A large number of the artifacts that occur with the above are of little diagnostic value. However, some of them are probably associated culturally and formed part of the total artifact inventory. These include: leaf-shaped and triangular knives, end and side scrapers, and discoidal and serrated forms, one expanding base drill, perforators, a few small ovoid bifaces, utilized flakes, chopper/hammerstones, one bone ornament, paint stones, headed and splintered awls, used bone splinters, one bone knife, and one wood shaft.
Cultural Reconstruction
The economy of the people of Complex C was probably oriented toward a combination of hunting and gathering. The former is evidenced by the presence of animal bones and the frequency of projectile points. The mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, which represented nearly 75% of the faunal remains, appears to have been the animal most hunted. The projectile points are considered to have been used in connection with atlatls. Stalking and snaring were probably prevalent methods, although a surround or drive might have been practical in certain seasons when the animals gathered into larger herds. The small number of bison bones indicate that bison were also occasionally hunted. There is a surprising lack of bones of small game, these being even less numerous than in Complex D. Other animals included an undetermined carnivore and some bird bones.
Numerous milling stones and hand stones as well as plant remains attest to the continued importance of vegetable products in the diet. The plants utilized include acorns, sedges, wild plums, chenopods and Umbellifereae. Wads of moss may have been used for padding etc.
There is no information on any structures. Probably none were used since the overhang provided rather good shelter. Large stone-filled hearths may have been used for large scale roasting, as Mulloy (1954a) hypothesized for the McKean Site.
Technologically the Complex C occupants possessed sufficient skill to adapt to the environment with little evidence of elaboration. Clothing was probably scant except for cold weather, and was possibly of skins. In stone work, projectile points were functional, and made rather roughly with little pressure retouch. A proliferation of scraping tools and utilized flakes was probably a by-product of the emphasis on hunting, and suggests that many skins were prepared. A certain amount of technological “know-how” was required to manufacture the relatively fine prismatic flakes. In bone work the commonest tools were awls made on a splinter of bone worked only on the functional end. One bone appears to have been used for flint flaking.
Despite the apparent emphasis on utility there is a certain amount of evidence on the aesthetic side. The people had beads for adornment, made of sections of bird bone. Fragments of hematite and limonite indicate that they also practiced painting of some sort, perhaps on their bodies and tools or hides.
The occurrence of pieces of worked mica may have some magico-religious significance. Similar specimens were found in Danger Cave (Jennings, 1957) and the pieces may indicate Great Basin affiliation. However, the greatest concentration of these is between 50 and 72 inches. These might have been used as charms, or have been part of shamanistic paraphernalia. Other inferences drawn from ethnology would suggest the importance of beliefs connected with hunting.
There is no direct evidence of a socio-political nature. The size of the site and the type economy represented indicate a small semi-nomadic group. The possible overlap in cultural groups suggests either intermittent occupations alternating between groups of different cultural complexes, or the close proximity and strong influence of such groups. In the field of social organization, many modern hunting-gathering groups exhibit bilateral kin organization. On the other hand the especial importance of large game would render the men’s position of greater consequence, and the affiliation of the material culture is oriented toward the Plains where patrilineal organization is rather common.