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Iz <br />potential and that colluvial sediments on the structure benches and the third terrace date from the <br />• middle Holocene. However, this is a preliminary observation and absolute radiometric dating is <br />needed to refine and document these propositions. <br />Relatively weak soil development in the lowest elevation alluvial fill terrace (T1) and the <br />presence of a buried paleosol suggests that it is a late Holocene landform similaz in age to the <br />Tl fill terrace observed at Van Bremmer Arroyo (McFaul 1990; McFaul and Reider 1990; <br />Schuldenrein 1985). Position, height above the modern drainage and compazatively stronger soil <br />development suggest the T2 terrace dates from the late Pleistocene-earliest Holocene. The <br />shallowness of soil above bedrock, its weak development, and the presence of a stone line at the <br />bedrock contact. suggests the T3 surface was erosionally stripped and that it will not yield cultural <br />materials dating older than the middle Holocene. Soils are comparatively thin on the high- <br />elevation structural benches, however, in swales a soil profile is present that is much like the TI <br />profile. Like the T1, it is suggested these sediments have the potential to yield cultural materials <br />dating to the middle Holocene. <br />Petroeranhic Analysis <br />Several samples of stone from SLA6981 were sent to Jim Miller for petrographic analysis. <br />SLA6981 is a primary tool stone source and is the only known systematically exploited quarry <br />on the project area. The tool stone makes up the vast majority of lithic debitage in all the sites <br />found during the project, and, based on descriptions from other nearby projects, was used up and <br />down the Purgatoire River. <br />• The stone quarried at SLA698] is a quartz keratophyre, a type of felsite. It is the <br />aphanitic equivalent of alkali granite and very similar to rhyolite. It occurs as near surface sills, <br />dikes and volcanic necks, and does not exhibit a regular stratigraphic association. The exposure <br />at SLA6981 is probably a volcanic neck or similaz feature. Other exposures of the material were <br />noted on the project area, but this site is the only exposure found where the material was <br />knappable. Debitage, hammerstones, and bifaces of various stages are extremely common on the <br />site. Debitage counts are estimated in the tens of thousands. No quarry features were found; it <br />appears that materials were collected directly from the surface and from several outcrops that <br />occur on the site. <br />The felsite is composed of alkali (potassium) feldspar (ca. 70%), quartz (ca. 17%), sodic <br />plagioclase (ca. 5%), and various micas (ca. 8%). On fresh breaks, the rock is a dark pinkish <br />gray, but surface weathering alters the various minerals causing the stone to form a lighter patina <br />with occasional dark brown flecks of ferrihydrite from alteration of the mica. On the oldest <br />weathered surfaces, the mica is removed completely, leaving a texture superficially resembling <br />siltstone. The ground mass of the stone consists of euhedral to anhedral crystals rarely larger <br />than 0.01 to 0.001 µm. Phenocrysts are euhedral and about 1.0 µm in size. There is no <br />observable mineralogical difference between the ground mass and phenocrysts. The presence of <br />distinguishable phenocrysts in asmaller-grained ground mass, lacking mineralogical distinction, <br />suggests a two stage intrusion. Miller suggests that it may be possible to isolate sources of this <br />material based on ground mass and phenocryst size, which reflects the history of intrusion, or, <br />• more significantly, using some form of trace element analysis. <br />