PI reports French flints, obsidian sourcing and bone beds as George O'Keefe Museum excavation moves into analysis

Nicole RmIrez Thomas, the principal investigator for the SWCA George O'Keefe Museum archaeology project, told the Santa Fe Archaeological Review Committee on June 25 that excavation is complete and the team has moved into analysis.

"So the lithic analysis is mostly concrete," Nicole RmIrez Thomas said, listing notable artifacts including two French gun flints, several pre‑contact projectile points and a very green, large piece of obsidian that the team has submitted for sourcing. She said Steve Shackley performed an obsidian sourcing analysis and that the team is investigating whether the green obsidian is locally derived or from farther afield.

The project has also yielded ground‑stone tools, manos and metates, and a double‑headed axe suspected to be andesite; the axe will be tested to determine its source. For faunal remains, Thomas said the site contains "two major bone beds" located near the officer's quarters that include saw‑cut bones and meat cuts consistent with food served to officers. Thomas said funnel (faunal) analysis is expected to be complete by October.

Why this matters: Thomas said the project team aims to make the post‑excavation process more visible to the public and to the ARC. "We decided to do monthly research briefs, like really kind of short concise ones," she said, adding that the ARC will receive more technical versions of those briefs.

The team has sent two optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples to a lab to establish upper and lower age ranges and will select further soil and pollen samples based on those results. Thomas also described conservation work planned for heavily corroded metal artifacts and complete medicine bottles recovered in pits behind the officer's quarters, and named Jean Wilson as the analyst for ceramic material.

Committee members asked about artifact contexts and whether finds were concentrated in the pond area or scattered across the site. Thomas said artifacts were recovered from multiple locations and that a large axe head was discovered during monitoring and therefore lacks clear stratigraphic context. She also confirmed plans for traffic control and permits for any street closures related to outreach or site work, and said the permit fee for a temporary street closure is modest.

The ARC requested more detailed geomorphology reporting, which team members said will be covered in upcoming briefs. Thomas said those briefs will follow a planned topical sequence — lithics first, then geomorphology, followed by officers' quarters/faunal materials, and ceramics — and that the team expects to present a discussion of a mysterious ditch feature in January.

The committee did not take an action on the project at the June 25 meeting; Thomas said written briefs will be provided and she would attend future ARC meetings to answer questions.