Abstract

Historical accounts have documented the practice of applying grease onto certain lithic materials prior to flintknapping. At the Hugo Dosch Site (EgOl-1), southwestern Saskatchewan, archaeological excavations yielded several lithic artifacts buried in a Late Prehistoric component on which a thin black coating was observed. Several analytical approaches were employed to determine the nature of this substance. The results of these analyses indicate this material is an organic residue, of animal origin, and is probably a lipid. We suggest that animal fat was applied to the surface of a Swan River Chert cobble prior to the lithic reduction process. The presence of animal residues on finished lithic artifacts and on pottery is not uncommon, but the occurrence of such residues on unfinished artifacts in the early stages of the reduction process has so far received little attention. Our results present an intriguing link between ethnographic accounts and the archaeological record and further our understanding of the manufacture of lithic tools.