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<< Other Photo Pages >> Obsidian Cliff - Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry in United States in The Northwest Mountains

Submitted by bat400 on Thursday, 08 April 2010  Page Views: 12687

Multi-periodSite Name: Obsidian Cliff
Country: United States
NOTE: This site is 23.617 km away from the location you searched for.

Region: The Northwest Mountains Type: Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry
Nearest Town: Bozeman, MT  Nearest Village: Mamoth Hot Springs
Latitude: 44.822200N  Longitude: 110.7279W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
5 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
5 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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Obsidian Cliff
Obsidian Cliff submitted by Flickr : Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone Image copyright: Marija Majerle (Marija Majerle), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry in Park County, Wyoming.
Obsidian taken from this Yellowstone cliff face was made into prehistoric American artifacts that have been found at archaeological sites as far away from the source as Ohio, over 1000 miles away. The half mile long cliff, over 150 feet high in most places, is a surface remnant of the Yellowstone basin's volcanic past.

Yellowstone obsidian appears to have been traded along numerous routes to what is now the United States Pacific Northwest, throughout the northern Rocky Mountains, and most far flung - along the Missouri watershed in the Great Plains and into the Great Lakes area. Most spectacularly, Yellowstone obsidian was used to make unique Hopewell culture spear points found in Ohio.

Obsidian Cliff may be viewed easily from a nearby road (open in summer months). But remember, like all mineral finds within the National Park, collecting is now allowed only as part of permit approved research, and rangers are well aware of the allure of this ancient resource.

Note: For over 10,000 year visitors to Yellowstone have been impressed.
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Obsidian Cliff
Obsidian Cliff submitted by Flickr : Obsidian Cliff warning sign Image copyright: erintheredmc (Erin Mc), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Obsidian Cliff
Obsidian Cliff submitted by Flickr : An Obsidian boulder in Yellowstone National Park Image copyright: alanstudt (Alan Studt), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Obsidian Cliff
Obsidian Cliff submitted by Flickr : Quaternary Obsidian Cliff flow at Mystic Falls Of Canyon Rhyolite Little Firehole River Valley Yellowstone National Park Wyoming, USA Image copyright: Erika & Rüdiger, hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Obsidian Cliff
Obsidian Cliff submitted by Flickr : Obsidian Cliff A huge 60m slab of obsidian topped by rhyolite, Obsidian Cliff was likely created due to a massive lava flow in the past. This site was long an important quarry for Native Americans, who utilized the glass-like mineral for multiple tools and weapons and for trade. Obsidian from this site was found as far as Mexico and Ohio. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Image copyright: ww... (Vote or comment on this photo)

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.

Nearby Images from Flickr
AGE_2479
YellowstoneDay3 (2)
Obsidian Cliff and creek through the landscape
View of Obsidian Cliff
Monarch Geyser Crater in Yellowstone National Park
Fearless geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park

The above images may not be of the site on this page, but were taken nearby. They are loaded from Flickr so please click on them for image credits.


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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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"Obsidian Cliff" | Login/Create an Account | 2 News and Comments
  
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Re: Obsidian Cliff by Anonymous on Friday, 04 May 2012
I live in the suburbs of Detroit Michigan. I have been collecting rocks for years. I have found some obsidian near a water shed where I work, while planting trees.
It is amazing that ancient Indian trade extended this far east, from Yellowstone. The obsidian I found is a dark green and still has its sharp edges. One piece has the appearance of lava folds.
thank you for your article, it has been helpful. If you would like a piece I can mail it to you. contact:-67johnmurray@gmail.com

Thanks, John Murray
[ Reply to This ]

Digs find Yellowstone ‘always has been a destination resort’ by bat400 on Thursday, 08 April 2010
(User Info | Send a Message)
Submitted by coldrum ---

Thousands of years before Euro-Americans “discovered” the bubbling mudpots and eruptive geysers of what is now Yellowstone National Park, early Americans were spending part of their summer camping in the Yellowstone Lake area. “It’s always been a destination resort,” said Elaine Hale, park archaeologist. “For at least 10,000 years, people have been using the lake area.”

Thanks to archaeological digs around Yellowstone Lake last summer by University of Montana assistant archaeology professor Douglas MacDonald and 13 graduate and undergrad students, park officials are now getting a broader picture of early human use of the lake area.

“The lake may have served as a crossroads of sorts for Native Americans from multiple regions,” MacDonald said.

Obsidian, a valued rock used to create razor-sharp points for weapons and tools, is located about 20 miles to the northwest at Obsidian Cliff. The lake area contains a variety of flora — as varied as camas and wild onions — that would have made a tasty stew or herbal medicines. And there was plenty of wildlife in the region. One archaeological site turned up blood residue from bear, wolf and deer as well as rabbit sinew.

“The lake area was clearly an important warm-weather hunting and gathering grounds for Native Americans from all over the northwestern Great Plains, northern Great Basin and northern Rocky Mountains,” MacDonald said.

His group’s explorations are part of the university’s Montana-Yellowstone Archaeological Project, which is now entering its fourth year. The partnership offers students the opportunity to perform field work while Yellowstone receives inexpensive research help.

MacDonald’s crew made some unique finds last summer. Along the northeast shore, the crew uncovered the park’s first Early Archaic hearth, dating to 5,800 years ago.

“The feature indicates that Native Americans used the park during the hot and dry altithermal climate period,” MacDonald said. The Altithermal Period followed the last ice age, after large mammals like woolly mammoths had become extinct. Yellowstone Lake, during that time, would have been a huge oasis drawing people, and wildlife, from throughout the region.

“There are sites along the lake where there was extensive processing of hides,” Hale said. “We found sites where freshly quarried obsidian cobble had been transported to the area. This is a lithic workshop area.”

Another campsite was littered with about a dozen shaft abraders, used to smooth arrows and spears.

Another unique find was a large obsidian spear point. MacDonald theorized that the point was created for ceremonial purposes, since it’s half again as large as other spear points of the period.

“It is well known that Obsidian Cliff obsidian was traded eastward to the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys,” MacDonald said. “Some archaeologists also speculate that Hopewell Native Americans themselves actually traveled to Obsidian Cliff to collect obsidian.



For more about archaeology in Yellowstone, see billingsgazette.com.
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