in providing further evidence of the fact that the cave was used occasionally as an occupation site, contrary to the widely-held belief that the site was only a "cache cave." -66- (This matter is reviewed by Napton (1969:28-97] who describes additional evidence attesting to the recent domestic use of the cave chamber.) We have not completed detailed study of the lithic debitage from the cave.2 Analysis of this material will probably provide information relevant to the extent of prehistoric trade patterns, or to the areal extent of territory traversed by tihe Lovelock populations. (See Weaver and Stross 1965:89-93.) Another type of lithic specimen found in the dump is the flat-bed metate, of which three examples were collected in 1969. Loud found two milling implements on the surface of the dump: One was moss-covered and must have lain on the hillside many yea7rs. The other had bat guano adhering to one side and doubtless had been brought from the cave by the guano crew. The two are of coarse vesicular basalt and of the usual V-type found in Humboldt valley.... (Loud 1929: 106). Summary Salvage screening of part of the debris from the Lovelock Cave "guano miners' dump" has-produced numerous examples of Desert Side-notched, Cottonwood Tri- angular, and Rose Spring Corner-notched projectile point types, the presence of which indicates use of the cave during the protohistoric period in western Nevada. Lithic debitage, milling implements, and other utilitarian artifacts give evidence of domestic use of the cave. Notes 1 Many famous cave sites (e.g. Wilson Butte in Idaho, and Danger Cave in Utah) contain projectile points, but apparently lack significant amounts of lithic debitage (see Gruhn 1961; Jennings 1957). 2 One of us (Napton 1969:28-97) has earlier pointed out the interesting situation presented by the archaeology of Lovelock Cave. The known collect- ions of artifacts from this site made over the years include over 100 pro- jectile points, but scarcely a dozen milling implements. However, almost all of the 350 Lovelock coprolites that have been analyzed contain qua- ntities of seeds, mostly bulrush (Scirpus sp.) and other species of aquatic vegetation. If the archaeology of Lovelock Cave had been exposed to moisture (as it would inevitably be, were it an open-air occupation site) one might assume, on the basis of the lithic assemblage, that ,he inhabitants of the site had subsisted by means of hunting and limited seed- gathering, rather than by use of vegeLal and lacustrine resources. The latter mode, of course, is demonstrated by analysis of the human copro- lites preserved in the dry cave (see Napton and Heizer 1970). -67- TABLE I. PROJECTILE POINTS RECOVERED FROM LOVELOCK CAVE Type Desert Side-notched Cottonwood Triangular Humboldt Concave Base A Humboldt Concave Base B Humboldt Basal-notched Pinto Shoulderless Pinto Square Shoulder Rose Spring Corner-notched Rose Spring Contracting Stem Eastgate Split Stem Eastgate Expanding Stem Elko Eared Elko Corner-notched Type H Type J Totals * Data for this column based on Lowie Museum collections forned 1911-12. Previous 1 2 1 2 3 10 2 21 1965 4 4 4 10 1 2 1 26 2 2 7 3 2 2 70 1969 2 1 2 9 9 4 3 2 1 33 Total 6 5 7 21 2 2 3 38 2 2 11 16 6 1 2 124 -68- TABLE II. DIMENSIONS, MATERIALS, AND LOWIE MUSEUM ACCESSION NUMBERS OF LOVELOCK CAVE POINTS Type Desert Side-notched Cottonwood Triangular Rose Spring Corner-notched UCMA Length (cm) 2-47 970 2-47940 2-47948 2-47971 2-47968 2-47958 2-47954 2-47945 2-47934 2-41935 2-47938 2-47939 2.4 2.1 2.2 3.2 1.9 1.7 2.8 3.6 2.3 3.1 3.2 2 9 Width (cm) 1.2 1.3 1.3 2.0 1.2 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.3 1.5 2.2 2 3 Thickness Weight Material (cm) 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4 0 5 (Lr) 0.6 0.7 1.0 2.4 0.9 1.3 2.1 2.0 0.9 1.4 2.1 1 9 Obsidian Obsidian Obsidian Chert Chert Obsidian Chert Obsidian Chert Chert Obsidian Obsidian Eastgate Expanding Stem 2-47966 2.9 1.8 0.3 1.05 Chert 2-47967 3.1 2.0 0.4 1.3 Chert 2-47969 3.3 2.1 0.3 1.5 Chert 2-47943 3.3 2.2 0.3 1.6 Obsidian Elko Eared 2-47962 4.0 2.4 0.6 4.4 Obsidian 2-47964 2.1 2.4 0.7 2.8 Obsidian 2-47965 4.9 2.5 0.6 6.9 Chert Elko Corner-notched 2-47944 4.2 2.0 0.6 3.4 Obsidian 2-47937 4.1 2.6 0.8 8.2 Obsidian Humboldt Concave Base A 2-47955 5.5 1.4 0.7 4.0 Obsidian 2-47941 3.8 1.6 0.7 3.7 Obsidian Humboldt Concave Base B 2-47964 3.0 1.2 0.6 1.7 Chert 2-47957 3.0 1.5 0.5 1.7 Chalcedor 2-47953 3.8 1.3 0.7 2.3 Obsidian 2-47952 4.3 1.3 0.6 2.4 Obsidian 2-47951 2.8 1.3 0.7 1.9 Obsidian 2-47950 2.8 1.4 0.5 1.4 Obsidian 2-47949 3.3 1.3 0.6 2.1 Obsidian 2-47947 3.0 1.3 0.5 1.5 Obsidian 2-47946 2. 9 1.2 0.7 1.9 Obsidian Type H 2-47936 7.6 3.1 0.9 17.7 Obsidian TABLE III. DIMENSIONS OF UNCLASSIFIABLE POINTS FROM LOVELOCK CAVE 2-47986 4.0 2.4 0.7 6.5 Chert 2-47987 4.0 2.8 0.8 6.6 Chert 2-47961 1.7 1.9 0.5 1.4 Chert 2-47960 2.6 1.3 0.4 1.2 Chert 2-47959 2.4 1.4 0.4 1.2 Obsidian 2-47956 5.2 1.8 0.6 4.6 Obsidian 2-47942 3.9 1.4 0.5 1.6 Obsidian 2-47933 3.5 2.2 0.9 5.0 Obsidian -69- Ly - Plate I: Projectile points from Lovelock Cave, Nevada (NV-Ch-18) -70- BIBLIOGRAPHY Abbreviations Used UC-AR University of California - Anthropological Records UCAS-R University of California Archaeological Survey - Report Baumhoff, M. A. and J. S. Byrne 1959 Desert Side-notched points as a time marker in California. UCAS-R 48:32-65. Clewlow, C. W. Jr. 1967 Time and space relations of some Great Basin projectile point types. UCAS-R 70:141-149. 1968 Projectile points from Lovelock Cave, Nevada. UCAS-R 71:89-102. Clewlow, C. W. Jr., R. F. Heizer and R. Berger 1970 An assessment of radiocarbon dates for the Rose Spring site (CA-Iny-372), Inyo County, California. In press. Elsasser, A. B. 1958 The surface archaeology of site 26-Pe-5, Pershing County, Nevada. UCAS-R 44(Pt.2):26-51. Grosscup, G. L. 1960 The culture history of Lovelock Cave, Nevada. UCAS-R 52:1-67. Gruhn, R. 1961 Archaeology of Wilson Butte Cave, southcentral Idaho. Occ. Papers of the Idaho State College Museum, No. 6, Pocatello. Heizer, R. F. and M. A. Baumhoff 1961 The archaeology of Wagon Jack Shelter. UC-AR 20:119-138. Heizer, R. 1968 Heizer, R. 1968 F., M. A. Maumhoff and C. W. Clewlow, Jr. Archaeology of South Fork Shelter (NV-El-lI), Elko County, Nevada. UCAS-R 71:1-58. F. and C. W. Clewlow, Jr. Projectile points from site NV-Ch-15, Churchill County, Nevada. UCAS-R 71:59-88. Heizer, R. F. and L. K. Napton 1970 Archaeology and coprology of Lovelock Cave, Nevada. In press. - 7 1- Jennings, 1957 J. D. Danger Cave. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No. 14. Salt Lake City. Lanning, E. P. 1963 Archaeology of the Rose Spring site, Iny-372. University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 49:237-336. Napton, L. K. 1969 The lacustrine subsistence pattern in the Desert West. Kroeber Anthropological Society Papers, Special Publication 2:28-98. O'Connell, J. F. 1967 Elko Eared/Elko Corner-Notched projectile points as time markers in the Great Basin. UCAS-R 70:129-140. Weaver, J. R. and F. H. Stross 1965 Analysis by X-ray fluorescence of some American obsidians. Univ. of Calif. Archaeological Research Facility Contributions 1:89-93. Berkeley. -72-