Rhyolite ( RY-ə-lyte, RY-oh-) is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic (silica-rich) composition (typically > 69% SiO2 – see the TAS classification). It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic. The mineral assemblage is usually quartz, sanidine and plagioclase (in a ratio > 2:1 – see the QAPF diagram). Biotite and hornblende are common accessory minerals. It is the extrusive equivalent to granite.
The Thunderbird Archaeological District, near Limeton, Virginia, is an archaeological district described as consisting of "three sites—Thunderbird Site, the Fifty Site, and the Fifty Bog—which provide a stratified cultural sequence spanning Paleo-Indian cultures through the end of Early Archaic times with scattered evidence of later occupation."
The Lamoreau Site, also known as the Maine Archaeological Survey Site 23.13 is an historic archaeological site in Auburn, Maine. It is located on the grounds of the Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is named for its discoverer, Henry Lamoreau.
The Sioux Quartzite is a Proterozoic quartzite that is found in the region around the intersection of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa, and correlates with other rock units throughout the upper midwestern and southwestern United States. It was formed by braided river deposits, and its correlative units are thought to possibly define a large sedimentary wedge that once covered the passive margin on the then-southern side of the North American craton. In human history, it provided the catlinite, or pipestone, that was used by the Plains Indians to carve ceremonial pipes. With the arrival of Europeans, it was heavily quarried for building stone, and was used in many prominent structures in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and shipped to construction sites around the Midwest. Sioux Quartzite has been and continues to be quarried in Jasper, Minnesota at the Jasper Stone Company and Quarry, which itself was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on January 5, 1978. Jasper, Minnesota contains many turn-of-the-century quartzite buildings, including the school, churches and several other public and private structures, mostly abandoned.
Barton Village Site, also known as the Herman Barton Indian Village Archeological Site, is a large, multi-component archaeological site near Cumberland in Allegany County, Maryland.
The Massachusetts Hornfels-Braintree Slate Quarry is a prehistoric archaeological site in Milton and Quincy, Massachusetts. It consists of a series of pits and trenches used from 7,000 B.P. until the early 17th century as a source of slate and hornfels used for chipped and ground tools. Pieces made from material quarried at the site are found over much of eastern Massachusetts. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Carbaugh Run Rhyolite Quarry Site is an archaeological site in Franklin Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is composed of two smaller sites: a group of small quarries on top of Snaggy Ridge, and the remnants of what may have been a campsite along Carbaugh Run below the ridge.
The Houserville Site is an archaeological site located near State College in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. Used as a stone workshop by prehistoric Native Americans ten thousand years ago, it has been recognized as a prime candidate for prehistoric preservation.
The Tudek Site is an archaeological site located near State College in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. Used as a stone quarry by prehistoric Native Americans ten thousand years ago, it has been recognized as a prime candidate for prehistoric preservation.
The Paiján culture was an archaeological culture that developed on the northern coast of Peru between 8,700 and 5,900 BCE. It was first described by Peruvian archaeologist Rafael Larco Hoyle in the 1940s from the Pampa de los Fósiles site. Later research, mainly by French archaeologist Claude Chauchat, identified dozens of open air sites, which include camps, workshops and quarries.
Franktown Cave is located 25 miles south of Denver, Colorado on the north edge of the Palmer Divide. It is the largest rock shelter documented on the Palmer Divide, which contains artifacts from many prehistoric cultures. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers occupied Franktown Cave intermittently for 8000 years beginning about 6400 B.C. The site held remarkable lithic and ceramic artifacts, but it is better known for its perishable artifacts, including animal hides, wood, fiber and corn. Material goods were produced for their comfort, task-simplification and religious celebration. There is evidence of the site being a campsite or dwelling as recent as AD 1725.
The Lynch Quarry Site, also known as the Lynch Knife River Flint Quarry, and designated by the Smithsonian trinomial 32DU526, is a historic pre-Columbian flint quarry located near Dunn Center, North Dakota, United States. The site was a major source of flint found at archaeological sites across North America, and it has been estimated that the material was mined there from 11,000 B.C. to A.D. 1600. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
The Rumford Archaeological Sites are a collection of prehistoric Native American sites in the vicinity of the Androscoggin River near Rumford, Maine. These six sites provide a window of observation into the movements and practices of Native Americans from c. 7,000 BCE to the Late Woodland period and contact with Europeans. These sites are the subject of three separate listings on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972: the Rumford Falls I-IV Sites, the Rumford V Site, and the Town of Rumford Site. The locations of these sensitive sites are not generally publicized.
The Munsungan-Chase Lake Thoroughfare Archeological District encompasses a series of important archaeological sites in a remote area of northern Maine, United States. These sites offer evidence of human habitation dating to not long after the retreat of the glaciers following the Wisconsin glaciation, with extensive stone tool workshops working with red chert found in abundance in the area. Stone tools made from sources in this region have been found at archaeological sites across New England. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Willard Brook Quarry is a prehistoric stone quarry site in a remote portion of Piscataquis County, Maine. The quarry site is located on one of a series of outcrops near Munsungan Lake in north-central Maine, all of which have yielded stone tools found at prehistoric sites throughout northern New England. The area is known to have been frequented by Native Americans, with an extensive array of habitation sites located in the area between Munsungan and Chase Lake. The Willard Brook quarry site provides evidence that Native Americans engaged in quarrying and mining operations to recover stone suitable for conversion to tools.
The Brockway Site, designated Site 90.3 by the Maine Archaeological Survey, is a prehistoric archaeological site in Milo, Maine. Long known to local amateur archaeologists, the site was formally tested in 1986, yielding evidence of a well-stratified site containing thousands of artifacts dating as far back as c. 2000 BCE. These types of sites are rare in the interior of Maine. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The Spiller Farm Paleoindian Site, designated Site 4.13 by the Maine Archaeological Survey, is a prehistoric archaeological site in Wells, Maine. Located overlooking a stream on the Spiller Farm property on Branch Road, it is an extensive site at which a fine collection of stone artifacts has been found, dating to c. 8,000 BCE. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The St. Croix River Access Site is a prehistoric Native American archaeological site on the St. Croix River in Stillwater Township, Minnesota, United States. It consists of a habitation site with a large quantity of stone tool artifacts, occupied from roughly 800 to 1700 CE. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 for having local significance in the theme of archaeology. It was nominated for its scientific potential to illuminate Late Woodland period cultural relationships, lithic technology, and resource use.
The prehistory of New England is an important topic of research for New England archaeologists. Humans reached the current-day New England region by at least 10,500 years ago and likely earlier, occupying a recently de-glaciated environment. Pre-contact Native American groups in New England did not have full-fledged market economies and physical artifacts tended to change very slowly. However, technological shifts brought agriculture and ceramics to the region prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 17th century.
