Stone Tool Caching On the North American Plains: Implications of the McKean Site Tool Kit

AbstractA tool cache was recently recovered from the Middle Plains Archaic stratum of the McKean site in Wyoming. Analysis of this cache, including a microwear study of the utilized edges, yielded data about raw material procurement, manufacture, and the use of storage facilities on the NW High Plains of North America. These data are used to make inferences about the technological system from the perspective of implement storage behavior. The characteristics of settlement and subsistence strategies, a matter of current debate in the region, are addressed in this analysis.