This photograph shows two sides of the same biface. This biface was found on the Cliche-Rancourt site in the Lake Megantic region of Quebec. The shape of bifaces is no indication of their age. Projectile points found near the biface suggest that it dates back to the Early Palaeoindian period (12 500 to 11 600 years BP). This biface was chipped from rhyolite sourced near Mount Jasper, New Hampshire in the United States. This rhyolite is volcanic rock whose original colour was green-grey, but over time became beige. It is composed of quartz, feldspar, and biotite. New Hampshire rhyolite has been widely used by people from the region since the retreat of the glaciers. Relatively easy access to the source through navigation routes explains, in part, its widespread distribution. The dispersion of tools made from New Hampshire rhyolite supports the hypothesis that the Palaeoindians were often on the move and had a vast trading system.
Biface in several fragments
- ACCESSION NUMBER:
- CR-19+344+138
- SITE NAME:
- Cliche-Rancourt
- SITE REGION:
- Lake Megantic, Quebec
- BORDEN SITE NUMBER:
- BiEr-14
- CULTURAL ATTRIBUTION:
- Prehistoric Amerindian
- PERIOD:
- Early Palaeoindian (12 900 to 11 600 years BP)
- MATERIAL:
- New Hampshire rhyolite
- HEIGHT:
- 150 mm
- WIDTH:
- 45.1 mm
- THICKNESS:
- 11.4 mm
- COLLECTION:
- Anthropology Department, Université de Montréal