Abstract

Recent excavations at the Nim-5 and Nim-11 archaeological sites in the Nimiuktuk River valley of the Brooks Range, northwest Alaska, have produced a variety of artifact styles dating to roughly 4,000-7,000 B.P. Formal artifacts include side-notched projectile points, lanceolate-shaped bifacial points, wedge-shaped microblade cores, and wide, oval-platformed microblade cores. These technologically diverse artifacts, although functionally similar, appear to occur in spatially associated contexts and potentially result from the same occupation. Discrete assemblages are difficult to discern at these sites, however, because artifacts clusters on or near the ground surface might also result from different activities or episodes of site occupation. Spatial analysis using GIS technology has been useful for distinguishing assemblages at the sites where components are not stratigraphically separated.