Beyond trade and exchange: piecing together a narrative for post-Paleoindian tool caches in prehistoric California

Tool caching is an important behavior in prehistoric cultures; however, tool caches that post-date the Paleoindian Period are relatively understudied in California. While models have been put forth to understand the function of tool caches in the Paleoindian Period, with particular emphasis on Clovis cultures, no such model exists for those that post-date this period. This study is one of the first attempts to synthesize prehistoric tool caches that post-date the Paleoindian Period through the analysis and synthesis of three obsidian biface tool caches in northern and southern California. Quantitative and qualitative data are used to test an empirical model of expected attributes for Clovis tool caches that attempts to categorize cache function type. The results of the study indicate that while some of the attributes in the model considered for Clovis caches can be used for post-Paleoindian tool caches, it is best to modify them based on variation in prehistoric behaviors over time, as well as to consider other attributes tailored to the surrounding landscape in an attempt to better understand tool caching behaviors during this time.