Abstract

The chemical characterization of lithic material has been extensively applied in many areas to examine varying aspects of prehistoric life. However, in some regions those studies have focused on specific rock types, such as obsidian, with little attention paid to the more common lithic types that were being utilized. This point is well demonstrated in the Interior of British Columbia where researchers have indiscriminately grouped a range of volcanic lithic types into a general category, which have been traditionally recorded as 'vitreous basalts'. The opportunity to correctly define as well as test the viability of a chemical characterization of one of these volcanic rock types was suggested after the discovery of a large quarry site within the Arrowstone Hills region of British Columbia. The results of that initial study are presented in the following paper, with specific reference to the application of the XRF technique in further studies.