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Named stone

Batza Tena obsidian

Also called Koyukuk obsidian

A kind of obsidian

Batza Tena obsidianObsidianWest Coast & Plateau

Description

Batza Tena is the main archaeological obsidian source in Alaska, near the Indian River, a tributary of the Koyukuk River in west-central Alaska. Its glass has a distinct chemistry, low in strontium and zirconium, so labs can match artifacts to it. It travelled very widely. In Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, 691 of 714 sourced obsidian artifacts (about 97 percent) came from Batza Tena. It also reached the earliest sites of interior Alaska: Dry Creek, Healy Lake (Chindadn), Broken Mammoth and Swan Point. At Teklanika West in Denali, four microblades of it were found about 200 miles from the source. In these early sites obsidian is always a small share of the stone.

Geology

Obsidian source near the Indian River, a tributary of the Koyukuk River (Houlette et al.; Coffman). Geochemically distinct, with relatively low strontium and zirconium (Houlette et al.).

Where it comes from

West Coast & Plateau

States

Quarries and outcrops

  • Batza Tena source near the Indian River, upper Koyukuk River region, west-central Alaska

Used by

  • Late Pleistocene: Dry Creek component II, Healy Lake Chindadn, Broken Mammoth, Swan Point zone 3, and possibly Nogahabara (summarised by Goebel et al. 2008)
  • Teklanika West, Denali: four microblades, Component 3 (Coffman)
  • Gates of the Arctic: about 97 percent of 714 sourced obsidian artifacts from 160 sites, including projectile points; linked to Upper Koyukuk Koyukon people in later times (Houlette et al.)

Look-alikes

Stones that are easy to confuse with Batza Tena obsidian.

  • Wiki Peak obsidian and unknown Groups A, H and K, other obsidians found in central Alaskan sites (Goebel et al. 2008)

Sources

  1. Houlette, Chris, Jeff Rasic, and Jeff Speakman. Prehistoric Obsidian Procurement and Transport in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. Alaska Park Science 10(1). National Park Service.nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  2. Coffman, Sam. Teklanika West: A Late Pleistocene Archaeological Site. Alaska Park Science 12(1). National Park Service.nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
  3. Goebel, Ted, Robert J. Speakman, and Joshua D. Reuther. 2008. Obsidian from the Late-Pleistocene Walker Road Site, Central Alaska. Current Research in the Pleistocene 25:88-90.liberalarts.tamu.edu (opens in a new tab)
  4. Northwest Research Obsidian Studies Laboratory. Alaska Obsidian Sources: Batza Tena (source catalog sheet with reference list).sourcecatalog.com (opens in a new tab)
  5. Clark, Donald W., and A. McFadyen Clark. 1993. Batza Téna: Trail to Obsidian. Archaeological Survey of Canada Mercury Series 147. Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull, Quebec.
  6. Clark, Donald W., and A. McFadyen Clark. 1976. Fluted Points from the Batza Téna Obsidian Source of the Koyukuk River Region, Alaska. Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska 17:31-38.core.tdar.org (opens in a new tab)

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