Abstract

Although not well-known as chippable stone types, petrified peat and petrified wood were once commonly used for this purpose in south central Saskatchewan, particularly along the South Saskatchewan River. At some sites as much as 75% of chipping debris is comprised of these materials. In 1997, an area containing several sites with high proportions of petrified peat and wood debris, near Outlook, Saskatchewan, was searched for possible sources. Since the whole region is covered with glacial drift, secondary sources are the only possibility. Occasional surface occurrences on upland and valley slopes turned out to be unlikely options because of extreme scarcity, general small size, and low quality of relevant materials. The most likely sources are fairly dense concentrations of moderate-size slabs and blocks of good quality material in two small river-edge localities. The geologic circumstances and processes which create this type of concentration are still only partly understood.